A major MCU star has praised the latest MCU series, but some seem to think it’s more of an insult!
Wonder Man has quickly become not just a success in viewing numbers but winning over fans as one of the best MCU projects in a while. The tale of actor Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) trying to find success in Hollywood while concealing his superpowers has gotten rave reviews (89% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes with 88% audience score) and restored much of the appeal to the MCU.
Among the fans is Iman Vellani, who played Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel in her own Disney+ series and the 2023 The Marvels movie. In an extensive Letterboxd review, the actress gave Wonder Man four and a half stars and offered a list of a dozen reasons to watch it:
- If you like movies, watch Wonder Man.
- If you like movies about movies, watch Wonder Man.
- If you’re a Midnight Cowboy fan, watch Wonder Man.
- If you’ve seen every Marvel ever—or no Marvels at all—watch Wonder Man.
- If you prefer your superheroes human first and super second, watch Wonder Man.
- If you’re a lil sucker for a mentorship buddy-comedy, watch Wonder Man.
- If you forgot what sincerity looks like, watch Wonder Man.
- If you miss Ben Kingsley’s “Uh-merica” delivery, watch Wonder Man.
- If you’re craving something breathable and refreshingly uninterested in assaulting you with lore, watch Wonder Man.
- If you appreciate some baller needle drops, watch Wonder Man.
- If you miss when the MCU was grounded and kinda weird and small and a little sad, or perhaps you’ve felt like something’s been missing lately and you can’t quite put your finger on what—congrats. You’ve found it. Watch Wonder Man.
- If you like when people who CLEARLY care make projects for people who REALLY care—watch Wonder Man.
The actress wrapped up the review with a tongue-in-cheek note, “This message was written under the pure influence of joy. No Kevins and/or Feiges are currently present."
It seems like gushing praise, yet some fans somehow interpret this as Vellani slamming the show?
Was Vellani slamming Wonder Man?
Look at the long list and this sounds like nothing but pure love for the series in every way. Yet, strangely, some fans on Reddit and X, such as noted insider Daniel Ritchman, highlight Vellani’s line of “If you’re craving something breathable and refreshingly uninterested in assaulting you with lore,” and claim it’s her throwing “shade” at Wonder Man.
This is odd, as this is really Vellani pointing out that a strength of the show is that it doesn’t require you to know so much MCU or mainstream Marvel lore. Among the reasons cited for The Marvels failing at the box office was that casual moviegoers hadn’t watched Ms. Marvel or WandaVision, so they didn’t know who Kamala or Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) were. It’s added to the beef MCU fans have in that you need to do so much “homework” for the projects.
Wonder Man is winning over folks as they may need to know who Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) is, but the series otherwise is perfectly accessible to non-Marvel fans. It’s really like The Studio in a superpowered world with great touches like the Doorman episode, and while we get some superhero antics, it doesn’t need profound knowledge of the MCU to enjoy.
That some fans single out one line from Vellani’s review as a “slam” and ignore her otherwise glowing praise for the series is confusing. If anything, it's a highly underrated MCU star praising a show that, like her own, was more low-key than typical Marvel offerings only to become a delightful watch and encouraging others to give it a try.
It’s a shame some are misinterpreting Vellani's praise, as it shows how even other Marvel actors love Wonder Man to make it one of the best MCU entries in a long time.
Wonder Man and Ms. Marvel streaming on Disney+.