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“Marvel proudly introduces … Wonder Man!” declared an electric red and yellow bubble on the cover of 1964’s Avengers #9. “The newest, most dynamic character from the world-famous house of ideas!” By the end of that same issue, Wonder Man had died, sacrificing himself to save the Avengers from Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil.
Like most superheroes, Wonder Man would return again, and even become a long-tenured member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. But that first appearance set the mold for the character, a man filled with potential who always fell pitifully short.
Judging by the few shots in the latest sizzle teaser from Marvel Studios, it looks like the MCU version will follow suit. Alongside first looks at Daredevil: Born Again, Ironheart, and even Eyes of Wakanda, we see a few bits of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as down-on-his luck actor Simon Williams. Williams auditions for the role of Wonder Man, a process that brings him into the orbit of the Toast of Croydon, Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) from Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Judging by the chintzy ring light they’re using for filming and the duo’s frantic escape from a shabby looking house, things don’t go well for Simon and Trevor.
Given the over-the-top look of the scenes and, you know, the presence of Trevor, it appears that Wonder Man will be a straightforward comedy, a genre in which Marvel has had limited success. Although some pull for the self-aware sitcom antics of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, others found it too silly, preferring instead the Joss Whedon-inspired snark in most Marvel entries.
It’s unclear how far Wonder Man will go into overt shenanigans, and the cast and crew give us little direction. Wonder Man comes from Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed Shang-Chi and was slated to helm Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars until the recent shake-up brought Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo Brothers back into the fold. Joining Cretton as co-creator is Andrew Guest, who worked on sitcoms such as Community (naturally), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Suburgatory before producing Hawkeye.
The show’s Hollywood setting, however, does point to one of the more lighthearted runs in Wonder Man’s history. Written by the very, very canceled Gerard Jones and penciled by Jeff Johnson, the Wonder Man solo series from 1991 followed Simon’s misadventures in Tinsletown, first as a stunt man and then as a lead actor.
Fun as that series was, it did represent something of a break from the usual Wonder Man fare. After dying in his first appearance, Simon’s brainwaves (whatever that means) were stored in a computer and later reused with the villainous android Ultron created Vision. Thus, Vision was often treated as Simon’s brother/clone, a plot that only made sense when the duo got caught in a love triangle with Scarlet Witch or when Simon’s actual brother Eric aka Grim Reaper came to town.
The teaser for Wonder Man shows Williams trying out for a part as Wonder Man, which indicates that the title precedes him. We might be seeing a variation of Williams’s initial origin, in which he was “duped” by Zemo into getting ionic powers (whatever that means) and becoming a villain.
In the comics, Williams was first an industrialist whose envy of Tony Stark drove him into Zemo’s hands. A crisis of conscience led to his sacrifice, and paved the way him to return as a hero made of pure ionic energy (whatever tha- You get it). Over the years, Wonder Man become both a constant in the Avengers, integral to the lives of big hitters like Vision and Iron Man, and a perpetual loser, unable reach the A-list in Avengers Tower or in the Hollywood Hills.
All of which makes excellent fodder for a television series, which means that Wonder Man’s MCU debut may actually, finally make him newest, most dynamic character from the world-famous house of ideas.
Wonder Man comes to Disney+ in December 2025.
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