Has The Heroic Ideal Returned? – A Review Of The “Wonder Man” Streaming Series
Hugh Hewitt > Blog
Saturday, February 7, 2026
It is pretty much universal opinion that the product out of Disney/Marvel Studios has been awful of late. “Deadpool” being the only notable exception and it is not really suitable for anyone but the profanely cynical. That character is a parody walking around in the superhero universe. The failure in Marvel Studios is largely due to the Disney ethos that no longer sees the world in terms of a heroic journey, but rather views it as being about “building family.” Disney does not see the world in terms of good and bad, but just sees each individual as a piece of flotsam floating around looking for a place to cling that it can call “family.”
This past summer’s “Superman” – from Warner Bros, NOT Disney – finally returned to the heroic ideal and was a great movie. The Disney/Marvel produced eight short episode series “Wonder Man” has had great buzz prior to its recent release, and that buzz left this viewer with the hope that they may have gotten the message Superman sent. Did “Wonder Man” meet expectations?
Well, the buzz is easily explainable after viewing the first episode – this is a series about Hollywood. It is shot in places that are absolutely iconic to anyone that has lived and worked in L.A. and especially in “the industry.” It is about a struggling actor and is largely an apologetic for all those struggling actors in L.A. The buzz was because Hollywood likes nothing better than looking at itself – and this series delivers that in spades. Frankly, I spent the first seven episodes wondering if it was ever going to be about superheroes. For the record Wonder Man is a long time “Avenger” in the comic books and has a great history of heroic adventures, including a fascinating crossover with the character of The Vision, which is what I was hoping to see as there is a forthcoming Vision series planned. But no, what I got is primarily Hollywood navel gazing.
The other thing the series is is a buddy picture, depicting the forming of a interesting relationship between Simon Williams (Wonder Man) and Trevor Slattery who was the drunken actor (played by Ben Kingsley) that portrayed The Mandarin in Iron Man 3. (The disappointment in making The Mandarin a facade to old time Iron Man fans cannot be understated.)
In the concluding episode 8 something super heroic finally happens with both men making major sacrifices for each other. As sacrifice is the heart of the heroic ideal I thought maybe Disney had gotten the message. But as I have thought about it, they haven’t. Both men sacrifice – for each other. Not for the world, not for good, but simply for each other. In other words, they have built family with each other and they are just doing what family does – the Disney trope revisited.
In the end Wonder Man is another Disney/Marvel disappointment. *SIGH*
The Leftover Pile of News:
A long and heady read, but well worth the effort: From Minneapolis to “Somaliapolis”: How Incentives Reshaped a City. Immigration from Africa to modern American is not the same as immigration from western Europe to America 100 year ago.
Iran is collapsing on its own. Regardless, the mullahs must be punished for their butchery.
Speaking of, those butchers spawn even worse ones.
And while we are discussing butchery – now the evidence is “insufficient”?! After way too many kids have been butchered?
CALIFORNIA:
- Gavin Newsom, class act – NOT!
- Nothing works, not even the things they are doing to save us from ourselves.
- That’s why they (including yours truly) are leaving – in droves.
- How California kills dreams, in an anecdote.
- There is some good news from the formerly golden state. One lawyer gets it. The federal government is trying to help.
FINALLY, the most expensive gold ever produced – why alchemy was a pipe dream.
