Wonder Man, Season 1, Episode 1: Matinee
This is an interesting concept for a Marvel TV show, and one that I didn't really pay much attention to when it was announced. Marvel fatigue hit me as it did everyone, and with the lowering quality of the MCU content in the past half-decade or so, I just never really took to this one. Not knowing much about Wonder Man beyond his role in the excellent Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon didn't really help matters.
And... this is a different concept, if nothing else, meant to be a show that takes place in the Marvel Universe more than anything; similar to how Agents of SHIELD or Runaways were originally pitched as. Or at least that's how it begins -- I'm writing these reviews more or less as I watch the episodes.
We start off showing a bad-tokusatsu-show of 'Wonder Man', a superhero in the cinema. One of the fans watching the show would grow up into aspiring actor, our protagonist Simon Williams. And we instantly get thrust into a rather excellent -- if sad -- showcase of a 'cringey' scene as Williams gets overly enthusiastic about his role and the implications of his characters and props and whatnot... all for the role of a victim in a monster TV show with maybe two minutes of screentime. This leads to a discussion as he goes so deep into this side-character about how the professor would act or behave or maybe some kind of deep backstory or perhaps this textbook doesn't suit the character...
...and you know what? I get him. I'm embarrassed for him, but I also get him.
What, you think someone who writes so much about the minutiae about video game monsters and superhero TV shows in a blog wouldn't get this portrayal of an actor that hyperfixates on becoming this character? Of course I get him.
Simon, unfortunately, disrupts the schedule of the filming so much that even though some members of the cast and crew are willing to entertain him, the director ends up being so ticked off that she fires Simon. Admittedly, she really could have put her foot down and forced filming to happen, but we wouldn't have conflict otherwise. Almost as if to kick Simon in the nuts, his girlfriend leaves him. Which was a bit over-the-top, but okay.
Simon then goes into a cinema hall, and runs into Trevor "Fake Mandarin" Slattery. Always loved the idea of Trevor returning for something more, with Ben Kingsley being a fantastic actor and a very welcome addition to the cast of this show. Simon recognizes Trevor and strikes up a quick friendship with him, and Trevor ends up telling Simon about an opportunity of them doing a remake of 'Wonder Man'.
Excited and passionate about this, we go through a couple of scenes as Simon hunts down his agent, then fakes an audition call, before showing up in the audition. Simon goes through his 'methods' of diving super-duper in-depth into the character of Wonder Man, ending in a bit of a paralysis as he's trying to dive too deep into the minutiae of the script he was handed. Trevor, having finished his own audition, pulls Simon into the bathroom and gives him some pointers -- essentially telling him to stop overthinking, do some breathing pre-game exercises, and let instinct takes over.
And Simon does so. I think he doesn't even read the script, but gives his own rendition of the 'classic' Wonder Man movie he watched with his dad.
The episode ends with a calm, quiet sequence as Simon and Trevor catch up at a restaurant, with a lot of discussion about acting and passion. And as Simon heads off, Trevor gets a call from a mysterious person. Even while Trevor is flippant about it, it's clear that he's being sent to make contact with Trevor for some mysterious reason... and that Simon has superpowers. Dun dun dunnnn!
And honestly... the superpowers stuff does take a backseat, and that was unironically what drew me in. There's probably some talk about how Wonder Man is a meta-commentary and addresses the 'superhero genre fatigue'... I don't think I would go so far as saying that, at least not with the couple of episodes I've watched before writing this first episode review. It certainly is about making a superhero movie, but it's more about exploring Simon's role as an actor more than anything. Perhaps there's some movie-making commentary about how much the actors (and maybe even the directors?) want to improvise or explore about the characters before Big Disney wags the finger at them? I honestly, genuinely do not care about any of those, just noting that these themes exist more than anything.
No, what's far more interesting is the charming setup behind the passionate-but-flawed character of Simon Williams, played by the excellent Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Great performance that steals the show; and as I mentioned above, Ben Kingsley is always a delight to have... anywhere. It's a really easy, if slower, show to get into.
(I'll get to reviewing Daredevil: Born Again once I've watched the show; currently very behind on a lot of stuff. I did watch Wonder Man as the show premiered, but didn't get to do timely reviews.)
Marvel Easter Eggs Corner:
- In the comics, Wonder Man / Simon Williams was a crooked business rival of Tony Stark that was tricked by Baron Zemo into being transformed into a metahuman to infiltrate the Avengers. Getting a crisis of conscience, Williams would betray Zemo's Master of Evil, and the resulting conflict put him into a coma. (This comatose state would later lead to his brainwaves being used to create Vision). He would later be revived, and become an actor with his superpowers, which allowed him to perform his own stunts.
- Wonder Man was almost in the MCU as a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, with Nathan Fillon playing him -- although not in a major role, but rather as an in-universe show.
- The Wonder Man movie/show seen in the beginning has the title character wear a costume based on the comic-book Wonder Man suit.
- Trevor Slattery, a.k.a. the false Mandarin, was last seen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and has returned to the United States at some point. He mentions his most notable role of the Mandarin to Simon.
- Simon mentions having seen Slattery act in Omnibus as Edgar Allan Poe. This is actually a real show, where Slattery's actor Ben Kingsley really did act in as Poe.
- Simon walks past Mann's Chinese Theater, which was blown up by Aldrich Killian's agents in Iron Man 3.
- One of the posters in Hollywood was for 'Rogers: The Musical', seen and mentioned several times in Hawkeye.
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