Marvel Studios is placing the spotlight on a brand new hero in Wonder Man. Perhaps the most unique project to originate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, the Disney Plus series introduces the world to Simon Williams (played by Yahya Adbul-Mateen II). An actor longing for his breakout role, he is presented with the opportunity he has been craving when he lands the part of Wonder Man in a brand new reboot of the superhero movie - a journey that is rather unique for him considering that he actually possesses super powers of his own.
The second series under the Marvel Spotlight umbrella, Wonder Man has been released as an eight-episode binge-watch for MCU fans. It's already receiving critical acclaim for its strong writing, charming performances, and overall presentation, but it's also receiving applause from fans for its links to the general MCU franchise. There aren't that many of them, but the biggest ones are, of course, some MCU returnees.
Wonder Man brings back two Marvel staples
Wonder Man understandably places the spotlight on Simon Williams, but his story also includes some familiar faces from the wider MCU. The first of those is none other than Trevor Slattery, played by Sir Ben Kingsley.
Now, fans of Marvel know that Trevor first made his MCU debut back in 2013's Iron Man 3, where he initially appeared as The Mandarin (Tony Stark eventually discovered that he was simply an actor playing a villainous role for the real villain: Aldrich Killian). After his apprehension, Slattery returned in the one-shot All Hail the King, in which he is taken prisoner by a mysterious force (who appears to be the real Mandarin). And, eventually, he resurfaces in 2021's Shang-Chi And The Legend Of the Ten Rings, when it's revealed that the true leader of the Ten Rings, Wenwu, had indeed taken him prisoner.
Meanwhile, another familiar face from the MCU surfaces in the show, and his arc is surprisingly related to that of Trevor's. We are, of course, talking about Agent P. Cleary (portrayed by Arian Moayed).
Cleary has become one of the more regular faces of the Multiverse Saga, with Wonder Man marking his third appearance thus far. An agent for the Department of Damage Control, he first appeared in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, when he interrogated Peter Parker about his activities as Spider-Man (he would eventually forget that this ever happened after Doctor Strange cast a spell to make everyone forget that Peter was, in fact, the webslinger). He then returned in 2022's Disney Plus series Ms. Marvel, once again targetting superheroes as he and the department went after the titular superhero despite her heroic activities in her community.
Cleary's attempts to go after super-powered individuals is once again on display in Wonder Man as he has now recruited Trevor to go undercover and ultimately help them bring Wonder Man down. With Trevor's background as an actor, and his unfinished prison sentence hanging over him, the department plans on using him to gain all available intel on Simon Williams before taking him in.
We won't reveal how it all plays out but there is no doubt that seeing these two recurring Marvel faces back in the MCU together is going to be a pleasant surprise for fans of the franchise. Although Wonder Man works perfectly as a standalone, it's those little nods and references to the wider MCU as a whole that always sets Marvel projects apart. We're so happy that Wonder Man has continued that trend.
All eight episodes of Wonder Man are now streaming on Disney Plus.