WONDER MAN: 5 Things You Need To Know About The Character Before His MCU Debut

Yesterday, news broke that a Wonder Man TV series is coming to Disney+, and with many of you not overly familiar with the character, we're breaking down everything you need to know about Simon Williams.

By JoshWilding - Jun 17, 2022 12:06 PM EST

Filed Under: Avengers

A little more than 24 hours ago, word broke that Marvel Studios is developing a Wonder Man Disney+ series from the creative team of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton and writer Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine-Nine). As one of the few classic Avengers from the 1960s not to have appeared in the MCU, fans are very excited about the character's debut.

However, there are also many people who aren't quite so familiar with Simon Williams. It's understandable; after all, he's somewhat faded into obscurity in recent years, and doesn't quite have the same level of recognition as many other members of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Make no mistake about it, though, he's not just a "male Wonder Woman." Simon has a storied history in the Marvel Universe as a hero, villain, brother, and Hollywood A-Lister, and the potential to be your new favourite superhero in the MCU. So, if you need a refresher on who this guy is or just want to know why the heck you should care, we have you covered with this in-depth breakdown.

To learn more about Wonder Man, all you guys need to do is click on the "Next" button below.

5. Villain Turned Hero

Simon first appeared in the pages of Avengers #9 way back in 1964. After he was ousted from his struggling family company for embezzling millions of dollars, Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil took a keen interest in the corrupt businessman due to his hatred of Tony Stark (whose cutting-edge Stark Industries inventions had surpassed those of Williams Innovations)

Zemo gave Simon superpowers by bombarding him with "Ionic Rays," but included a failsafe that meant his underling would need regular treatments from the villain to stop his body from breaking down and killing him.

Infiltrating The Avengers by posing as a hero following a staged battle with the Masters of Evil, Simon would eventually come clean and refused to betray Earth's Mightiest Heroes after forming a bond with them. As a result, he died shortly after being introduced and was remembered as a hero. Of course, death is rarely permanent in comic books...

4. Some Formidable Powers

Don't let Wonder Man's appearance fool you; he's an absolute powerhouse. Zemo's experiments on Simon far surpassed his initial expectations and ultimately made him as powerful as Thor. He's essentially immortal and invulnerable, and as the years progressed, even gained the ability to transform into pure ionic energy.

He can fly and shoot energy beams, and Captain Marvel is a pretty good comparison for how we expect to see him portrayed in the MCU. There are downsides to his powers as well, though, as Wonder Man would later grow mentally unstable and turn on his fellow Avengers after his energy levels started wildly fluctuating (at one point, he grew so powerful that he could teleport at will).

A formidable hand-to-hand combatant, Simon has an advanced degree in electrical engineering and ultimately regained his fortune by returning to his family's weapons company. Throw in the fact that he's a successful movie star (we'll get to that), and Wonder Man has quite a bit in common with the charismatic Tony Stark as well.

3. A Complicated Family

In reality, Wonder Man didn't actually die. His body eventually reformed itself and he went into a state of suspended animation. It was at this point he fell into the hands of his older brother Eric. Blaming The Avengers for what happened to Simon, Eric became the Grim Reaper and formed the Lethal Legion in a bid to make Earth's Mightiest Heroes pay.

Things got even more complicated when, during this period, Ultron created The Vision. However, he did so using a record of Simon's memories and personality, essentially making Simon the basis for this synthezoid. Over the years, the three would come to regard each other as brothers, though to say they had a complicated relationship would be an understatement.

For example, still believing Simon to be permanently comatose, Grim Reaper offered Vision the chance to have his mind placed in Simon's body so he could be human...if he betrayed The Avengers. Years later, Eric would target the synthezoid in a bid for revenge, only to be killed by Vision's wife. As noted, Wonder Man himself has also flirted with villainy in recent years.

2. Avenger

Rejoining The Avengers following his resurrection, Wonder Man became close friends with Beast and was a huge part of the team for several years. That extended to a stint with the West Coast Avengers, though he'd later sign up to be part of a group known as Force Works (where Simon embarked on a romance with the Scarlet Witch...his brother The Vision's ex-wife).

Another apparent death would follow, though it was Wanda Maximoff who was responsible for bringing Simon back this time. That only helped make him more powerful, and he's since been a member of the team on a sporadic basis.

However, we should also note that he formed a team of villains called The Revengers, a group made up of characters like D-Man, Anti-Venom, Virtue, Captain Ultra, Goliath, Atlas, Devil-Slayer, and Century. Given Wonder Man's penchant for not always fighting on the side of angels, we can't help but wonder whether this complicated Avenger will be a Thunderbolt in the MCU...

1. Hollywood Hero

Wonder Man is a hero, but he's also extremely arrogant and not always the best teammate. Perhaps that explains why he fit in so well in Hollywood because, after moving to the West Coast with his fellow Avengers, Simon found great success as an actor and stuntman. His attitude only worsened after becoming a celebrity, but this could be the perfect basis for a Disney+ series.

While we hope you're now a lot more familiar with who Simon Williams is, you've probably realised that much of his backstory is likely to be changed for the MCU. There are already rumblings that there are plans for this show to be a "Hollywood satire," so Simon being a successful actor who winds up with superpowers could be a fascinating journey to take the character on.

Throw in a possible descent into villainy and his connection to characters like Grim Reaper, the Scarlet Witch, and even Carol Danvers (they also had a brief romance), and there's a lot Wonder Man can bring to the table here. Don't overlook this series, because it should be a good one!

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30 Comments

HAUSMAN01 - 6/17/2022, 12:09 PM

I'd cast

Henry Golding, Zac

Efron,Ben

Barnes,

Jensen Ackles,or Bob

Morely in this role

soberchimera - 6/17/2022, 12:22 PM

@HAUSMAN01 - They should get the dude who played Supersonic in The Boys.

HAUSMAN01 - 6/20/2022, 2:15 PM

@soberchimera - I'd actually be down with that casting although now that you brought Miles Gaston Villanueva

up I can see him as Ezra's eventual replacement down the line as Barry Allen,

DC's Hal Jordan,Cap.

ATOM, MCU's Human Torch

,Hyperion https://www.theilluminerdi.com/ezoimgfmt/lh6.googleusercontent.com/MVX7yU9Yj9c6riWXbjLuRxHhs-WrIJFb6O5qXwWnafmCzdkjMwblswgGWOklnhaCv59420Xd9VNJmNhlcc4JrGB9RSDxlA8cYf4DBx3VFEiHFWnP3-_uT24qsDTa6mClFflMcqTK?ezimgfmt=rs:721x375/rscb1/ng:webp/ngcb1 ,or NOVA

Goldboink - 6/17/2022, 12:15 PM

Do we need this?

The72nd - 6/17/2022, 12:21 PM

@Goldboink - nah dude we don’t “need” any of this shit

Goldboink - 6/17/2022, 12:37 PM

@The72nd -
Um, OK, do we WANT this?

Urubrodi - 6/17/2022, 12:42 PM

@Goldboink - YES! Satisfied?

boogiefett - 6/17/2022, 3:04 PM

@The72nd - absolutely don’t need any of this ! But they have us hooked like a crackhead 😂😂😂😩😂😂😂

Captainhulk1 - 6/17/2022, 12:36 PM

Another series? Isn't phase 4 enough of a giant mess?

Urubrodi - 6/17/2022, 12:42 PM

@Captainhulk1 - Nah, keep them coming

thewanderer - 6/17/2022, 1:15 PM

@Captainhulk1 - not to everyone.

GhostDog - 6/17/2022, 12:40 PM

Chewtoy - 6/17/2022, 12:56 PM

Wonder Man was a character created to die in his first appearance, and it shows in that recap above.

He was originally brought back to life to torment the Vision by making him question his identity (and also to stick it to DC for using the name “Power Girl”, according to long standing legend.). As a character himself, he never really had a central concept to him…. He was supposed to be disposable. Hence his “Jack of all trades” nature to the recap…. Now that he was back, writers kept trying to find an angle for him that had some traction.

The one that actually carved out any kind of unique place for him was the Actor role. I’m not at all surprised that it’s what the MCU version of the character would focus on.

bkmeijer1 - 6/17/2022, 12:57 PM

I really wonder what this show is gonna be about. I want his villain history and Grim Reaper, but I can easily see this be about him being a superhero movie star right away

thewanderer - 6/17/2022, 1:16 PM

@bkmeijer1 - I can't profess to know lot about Wonder Man. Was he ever a Thunderbolt? Could this lead into that?

bkmeijer1 - 6/17/2022, 3:07 PM

@thewanderer - I think he was part of Zemo's Masters of Evil at one point in EMH, and given that the MoE are closely tied to the Thunderbolts, I could see this show tie into the upcoming movie

Chewtoy - 6/17/2022, 3:46 PM

@thewanderer - He was given powers by the elder, Nazi Baron Zemo, not the one that formed the Thunderbolts. As noted, his original “villain” status didn’t last an entire issue. He premiered, joined the Avengers in order to betray them, changed his mind and died all in Avengers #9. He didn’t come back to life for more than 100 issues, and was a team good guy from then on until at least 2000. Died a few more times in there as well.

If he became an actual villain, it was in more recent times.

thundershocked - 6/17/2022, 1:45 PM

Finally!!!!! My favorite avenger. I'm so ready for this.

I hope they don't make him too "Peter Quill".

GhostSurfer - 6/17/2022, 2:00 PM

Jensen Ackles 100% for this role. He needs a big role and this fits him much better than Cyclops would.

LSHF - 6/17/2022, 2:03 PM

All I "need to know" is what Marvel Studios wants me to know, through the film/show, synopsis, and interviews.

IcePyke - 6/17/2022, 2:48 PM

Better boyfriend than Wanda's walking sex toy.

Winston19 - 6/17/2022, 2:50 PM

How many times will Josh repeat this article before the show comes out in next year or the year after. But thank god Josh told us these 5 important things now

boogiefett - 6/17/2022, 3:19 PM

Anyone else think Phase 4 has been somewhat of a sloppy output?

GeneralZod - 6/17/2022, 3:50 PM

@boogiefett - It's been unimpressive, with a couple of minor exceptions (Shang-Chi was OK; Loki was great, but not new; FATWS (not new)). I was thinking about this earlier today. Time to get the original band back:

boogiefett - 6/17/2022, 4:23 PM

@GeneralZod - yes original band back and more aggressive Hulk - Loki was great - TFATWS was cool - MoM was a bit of a disappointment- Wasn’t really feeling Shang-Chi- Spider-Man was ok -bring the original band back (which I’m sure they won’t / can’t do) and better scripts / plot lines 🤷🏽‍♂️

Corruptor - 6/17/2022, 6:07 PM

Not sure about this, interesting character... different background than most other heroes (actor). But so much Avengers connections, Zemo, Grim Reaper, Vision, Wanda etc...his death and resurrection... it seems like this should be established before a solo TV series like in the comics the dude never got a solo series for decades... so lots of scope for them to ruin this/ignore source material/"put muh stamp on it" (delete as applicable).
I did like Simon in the late 70s Avengers issues, let's hope he's still recognisable.

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WONDER MAN: 5 Things You Need To Know About The Character Before His MCU Debut

Yesterday, news broke that a Wonder Man TV series is coming to Disney+, and with many of you not overly familiar with the character, we're breaking down everything you need to know about Simon Williams.

5. Villain Turned Hero

4. Some Formidable Powers

3. A Complicated Family

2. Avenger

1. Hollywood Hero

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