Why you can trust TechRadar
We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you're buying the best. Learn more about how we test.
Light spoilers follow for all eight episodes of wonder man.
2026 is a big year for Marvel. With its cinematic universe struggling to rediscover the consistency that defined its first decade, there has never been so much pressure on highly anticipated films like Avengers: Judgment Day and Spider-Man: New Day so that people return to his side.
And yet it falls wonder manthe first Disney+ show of the year from the comics giant, to convince casual fans that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is worth continuing or returning to. It is a wonderful thing, then, that wonder man is a franchise-disrupting metatextual caper that is arguably the studio's most creative television original since WandaVision.
I was born to play this character.
Produced under the Marvel Spotlight banner, wonder man introduces us to Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a hapless and capricious actor struggling to get work in the Hollywood version of the MCU.
Williams' tortured nature is captured with perfect intensity and seriousness by Abul-Mateen II
When Williams learns that Oscar-winning director Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić) is remaking 'Wonder Man,' an in-universe movie that is also his favorite film of all time, Williams vows to land the lead role. Well, as long as he can keep his biggest secret, as one of wonder manThe teasers confirmed that he possesses real superpowers, secretly.
Having superhuman abilities should be an advantage for a project like this, right? Not if you're Simon Williams, a serial overthinker whose passion for his craft often makes him difficult to deal with personally and professionally.
His inability to get regular work and his tendency to lose the roles he lands due to a passion interpreted as overzealous interference are, unsurprisingly, emotionally destabilizing moments for Williams. Add in his demonstrably powerful abilities that appear whenever he experiences negative emotions, and that's a recipe for disaster.
That's especially true if Williams' abilities ever manifest while on set. The reason? Enhanced people are prohibited from working in Hollywood, so it's not the ideal profession for Williams, whose tortured nature is captured with perfect intensity and seriousness by wonder manThe main star of Abdul-Mateen II.
wonder man However, it is as much Trevor Slattery's (Ben Kingsley) story as it is Williams's.
A failed actor and recovering substance abuser whom we first met as the fake terrorist The Mandarin in Iron Man 3Slattery is an important cog in Williams' journey and in the broader narrative of the Marvel Phase 6 show.
Slattery is the outrageous fulcrum of many of Wonder Man's antics.
Arrested by the Department of Damage Control (DoDC) at an airport after his redemption arc in Shang-ChiSlattery is forced to help the American government superhuman surveillance agency track Williams, whom he believes is a very dangerous individual.
However, instead of positioning Slattery as a main supporting character, Marvel installs Kingsley as the series' co-lead. It is a narrative decision that not only allows wonder man thoroughly examine the background, personality and motives of this enigmatic and eccentric character in greater detail than before, but also plays to Kingsley's strengths as an actor.
Taking advantage of the British icon's extensive affiliation with the Royal Shakespeare Company and his penchant for playing characters as straight as possible, wonder man gives Kingsley a stage to really shine. Equipped with Slattery's awkward, unfiltered personality, Kingsley is also the outrageous fulcrum of the various antics that follow.
just the two of us
Armed with any of these lovely but lost souls, wonder man It would be a fascinating watch. The resolution to build its plot around both, then, is a match made in heaven.
The decision to build the Wonder Man plot around Williams and Slattery is a match made in heaven.
From their initial meetings in a midnight cowboy screening and then the 'Wonder Man' auditions, where Slattery, full of regret, takes pity on Williams as he struggles to maintain his composure, are a fascinatingly mismatched pairing that deserves to be added to the MCU's ever-growing collection of charming double acts.
A two-player game in all but name, it's the kind of odd-couple dynamic that doesn't come around often, but produces all kinds of on-screen fireworks from the start.
It is a bond initially formed by their mutual love for their craft. Slattery sees his tactlessness and selfishness in Williams and uses his experience and calming influence to guide the less experienced actor through the murky world of Hollywood. However, it's not long before their student-teacher relationship develops into a genuine bromance, and like me, you'll soon be rooting for them to succeed individually and collectively.
You'll soon be rooting for Williams and Slattery to succeed individually and collectively.
That being said, I admit that my desire to support them was strained at times. Whether it's the emotionally unavailable Williams occasionally shutting out his mentor, or Slattery's duplicity in trying to keep Williams and the DoDC on his side (honestly, at one point, I really thought Slattery would completely betray his new friend), theirs is a company shaken by numerous outside forces. Ultimately, though, the earnestness of their buddy-cop dynamic, plus the hardships these tragic characters have endured, is what will make you root for them.
And all the world's a stage
With its intimate, dual-character approach, study first, wonder man plays more like a tragicomedy with sitcom elements than a scathing commentary on the Hollywood corporate machine.
Wonder Man doesn't hold up a mocking mirror to Hollywood the same way The Studio does
Sure, wonder manThe metatextual layers run deep and don't shy away from the cutthroat nature of the entertainment business. However, this is not a project that breaks the fourth wall. She-Hulk: lawyer or the deadpool the movies are. Nor does it hold up a mocking mirror to Hollywood in the same way that The study does. Although it's funny to laugh out loud wonder man That is to say, it's neither as outrageously chaotic nor wildly hilarious in its industry dismantling as the Apple TV Original, nor as scathingly satirical of the superhero genre as Prime Video's adaptation of the boys is.
I do not consider that these are faults that wonder man possesses, but Marvel's latest offering for the small screen is not beyond reproach.
For one, Williams and Slattery are absent. Twilight Zone-that fourth episode provides context for one of wonder manEarly mysteries, but it stops its main narrative just when it's really starting to gain momentum. Similarly, while his circumnavigation of Williams' complicated comic book history makes for an easier introduction to the MCU for the character, this departure from the source material will irritate some Marvel Comics purists.
And then there's the finale, which has the same problem that has plagued other Marvel TV Originals on one of the world's best streaming services. To its credit, it foregoes the archetypal – not to say predictable – CGI confrontation between hero and villain, which is a welcome departure from the Disney subsidiary's usual television model.
However, just another five to 10 minutes showing how Williams has grown as an individual over the course of its eight episodes would have helped its pacing and kept it from rushing toward an ending that can be perceived as somewhat anticlimactic.
my verdict
Look
Ultimately, though, those drawbacks didn't stop me from having a lot of fun with wonder man. Pardon the pun, but it's a wonderfully executed bit of television that is both a celebration of the performing arts and a revealing look behind the curtain of an industry that continues to entertain us to this day.
It may be a bit short in terms of running time, and its narrative flow is a bit uneven, especially in the first half. But, armed with a charismatic leading couple working flat out and a story that will resonate with anyone who has set out to achieve their wildest dreams and achieved it, wonder man He deserves a standing ovation for proving that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it and have a little help along the way.
wonder man launches in full on Tuesday, January 27 (North and South America) and Wednesday, January 28 (everywhere else). For more information on the series ahead of release, read my guide to everything we know about wonder man.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
