Wonder Man has proven a critical win for both Disney and Marvel Studios. Fans and critics have praised it for its satire of Hollywood and the bromance between its two leads. However, few have discussed the political implications of the MCU miniseries in relation to current events in the United States.
Wonder Man centers around actor Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his efforts to make it big. He meets fellow actor Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) at a retro screening of Midnight Cowboy. Williams is an up-and-comer, whereas Slatterly is trying to revive his career after playing the terrorist Mandarin in a series of faked propaganda videos in Iron Man 3.
The two hit if off and Slattery mentors Williams as they both audition for a cinematic reboot of the fictional superhero Wonder Man. This is Williams’ dream role as the original movie inspired him to become an actor as a child. Williams auditions for the lead as Slattery auditions for the role of the alien hero’s only friend. However, unbeknownst to Williams, his meeting Slattery was no accident.
Following the events of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Slattery was arrested while reentering the United States. Slattery had been kidnapped from prison by the real Mandarin and was rescued by Shang-Chi before spending some time in the mystic dimension of Ta Lo. Threatened with a return to prison, Slattery agreed to spy on Williams on behalf of the Department of Damage Control (DODC).
MCU’s Department of Damage Control explained
Damage Control was first introduced to the MCU in a flashback in Spider-Man: Homecoming. In the comics, Damage Control was a private company contracted to repair the damage caused by alien invaders and supervillain attacks. By contrast, the MCU version was introduced as a government agency which provided the same support. However, the Department of Damage Control’s mission expanded in later MCU films and television series.
By the time of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the DODC had also taken over policing superpowered individuals and managing prisons for super-criminals. Wonder Man Episode 3, “Pacoima,” reveals the DODC has come under fire for subverting civil liberties in their missions. The Congressional Budget Office has also started reconsidering their funding, given the prisons for supervillains are half empty. The DODC head in Los Angeles warns his agents to “look carefully at what you are contributing.” This is a clearly veiled threat that any agent who doesn’t start bringing in dangerous superhumans will lose their job.
Agent P. Cleary (Arian Moayed) is set up as the chief antagonist of Wonder Man. He makes the deal with Trevor Slattery to spy on Simon Williams. He does this despite having little evidence that Williams has superpowers, much less is a clear and present danger. Indeed, his only evidence is a report of Williams’ surviving a kitchen fire unhurt when he was 13 and a portable toilet exploding on the set of a television show he once worked on.
Wonder Man’s villain is a corrupt government agency
The sinister evolution and overreach of the MCU’s Damage Control had been examined in series and films before Wonder Man. Peter Parker was the target of a DODC investigation in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The agency also served as an antagonistic force in Ms. Marvel. There, DODC agent Sadie Deever crossed multiple ethical and legal boundaries with her efforts to investigate Kamala Khan as a potential terrorist.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Agent P. Cleary was involved in both incidents. However, he was portrayed as a more reasonable authority figure in Ms. Marvel, eventually seeing Agent Deever fired. And yet, his concerns were born more of her inability to follow orders and operate covertly than any breech of ethics. This is consistent with his portrayal in Wonder Man, where he is more worried about saving his job than any threat Simon Williams might pose.
Government corruption and overreach are frequent themes in both Marvel Comics and the MCU. However, the story of Wonder Man takes on a particular resonance in early 2026. In the same week the series was released, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) faced public heat regarding the actions and overreach of ICE agents. ICE also faced questions regarding its budget by Congress. Were it not for Wonder Man finishing filming in 2024, this might be taken as a direct reference. However, the coincidence makes the drama seem all the more relevant.
Wonder Man’s heritage is also a political hot potato
Another accidentally political coincidence lies in Simon Williams’ background in the MCU. Wonder Man Episode 3, “Pacoima,” establishes Williams as the son of two Haitian immigrants. Most of the episode’s action occurs against the backdrop of his mother’s birthday party. This involves a huge family gathering and a festive neighborhood party, which accents their Haitian heritage. Indeed, most of the family speak Haitian Creole in private, despite all of them being shown to be fluent in English.
Originally, this point was meant to add some variety to the character of Simon Williams. Reportedly, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II worked with the Wonder Man producers to develop this idea. This was partly to give Simon a specific cultural identity but also to reflect his own heritage. In a 2020 interview with Men’s Health, Yahya Abudl-Mateen II discussed how his grandfather immigrated to the United States from the West Indies.
However, Wonder Man being the son of Haitian immigrants takes on a different tone in light of current events in the United States. There was a wave of anti-Haitian sentiment in the United States in 2024. This peaked with conservative politicians spreading rumors that Haitian refugees who migrated to the country legally were stealing and eating people’s pets.
These epithets arose again in early 2026 amid reporting that ICE would prepare to target Haitian immigrant communities in Ohio. Again, given when Wonder Man was written and filmed, this is entirely coincidental. However, the choice to make the MCU Simon Williams the son of Haitian immigrants hits with a different energy because of real world events. This could turn Wonder Man into the Andor of 2026.
Wonder Man: Season 1 is now streaming in its entirety on Disney+.
