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.
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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!