Marvel has been churning out TV shows that are a little more quirky than the typical MCU fare. This includes trippy WandaVision and fourth-wall breaking She Hulk: Attorney at Law.
The trailer for the new series starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is nifty, and it seems to hint at the show straying pretty heavily from the character’s comic book history. But what’s the deal with Von Kovak?
Who is Wonder Man?
The last time we saw Wonder Man he was battling the Avengers as part of Baron Zemo’s Masters of Evil, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the superhero won the fight. Before that, Simon Williams ran his family’s company into the ground thanks to bad managerial skills. He also embezzled some money and got caught, leading to the Grim Reaper taking him in as his brother and performing experiments on him that would give him powers if exposed.
Then the Badoon invaded Earth, and Simon joined up with a resistance group called the Commandeers before changing his name to Hollywood and becoming an adventuring superhero. His ionic energy body can tolerate blows from Hercules, Atlas, Gilgamesh, Ikaris, Hyperion, and more, and he’s also capable of overpowering a team of some of the most powerful Avengers alone. He’s an all-around powerhouse that deserves more attention. Thankfully, he’ll be getting more of it in the Disney+ series.
His Powers
Although many may not remember her, Misty Knight is one of Marvel’s most underrated heroes. She’s an amazing detective who lost an arm fighting against crime lord Yinsen, but her new prosthetic gave her superhuman strength and the ability to shapeshift.
Amadeus Cho is canonically the fifth or sixth smartest person in the Marvel Universe, but it’s easy to forget about him because of his lack of screen time. Even so, he’s no slouch in the brawn department and can easily hold his own against a team of Avengers.
Simon Williams / Wonder Man may not be a household name, but Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will bring his version of the character to life in the upcoming Disney+ series. The premise of the show is that he’s an actor who winds up with genuine superpowers, which is sure to have fans intrigued. Ben Kingsley will also ham it up as Yinsen, who helped Simon evolve into a hero from his single-minded pursuit of revenge.
Origin
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is juggling acting and superheroing in Disney+’s Wonder Man series, which takes the eponymous hero out of Tinseltown and into the Marvel Universe. While the MCU has already explored high school via the Spider-Man movies, politics with Captain America, and legal system in She-Hulk and Daredevil, it’s yet to get a full look at Tinseltown.
Simon Williams was a spoiled trust fund baby, who inherited the Williams Innovations company and fortune from his father. However, bad business decisions ran the company into the ground. In an attempt to save his company, he accepted an offer by Baron Zemo for experimentation with ionic rays. These rays gave him incredible powers, but also altered his metabolism such that he would die within a week without weekly serum treatments. So, he enacted Zemo’s scheme and infiltrated the Avengers in disguise as Wonder Man. The Avengers realized his condition and tried to save him, but even with Thor’s magic and Iron Man and Hank Pym’s super-science, the deterioration couldn’t be reversed.
Connection to the Avengers
While the first trailer for Wonder Man hints at reclusive European director Von Kovack being a cosmic control freak, there could be more to the story. Comic fans may recognize the name as Michael Korvac, a godlike villain with the ability to change reality on a whim and who has faced off against the Avengers multiple times over the years.
Marvel is currently reviving Korvac as the main villain of its Battleworld miniseries, where he gathers heroes and villains from across the multiverse and forces them to fight each other for his entertainment. Given that he has super strength, can fly, phase through objects, shape shift, and is capable of immense power-levels, he’s certainly an intimidating opponent for the MCU’s most underrated hero.
Marvel has yet to comment on whether or not Simon Williams will be a version of the comic character, but it’s clear that the show is looking to take inspiration from Marvel’s past sci-fi successes. With Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley in the cast and Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton serving as co-creator and director, it looks like Wonder Man will be a worthy addition to the Marvel canon.
Potential Cast
Marvel has been churning out TV shows that often stray from the usual blueprint of superhero fare. From the trippy WandaVision to the fourth wall-breaking She Hulk: Attorney at Law, there have been many different approaches to Marvel’s TV universe. But perhaps the most unique of all has been Wonder Man.
The new Marvel+ series stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, a struggling actor who is desperate to make a name for himself. But when renown director Von Kovacs (Zlatko Buric from Superman) decides to remake the classic Wonder Man film, Simon sees an opportunity to get his big break.
The show is co-created and executive produced by Destin Daniel Cretton, who helmed Shang-Chi in 2021 and also directed the first episode of this new series. The cast also includes Ben Kingsley, Ed Harris, Arian Moayed, and X Mayo. But it’s the potential for a Wonder Man-Hercules bromance that has fans really excited.
Storyline Rumors
In the comics, Wonder Man first debuted in 1964’s Avengers #9 from Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Don Heck. He was a businessman who got caught embezzling millions and came under the control of Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil. He sacrificed himself in a battle with the Avengers to keep his company from falling into ruin, and when his body was revived by Wanda Maximoff’s magic, he became Wonder Man, the superhero who has no physical form, but can alter into ionic energy-fueled super strength at will.
Marvel Studios has a number of 2025 projects in the pipeline, and it sounds like Wonder Man might be one of them that hits the right note with fans. Early word of mouth suggests that the Yahya Abdul-Mateen starring show is a solid meta concept and could give fans something new to look forward to after the already established arcs of WandaVision and Agatha All Along.