Wonder Man redefines superhero storytelling with a meta take on Hollywood

For all the grandeur of the superhero genre – cross-planetary adventures, epic power struggles, massive ensemble battles and world-altering decisions resting on the shoulders of costumed heroes – Marvel has typically taken pains to show how the existence of super-powered individuals affects the regular citizens of the world.

Think people who lost their loved ones and years of life to Thanos’s snap, or the citizens of Westview trapped in Wanda’s vision of a perfect life. One area that has largely remained untouched by all the superhero antics, though, is Hollywood… until now.

Releasing under the Marvel Spotlight banner – the home for more grounded, character-driven and (most importantly) standalone stories in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – is Wonder Man. In a big departure from his comic book origins, this iteration of Simon Williams (played here by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a struggling actor, desperate for his big Hollywood break.

Simon obsesses over his craft, nit-picking character details and backstory, which alienates him from his peers and frequently results in botched auditions and lost work. When Simon hears about a remake of his favourite childhood movie Wonder Man, by legendary director Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić), he pins all his hopes on landing the lead role.

Also auditioning for a spot in Wonder Man is Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), known to most of the world as The Mandarin. Desperate to escape the shadow of the menacing character he once played, and prove to the world that he is a capable actor, Slattery takes Williams under his wing while gunning for the role of Barnaby, Wonder Man’s mentor.

Complicating matters is the fact that Simon has superpowers, an insurance liability so big it means enhanced beings are banned from working in this version of Hollywood. But Simon’s abilities and Trevor’s history are basically the only connection that the Wonder Man series has with the wider MCU. There aren’t any gaps to fill here, and indeed Wonder Man – already centred on a lesser-known Marvel Comics figure – probably won’t be “required watching” for any future franchise entries.

Instead, you’ll find a very self-contained and reflective look at the entertainment industry itself, with plenty of meta commentary about star power, superhero fatigue and the admittedly ridiculous process that goes into making something like, well, Wonder Man. Throw in a side-story commenting on government overreach and meeting arrest quotas, and you’ll be surprised at how well it all works together.

If this sounds like typical Hollywood naval gazing, you’re not wrong. Wonder Man could easily have come across as pretentious, bordering on smug and insincere. But the story that Destin Daniel Cretton (director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and Andrew Guest (producer of Hawkeye) have crafted is anything but, purely because it has its heart in the right place.

Most, if not all, of Wonder Man is carried by Aquaman and Watchmen’s Abdul-Mateen II. His portrayal of Simon is earnest and incredibly relatable, and Abdul-Mateen II really gets to flex here as a performer, acting as Simon acting in various roles. Even when he’s obviously making bad choices or doing the wrong thing, you still end up rooting for him because Simon is just so damn endearing.

As Simon’s mentor and would-be friend, Kingsley also gets to show off his acting chops, though no cinephile should need reminding that the Oscar winner has been a heavyweight of stage and screen for decades. When he gets to step out of the timid Trevor persona, Kingsley makes you believe that this man had the world fooled by his Mandarin persona, which sells Trevor’s believability even more.

If you ever thought Kingsley was slumming it in his previous MCU appearances, simply showing up just for some light fun, Wonder Man proves otherwise, providing the thespian with an opportunity to deliver one of his warmest mainstream performances in years.

Teamed with Abdul-Mateen II, the result is an immensely likeable odd couple pairing that sits at the heart of Wonder Man, driving the action across its eight 20- to 30-minute episodes. It’s a clear, conscious choice that Simon and Trevor meet at a screening of subversive classic Midnight Cowboy.

Along with its unexpected friendship, at the core of Wonder Man is a tale about actors and acting; about finding the human connection that makes these stories so emotionally powerful. And it’s in this way that Wonder Man also, slyly, has something to say about the rise of AI storytelling and pixel-only performers.

Wonder Man drives home the point that as convincing as something may look, human emotion and experience really can’t be copied or faked. That’s where the magic of acting lies, even if an ordinary man on the street can’t vocalise it.

Typical MCU fans may be alienated by Wonder Man because it is so different; so contemplative and quietly character-driven. Hopefully, though, like Agatha All Along and WandaVision, Wonder Man will find an audience outside the usual MCU crowd because its ambitions push it far beyond its superhero origins to deliver something truly fresh – which the genre needs right now. DM

Wonder Man is on Disney+. All eight episodes are available to watch now. This review was first published on Pfangirl.