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WONDER MAN: Episodes 1.1-1.3

“Relatable and Uplifting”

Family Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

None Light Moderate Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

WONDER MAN is a fascinating superhero drama streaming on Disney+. The series is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and follows an American actor, Simon Williams, as he struggles in Hollywood. He meets British actor Trevor Slattery, who tells him about auditions for the remake of an old superhero movie named Wonder Man, which Simon watched as a child. While hiding a secret, Simon jumps at this career-defining opportunity, but Trevor has a secret of his own. The episodes do an incredible job with directing, features snappy writing, and excellent acting.

The first three episodes of Season One of WONDER MAN contain a light moral worldview where a character helps another achieve success in his career. The episodes also extol friendship, love, family, and encourage sobriety from alcohol. However, there is a reference to fate working in someone’s life. Mercifully, no one blasphemes the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of the language and deceit, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children, including young teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Content:

(B, Ro, LLL, V, A, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

A light moral worldview where a character helps another achieve success in his career, also extols friendship, love, family, and alcohol sobriety. However, there is a romantic elements with a reference to fate working in someone’s life;

Foul Language:

Strong foul language, five uses of the ”d” word, seven uses of the “h” word, six uses of bloody, four uses of the “shit”, two uses of the “a” word, one use of “screw this up,” two uses of bloody h*ll, one freakin’, two uses of “BS,” one screwed, one use of “d*cking,” one use of “grown-a**”;

Violence:

Strong action violence, a character punches and kicks other characters with several of them dead, including one who falls off a cliff, and characters shoot lasers, but there is no blood. Two officers tase, tackle, and cuff a man. A building has smoke with flames, a character who shoots another off-screen, a building shakes, a character smashes a table.

Sex:

No sex;

Nudity:

None, but upper male nudity picture on a mural;

Alcohol Use:

A man drinks a small glass of alcohol at a bar;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking and/or drug use and abuse; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

A character snoops another’s email inbox and lies to get on an audition list. A character talks about how someone had him whip another’s backside and how things got weird. A character says he stole a skull and talks about drug and prostitution debts.

More Detail:

WONDER MAN is a fascinating superhero drama streaming on Disney+. The series is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and follows an American actor, Simon Williams, as he struggles in Hollywood. He meets British actor Trevor Slattery, who tells him about auditions for the remake of an old superhero movie named Wonder Man, which Simon watched as a child. While hiding a secret, Simon jumps at this career-defining opportunity, but Trevor has a secret of his own.

In the first episode, “Matinee”, struggling actor Simon Williams meets Trevor Slattery and learns that Hollywood is holding open auditions for the remake of his favorite superhero movie. In the second episode, “Self-Tape”, Trevor helps Simon record a self-tape for an audition that Simon’s agent, Janelle, booked for him. In the third episode, “Pacoima”, Trevor asks Simon if he can go with him to Simon’s mom’s birthday party and gets an inside look at the Williams family dynamic.

This first three episodes of the debut season of WONDER MAN have a different flavor than MCU fans and discerning viewers will appreciate. Even though it takes place after SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, Destin Daniel Cretton returns to direct, and Sir Ben Kingsley reprises his comedic character Trevor Slattery, WONDER MAN makes the conscious and surprising choice to turn this into a relatable story about a man in pursuit of his passion. Actors and anyone who struggles to find work will relate to this series with a meta-edge.

The episodes do an incredible job with directing, features snappy writing, and excellent acting. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams sells his performance and plays a much more likable character compared to his villainous character Black Manta in the AQUAMAN movies. Ben Kingsley feels right at home in the MCU after his appearances in IRON MAN 3, ALL HAIL THE KING, and SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. X Mayo delivers a sassy presentation as Simon’s talent agent, Janelle Jackson, and Arian Moayed does not skip a beat as the sarcastic Department of Damage Control agent, P. Cleary, after his memorable work in SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME and MS. MARVEL. Joe Pantoliano from the MATRIX franchise has a fun cameo as a fictional version of himself.

This series goes by at a quick pace for better or for worse. On the one hand, it does a great job of keeping invested viewers engaged. On the other hand, a little more character development, including backstory, can help WONDER MAN shine brighter than it already does. However, MCU fans can breathe a sigh of relief that Marvel has another unique and refreshing hit on their hands with likable and endearing characters and a mysterious enough plot to keep them interested.

WONDER MAN has a light moral worldview where a character helps another achieve success in his career. It extols friendship, love, family, and encourages sobriety from alcohol. However, there is a reference to fate working in someone’s life. Mercifully, no one blasphemes the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of the language and deceit, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children, including young teenagers, and sensitive adults.