Marvel Studios Vetoed 1 Wonder Man Decision That Would've Made Simon Williams' Powers Look Even Cooler

Wonder Man is one of the more grounded entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's ever-expanding Disney+ library. The series follows Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a struggling Hollywood actor with ionic energy-based superpowers he's spent most of his life trying to hide. One of the most memorable scenes in the show comes from Simon displaying his ionic powers during a misunderstanding with his brother, Eric Williams, at their mother's birthday party. His eyes turn purple and red as he's filled with rage, and he smashes the island in his mother's kitchen into pieces. The design of his powers was awesome, but they could have looked even better if Marvel Studios hadn’t vetoed a supercool idea the FX team initially had for the character.

The visual effects team behind Simon's powers has pulled back the curtain on this idea and how they intended to bring it on screen. In a new interview with befores & afters, Base FX visual effects supervisor Wang Lei revealed that one early concept for Simon's eye effect was stripped back at Marvel Studios' request. Lei and her team wanted "the audience to sense that something was happening," but Marvel had other ideas:

"Controlling the subtlety of Simon’s eye effect was one of the more challenging aspects for us. From a creative standpoint, we wanted to keep the energy grounded in physical realism rather than letting it feel overtly magical. The effect needed to be readable enough for the audience to sense that something was happening, while remaining restrained so it wouldn’t pull focus away from the actor’s facial performance." 

The version that made it to air is "refined to feel more restrained and physically grounded" than what the team originally envisioned. Lei mentioned how they initially had "energy ions fluctuating deep within the pupil and propagating outward across the iris and sclera," a move that would have made Wonder Man's powers more visually appealing: 

"Our initial concept featured energy ions fluctuating deep within the pupil and propagating outward across the iris and sclera, even creating subtle ripple effects on the surrounding skin. Internally we were quite happy with this version, but through discussions with the Marvel team the effect was ultimately refined to feel more restrained and physically grounded. The skin ripple component was removed, leaving a subtle ion jitter within the pupil and delicate wave textures across the eye itself. Once the overall direction was approved, we integrated the effect into the full 3D pipeline. Simon’s eyes were replaced with CG in the final shots, and the energy motion was created during the FX stage before lighting, rendering, and compositing." 

Maintaining this skin ripple version would have looked a lot more intriguing on screen. Every time Simon's ionic energy surged, the viewer wouldn't just see a color change in his eyes. The energy would have visibly moved, traveling from deep inside the pupil outward across the white of the eye and then onto the skin itself. This would communicate what Simon is feeling in his body on a much larger scale, and wow viewers. Visual effects like that would’ve been unexpected, catching the audience off guard in a good way. It would also feel more "comic booky," bringing Simon Williams from the pages to life in a visceral way. 

Beyond Simon's eyes, Marvel Studios ensured that other technical effects surrounding his powers also felt "grounded in physical behavior rather than appearing magical." Lei recalled the different techniques the visual effects team used for the memorable kitchen island destruction scene:

"This scene represents a major energy eruption for Simon and involved a wide range of visual elements. To manage the complexity, we divided the work into two primary components. The first focused on environmental impact, including vibrating props, cloth simulations, falling lights, debris, dust, flickering illumination, and structural destruction. Many of these elements were driven by physically plausible simulations designed to remain believable while supporting the character’s performance. The second component focused on Simon’s internal energy itself. The Marvel team emphasized that the effect should feel grounded in physical behavior rather than appearing magical."  

Why Marvel Studios Chose a Grounded Approach for Wonder Man 

Marvel's decision to dial back Simon's powers is likely because Wonder Man arrived at a specific moment in the MCU's life cycle, one where the studio was aware that audiences had grown fatigued with superhero excess. The show itself is meta about this. Simon auditions for the lead role in a Wonder Man remake while dealing with a version of Hollywood that treats superpowered people as liabilities, and the series uses that to poke at the genre it exists inside. Making Simon's powers look like a conventional comic book light show would have undercut the premise a bit.

Also, Wonder Man is a deeply character-driven story, built on strong dialogue and emotional connections. It’s easy to see why Marvel Studios wouldn’t want to undercut these intimate moments by leaning too heavily into spectacle. By keeping Simon’s powers subtle, the audience can stay focused on the narrative and performances rather than the action. However, one could also argue that keeping more fantastical elements, like the dramatic eye ripple effect, wouldn't necessarily sacrifice that grounded feel; instead, it could have enhanced the visceral reality of his transformation. Simon's powers would have looked a lot cooler, but, understandably, Marvel wanted to play it safer.