--- title: 'Wonder Man' Review: The Best Disney+ Marvel Show Yet description: The Hollywood-set comedy starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley is not like other series in the franchise—in the best possible way canonical: https://time.com/7357468/wonder-man-review-disney-plus/ author: Judy Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-01-26T17:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:51:01.797Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'Wonder Man' Is the Best Disney+ Marvel Show Yet og:description: The comedy starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley is not like other series in the franchise—in the best way og:url: https://time.com/7357468/wonder-man-review-disney-plus/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ff6b6393c7c68ca/6998cd19f1b082445b6f2084/GCK2310_107_prores_31834_SrcSeqFrame_1906_R.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: WONDER MAN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Wonder Man' Is the Best Disney+ Marvel Show Yet twitter:description: The comedy starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley is not like other series in the franchise—in the best way twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ff6b6393c7c68ca/6998cd19f1b082445b6f2084/GCK2310_107_prores_31834_SrcSeqFrame_1906_R.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Wonder Man_ Is the Best Disney+ Marvel Series Yet > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Judy Berman](https://time.com/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Jan 26, 2026 5:00 PM UTC  Yahya Adbul-Mateen II and Sir Ben Kingsley in Wonder Man Yahya Adbul-Mateen II and Sir Ben Kingsley in Wonder ManMarvel Television  by [Judy Berman](https://time.com/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Jan 26, 2026 5:00 PM UTC A filmmaker auditioning leads for his next project has a philosophical insight. “Our ideas about heroes and gods, they only get in the way,” the eccentric Eastern European auteur Von Kovak (Zlatko Buric) lectures the actors assembled in his home for a day of offbeat dramatic exercises. “It’s too difficult to comprehend them. So, let’s get past them. Let’s find the human underneath.” This might not seem like such a profound realization for a lion of the festival circuit. But it feels downright revolutionary when you hear him say it in the new Disney+ Marvel dramedy _Wonder Man_. The MCU isn’t exactly known for getting past lofty ideas about heroes and gods. What is this guy even doing in this world, you might ask. In fact, he’s a key character in a show set not on a distant planet or in a grid of skyscrapers doomed to topple in a superpowered melee, but in a mostly realistic Los Angeles where the entertainment industry is still (and here you might have to [suspend your disbelief](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/los-angeles-hollywood-production-slipping-1236478609/)) based. _Wonder Man_, whose first season will stream in full on Jan. 27, is not like other [Disney+ Marvel projects](https://time.com/6319633/marvel-tv-shows-ranked/). Nor is it like the other Disney+ Marvel projects that were hyped as being _not like other Disney+ Marvel projects_ (see: [_Wandavision_](https://time.com/5929715/wandavision-review/)) but [ultimately abandoned](https://time.com/5942708/wandavision-what-happened/) ambitious storytelling in favor of generic, VFX-heavy fight scenes and choppily integrated teasers for the next MCU movie. This alone might’ve made it the platform’s best Marvel show yet. But smart casting, witty writing, lively directing, and artful character development have also yielded the rare superhero riff that, as Kovak puts it, finds the human underneath.  Juliette Ortega and Zlatko Buric in Wonder Man Suzanne Tenner—Marvel Television Though its Hollywood is fleshed out with a big, delightful cast, _Wonder Man_ is built on the skeleton of a classic two-hander. [Yahya Abdul-Mateen II](https://time.com/collection/time100-next-2022/6213725/yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-artists/), whose resume in this genre includes the [_Aquaman_](https://time.com/5484894/aquaman-review/)movies as well as HBO’s subversive [_Watchmen_ series](https://time.com/5704708/watchmen-hbo-review/), is our self-sabotaging would-be hero, Simon Williams, a struggling actor first seen getting fired from [_American Horror Story_](https://time.com/4547319/american-horror-story-is-frightfully-good-with-secrets/)for overthinking a minor role. A cinephile obsessively devoted to his craft, he’s the kind of guy who makes notes about which books his single-scene character would be reading and expects everyone on set to care about it as much as he does. This same self-centeredness compels his girlfriend (Olivia Thirlby) to move out of their modest apartment without warning. Drowning his woes in a _Midnight Cowboy_ matinee, he spots a fellow thespian. Marvel fans will also recognize this character, whose sonorous British accent is audible before we see his face. It is Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery, who was introduced as an ostensible villain, the Mandarin, in a series of propaganda videos claiming credit for terrorist attacks in 2013’s [_Iron Man 3_](https://entertainment.time.com/2013/04/30/iron-man-three-tony-stark-saves-the-world-gets-a-heart/). You can read more than any reasonable person would want to know, on the internet, about the history of this character. But for our purposes, what’s important is that Trevor never masterminded any bombings. He was a pathetic, substance-addicted actor too high to comprehend that he was the frontman for deadly acts of terrorism—a performance he provided for the low price of free drugs.  Yahya Adbul-Mateen II, left, and Sir Ben Kingsley in Wonder Man Suzanne Tenner—Marvel Television The past decade, with its rampant conspiracy theories, has clearly taken its toll on the now-sober Trevor. “Whatever theories you’ve seen on Reddit are totally false,” he grumbles when Simon introduces himself. “I had nothing to do with Pizzagate, I’m not a member of the Illuminati, and I did not have my hands replaced by baby hands.” Simon’s surprising reply: “I always dug your performance as the Mandarin.” For both men, the play, as it were, is the thing. They speak the same culturally omnivorous language, savoring [Pinter](https://time.com/archive/6687316/the-pinter-of-our-discontent/) but also reminiscing about Trevor’s stint opposite Joe Pantoliano in a medical soap. (_Wonder Man_ is the kind of show where a mention of Joey Pants reliably leads to a Joey Pants guest appearance.) They’re in similar positions, too, stuck at the fringes of their art form due to their own poor choices. In a refreshing departure from so many impenetrable Marvel series past, creators Deston Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest expediently fill in viewers on the essential points of Trevor’s backstory. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to reveal that his and Simon’s meet-cute in the cinema is no coincidence; suffice to say that it isn’t so simple to extricate yourself from the grasp of law enforcement once you’ve been the face of a notorious terrorist organization. He isn’t the only half of this buddy comedy harboring secrets, though. In an industry that has reason to be wary of superpowered individuals, Simon’s career depends upon his ability to control his emotions.  X Mayo in Wonder Man Suzanne Tenner—Marvel Television Soon, he’s cajoling Trevor (or so he thinks) into admitting that he’s about to read for a role in a reboot of the 1980s superhero flick _Wonder Man_. Simon has loved the movie since he was a kid and will stop at nothing to audition for the lead. Pity his agent, Janelle, a kind but long-suffering truth teller played by the charismatic X Mayo. “You’re one of the most talented people that I know,” she tells her client. “But there’s a lot of talented people out here who are not pains in the ass.” This doesn’t stop Simon from lying his way into the casting. Trevor is, of course, waiting for him there, and their friendship develops through a series of adventures that feel authentic to the characters and setting. The Englishman tags along to a party at Simon’s childhood home, where a warm welcome from his effusive Haitian mom (Shola Adewusi from _Bob Hearts Abishola_) and judgmental comments from his more successful, square brother (_Justified_’s Demetrius Grosse) establishes the family dynamic that has made Simon so desperate to prove himself. _Wonder Man_ doesn’t just use Hollywood as a backdrop for a superhero story. Cretton, who broke through with the acclaimed indie film [_Short Term 12_](https://entertainment.time.com/2013/08/22/brie-larson-on-short-term-12-i-would-feel-dark-even-off-camera/)before making his Marvel debut as the director and co-writer of [_Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings_](https://time.com/6095108/shang-chi-asian-representation/), and Guest, a network sitcom alum who scripted some of the best episodes of [_Community_](https://time.com/3744573/review-community-season-6-yahoo/), demonstrate a genuine affection for the setting. As wonderfully portrayed by Buric, the _Wonder Man_ reboot’s director is every European artiste absorbed into the American studio system cut with a dose of Werner Herzog’s gloom; his mansion could be a museum of Hollywood Regency decadence. The show is equally witty about the quirks of the 21st century movie business. Simon takes Trevor to record a self-tape audition at a janky, nautical-themed storefront studio called Ahoy Tapes. In a standalone episode that makes hilarious use of [Josh Gad](https://time.com/4690001/beauty-and-the-beast-gay-character-josh-gad/), guest-starring as himself (and recalls Guest’s _Community_ highlights), a nightclub doorman (Byron Bowers) finds stardom when he touches a mysterious goo and his body becomes a literal door that people can pass through.  Yahya Adbul-Mateen II in Wonder Man Marvel Television Judging by the glut of films and series set on studio lots, screenwriters have taken the age-old advice to write what they know to heart. _Wonder Man_ might sound redundant the year after Apple gave us [Seth Rogen’s excellent _The Studio_](https://time.com/7264756/the-studio-review-seth-rogen-apple/), which shares its fun guest casting and we-kid-because-we-love approach to Hollywood satire. (One of Simon’s rivals for the Wonder Man role got his start as “[Paul Thomas Anderson](https://time.com/6122813/paul-thomas-anderson-movies-ranked/)’s surfing instructor.”) Marvel also feels a bit late to the meta-superhero show concept; [_Watchmen_](https://time.com/5704708/watchmen-hbo-review/)and Amazon’s _The Boys_ both debuted in 2019\. HBO’s dour, short-lived MCU sendup [_The Franchise_](https://time.com/7026987/the-franchise-review-hbo/)came and went in 2024\. What makes _Wonder Man_ fresh despite all the competition is the care with which Simon, Trevor, and their fraught relationship are rendered by Abdul-Mateen, Kingsley, and the creators. Characters this vivid and enjoyable to spend time with are hard to find in any genre, let alone superhero fare. That’s not to say the show escapes every Marvel (and particularly Disney-Marvel) pitfall. Most of the female characters are underwritten; I don’t see the point of hiring a talented actor like Thirlby when her presence is going to be confined to a few scenes spread out across an eight-episode season. A story adult enough to feature cursing still can’t muster the maturity to resist the old coming-of-age cliché of superpowers as an all-purpose metaphor for the innate differences that make people special. Yet this all feels very forgivable when you arrive at the season finale, and it’s an episode focused on advancing character arcs rather than having those characters shoot lasers at each other from high up in the heavens. More than any live-action Marvel show that Disney+ has produced before, _Wonder Man_ accomplishes [what Netflix did with _Jessica Jones_](https://time.com/4120228/jessica-jones-review-netflix-marvel/)and [FX did with _Legion_](https://time.com/4655943/legion-fx-superhero-marvel/)(while also creating a much lighter viewing experience). It gives people with no interest in superheroes for superheroes’ sake reason to watch—all the way to the end. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7357468/wonder-man-review-disney-plus/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7357468/wonder-man-review-disney-plus/"},"headline":"Wonder Man Is the Best Disney+ Marvel Series Yet","datePublished":"2026-01-26T17:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:51:01.797Z","description":"The Hollywood-set comedy starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley is not like other series in the franchise—in the best possible way","url":"https://time.com/7357468/wonder-man-review-disney-plus/","keywords":["Television","review","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ff6b6393c7c68ca/6998cd19f1b082445b6f2084/GCK2310_107_prores_31834_SrcSeqFrame_1906_R.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Judy Berman","jobTitle":"TV Critic","url":"https://time.com/author/judy-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ff6b6393c7c68ca/6998cd19f1b082445b6f2084/GCK2310_107_prores_31834_SrcSeqFrame_1906_R.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"WONDER MAN","caption":"WONDER MAN","creditText":"Marvel Television","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7357468/wonder-man-review-disney-plus/","name":"Wonder Man Is the Best Disney+ Marvel Series Yet"}}]}] ```