Wonder Man: Review

Marvel's move into the TV world has largely been one that's yielded mixed results.

A penchant for mixing both event moments and reveals with smaller-scale storytelling has led to a feeling that the MCU is unsure of its future, pegged as it is on an Avengers foundation that it's never been able to shake.

Its latest series, Wonder Man, feels like a curious, and at times aimless, approach to the world it inhabits and one that weirdly, under the Marvel Spotlight, seems like it's disconnected from the wider world - where it not for one recurring character within.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams, a would-be actor who can't seem to get a big break, largely due to the fact he's unable to get out of his own way. Scoring a part on American Horror Story, he's promptly cut from the entire thing after he questions what his character's back story is, his motivation and how he should lie as a body in what is essentially a minor league part. 

After being dumped by his girlfriend as he won't let her in, he meets Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery, aka The actor who played The Mandarin in Iron Man 3, at a screening and the two form a friendship mentor relationship as they negotiate auditioning - and trying to audition - for a remake of Simon's favourite 1980s movie Wonder Man.

And that's really it for plot for the Wonder Man 8-part miniseries, a show that in truth, feels lost and disappointingly aimless throughout. 

Not srrongly enough written to maintain a satirical approach to Hollywood, despite a running gag that people only recognise Trevor as the Mandarin (a would-be joke of typecasting perhaps that feels limp), Wonder Man, despite its 30-minute episode durations, seems to have no wider ties to the MCU and therefore no real purpose under the brand.

While the chemistry between Kingsley and Abdul-Mateen II is nicely realised and their relationship is formed on a series of lies and hidden truths, the series leads to an ending that feels anti-climactic and certainly not one that leaves you wanting more or desperate to see what happens next.

Mixing in real Hollywood names and moments (Josh Gad has a major part in one) but oddly feeling like none of it is cohesive enough to gel, it fails its own audition as a series - and really does leave you wondering - what on earth is Marvel thinking with this series, what's its purpose and what really does it serve.

Marvel's Wonder Man releases all eight episodes on January 28 on Disney+. All 8 were reviewed for the purposes of this article.