There was significantly less backlash than usual (manufactured or otherwise) over the decision to cast Black actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the traditionally white Marvel superhero Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man. In an era of ardent fans finding any excuse to throw a tantrum, that’s both a relief and rarity. However, it also speaks to how far under-the-radar Williams has flown since being created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Don Heck in 1964, when he perished after his very first appearance. (He would be resurrected for a cameo eight years later.) However, the D-lister’s biggest weakness — his obscurity — turned out to be the greatest strength of Wonder Man, his recent show on Disney+, in which Williams, a struggling actor, becomes best buds with the former Mandarin, Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), the fake villain from Iron Man 3 (2013). That Williams is a “nobody” is both the core of his on-screen drama, and a major reason Marvel Studios could radically re-imagine him in the first place.
The tale of a self-absorbed actor with an ego too big for the small jobs in which he’s cast, the Wonder Man series follows Williams’ journey to landing the movie role of a lifetime: Wonder Man, a fictitious staple of American pop culture, introduced to him by his late immigrant father. For Williams, playing a superhero is a way to belong, as a lonely outsider, and a way to satisfy his lofty ambitions, which have long since become tied up in complex notions of identity. Wonder Man is the role he wants, needs, and deep down, believes he deserves — which is why he’s so eager to flatter and befriend the seemingly connected Slattery, a pseudo-celebrity wanted on federal charges for agreeing to play a fake militant. This is also why it’s easy for Slattery, now a secret informant for the Department of Damage Control, to ensnare him with promises of an audition in the hopes of exposing his superpowers, which William hopes to keep secret since they’re frowned upon on Hollywood sets.
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