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brightknightie) wrote2026-02-14 08:02 am
brightknightie) wrote2026-02-14 08:02 am
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Wonder Man review (no spoilers)
I finished watching Wonder Man on Disney+ last night (8 episodes, ~30 minutes each). I enjoyed it and I recommend it to general viewers. I think it's very good television. Kudos all around to the creators. I was never fully sure how to think of it until the final episode; the final episode now makes me want to watch it over again with that surety of the thematic and structural lens in place.
It's a thoughtful, self-contained, character-driven, "street level" story of unlikely friendship and self-discovery between two actors, one at the beginning of his career and the other at the end. But, as you know, that makes it also unique, different, unlike what the presumed audience has been taught to expect. This is a clever slow burn, neither an action-adventure nor a sitcom, but a rich blend of tragedy and comedy in the classic senses. And I suspect that's exactly why the executives decided to keep it on the shelf for two years after it was completed, slap the "Marvel Spotlight" label on it, and dump out the entire series on one day instead of releasing one episode per week for buzz to grow. They didn't know what they had because it doesn't look a lot like anything they've had before.
You don't have to know any MCU canon to enjoy this show (though of course knowledge yields fun side connections). And I don't know whether this show will contribute to any MCU canon going forward (though it most certainly could). It can stand on its own two feet as a complete and satisfying story, exactly as it should.
(BTW, for those of us who know the comics canon: almost nothing about comics!Simon carries through here except the names of his family members, the tone of his relationships and outlook, and of course his profession and powers, and that's FINE. I say this as the biggest Scarlet Witch fan you know. ~grin~)
It's a thoughtful, self-contained, character-driven, "street level" story of unlikely friendship and self-discovery between two actors, one at the beginning of his career and the other at the end. But, as you know, that makes it also unique, different, unlike what the presumed audience has been taught to expect. This is a clever slow burn, neither an action-adventure nor a sitcom, but a rich blend of tragedy and comedy in the classic senses. And I suspect that's exactly why the executives decided to keep it on the shelf for two years after it was completed, slap the "Marvel Spotlight" label on it, and dump out the entire series on one day instead of releasing one episode per week for buzz to grow. They didn't know what they had because it doesn't look a lot like anything they've had before.
You don't have to know any MCU canon to enjoy this show (though of course knowledge yields fun side connections). And I don't know whether this show will contribute to any MCU canon going forward (though it most certainly could). It can stand on its own two feet as a complete and satisfying story, exactly as it should.
(BTW, for those of us who know the comics canon: almost nothing about comics!Simon carries through here except the names of his family members, the tone of his relationships and outlook, and of course his profession and powers, and that's FINE. I say this as the biggest Scarlet Witch fan you know. ~grin~)
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(The executives apparently wanted to dump it as a tax write-off at one point. They truly didn't know how to handle something that dared go off-formula.)