Wonder Man - Season 1

Watch on Disney+

Episodes: 8 twenty-six to thirty-six minute episodes

Rated TV-14

Simon Williams, a struggling actor and enhanced individual, is navigating the cutthroat Hollywood industry looking for his big break. Unfortunately, he gets “into character” a little too well, which keeps costing him roles. Working with Trevor Slattery, from Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Simon pursues a life-changing role in a remake directed by film legend Von Kovak. Little does he know, Trevor is up to something which is going to make it difficult to balance his secret life as an ion-powered superhuman. 

Themes:

Acting, classic movies, method acting, getting into character, subtext, breakups, the process, trying out, the Department of Damage Control, family, superheroes, contracts, lawsuits, blackmail, The Mandarin, remakes, Wonder Man: the movie, scripts, believing in oneself, self-awareness, callbacks, one’s past, secrets, Hollywood, family, immigrants, interviews, art, diversion, and betrayal.

Language:

A*s - 6 B*tch - 1 D*ck - 3 D*mn - 17 Hell - 25 Sh*t - 35 Religious Exclamations - 6

Words like screw, blow, bloody, and sucks are used. The f-word is almost said. The word “mother…” and then the f-word is not heard. AF is also said.

Stuff to be aware of:

Alcohol/Drugs - Two characters drink together in a bar. One character mentions that another character was “high.”

In episode four, multiple characters drink in a nightclub.

In episode five, a character is confronted by his drug dealers, who list off a bunch of drugs he owes money for. Angel dust is mentioned later. A character mentions, “Coke shot up my bung hole.”

Scary - There is a brief black and white flashback seen that is more bizarre, but could be scary. A character blacks up and wakes up at home and his dog disappears. It isn’t meant to be scary, but could be.

A building catches on fire, and people are trapped inside.

Sexual - There is a very, very brief glimpse of a woman in a bikini top. Simon lives with a woman, but as soon as you meet her, she is moving out. One character mentions, “your process can go blow a spider.” One character mentions that, “they won’t have the balls to make another one.”

In episode three, a character mentions debt due to prostitutes.

In episode four, a woman is seen in a towel. In one scene, a woman comments, “I think he wants us inside him.”

Violence - Simon beats up a group of men who are trying to kill him and his friend.

In episode six, Simon punches a hole through a man’s face, but there is no blood or gore. Actually, the inside of the man’s head looks fake. Spoiler, this doesn’t really happen, but is just his imagination. This is why it doesn't look real.

Seeing It With Your Family

This is about on par with most MCU movies and shows these last few years. My family felt there was more cursing in this than in other MCU projects, but I think it is about on par with the last few, like Iron Heart.

What I Thought

I haven’t enjoyed a Marvel Cinematic Universe show this much in a while. Sometimes, a low-stakes, character-driven show is just what a universe needs to get back on track. It hits all the right beats, has some meta humor, and builds on the MCU in more of a cultural way, instead of a major world-building introduction of a new villain way.

Ahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley have some of the best chemistry we have seen in the MCU in years. The way they play off each other, mixed with a script that sees them building a long-lasting friendship, hits all the right notes and gives us a team you’ll want to see more of.

Seeing Trevor develop on screen and looking back at how far his character has come is also very fulfilling. Many fans did not like the “surprise twist” in Iron Man 3 that the Mandarin was not real. Then Trevor coming back in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings started a redemptive arc for the character, but also the Mandarin story. He and Simon both grow over the course of the season and the character development feels natural and not forced or written to progress the story.

I hope we see more of Wonder Man and Trevor in the future.