Wonder Man

Wow. Simply phenomenal. I'll be the first to admit that my love for Marvel, particularly the MCU, and particularly their Disney+ original shows has only declined ever since the very first show five years ago, Wandavision (2021). I used to wake up at 3 AM one day a week to watch new episodes but after about a year and half of steadily decreasing quality in the television that Marvel was putting out, I lost interest. Not only that, but I lost interest in their films too and soon enough, I wasn't watching any of their shows at all. Sure, occasionally I'd check out something like Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025—Current) or *Marvel Zombies (2025), but overall, I was pretty disinterested in what the MCU was putting out in the realm of television. So I was definitely shocked to learn that a show with almost no proper marketing, that was being dumped onto the streaming service on one single day, was picking up so much traction, so much so, that people were already calling it the best MCU show ever. Naturally then, I knew I had to check out Wonder Man* (2026). First of all, the performances are genuinely phenomenal in this. I never thought I'd be praising the performances in a Disney+ original show this much but goddamn, Sir Ben Kingsley and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are electric in this. It's no surprise that Sir Ben Kingsley is one of the greatest actors not only of his generation but of all time, but he truly delivers in this show. It's not like one of those performances that's great for a Marvel show, but is mid otherwise—no, no, this is real acting. Trevor as a character is one I'm not very well versed in as I saw Iron Man 3 (2013) some five or six years ago and I've never actually seen 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but Sir Ben reinvents the character with so much energy and charm that you just fall in love with him in a way you'd never expect. He's also undoubtedly incredibly funny in this role and brings a very great emotional performance when necessary, leading to some of the most heartfelt and brutal moments in this thing. And then we have Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Holy shit this man is exceptional. I'm shocked at the fact that I didn't even know who he was before this show because he's really really good in this show. It's hard to share the screen with Sir Ben Kingsley and still manage to come out with people praising you but Yahya can do it. He understands the character so much and brings out a more vulnerable side to him, allowing the audience to witness not only what hurts Simon and troubles him from day to day, but also what makes Wonder Man tick. Plus, he's also very funny in this show, delivering some truly great lines and being able to share comedic energy with Sir Ben. Secondly, I adore the concept of this show. As someone who loves movies more than life itself, this show's real and unfiltered depiction of Hollywood and the film industry in the MCU is something that I adore. It reminds me so much of one of my favourite shows, The Studio (2025—Current), and that itself is enough to make it to my top four MCU shows ever, but what pushes Wonder Man to being my number one Marvel show of all time is the fact that it doesn't feel like a Marvel show. Now that may sound a bit pretentious coming from a former Marvel fanboy who's now a wannabe cinephile, but in all honesty, the Marvel formula has gotten stale to me. I mean, I remember when my dad used to complain how every single superhero movie is the same and I used to disagree, but nowadays, I kinda agree with him. Every single Marvel show ends with some type of huge CGI battle with a sky beam or something or the other—Wandavision, big red CGI sky; Loki (2021—2023), big green CGI tree that's also the timelines somehow; Moon Knight (2022), big CGI bird skeleton god and alligator god in front of big CGI pyramids and big CGI moon; She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), big CGI hulk breaking into a real Marvel Studios building by climbing out of Disney+... Ok that last one was very weird, but do you see a pattern? Nearly every single Marvel show does what all Marvel shows do and never changes up the formula. But Wonder Man is different. Not just the finale too, the whole season is not a superhero show at all. In fact it's a dramedy series that just so happens to have its main character be a superhero. And finally, let's talk about the direction. The cinematography in this is something that definitely sets it apart from other Marvel shows. Destin Daniel Cretton has secured himself as one of those directors that Marvel has been blessed with and should be greatful he's working with them because holy hell his vision is incredible. He knows exactly how to light things and block scenes, making each shot look and feel like ABSOLUTE CINEMA. Not just that, but how Cretton and Guest run this show, adapting storylines from the comics, original characters, and the struggles of being an up and coming actor, and making it all come together was hard work but they pulled it off. I'm amazed at how they got away with things like making an entire episode entirely in black and white about how a clause in Hollywood actor contracts came to be, and more importantly how they made it so damn entertaining, cautionary, and absolutely hilarious all at the same time. It's official, Wonder Man is my favourite MCU show of all time. I really can't wait for a season 2. I'm also on Serialized for TV shows! Acting is the sum of everything you've experiences. The joy. Sadness. Loss. Heartbreak TV Shows Ranked IB Level: 6- 4/5 **28 January 2026 - 30 January 2026 chymp**