The Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming off a rocky 2025. While Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four: First Steps were critical hits, both fell short of expectations at the box office. Captain America: Brave New World, Ironheart and the first season of Daredevil: Born Again were plagued by delays and reshoots, while animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Eyes of Wakanda and Marvel Zombies largely flew under the radar. So heading into a critical 2026, it feels odd that Marvel is turning to Wonder Man in their time of need.
While most fans surely have Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday’s release dates circled on their calendars, the Wonder Man TV show is going to bat leadoff for the MCU this year. Before you jump into the latest project from Marvel Television, here’s a quick primer on the show and the character’s history in the comics:
When does Wonder Man come out?
Marvel opted to go with a binge-drop for Wonder Man, much like they did with Echo, Eyes of Wakanda and Marvel Zombies.
All eight episodes will hit the Disney+ streaming service on Tuesday, January 27 at 9 p.m. ET. They will reportedly be roughly 30 minutes each, bringing the season’s total runtime to about four hours. Here are all of the confirmed episode titles.
- Matinee
- Self-Tape
- Pacoima
- Doorman
- Found Footage
- Call Back
- Kathy Friedman
- Yucca Valley
Which actors and characters will show up in Wonder Man?
Outside of one main character and another side player, it remains unclear just how much Wonder Man will cross over with the rest of the MCU. Some of the characters’ identities are still under wraps, though, so some surprise reveals could lead to even deeper connections to Marvel’s past, present or future. Here is who we know is showing up:
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams a.k.a. Wonder Man
- Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery
- Zlatko Buric as Von Kovak
- Demetrius Grosse as Eric Williams a.k.a. Grim Reaper
- Arian Moayed as Agent Cleary
- X Mayo as Janelle Jackson
- Shola Adewusi as Martha Williams
- Béchir Sylvain as Sanford Williams
- Charlotte Ross as Bridget
- Meera Rohit Kumbhani as Maya
- Byron Bowers as TBD
- Joe Pantoliano as Himself
- Josh Gad as Himself
Kingsley is reprising his role from Iron Man 3, Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Moayed is also returning after playing Agent Cleary in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Ms. Marvel.
Who is Wonder Man?
Simon Williams – Wonder Man – first appeared in Avengers #9 all the way back in October 1964, initially taking on the role of a villain working for Baron Zemo. Simon appeared to die in that issue, but Avengers #58 revealed four years later that the heroes had actually saved his mind in a computer. While he is still suspended in animation, Ultron uses Wonder Man’s brain waves to create Vision. A comatose Wonder Man made a few cameo appearances in the comics over the years, but didn’t come back into the fold in earnest until Kang the Conqueror, Black Talon and the Living Laser revived him across different issues in the 1970s.
Wonder Man eventually became a hero, joining the Avengers and establishing strong bonds with Beast, Hercules, Scarlet Witch and others. However, he left the Avengers to become a stuntman in Hollywood. Like a lot of Marvel characters, Wonder Man bounced from team to team, founding the West Coast Avengers before joined Force Works, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Mighty Avengers, the Lethal Legion, the Revengers and the Avengers Unity Squad. He was on the pro-superhero registration of the Civil War between Captain America and Iron Man.
Prior to meeting Zemo, Simon was the son of a rich industrialist who tried to embezzle funds. He got his powers from Zemo, who turned him into a ion-powered superhuman via an experiment.
The Wonder Man show turns Simon from a stuntman into an actor. With Trevor Slattery by his side – far removed from the events of Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi – Simon will try to land the lead part in a reboot of a Wonder Man movie. He has powers, but is attempting to hide them.
Through the first 31 reviews to hit Rotten Tomatoes, Wonder Man holds a 94% score on the Tomatometer. So regardless of how faithful it will be to the comics, Wonder Man appears to have landed well with the critics. Considering Destin Daniel Cretton – the director of Shang-Chi – co-created the Wonder Man show and directed two episodes, fans should also have high hopes for his upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
