Marvel today is a multiverse of possibilities.Between animated series, series that point to a classic television format, streaming series, small movies, event films, collaborations with LEGO, there are hundreds of contents that go through the year with the Marvel logo in its introduction.That, as I see it, is pretty good: Marvel, as it historically was, is not synonymous with the Cinematic Universe.
Marvel is much more, and the share of positivity that the erosion of that universe brought is that it forced Disney and Marvel Studios to rethink their strategy and understand how they can turn the page to offer something new with characters that are already more than 100 years old.Wonder Man is one of the possible answers to that question.
To begin with, Wonder Man has a double-edged sword.An advantage in pursuit of his narrative and a disadvantage based on his audience: he is a completely unknown character.Most of the people who enjoy the UCM, the universe where this production is based, will not know who he is, what his powers are or what connection he has with the rest of the productions.The positive part of all this is that Wonder Man, like very few productions in this franchise, constantly demonstrates the absolute creative freedom with which it was made.
It is a series that has some connections, especially due to the character of Trevor Slattery (played by Ben Kingsley), who has already participated in IronMan 3 (2013) and Shang-Chi (2021), but it could be a series that is never mentioned again and would work in the same way.It is self-contained, deep and intends to be a series that goes beyond the topic of superheroes to be an introspective drama.
Wonder Man tells the story of Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul Mateen II), a meticulous actor trying to make a living in a Hollywood that increasingly consumes more and more of the humanity of the people who are part of it.In this process, he will meet the character of Trevor Slattery, an actor known for having played the Mandarin as a terrorist and who tries to erase that past.Together they are going to audition to be Wonder Man, a film about a superhero that marked both of their lives equally.
A special mention for the protagonist of the series, who not only has a solid performance but is very different from the characters we usually see in Marvel.He is an actor who has already played Black Manta in Aquaman and Doctor Manhattan in the Watchmen series, so we have him well located within the superhero universe, but in my opinion this is without a doubt his best version and performance at the helm of a production of this style.
Without a doubt, the most interesting thing about this series is the topic it touches on and the deep self-criticism it makes, even at times, of Marvel Studios itself.Wonder Man is an open letter to Hollywood, with love and resentment, highlighting the good and bad that happens within an industry that long ago became much more than it originally wanted to be.
In that interval are the characters.Simon Williams has a personal journey: his passion lies in a profession in which he, on paper, could not be.His superpower doesn’t allow it.Similar to what happens with the Hulk, his emotions work against him and threaten the safety of those around him, but it is at the same time those same emotions that he has to put into play to do what he loves.
The character of Trevor acts as a connection with the rest of the MCU, closing one of the most controversial decisions in the history of this saga, which was to turn the Mandarin into, basically, a clown.The character is charged with emotion and Ben Kingsley’s performance raises the level of this series a lot to give us some of the rawest moments we have seen in terms of character relationships.
Beyond all this, I encountered several internal conflicts when watching Wonder Man. First of all, the structure of the series is very strange. There are episodes designed to make you understand specific things, with plots that are never returned to.There are wasted characters, and unnecessarily there is a resolution that is left open when everything had been closed with a bow and in a spectacular way.
It doesn’t seem to me that Wonder Man is among the best series that Marvel has made, but it does seem to me that it is an accomplished and very different series, which is highly valued in this desert of ideas that Marvel has transformed in recent years.The intention to go back to basics and try to offer fresh things is very noticeable, and in many areas, such as animation, they are achieving it.You just need to sharpen your most powerful weapon.
The next thing from Marvel in live action will be the second season of Daredevil, The Punisher special, the Vision series and, finally, Avengers: Doomsday. There are few things compared to previous years, but I think it is a necessary respite.Wonder Man was the first approval of the year, now all that remains is for them to maintain this level of quality for all the rest of their productions.
