Wonder Man Does Everything I Wish Marvel Would Do On A Regular Basis

Talking about MCU projects often comes with conversational baggage right out the gate, be it qualifying one’s fandom, addressing successes vs. failures, or supplying backstory exposition. The upcoming Marvel TV series Wonder Man is more than capable of sparking such insights, but to me, it’s not really that kind of show. What Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest crafted is a fun and free-flowing blast that everyone from Marvel newcomers to full-on fanatics should have a great time with.

As someone who is always fully on board with the studio’s more esoteric, post-modern efforts like WandaVision and Agatha All Along — lookie there, I DID qualify my fandom rather quickly — I realize not everyone will be as fully aligned with loving Wonder Man as much as I did. It’s not a straightforward superhero story, and is largely unlike the bulk of Marvel’s efforts thus far, even with Sir Ben Kingsley reprising his maligned Iron Man 3 and Shang Chi role of Trevor Slattery. Think of that as a plus and not a disadvantage, and enjoyment will follow.

Regardless of any big-picture opinions, though, I think Wonder Man's biggest strength is in how many foundational qualities it boasts that Marvel hasn't wholly adhered to with a lot of its cross-media content, for better or worse. To that end, here are several laudable elements from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's latest superhero effort that I wish were more of the norm in other MCU projects. (Perhaps that'll be the case for others hitting the 2026 TV schedule and beyond.)

Episodes Are Short, Light And Extremely Easy To Binge

Few TV shows these days are completely innocent of excess bloating, especially on the streaming side, but Wonder Man's creative team does everyone a blessing by sticking to "30 mins. or less" runtimes. This may be the only Marvel project where every time the credits start rolling, I'm legitimately shocked by how quickly time passed, and it's never been easier to hit play on the next episode, knowing that it'll be just as breezy.

Wonder Man Is More Character Study Than Plotty Superhero Storytelling

Simon Williams is a complicated guy with dreams of becoming a movie star, who also sports a very meticulous way of approaching roles (and life altogether) that makes him somewhat difficult to work with. But even though this is a comedic show, Simon’s mental issues and social behavior isn’t played for laughs, and the main throughline of the show is exploring the character’s finely threaded balance between inner peace and outer chaos.

His dream of starring in a Wonder Man film is in place for an emotionally sound reason, with others wanting to exploit that, and as with past explorations of Wanda Maximoff’s and Agatha Harkness’ respective griefs and grievances, Simon’s journey is easily as engaging as something more conspiratorial and comic book-y.

It's Funny As Hell WIthout All The Usual MCU Snark

It's wild to me that this is Ben Kingsley's third Marvel project, and it's arguably the one that truly turns Trevor Slattery into a three-dimensional character. It's additionally wild that the buddy-hero bromance between Simon and Trevor is as playful and enjoyable to watch as nearly any other Marvel pairings are. Both lead actors are clearly having a great time, and that energy extends to just about everyone they share the screen with. (Including A+ appearances from celebs such as Joe Pantoliano.)

On top of that, Wonder Man's humor is almost always situational and inherent to whatever inadvisable behavior Simon and Trevor are displaying, as opposed to the MCU's usual snark-driven and self-referential humor. Showrunner Andrew Guest has worked on stellar TV comedies like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Community and 30 Rock, so he's well-versed in being funny regardless of context. Thus, even with exceptions, it's the rare MCU show where swapping out Marvel references with generic ones wouldn't necessarily ruin it.

The Scaled-Down Threat Doesn't Put The Entire World In Danger

One of the most-voiced complaints about the MCU, even from longtime fans, is how many times the movies and TV projects center on villains and plots that put the fate of entire cities, countries, and planets at risk. It would be extremely exhausting to be a normal citizen in this reality. So any time Kevin Feige & Co. allow for projects to shink the scale down to something more personal and direct, I always have an easier time buying into the threats.

Wonder Man brings back Succession vet Arian Moayed as Damage Control's Agent Cleary, who'd previously popped up in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Ms. Marvel. Per usual, Cleary isn't a "blow it all up and ask questions later" kind of a guy, and it's clear early on that he's more of a background nuisance than a front-line antagonist. In many ways, Simon's biggest enemy is his own emotional state. It's a very Hulk-esque issue to have, but without the entire U.S. military trying to contain him.

The Ending Is Satisfying Without Going Overboard

Few things are as disappointing as a great TV show or movie that drops or flat-out mangles the ball in the final act, which can often be the case in the MCU when character development and any modicum of nuance give way to giant CGI action sequences and an abundance of destruction. That's not at all the case with Wonder Man, though, which delivers a season finale that is not only shares the same level of quality as the rest of the episodes, but also wraps things up satisfactorily, and doesn't overstep its scale.

To say too much about the end is obviously inadvisable, but I do think it's worth noting that even though Wonder Man exists as a Marvel Spotlight series that isn't meant to be. a major force within Phase 6, there's room for this character to have more adventures and acting auditions down the road. So I can only hope that enough people with Disney+ subscriptions watch the show and help spread the word as I'm trying to do, so that Kevin Feige and other Powers That Be feel confident enough to order another season.

Wonder Man will debut on Disney+ on Tuesday, January 27, with all eight episodes available to stream at once.