Wonder Man

Last week, the newest MCU show, Wonder Man, was released on Disney+. Wonder Man follows Simon Williams, a Hollywood actor who secretly has superpowers, as he works to get a lead role in a new superhero film. Disney hasn't had a great track record with their MCU shows, with many of them notoriously sitting for multiple years before being released, so naturally, I was a bit skeptical of this film.

I was pleasantly surprised with this show. Unlike a lot of the other MCU shows, the story is actually coherent and doesn't feel rushed in the final episodes. While the plot is very thin, this is very much a character-driven piece about a man trying to achieve his dreams in Hollywood. I do like the basic premise of the show, where it feels like a classic movie-making Hollywood movie, but with the added layer of being in a world with superheroes and how that would affect the movie-making industry. The best part of this show is the bromance between Simon and Trevor. The show flows a bit like a classic rom-com but with a bromance instead of an actual romantic relationship. The two play off of each other quite well and are both very likable. I also thought it was fun how they gave Trevor a bit of a redemptive arc after the fallout of his pretending to be The Mandarin in Iron Man 3.

One thing to be aware of with this show is that it is much closer to movies like La La Land, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Singin' in the Rain than it is to anything in the MCU. So if you are expecting a big superhero show, that is not what this is. Simon has superpowers, and there is a human antagonist, but they are kind of on the back burner, with the main focus being on Simon's career. This is a show that non-MCU fans may like more than MCU fans due to its focus on movie-making and lack of action. There are no faults, but just something to be aware of before watching.

The main issue I had with this is that it just has no reason to exist. I don't get why Marvel decided to make this show. It is standalone from the rest of the MCU and has no foreseeable connection to anything coming up. It just kind of adds to the feeling of the MCU feeling aimless since Avengers: Endgame. If they wanted to make a show like this, I feel like they could've just made it a separate continuity from the MCU or not made it have any connection to Marvel at all.

Overall, this is a solid show that explores the journey of someone with superpowers in Hollywood and has a bit of a fun bromance, but it still begs the question of why Disney feels that this needed to be a part of the MCU.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+ Recommendation: Check it out if you like Hollywood stories