Wonder Man's main villain is now set in stone as Marvel Studios looks ahead to its next Disney+ release. While Wonder Man will include one of the MCU's most notable former villains in its main cast, Simon Williams' ultimate antagonist has been a mystery throughout this show's promotional tour. With only weeks until the series drops in full on Disney+, Williams' Hollywood journey is still littered with questions before he is dropped into this expansive world of superheroes.
Marvel Studios confirmed that the MCU's Department of Damage Control and Arian Moayed's Agent P. Cleary will be the main villains in the Wonder Man series. Via the latest issue of SFX Magazine, along with that reveal, executive producer/showrunner Andrew Guest commented on Marvel wanting to avoid giving fans any "homework" to do for this series. The focus for the show was how to "tell this story" about Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery (Wonder Man's duo of leading characters) and use special effects and locations to make this world "feel real:"
"One of the things we wanted to do was have no homework for the audience. Being able to watch a show where you don't need to have seen the last Marvel movie, or any Marvel movie, to enjoy this series. We were like, 'How do we tell this story, about these two characters, where the special effects are the performances?' Our locations and getting to shoot in Hollywood is us really using this world around us to make it feel real."
Moayed will make his third MCU appearance in Wonder Man after first playing Agent Cleary in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home and reprising the role in 2022's Ms. Marvel. In Ms. Marvel, he teamed up with Alysia Reiner's Agent Sadie Deever in pursuit of Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan after she showed her new superpowers in public for the first time.
The Department of Damage Control has been a consistent presence in the greater MCU since the organization was first introduced in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. This will be the first time the group has been featured in an MCU project since 2022's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Marvel Television's Wonder Man will be the MCU's first new project released in 2026 and the third new Disney+ show released in Phase 6. Starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sir Ben Kingsley, Demetrius Grosse, Arian Moayed, Ed Harris, and Josh Gad, the series will feature Simon Williams on his journey through Hollywood as he hopes to be cast in the upcoming Wonder Man reboot movie within the MCU. All eight episodes of Wonder Man will begin streaming on Disney+ on Tuesday, January 27.
Wonder Man's Upcoming Tussle With Returning Villains on Disney+
In past MCU appearances, the Department of Damage Control has caused plenty of trouble for some of the MCU's biggest names. From pursuing Peter Parker after his identity was revealed to nearly arresting Kamala Khan at her high school after a scary battle, this group has proven that they are bad news for the MCU's countless superpowered beings.
Whether this show highlights Simon Williams' superhero origin story is still a mystery, but fans will see his powers on full display at some point in the show's eight episodes. A recently released trailer also teased Agent Cleary telling Trevor Slattery that Damage Control "considers Simon Williams an extraordinary threat," meaning he could be all over their radar sooner rather than later.
The real question moving forward is how quickly they will become a problem for Simon, especially considering he is on his own mission to be cast in the Wonder Man movie. This may even lead to Trevor Slattery returning to his evil roots, as Cleary is seen trying to influence the actor towards his side of the struggle.
While the specifics are still unknown, Simon Williams' struggles to make his name as an actor while staying off of Damage Control's radar will make for quite a wild narrative across an eight-episode slate.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
