Wonder Man Completes One Of The Most Surprising Heroic Arcs In The MCU

This article contains spoilers for "Wonder Man" season 1, episode 8 — "Yucca Valley."

The thing about Marvel's "Wonder Man" series is that it's about Ben Kingsley's returning Trevor Slattery as much as it is about Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's super-powered Simon Williams. Trevor was infamously introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a disgraced actor hired to play the Mandarin by "Iron Man 3" villain Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), and he's paid the price for the role ever since.

Trevor enters the show by stealthily setting up a "chance" meeting with Simon and worming his way into the younger thespian's good graces. He's acting under orders from the Department of Damage Control agent Cleary (Arian Moyaed), who's threatening to throw him back in prison if he refuses to comply. However, Trevor soon grows genuinely fond of Simon. After Simon finds out about Trevor's duplicity, the young actor's anger causes him to lose control of his powers and wreck the "Wonder Man" film set in a massive explosion. This prompts the ashamed Trevor to perform the noblest act available to him; donning the Mandarin costume once more, Trevor takes the blame for the explosion and goes to a high-security supervillain prison in Simon's stead.

We'd already seen hints of Trevor's redemption arc in previous MCU projects — namely, "Wonder Man" helmsman Destin Daniel Cretton's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," where the character played a pivotal supporting role and helped to defend the mythical village of Ta Lo. However, "Wonder Man" takes things a step further and completes Trevor's unexpected but welcome transformation into a bona fide hero.

"Wonder Man" pulls back the curtain on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in many ways. Notably, it's also the rare MCU project that doesn't have a real villain. Instead, every major character who's antagonistic toward someone else is simply doing things that make sense to them. Simon is simply trying to become a successful actor while avoiding the use of his powers, whereas his brother, Eric (Demetrius Grosse), seems hostile, but he truly cares for his younger sibling; he just doesn't always understand him. Even the show's main antagonistic force, Cleary, legitimately — and, in some ways, justifiably — considers Simon's explosive powers a huge potential threat.

The whole setup is a refreshing spin on the MCU's usual heroes-and-villains antics. It's also the perfect set dressing for the latest chapter in one of the most surprising heroic arcs the franchise has ever given us. Trevor taking responsibility for the studio explosion Simon caused by resuming his Mandarin guise confirms that the character is now truly on the side of the angels, as much as he might complain about it ... and the fact that Simon spends much of the season finale on a high-risk mission to rescue his friend from the Yucca Valley prison suggests that the MCU might not be quite done with Mr. Slattery yet.

"Wonder Man" is streaming on Disney+.