For Superhero-Aversionists: ‘Wonder Man’
A delightful buddy comedy that’s Marvel, but not really
Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest’s latest miniseries, Wonder Man on Disney+, isn’t a superhero show. In fact, every time it attempts to create the illusion of being one — with a generic superpower that’s barely a plot device — diminishes the charm the series has going for it. Apart from borrowing the name and a very loose connection to the comics, Wonder Man is more of a love child of the breezy The Kominsky Method and the full-blown satire of The Studio. Skin-deep, light-hearted, and made for an audience who doesn’t want to see another calculated DC or Marvel instalment carefully placed in their respective universes.
The series follows two struggling actors, Simon (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Trevor (Ben Kingsley) — the former a committed and aspiring one who constantly gets in his own way, the latter a troubled small-time Hollywood veteran with one particular performance that brought him fame — whose paths collide for superficial reasons. It’s a proven formula that ends almost exactly as you imagine it, but that predictability never stands in the show’s way to be endearingly fun.
Simon is the kind of actor who overthinks trivia and invents backstories to fodder characters whose sole purpose is to get eaten or blown up on the screen. He’s too dedicated and thorough for the bit parts he’s getting. Trevor, on the other hand, is a seasoned and savvy fox with a concealed heart of gold, relying on spontaneity and improv, without ever thinking more than a half step ahead. At first, he only helps Simon because he made a deal with the US Damage Control Department to spy on him in exchange for not getting thrown into jail. The details as to why are where the only superhero angle lies in the series, and it’s kind of irrelevant in the big picture. You could substitute it with almost anything adjacent, and the plot would work exactly the same.
Constantly being with Simon out of necessity, Trevor begins to see the man’s painstaking process and deep-seated love for acting, as well as all the drawbacks he creates for himself. The old man recognizes a genuine potential in Simon and finds a way to ease his relentlessly lingering self-doubt one crisis at a time. So when they both get a call-back for the remake of the ’80s superhero flick Wonder Man — being directed by Zlatko Buric’s eccentric and acclaimed filmmaker, Von Kovak — the two become unlikely partners to get the job they both desire for different reasons.
The beating heart of Wonder Man is undeniably the clumsy yet strangely delightful chemistry between Abdul-Mateen and Kingsley as they become buddies in a slightly exaggerated, meta version of Hollywood. Instead of the typical hints that usually refer to other MCU projects, characters, and storylines within the same universe, the creators smartly sneak in understated title drops (like Sons of Anarchy, Igby Goes Down, or Severance) and bring on real actors (like Joe Pantoliano and Ashley Greene) playing a version of themselves to create a flimsy but comforting milieu. Sure, this is a thin veil without any real substance, yet it feels refreshing and fitting for a show that’s essentially an ode to the world of devoted thespians we never hear about before their first big break (if they’re lucky enough to get one) or ever.
But more importantly, this setting allows Kingsley and Abdul-Mateen to goof around and build a wonderful rapport between their characters that unobtrusively blossoms into an unlikely friendship. None of them sees it coming, and even as a viewer, you can’t really pinpoint the exact moment when the true emotions in the two begin to override their self-interest. It just happens organically, and no matter how many (thankfully, really not a lot) typical Marvel clichés try to ruin it toward the climax when the cat gets out of the bag, the core of that heart-warming sentiment the show rides on remains intact even in the finale.
In fact, the ending is where the show truly commits to everything it managed to build up before, without jeopardizing it with some flashy and forced cliffhanger or a totally unnecessary post-credits scene. Apart from a few unwarranted theatrics, Wonder Man is void of anything Marvel-like, which ultimately becomes its greatest and most welcome trait. Funnily enough, Marvel reached a point where the best move it could make was to get out of its own way and make a show that has virtually nothing to do with superheroes. Wonder Man is a clean slate with barely any connection to already-existing MCU characters or storylines, and a show that doesn’t need to be continued because it’s complete and potent enough to stand on its own. Who would’ve thought?
Love how this captures the paradox of Wonder Man's success. The observation that Marvel's best move was getting out of its own way feels painfully accurate given how formula-bound most MCU content has become. The chemistry-driven buddy dynamic reminds me of older character studies that didnt need universe-building to work, they just needed two good performences and a reason to care.