Abhiroop Das
Created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, Disney+’s ‘Wonder Man’ follows Simon Williams, a struggling actor leading an ordinary life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Except Simon himself is far from ordinary and has been secretly flagged by the government as one of the most dangerous people on the planet. The reason is his mysterious superpower, which only briefly shows up in the narrative but guarantees chaos and fury every single time. With a clause forbidding superhumans from pursuing acting, Simon has no choice but to lie in his resume and land the role of his dreams, starring as Wonder Man in a Von Kovak directorial. Still, with his powers largely running unchecked, each move he makes turns into a curious game of dice, which may or may not reveal his greatest secret to the whole wide world. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Simon Can Channel and (Somewhat) Control Energy on an Ionic Level
By the end of the first season, superhuman strength, flight, and ionic energy manipulation are confirmed to be a part of Simon’s superpower toolkit. While his primary goal is to keep his superhuman nature under wraps, we do get a vague idea of the true extent of his powers by the final episode, by which point he no longer feels compelled to hide things. Throughout the season, Simon’s accumulated rage manifests as short bursts of energy, which either take the form of an explosion or are channeled out of his fist. What strikes as unique about these explosions, however, is that they also cause his surrounding objects to vibrate, similar to how things would react to a sound wave. In Simon’s case, these movements almost mimic telekinesis, and we learn exactly why that is when Agent P. Cleary drops a bombshell in the finale.
Simon’s largest display of power in the show, the explosion at the ‘Wonder Man’ film set, is also the easiest way to figure out his ability. Following this trail, Cleary extensively researches the debris on an atomic level and soon realizes that Simon’s explosions seemingly alter ionic energy, both inside and around him. It is also apparent that he has little to no control over his energy manipulation abilities for most of the series, with the powers often being released involuntarily during moments of emotional distress. This changes, however, with the timeskip in the final scene of the show, which grants us the first real glimpse into Simon’s potential. After reuniting with Trevor, Simon breaks the prison bars with zero effort, before holding Trevor tight and creating a sort of energy field around them. From there, Simon instantly takes flight, shattering the ceilings of both the prison and his potential as a superhuman.
The Comic Book Version of Simon is Effectively Immortal
Although Simon’s abilities are among the best-kept secrets in ‘Wonder Man,’ we do get a good showing of his skills by the season finale, and that isn’t too far off from his comic counterpart. In the Marvel comics, Simon is essentially composed of ionic energy, which he can reinforce both to make himself invulnerable and to create and conduct energy fields. Some of his lesser-used, but also confirmed, abilities include shapeshifting and teleportation, both of which rely on his complete mastery of radial fields. The biggest detail, however, is the implication that he is practically immortal due to being a pure-energy construct. However, such an idea cannot be applied to the TV show just yet, as it is confirmed that Simon has an augmented, but nonetheless human body.
While the origins of Simon’s abilities are not revealed in ‘Wonder Man,’ they are unlikely to follow the comic origin stories. This makes the true extent of his abilities a lot more ambiguous, as much of Wonder Man’s moves in the comic rely on him being an ionic entity. Still, with strength, flight, and arguably even regeneration already in his control, Wonder Man is comfortably sitting in the upper echelons of Marvel superheroes, at least in terms of how powerful they are. This, in turn, points to a larger problem involving the DODC. With the government now having a decent handle on his superpower, it is unlikely that Simon will be allowed to roam free. His affiliations with Trevor are already slated to make things more challenging, and as he locks heads with the DODC itself, we might see more of his powers unlock, as currently there is no real limit to what he is capable of.
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