A couple of weeks ago, Andrea and I finished up Wonder Man, the new Marvel TV series on on Disney+.
If you're thinking "Oh no, who needs yet another Marvel thing to keep up with", let me assure you that although this series is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is very much its own thing.
It's a Marvel thing for people who may be tired of Marvel things.
Abdul-Mateen II is Simon Williams, a struggling Hollywood actor. His struggles mostly stem from his inability to get out of his own way, his obsessions with such scholarly acting issues like backstory and motivations.
His bit part in an American Horror Story series gets cut because Simon causes the production crew to lose hours while Simon works out his relationship with another character and where exactly he should fall on the floor when his character is murdered.
(I am reminded of something Lawrence Olivier said to notorious method actor Dustin Hoffman: "My boy, have ever tried just acting?")
Simon's propensity for precise acting perfection has labeled him difficult to work with so finding work is difficult for Simon and his agent.
But then Simon hears there's going to be a big budget version of the cheesy 1980's sci-fi romp "Wonder Man" with a big name director attached and it becomes Simon's #1 priority to get an audition to be Wonder Man.
Seeing "Wonder Man" with his late father is a cherished memory for Simon and he can, he will, he must be the new Wonder Man.
Helping Simon on his journey is actor Trevor Slattery.
Ben Kingsley plays Trevor with a Zen like calm and a quiet quirky sense of humor with a John Lennon-esque lilt in his voice.
Trevor is trying to put his most infamous role behind him.
Trevor Slattery was the super terrorist known as the Mandarin.
Or more to the point, The Mandarin was a false front for terrorist activities caused by evil scientist Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3. (So there is THAT connection to the MCU.)
Trevor's path crossed with Simon's and the two bond over their love of acting with Trevor's Zen like tranquility as an effective counter to Simon's intensity.
But Trevor's presence in Simon's life is not a coincidence.
Trevor has been co-opted by the government's Dept. of Damage Control which has identified Simon Williams as a potential threat.
Yeah, I forgot to mention that Simon has super powers, some form of chaotic psychokenetic energy that manifests itself when Simon becomes stresssed or upset. Simon's life is marked by strange incidents of things breaking, exploding or catching fire.
Damage Control wants Trevor to gather Intel that will enable the government to throw Simon into their woefully underpopulated prison for super powered threats. They need to justify their government funding by throwing a super powered threats into prison once in a while.
(Comparisons to ICE may be a coincidence or entirely the point.)
Simon is trying to keep his super powers on the down low due to Hollywood's recent rule on NOT hiring super powered people to act in TV shows and movies.
A rule instituted after DeMarr "Doorman" Davis killed beloved comic actor Josh Gad with his dimensional warping powers.
(All of episode 4 is focused on DeMarr's journey to becoming a super powered multi media darling until he's done in by overexposure and overuse of his catch phrase "Ding Dong!" And the power glitch that vanishes Josh Gad from the face the of the Earth. The episode has none of the series regulars except for one very brief scene with Simon at the end.)
Despite pressure from Damage Control to produce something incriminating about Simon at the risk of being thrown back in jail, Trevor genuinely becomes fond of Simon and is determined to protect him.
And likewise, Simon regards Trevor as a true friend and a trusted confidant.
It is that very trust and friendship that fuels the fire of Simon's rage when he discovers Trevor's conntection to Damage Control and his powers manifest in a destructive blast that destroys a movie studio.
Damage Control is coming to arrest Simon Williams but Trevor Slatterly has one last role to play to save his friend.
Wonder Man has a unique voice from what one might expect from a Marvel movie or TV show and a lot of it's charm comes from the chemistry of Abdul-Mateen and Kingsley. It's a story that is both funny and sad, challenging and uplifting.
And that is that for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase.
Next week: Outlander is back! (YAY!) For it's final season. (NOOOOOO!)
I'm not ready for this!
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
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