Wonder Man

13

And we’re back, baby! No, seriously, this show is actually really good. A Marvel product that doesn’t have to tie into the multiverse or have some sort of terribly confusing CGI battle to close out the finale. No big bad that either comes from another time or space or is threatening to explode the world. No time travel or weird crystals and stuff. In fact, there is barely any superhero in this superhero series. Instead, we have a two-hander with two wonderful actors in Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley. A very human story that veers into the feels and not the fists. I do feel like the Wonder Man title isn’t doing this Disney+ show any favors, but I suppose that is the character’s comic book name, so that is what it is. I just imagine that there are some folks out there who think this is some gender-switch tale about a dude in a red white and blue speedo with a golden lasso. Which sounds terrible. But this series certainly isn’t that.

At this point Yahya Abdul-Mateen has been in two of the best superhero series ever made. Despite them being extremely different shows, this and Watchmen are tops in my book. And I’m not even really a superhero person. Watchmen was a stylized tour de force that took place in a dark, alternative universe that still somehow taught the world about the very real Black Wall Street Massacre. While Wonder Man is very much grounded in the modern world of Los Angeles and the Hollywood struggle. And, yes, we get a backstory of Simon Williams (Abdul-Mateen), but it’s not the one we usually get. It’s his backstory as a human. There’s an indication — through the story of a house fire — that he’s had these powers since he was relatively young, but we’re never given the backstory of where these powers come from. Or why they exist. And, yes, I’m not a Marvel expert by any stretch, so perhaps he’s a mutant and his powers are just his powers, but the show isn’t really interested in that. His is a story of growing up in a close-knit Haitian community in LA with a loving father who introduces Simon — a seemingly lonely, marginalized adolescent / teen — to cinema. Including the 1980 film Wonder Man. Simon’s power — which we’re later told is his ability to “harness ionic energy — seemed to mostly lie dormant up until he hit puberty and then only occasionally came out in some uncontrollable way when he was under stress. Like the mysterious kitchen fire. But we’re never really told the genesis of this ability, and are only slowly exposed to what “harnessing ionic energy” entails as we see him as an adult. A power that he still seems to have little-to-no control over. Until he does.

Now, what would a superhero show be without a nemesis? Which, in this case, is the Department of Damage Control (DODC) and the agent in charge of Williams’ case, Agent Cleary (Arian Moayed). Because, as we learn in what amounts to a bottle episode, super-powered people are no longer allowed to work in Hollywood due to this absolutely bonkers super-powered actor / pitchman named Doorman (Byron Bowers) who accidentally swallowed the actual Josh Gad. In order to ensnare Williams, Cleary brings in Trevor Slattery, who was previously in Iron Man 3 pretending to be a terrorist named The Mandarin, and again in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as the same pathetic actor character. Because he was broken out of prison in Shang-Chi and never served his full sentence for his Mandarin masquerade, Cleary threatens him with a return to prison unless he agrees to gather evidence on Williams that he is, indeed, a super-powered human and dangerous enough to be locked up in DODC’s super-powered maximum security complex. Thing is, Slattery is a sad sack. A former Shakespearian actor who drank and drugged too much, botched his career and ended up unwittingly playing a fake global terrorist. A man who, at one point in this series, is just absolutely dunked on by a Joe Pantoliano playing a horrible version of the actual Joe Pantoliano. There’s a whole setup to get Slattery into Williams’ orbit, which he initially plans to execute on, but, over time, he becomes fond of Williams and fights his own urge to screw his own future to save Simon. Because friendship!

Here’s the thing. This is a pretty straight-forward tale of two guys who respect one another. Who create a friendship based on that mutual respect, mutual interests and ability to empathize with one another. It’s really well done, and actually emotional. And that comes down to the actors. While Kingsley does sometimes act as the comic relief — his character is self-deprecating and self-aware in a very human way — Kingsley is also incredibly good at conveying warmth and roundness in his performance. Abdul-Mateen is a very intense performer. His demeanor just boils over with tension and passion. Which is a perfect match for his character — a divisive actor whose method and personality is so prickly that he manages to get himself fired off an episode of American Horror Story (on which he only has one line) at the beginning of the series. And dumped by his live-in girlfriend (a strangely underused Olivia Thirlby technically repaired with Kingsley from The Wackness), who just can’t put up with his downer shit anymore. He’s kind of a dick, truth be told. But Slattery sees through all of that to his soul. His passion. His struggle. And he sees in him a kindred spirit. And because of this, his mission to save himself kind of morphs to save Simon. Human connection is amazing.

Now, if you’re coming to this for big battles and lots of displays of Wonder Man’s powers, you’re going to be less than enthused. But if you want to see a great, nuanced story about the development of a friendship layered over a superhero story, this will be your thing. It’s shockingly funny and endearing and emotional all at once. Honestly, I had no expectations and was constantly waiting for them to screw it all up by making the DODC people awful human beings. Or them bringing in some powered dude to battle it out with Simon. But, no, they restrain themselves and keep it low-key. It could have just as easily been an FX series about two actors trying to make it in Hollywood against the odds. In fact, I almost wish it was. Because now they’ll suck Wonder Man into some Avengers or X-Men thing, which will ultimately make him more superhuman than human. And strip the character of all the terrific layers of humanity they managed to coax out of him. He’ll just be a hammer. Or they will at the very least lose that special pairing between him and the non-superpowered Slattery character. And it’s a symbiotic relationship that really works on screen. I’m just not sure how they’d work separate and alone. Ultimately, I would totally watch another season of this series. But, alas, I don’t think that’s in the cards. Instead we’ll have to see how they mess it all up in one of their big-budget films with all the universes and lasers and shit. We shall see if Wonder Man can survive Hollywood fer real.