Who is Simon Williams? Wonder Man’s powers from the MCU and Marvel Comics history explained

The Marvel Cinematic Universe received a new wave of energy with the reveal of its upcoming TV schedule, which included the first look at Wonder Mana character many audiences are less familiar with. While the Marvel film series has done a great job turning lesser-known characters into famous names, the television side began to explore even lesser-known figures. The next Wonder Man is perhaps the least known character they’ve adapted in years, leading to speculation about his series.

Everything that is known about Wonder Man suggests that the series will be a starting point for Marvel and will tell a story that isn’t too tied to the rest of the MCU. While Wonder Man has been connected to the Avengers team in various ways over the years, the series appears to be planned for Marvel’s Spotlight banner., and will not be directly linked to the larger plot of the universe. While Wonder Man still feels somewhat connected due to Ben Kingsley’s return as Trevor Slattery, this distance could allow the hero’s debut to show him as a different kind of Marvel character.

Simon Williams’ Marvel Comics History Explained

Wonder Man debuted in 1964 in Avengers #9

Simon Williams started out as an antagonist in Marvel Comics; After the weapons manufacturing company he inherited from his father failed to compete with Stark Industries, Williams turned to embezzlement and was caught up in the criminal underworld. He was transformed by Baron Zemo into Wonder Man, a powerful force, to fight the Avengers. Created by Stan Lee, Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character appeared sparingly in comics, first in 1964 as an antagonist of the Avengers, where he appeared to die. This was later reconfigured and complex choices were made regarding the character’s significant fear of death.

In the years that followed, Simon was used by other villains, including Kang the Conqueror, before being brought into the Avengers team. Following this loyalty to the Avengers, Simon decided to leave and pursue a career in Hollywood as an actor. This worked to a certain extent, although he found more success as a stuntman. The character then became the founder of the West Coast Avengers, and was in and out of relationships with different characters, including a complex romantic relationship with Scarlet Witch.

Simon Williams had a strange start in the comics, with Stan Lee mentioning that DC threatened legal action because the character’s name was too close to his own Wonder Woman. Although this kept Wonder Man off the page for some time, this tension eventually dissolved, and Simon was able to be used in several stories starting in the 1970s. More recently, the character started a charitable organization called the Second Chances Foundation, financed with money from Hollywood, and divides his time between there and the Avengers team.

Wonder Man’s powers explained

Simon Williams has some standard and unusual powers

Wonder Man is a huge and powerful force in comics. His radiation treatments provided by Baron Zemo – imbued with ionic energy – gave the character a series of powers. He possesses super strength, speed, durability, endurance and reflexes, among other enhanced natural abilities. His abilities are on par with many of the strongest Avengers, with the comics often comparing his power levels to that of someone like Thor. Even with this basic set, the character could do well against any threat from the Avengers, although he also has other powers.

Wonder Man has also had some weirder, harder-to-define ionic powers in the comics over the years, and many of them tend to be used inconsistently. He is often able to switch states between energy and solid human mass, and can use his energy powers to propel himself into flight.. These energetic powers appear to have a fairly broad scope, although the way in which they can be used appears to change over time.

Simon Williams Comic Changes Explained

Some Canon comics will have to be changed

Details about how the MCU’s Wonder Man changed from the comics are few, as not much is known about the character’s history in his titular series. However, it seems likely that the fact that Simon becomes powered by Baron Zemo and fights Iron Man and the Avengers will not play a major role in this story and will likely be changed. Instead, if this Simon Williams has a dark past, it will likely be with much lower stakes and a much smaller criminal career behind him.

The most significant details and relationships from the comics that likely won’t exist in the series will be out of necessity. While Stark’s business may be a problem for Simon and his family, there is no Tony Stark in the universe with whom Simon could have personal tension. Same for Scarlet Witch, his romantic partner in the comics, who is dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s unlikely that even his friendship with Beast will play a prominent role, as the franchise’s main universe doesn’t appear to have a version of the character yet.

Why Wonder Man is getting an MCU TV show

Destin Daniel Cretton was instrumental in making the series

Full details of Wonder Man in the MCU have been scarce, and the justification for his existence in the universe seems to follow the same trend. Talking to The Official Marvel PodcastKevin Feige commented: “We have a show coming up that we’ve talked very little about called Wonder Man, which I won’t talk much about today either, except to say that it’s extremely different from what we’ve done before.” After that, it looks like Marvel is looking to do something unusual and unexpected with the character.

Little else was said about the show, but appears to have been possible in large part thanks to the efforts of Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the next one still untitled Spider-Man 4. Cretton clearly loves many Marvel properties and created the series alongside Andrew Guest. It seems like there’s a lot of enthusiasm and ambition behind the show that we hope will be seen in the final product.

How the Wonder Man TV Show Fits Into the MCU

Wonder Man will be released under Marvel’s Spotlight banner

Where Wonder Man fits into the MCU is currently a complex question. The show features Ben Kingsley’s return to Marvel as Trevor Slattery, which immediately creates a link to both Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chiand appears to be set in Los Angeles, creating a link to She-Hulk: Lawyer. However, the show is also under the Marvel Spotlight banner, suggesting it won’t be essential viewing for the larger MCU story.. With that in mind, there may be little connection between the series and the larger universe.

More likely, the show will likely go the way of She-Hulk by exploring how an industry operates in a world where superpowers are real. There will probably be secondary Marvel characters who also have ties to Hollywood and cinema. The series could also work to create a West Coast Avengers spin-off where characters like Hawkeye could reasonably appear. While not a significant story in the Marvel Universe, Wonder Man could feature many connections and characters in its run, although it is unlikely to have a significant tie-in to the Multiverse Saga.

Wonder Man, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, will certainly embody the comic book character’s charisma and depth when his series launches in December 2025. However, There is still a lot to be seen about what the series will be like and where the character could go in the universe.. An unusual project with clearly a lot of heart behind it, Wonder Man promises to be an original and compelling Marvel series that could be unlike anything audiences have ever seen from the studio.