{"id":394555,"date":"2026-01-28T06:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T06:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/394555\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T06:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T06:57:10","slug":"wonder-mans-ending-sets-up-the-forgotten-mcu-series-iron-man-teased-10-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/394555\/","title":{"rendered":"Wonder Man’s Ending Sets Up The Forgotten MCU Series Iron Man Teased 10 Years Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marvel\u2019s 2026 slate has kicked off with a surprising gem, bringing Yahya Abdul-Mateen II\u2019s Simon Williams to the MCU in Wonder Man<\/a>, and once more showing that the franchise still knows how to shake things up. Wonder Man is a great series<\/a> \u2013 both bold and creative \u2013 and it\u2019s impressive precisely for some of the things it doesn\u2019t do, as well as what it does. There\u2019s no superhero origin story (in typical terms), no power explainer, and lots of things are left up in the air, so there\u2019s a fair bit to break down. Needless to say, from here on, expect SPOILERS for Wonder Man.<\/p>\n

Most intriguingly, while Wonder Man is a pretty linear show focused on a pretty simple story, there is a major hint at where it could go next in the finale. And if we get to see more of Simon Williams in the MCU \u2013 especially in a continuation of his solo series \u2013 the showrunners exploring not only the true nature of his powers but also setting him on a path of conflict with the Department of Damage Control would pay off an idea introduced by Tony Stark to the MCU a decade ago.<\/p>\n

What Happens at the End of Wonder Man?<\/p>\n

\"Trevor<\/p>\n

The climax of Wonder Man sees Simon accidentally let his powers out, destroying a hangar and drawing the DODC\u2019s nets around him. As it seems that all is lost, Trevor Slattery releases a self-tape claiming that he is, in fact, the real Mandarin and is responsible for the attack on the Wonder Man set, as a strike back against Hollywood\u2019s psychological warfare. He claims that the revelation of his \u201ctrue\u201d identity \u2013 Trevor \u2013 was all a ruse, to allow him to enact the next stage of his plan against American decadence. He is arrested, and Simon goes on to star in Wonder Man with Joe Pantoliano brilliantly replacing Trevor as Barnaby. <\/p>\n

Fame and adulation follow in a flash forward when the film is released, and maverick director Von Kovak talks about the possibility of making the sequel he said he would never make. But Simon has another priority: his next \u201crole\u201d, for which he prepares by shadowing a blue-collar worker. The twist ending quickly reveals that the worker is, in fact, an employee at the DODC super prison, with Simon exploiting their relationship to gain access (while secretly paying the man enough for him to clear his debts and retire). We then finally see him at full power, rescuing Trevor and using his ionic energy powers to literally fly out of the roof of the prison to freedom.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s No Wonder Man Post-Credits Scene<\/p>\n

The Wonder Man credits may be long, but there\u2019s no stinger added that sets up Wonder Man Season 2 or the newly-born hero\u2019s return in Avengers: Doomsday. In fact, there isn\u2019t anything after the credits.<\/p>\n

Is Simon Williams A Superhero In Wonder Man\u2019s Ending<\/p>\n

\"WonderImage Courtesy of Marvel<\/p>\n

It would be quite easy to read Wonder Man\u2018s ending as Simon legitimately taking on the persona of Wonder Man as a hero. Or as a vigilante at the very least, given he takes on a government agency to free Trevor Slattery. In fact, that would make Simon a criminal, with the DODC inevitably aware of his heist and no doubt now motivated to clear up a particularly embarrassing loss. But it doesn\u2019t actually make him \u201cWonder Man\u201d: that wouldn\u2019t really make sense, given it\u2019s a character he plays in an in-universe movie. Notably, when he frees Trevor, he doesn\u2019t suit up (nor even wear the character\u2019s red sunglasses). Simon Williams, is not Wonder Man, because Wonder Man doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

Could he become Wonder Man? Maybe, but that would be a little weird within the universe: even if the short hand for Williams will now always be that codename. More complex is his trajectory as a hero: he surely can\u2019t go back to being an actor, at the very least, unless the DODC cover up his jail break. Perhaps there\u2019s something to be read into Agent Cleary saying he could be a major threat \u201c\u2026 or asset\u201d? Could Simon be pressganged into working for the government? More on that idea soon.<\/p>\n

How Powerful Simon Williams Is (And How He Got Them)<\/p>\n

\"Wonder<\/p>\n

Simon Williams is basically another Superman-level hero in the MCU, comparable in strength and pure power to the very top tier of heroes. In the show, we get to see very little of those powers, other than confirmation that Simon can create huge energy blasts (sometimes unintentionally), can affect electronic devices, and can fly, as well as casually displaying Herculean strength. That\u2019s very much a greatest hits look at what he\u2019s capable of, and not the full extent.<\/p>\n

The honest answer to the source of Simon\u2019s powers is we don\u2019t yet know. In the Comics, his superpowers are gifted to him by Baron Zemo in an ionic experiment, which granted Simon super strength and invincibility. Zemo also poisoned Simon, ensuring control of his superman, who required regular doses of the antidote to keep him alive. None of that origin story is part of the MCU\u2019s Wonder Man, which actually opts out of revealing how Simon got his powers. That could well be explored in the future, of course.<\/p>\n

The other possibility is that Simon is actually a mutant, which would explain the lack of a power origin. And it would fit with one-time speculation that Destin Daniel Cretton was being set up to play a creative role in the Mutant Saga. Could \u201cWonder Man\u201d end up being an X-Men member rather than an Avenger?<\/p>\n

How Wonder Man\u2019s Ending Sets Up The Future<\/p>\n

\"Department<\/p>\n

If Wonder Man Season 2 happens, it would presumably see Simon and the DODC in full conflict over Trevor Slattery\u2019s jailbreak. The final moments of the finale are pretty loaded in terms of that potential future: Cleary\u2019s revelation that Simon has ionic powers sets up a path to explore his power origin, as well as his full potential, and the conflict over Trevor sets up the possibility that the DODC will actually try to recruit him.<\/p>\n

Marvel has been threatening to make a true Department of Damage Control spinoff for years. Around a decade ago, news of a Damage Control show was at its loudest, but the project died on the vine, even with Tyne Daly\u2019s Director Anne Marie Hoag introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming. On paper, the idea of a department cleaning up after superheroes wasn\u2019t actually all that great, and the MCU shifted the DODC into a sort of post-Civil War investigative force. By the time they reappeared in Ms Marvel, their remit was tracking potentially dangerous superpowered individuals, operating as the last shadow of the Sokovia Accords.<\/p>\n

Therein lies the most interesting idea for Wonder Man Season 2 and the future of the DODC. If we get to see a follow-up, it should finally show us a Damage Control vs hero conflict over a full season, rather than them playing secondary antagonists, and we already have a hint that the DODC are in the business of \u201chiring\u201d superpowered assets. That could give Wonder Man someone to fight closer to his level than bumbling humans. That\u2019s the show that should pay of Homecoming\u2018s original Damage Control thread, and hopefully, that\u2019s the show we\u2019ll get.<\/p>\n

Could \u201cWonder Man\u201d Become An Avenger?<\/p>\n

\"Simon<\/p>\n

Logically, Simon is so powerful that he simply cannot stay under the radar of the Avengers. If we weren\u2019t hurtling towards Doomsday and Secret Wars, there may even have been cause for Earth\u2019s mightiest heroes to investigate the emergence of a superpowered criminal who\u2019d just orchestrated a prison break, but they have bigger fish to fry now.<\/p>\n

Doomsday feels too soon for Simon to reappear with zero story build, but Secret Wars basically offers a cheat code to involve any and all heroes and villains from across the full Marvel spectrum. That gives Simon a chance to appear, but it still feels more likely that he\u2019ll reemergence from the dust of however the MCU is left after Secret Wars.<\/p>\n

All 8 episodes of Wonder Man are now available on Disney+. What did you think of the series? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the\u00a0ComicBook Forum<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marvel\u2019s 2026 slate has kicked off with a surprising gem, bringing Yahya Abdul-Mateen II\u2019s Simon Williams to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-394555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}