Wonder Man Review: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley Lead a Marvel Show With Real Character

The first thing to know going into Wonder Man, the latest Disney+ series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is that it's probably not what you're expecting. Marvel has used its TV projects to experiment with different approaches to adapting its superhero characters with varying degrees of success. For every Hawkeye, there's a Moon Knight, but Marvel's commitment to experimenting with different approaches has remained admirable, and it's never tried anything quite like Wonder Man, a low-key buddy comedy in which superheroics largely remain in the background, usually deep in the background. Anyone showing up to watch, say, Daredevil lay into the Kingpin will likely be confused. But those who stick around should quickly realize that this is a strength, not a weakness.

The second thing to know is that it's OK if you've never heard of Wonder Man. The character has appeared in Marvel Comics since the early days of The Avengers but has never had much of a presence outside of comics. (That he's a perennial Marvel B-lister and his name is this close to "Wonder Woman" probably hasn't helped.) That gives co-creators Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Hawkeye) a lot of freedom to reshape the character here, keeping little beyond his non-superhero name and chosen profession: actor. The latter proves central to the series, which has a deep interest in the craft of performance and those who pursue it.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen) stars as Simon Williams, a sensitive actor whose professional struggles have nothing to do with his commitment to his job. In fact, as the series' opening scenes reveal, Simon has the opposite problem. Hired for a walk-on part in an episode of American Horror Story playing opposite Ashley Greene, Simon arrives armed with reams of research into his character and a series of tweaks he believes will improve his single scene. And he might be right, but when his suggested changes start to slow down the production, Simon finds himself without a job. When he returns home to find his girlfriend, Vivian (Olivia Thirlby), in the process of moving out, a bad day turns even worse.

But maybe it can still be rescued. A visit to a revival screening of Midnight Cowboy leads to a (seemingly) chance meeting with Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). And while, sure, the public knows Trevor best for the time he terrified the world by pretending to be a supervillain named the Mandarin (as seen in Iron Man 3), Simon's appreciation goes all the way back to the work he did on an obscure '70s British anthology series. What's more, Trevor shares the inside intel that the esteemed director Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić) is in the process of preparing to remake Wonder Man, an '80s science fiction classic with a special place in Simon's heart, in large part because his memories of the film are entwined with memories of his late father. Maybe it's not too late to audition?

8.3

Wonder Man

at Disney+

Like

• The terrific cast and unusual vibe

Dislike

• The leisurely approach can make it feel directionless once in a while

Simon's attempts to land his dream part and his relationship with Trevor, who's also angling for a spot in the film, hold the miniseries' focus for most of its unhurried eight episodes. Trevor serves first as a mentor to Simon and then as a friend as they bungle their way through the industry's lower reaches and bond over their shared passion for acting. Abdul-Mateen and Kingsley quickly develop a fun chemistry that makes hanging out with their characters a pleasure, whether the show is attempting insidery humor reminiscent of The Studio (complete with stars playing unflattering versions of themselves) or earnest character development. One episode even slows down to allow them to trade favorite monologues, from King Lear to The Grapes of Wrath to Amadeus. It's kind of lovely.

It's often easy to forget, particularly in the early episodes, that, oh yeah, Wonder Man is also an MCU show. But superpowered tensions simmer throughout the series, most related to the concerns of P. Cleary (Arian Moayed), a Department of Damage Control agent who needs to bring in individuals with threatening powers if he wants to keep his job. To that end, he has his eye on Simon, who has some superhuman abilities that he can't quite control and that he does his best to keep under wraps. Scoring a role in the Wonder Man movie will make this even more difficult, which creates another sort of tension. It's possible that Simon's dream coming true could also be his undoing.

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Even after deemphasizing the action and largely pushing superpowers aside in its early episodes, Wonder Man's creative team keeps the series unpredictable. One episode tells the sad story of Doorman (Byron Bowers), a club security guard whose unusual gifts land him a high-profile acting role but whose stardom has unintended consequences (both for himself and a major guest star from a Disney animated classic). Even when the plot clicks fully into gear the show doesn't lose its personality with an action-packed, effects-heavy final act, a problem that's dogged even some of the MCU's quirkier TV series. Wonder Man remains its own thing from beginning to end, a hangout show in no hurry to move along and all the better for it. Let others save the world. Simon and Trevor have lines to run and blocking to figure out.

Premieres: All eight episodes premiere Tuesday, Jan. 27 on Disney+
Who's in it: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Kinglsey
Who's behind it: Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Guest
For fans of: Offbeat buddy comedies set in a comic book-inspired world
How many episodes we watched: 8 of 8