Wonder Man Episode 3: The Barrel Of Clothes At The Party Explained

The best thing about "Wonder Man" is how grounded it is. Sure, Andrew Guest and Destin Daniel Cretton's series features super-powered individuals, vindictive government agencies, and other things we associate with Marvel Cinematic Universe shows. However, its narrative typically centers around Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) doing regular things — like attending auditions and trying to overcome blackmailers who feud with candymakers. 

"Wonder Man" episode 3 is arguably the most grounded of the bunch. The plot has Williams and Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley) attending a birthday party for Williams' mother, but it also delves further into Williams' Haitian family heritage and the customs surrounding the culture. Notably, the guests at the party put clothes and items in a blue barrel, which is reminiscent of a real-life practice pertaining to Jamaican communities. In short, Jamaican people who have emigrated elsewhere are known for sending clothes and items to their homeland in barrels, allowing them to remain connected to their country while at the same time helping their loved ones and the economy.

Haitian culture has a similar practice known as "pèpè," which involves second-hand garments being sent to the country in clothing bails. But more than that, honoring Haitians in general is simply one of the Disney+ series' main goals.

Jean Elie wore a couple of hats on "Wonder Man." He appears on-screen in a couple of episodes as the character Terrell, who works as Williams' assistant after he becomes a movie star. However, the Haitian-American actor was also a creative consultant behind the scenes, which he opened about in an interview with The Nerds of Color:

"]This] opportunity is not really afforded for people like us all the time, and if I could be a beacon of hope for someone who's dreaming in their room of doing this kind of work, let me serve that idea, and let me show that it's possible. And being able to, like, keep pushing that narrative of our culture forward, it will demystify what the Haitian culture is. It will change us from just being lumped in as just Black, but there's also, like, different diasporas and different ethnicities within the Black culture that we can like highlight, that, I think, is pretty cool."

This makes "Wonder Man" another example of Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige keeping his promise to bring more representation and diversity to the MCU following projects like "Black Panther," "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," and "Ms. Marvel." Hopefully, we will get to see more of Williams and his family in the future, though that has yet to be confirmed at the time of writing. For now, though, the series' finale suggests viewers haven't seen the last of these characters.

"Wonder Man" is currently streaming on Disney+