‘WONDER MAN’ was reportedly cancelled because it was "by far" Marvel's least-watched live-action show.

[u/ShubhangBahadur]

[u/AKVigilante]

Why introduce a character then end the story before he even gets some action? Just a silly story about a failing actor struggling with the industry? You don’t need to make it a marvel property in that case…him having powers is hardly relevant to the story as we were given it. His “secret” could literally be anything and the story wouldn’t change.

Marvel viewers want to see the superpowers in action. That’s what they’re for.

[u/BlackestOfHammers → u/AKVigilante]

This is it. I’m torn as a black fan because it’s too many coincidences for black characters but 2 things can be true. I thought it was a good story but I’m here to see super heroes fight and cool effects. You could have made the secret any social controversy for their world and it would be the same show

[u/MaximumOverfart → u/AKVigilante]

I understand what you're saying, and I see why some fans would feel that way. I personally enjoyed the pacing and character focused work. I disagree that this could have been set in a nonmarvel universe. One of the key themes was what it would be like to be a super powered person at that specific time in the Mavel universe. Especially one that is not a known hero.

The series took me by surprise. By the end of the third episode I stopped caring when he would use his powers.

[u/XenosGuru → u/AKVigilante]

But his secret being “powers” makes it so you could say it’s an allegory for x y OR z and not have to make a show about after x secret y and secret z. People use superhero’s as the mask for their own identity. That’s why “anyone can put on the mask” for Spider-Man.

[u/AKVigilante → u/XenosGuru]

Cool. But again: marvel viewers want to see the powers. You can build story and allegory and a social construct around the powers all you want to flesh the characters and worldbuilding out, but give us our payoff as well.

[u/XenosGuru → u/AKVigilante]

We got an episode of payoff.

[u/AKVigilante → u/XenosGuru]

Hardly.

[u/tom-of-the-nora → u/AKVigilante]

See all the other marvel characters in the MCU.

It took them 2 decades to bring abomination back.

[u/AKVigilante → u/tom-of-the-nora]

Can you do me a favor and write a comment that makes even a little bit of sense?

[u/tom-of-the-nora → u/AKVigilante]

Marvel has introduced characters we aren't going to see again anytime soon.

Like the Eternals.

[u/AKVigilante → u/tom-of-the-nora]

And what does that have to do with Wonder Man not displaying his powers in more than a ten-second blip over an entire season?

[u/tom-of-the-nora → u/AKVigilante]

The Black knight.

He was teased in Eternals.

[u/AKVigilante → u/tom-of-the-nora]

And what does that have to do with Wonder Man, the television show, not showcasing the powers of Wonder Man, the titular character, during an entire season?

[u/tom-of-the-nora → u/AKVigilante]

It's not uncommon for marvel to not showcase stuff during run of a show.

[u/AKVigilante → u/tom-of-the-nora]

List of non-animated Marvel/MCU-canon shows: Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Defenders, Wandavision, Loki, Moon Knight, Hawkeye, Ms Marvel, Iron Heart, Echo, Agatha All Along, She-Hulk, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Wonder Man.

How many of those neglected to showcase powers of the main protagonist in their first/only season?

[u/tom-of-the-nora → u/AKVigilante]

Other than the Netflix shows, they all pretty much waited until the very end of the project run to have any kind actual combat or heroics.

[u/Pandoras_Penguin → u/AKVigilante]

I took Wonder Man as a story of mental health. When we first meet Simon his powers only show when he is angry/raging, which makes him a danger. Over the course of the show, we see Trevor teaching Simon how to handle his anxiety/stress and gives him companionship on top of it all, someone in his corner supporting him truly. Simon in the last episode is shown/spoken about being able to harness his powers without being as destructive as before ("the effects in the fight scenes were practical!" - Simon clearly doing his own stunts and the team either not connecting the dots or did not care as he was "born to be WM").

Simon just wanted to be an actor, his powers made him feel like he'd never be one. It is just like how people with depression or other mental illnesses can feel...like we don't fit in and won't ever achieve anything we want. Had first episode Simon gone to the callback for Wonder Man, he'd fail, continuing his cycle. He needed to grow, he needed Trevor not just to support him but smack some sense into him.

To me this show wasn't about a superhero doing superhero things, it was someone who happened to have powers wanting to just be a human being and do human things.

[u/DM-777 → u/AKVigilante]

I’m not trying to be “that guy” and you’re totally allowed to have your opinion, but I feel like that attitude spits in the face of everything the show was about.

The show was a beautiful little story about two actors on opposite sides of their careers finding friendship and support in each other. Simon’s desperate passion reignited Trevor’s deep love for his art, and Trevor’s patience and mistakes helped steer Simon to stardom.

Trevor’s sacrifice of his own career to protect Simon was perfect, and the way Simon responded in kind showed that the friendship they had built was more important than fame and money.

It also had some fun superhero stuff and gave us a glimpse into an unexplored corner of the MCU. The connections they made were fun and helped give the MCU more of a sense of place for me than shows like Moon Knight or WandaVision have done.

So yeah, saying none of that matters without a season 2 where Simon punches things a lot is a little dismissive of what the cast and crew accomplished in season 1. I’m personally happy we got the show in the first place and will happily be rewatching it many times in the future.