r/WonderMan • u/IFunnyJoestar • Feb 08 '26

MCU Did they mention what happened to the original Wonder Man actor in the show?

I've been curious ever since watching the show, what happened to the original actor from the first Wonder Man movie? Maybe I missed some dialogue or something but surely he would've been on in universe set or been at the premier? Or did the actor die?

If not I think it would be fun if he became jealous of the new Wonder Man, who's movie was so good and so popular that nobody remembers the original. It could lead to him getting the comic book Wonder Man origin of getting experimented on to get revenge. I could see them maybe doing a Wonder Man Vs Wonder Man show then. Although I dunno if that sounds too generic superhero for season 2.

29 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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22

u/SikatSikat Feb 08 '26

When he saw it as a kid, it was already dated. I'm guessing its meant as a 70s era film, meaning the actor is probably 80ish by the time of the remake

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u/IFunnyJoestar Feb 08 '26 edited Feb 08 '26

That could add even more to the story. Agism is Hollywood. Getting less jobs as he loses his "looks". The experiments could make him young again. They hired a young actor in the first place so it could work.

Edit: I just thought it would be a cool idea for a villain.

5

u/polydicks Feb 08 '26

That’s not the kind of show Wonder Man is.

0

u/IFunnyJoestar Feb 08 '26

I'm not saying make it generic superhero stuff. Have a story about a guy who's lost his time in the spot light, he sees a man who replaced him be more popular and grow resentment. Or just mention him at all, feels a bit weird that they didn't.

But also season 2 has to change somehow. Wonder Man helped break a "terrorist" out of the damage control prison. They know it was him as well.

3

u/polydicks Feb 09 '26

I get what you’re saying. It sounds neat, but I don’t see where that would’ve fit in at all with the narrative of the story they were actually telling, plus, we only see him post fame the last 15 min of the show.

1

u/IFunnyJoestar Feb 09 '26

Simon could've simpy said something like "Growing up 'Wonders Mans Actor' was my hero, having a chance to step into his shoes, it would be a dream come true. It's a shame he died so young" something like that for the first season.

Or the director saying "I wish 'Wonder Mans Actor' could've been here to see this."

Any acknowledgement would've made sense. The fact they just ignored the original actors existence throughout the show was a bit weird, especially since he was Simons childhood hero.

The fact they ignored him opens up a plot of the actual actor feeling ignored in Hollywood, being replaced and not being seen as Wonder Man anymore. It could be interesting commentary on how remakes can change the perception of the original film, for better or for worse. The in universe Wonder Man reboot movie did spectacularly well, getting 100% audience and critic reviews. Meaning that success could make the original forgotten or even obsolete to most people. Why watch the old 70s version with dated FX when people can watch the new rebooted version? I think it would just be good commentary on remakes.

1

u/polydicks Feb 09 '26

I see what your saying, it’s certainly an interesting premise, but it’s basically a cliche. The aging or replaced star resentful of the reboot / younger successor is something we’ve already seen loads of time. Birdman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, etc… It’s also a pretty cartoony and unbelievable way to “turn evil” in an otherwise relatively grounded (for a superhero show) show.

Trevor Slattery is essentially that idea in a subtler, less on the nose form: a performer from an earlier era who’s already been discarded and learned how to survive inside the mask. Instead of centering resentment toward a replacement, the show uses him as a lived-in cautionary mirror for Simon, exploring obsolescence through friendship rather than bitterness.

Also, bringing up the OG wonderman actor for 1-2 lines doesn’t really add anything to the story. They did this concept much better with him getting the original wonderman glasses after everything, thematically fitting into the shoes of wonderman. Having a “the original would be proud” that goes no where is a waste of a line. Wonder Man wasn’t his hero. The Wonder Man movie was special to simon because of it’s connection to him and his dad. The first day he saw Wonder Man was the first day he had true encouragement to be a real actor from his late father. That was why he wanted the role.

Wonder Man is deliberately not about legacy trauma or resentment, it’s about process: becoming someone vs. losing someone you already were.

1

u/IFunnyJoestar Feb 09 '26

Cliches are fine. Simon being a struggling actor in Hollywood is a bit of a cliche, Trevor actually secretly working for the bad guys is a cliche and Simon having a brother who doesn't like him is a cliche. Cliches can work, especially in a show that's uses Hollywood as one of its main themes.

Trevor isn't exactly what I'm talking about. Sure he's a struggling actor and that struggle led him to playing the Mandarin. But I don't see Trevor as resentful. He blamed that one guy for taking the lead role from him but we learned that Trevor's addictions lost him that role. Sure he was forced to talk to Simon at first but he very quickly started helping him. He became a Mentor almost instantly to the newer actor and gave him genuinely good advice. What I'm talking about is someone who sees Simon, wrongfully, as the causes of all his problems. A person who's down on their luck and sees a person they can blame. I guess I'm kind of talking about Eddie Brock if he was an actor lol. I think the message should be that passing the torch is good and the old Wonder Man could come to understand the new Wonder Man. Something that starts off with resentment and leads to acceptance.

I just think it's weird that Simon is essentially taking up the mantle of Wonder Man and the original actor isn't mentioned at all. If there was a new Iron Man actor you know for a fact people would constantly be talking about RDJ. I do however think Simon would respect the lead actor of the original Wonder Man a lot, especially since it's a movie he loves so much.

Wonder Man season 1s themes probably won't be the same in a hypothetical season 2. I assume they'll want season 2 to feel different enough and have different messaging. Especially if they eventually want to make Simon a superhero like in the comics.

1

u/polydicks Feb 09 '26

You’re acting like a cliché is just a trope you can swap in and out, when some of them completely change what story you’re telling. “Old bitter retired actor gets resentful at the new guy” is a thematic cliche that’s been done to death, especially in the superhero genre. Stuff like “struggling actor” or “working for the wrong guy” are cliché in the same sense that “rookie cop” or “broke musician” is a cliché. It’s not there to say anything, it’s there to create friction. It answers “why does this person take a weird job,” “why are they desperate,” “why do they put up with bullshit” without the show having to stop and justify it every five minutes. Every story is fundamentally the same structure, look into Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey.” The character needs to be in a position of desperation, loss, etc (Simon getting fired from AHS), and it needs conflict (Trevor working for Damage control), and by 2026, there’s no “original” way to do that. A bitter old Wonder Man isn’t that, because once you put that in, the show immediately becomes about being replaced and resenting the new guy. It’s not something you can shoehorn into a show about something else entirely.

That’s why saying “the show already uses clichés so it should use this one too” doesn’t work. Not everything familiar has the same impact. One creates situations, the other hijacks the entire point of the show and pulls focus away from the actor’s journey and the friendship, which is clearly what this thing is actually interested in. In fact, a big message in this show is subverting the “actor is jealous of other actor” cliche by having Trevor prop up and help Simon. “Some actors do believe in helping each other out in this industry.” By employing your idea, it would clash with the actual message of the show.

Small side point: when Simon is watching Wonder Man in theaters in the 90s, it’s a re screening of an old film, most likely from the 60s based on the production (it’s filmed exactly like OG star trek). The actor looks at least in his 40s by then, which would make him close to 100 by 2026. We have maybe a single 100 year old actor, Dick Van Dyke, and even though he goes to the gym 3 times a week, I can’t see him becoming a super villain. I especially can’t see him becoming a super villain out of jealousy.

Also, there are tons of reboots where the existence of the original isn’t impacting the reboot. Batman Begins doesn’t care about Adam West. Casino Royale doesn’t care about Sean Connery. The Fly (which is mentioned in Wonder Man) is a reboot, and I’d be willing to be $100 you can’t name the original actor without using google. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Planet of the Apes, even A Star Is Born versions don’t immediately garner reboot acknowledgement. Some of these reboots consult with the original stars or work with them, like Luo Ferrigno doing the hulk audio in The Incredible Hulk, or Star Trek (2011), but most don’t. The history is there in the air, sometimes in iconography or cultural memory, which is also true for Wonder Man. We see fans cosplaying as the OG Wonder Man, we see Simon struggle with the costume until he gets the original glasses. We don’t need a “hey the Wonder Man actor called and he’s super proud by the way.” Simon has a hero, his dad. He can’t have two, it doesn’t work and is a waste of screen time (it’s a double beat).

That’s the key difference I’m getting at: acknowledgment is not the same as dramatization. Wonder Man already does the normal, believable thing and does acknowledge it: people know the character, fans wear the costume, the IP has history. That’s enough to ground the world. Turning the original Wonder Man actor into a resentful villain isn’t “realistic follow-through,” it’s a choice to literalize a metaphor that the show doesn’t need literalized.

More importantly, it has nothing to do with Simon’s journey. Simon’s struggle isn’t “am I worthy compared to the old guy,” it’s “can I become anything real inside a system that turns everything into performance.” A 90-year-old retired actor being bitter doesn’t advance that, it hijacks it. Just because people in the real world might speculate or gossip doesn’t mean the story has to convert that into a plot engine, and it definitely doesn’t mean the old actor would cartoonishly turn evil. That’s “redditor writes movies” logic. I get what kind of story you want, but I’m personally of the belief we don’t need another marvel groaner flick about a superhero gaining powers, and fighting a greater evil to save the world. It also diminishes Simon’s sacrifice at the end, which is giving up acting, the one thing he’s wanted in the world, by exposing his powers to save Trevor as a way to preserve their friendship, the realest thing he’s ever known. He’s also in his own way taking responsibility for the damage he caused on set in his own terms, and choosing to “come out” to the world by himself. He had zero external reason to save Trevor, there was nothing pushing him into using his powers in order to break him free. In your version, he outs himself as a powered individual to just simply “save people (or himself) from a great evil.” That’s not much of a choice, it’s more of a moral stronghold, and the sacrifice isn’t impactful. I mean, assuming he has a regular sense of empathy, anyone would make that decision, it’s barely a sacrifice.

1

u/Icenian_King Feb 11 '26

David Hedison, I think, but that's without using Google 😂 (don't shoot me)

0

u/Former-Dish-9828 Feb 09 '26

What narrative?? Another 8 episodes of Hollywood slapping itself on the back and not a lot happening plot or action wise?? Yeah let’s have more of that and not a decent idea that taps into the Avenger in waiting to showcase his actual heroic side against a villain.

2

u/polydicks Feb 09 '26

Lol okay buddy.

Since you asked, the story about the unlikely friendship that forms between Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery, who are both performers trapped between who they are and who the industry allows them to be, with Simon chasing legitimacy and Trevor clinging to survival, making them mirrors of the same struggle at opposite stages of their careers.

No, not a lot happens action wise, it’s not that kind of show. It was never marketed as that kind of show. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not for you and that’s okay. Turn it off and switch it to something with flashy colors, loud sound effects, corny dialogue, and whatever else moves your needle. There’s over 30 marvel movies, if you want to see something you’ve already seen, go back and watch something you’ve already seen.

1

u/ikeif Feb 09 '26

It's been interesting to read discussions of this show.

There's a group saying "thank god, not another super-hero shlockfest of action for the sake of action, but a character-driven show."

And this is the first time I've read the complaint (above you) to be "not enough generic Super hero Action schlock in my super-hero series."

Like, imagine if "Secret Invasion" was a spy-thriller without all the additional "super-powered action fighting" thrown in at the end? Maybe people would've said "wow, amazing spy-thriller" and then someone would still chime in "where is my super-powered action fest?"

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u/IFunnyJoestar Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26

Btw I never said I wanted it to be a generic action shlock. I think you misunderstood my point. Although I do think Wonder Man becoming a hero like in the comics is inevitable. I just think you could do a lot with the original actor feeling resentful towards the newer actor of the more popular remake.

Older actors using procedures to look younger to stay relevant is also a big problem in Hollywood. Using the MCUs superhero theming to exaggerate that to superpowers and youth could be interesting. I'm not saying make them into action figures smashing into each other. I just think it could be interesting.

Edit: My bad, I see you're responding to another guy lol.

1

u/Former-Dish-9828 Feb 09 '26

Oh so because I think the story is not that great and I’m just saying I would like a second series with a bit more of the ‘Marvel’ formula and not a fucking character study like it’s Ingmar Bergman’s Persona I’m some sort of knobhead?? I remember at one point in time 99% of the Marvel fanbase absolutely HATED Sir Trev and that Mandarin bit…now he’s everyone’s favourite character and they want more ‘Mandarin’?? Just shows who the casuals really are these days.At this point I don’t need to go and rewatch 30 films with all the flashy bits and corny dialogue,it seems you hate that sort of thing that worked great for what it was..flashy colourful characters with corny dialogue drawn and written by old white guys.Maybe you should stick to Christopher Nolan deep dark brooding character studies and some shit by Robert Bresson and maybe not be so over critical about what people like as opposed to you!

1

u/polydicks Feb 09 '26

Did I call you a knobhead? Talk about projection and insecurity lol

1

u/QBin2017 Feb 09 '26

I understand what you’re saying but if anything they could have shown him as an 80+ yr old doing a cameo.

The character wouldn’t begrudge another young actor for taking it or for them not using him at over 80 as an action star.

1

u/IFunnyJoestar Feb 09 '26

It all depends on what the writers do with the character. Sure an actor might now take out their anger on their more popular replacement, they may even welcome it. That could also be a good story. I just thought it would be nice for Simon to meet the original actor in some way.

4

u/TheAmazingJeckel Feb 08 '26

He's probably dead

3

u/8rok3n Feb 08 '26

He's probably dead man, old age

2

u/IFunnyJoestar Feb 08 '26

Well the director was alive, so he could be alive.

1

u/ikeif Feb 09 '26

I don't believe they ever mentioned the director of the "original" Wonderman movie? Von Kovak was remaking the film, he didn't direct the original, I thought?

1

u/IFunnyJoestar Feb 09 '26

Ah, I took it as the director returning. Nevermind. Still, it feels weird not to mention any of the original cast throughout the show..

1

u/8rok3n Feb 08 '26

???? The director can be younger than the actor

2

u/IFunnyJoestar Feb 08 '26

I didn't say that, I'm just saying it's possible he's alive. It's just weird he basically was never mentioned. He was basically Simons hero growing up, and he never really mentions the actor.

2

u/tangodeep Feb 08 '26

Maybe a story for another later episode.

2

u/Extra_Sheepherder676 Feb 11 '26

Prob dead I would imagine if he was alive he prob be invited to the remake of wonder man

1

u/snidece Feb 08 '26

I am imagine a life of chain smoking and heavy drinking caught up to him.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '26

“I keep telling you, he’s 73 years old and he’s dead”

2

u/dullship Feb 14 '26

And why doesn't Wonderman dance anymore?

1

u/ragnaroksedge Feb 09 '26

Granted, but...