Marvel's Wonder Man will soon be arriving on Disney Plus – and, well, fans are in for a treat with this one. Don't believe us? Check out the show's glowing reviews, which have earned it one of the highest Rotten Tomatoes scores across all of the MCU's small-screen offerings.
Hell, we gave it a near-perfect 4.5 out of 5 in our very own Wonder Man review.
Created by Andrew Guest and Destin Daniel Cretton, it follows Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a Hollywood actor who secretly possesses superpowers – a fact he struggles to conceal when he auditions for the titular role in a Wonder Man remake. Along the way, he teams up with struggling thespian Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), as the pair try their best to land their respective gigs.
It's a Marvel Spotlight series, which should shed some (welcome) light on how much homework you've got to do before diving into the eight-episode comedy drama. We dive into all that below, as we break down which Marvel movies you should check out before you hit play. Fortunately, there's not a lot, so you should be able to get up to (super) speed before Wonder Man drops in its entirety on January 27...
What is a Marvel Spotlight series?
A Marvel Spotlight title is essentially a title that doesn't require its viewer to have seen any other Marvel movie or TV show to understand what's going on. As the House of Mouse puts it, these projects focus "on more grounded, character-driven stories with less impact on the larger MCU narrative."
It is separate to the studio's Marvel Animation and Marvel Television banners. Despite it technically being a spin-off of Hawkeye, Echo was the first show released as a Marvel Spotlight series, as its storyline was simple enough to follow without viewers having to have joined in with Clint Barton and Kate Bishop's previous archery-filled adventures in New York City.
With that, you don't need to watch anything before watching Wonder Man but it might make your viewing experience a little richer if you give these a go in the run-up...
Iron Man 3
Released way back in 2013, Iron Man 3 marked Ben Kingsley's first appearance as Trevor Slattery. Not that we knew it in the film's marketing. Instead, we all thought the acclaimed British actor was playing The Mandarin, a formidable rival of Tony Stark's from the comics and leader of the terrorist group, the Ten Rings.
Turns out, he was just Trevor Slattery, a washed-up, drug-addicted actor hired by Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian and Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) to trick Iron Man into thinking he was the menacing Mandarin, and to be the face of a bunch of propaganda videos Killian broadcasts around the world.
We won't divulge more here, since you're better off finding the ins and outs of Killian and Slattery's work relationship by watching it yourself. Elsewhere, the film is a well-acted, surprisingly profound exploration of Stark's PTSD from the Battle of New York in The Avengers – and well worth your time.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Slattery briefly appeared again in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, in which he's revealed he was once sentenced to death by the titular organization. Fortunately for Slattery, the Ten Rings leader Xu Wenwu was entertained by his Shakespearean monologues and forced him to be his court jester instead.
During his time in prison, Slattery sobered up, and is eventually busted out by Simu Liu's eponymous hero.
Directed by Wonder Man's co-showrunner Destin Daniel Cretton, the movie also stars Awkwafina, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, and Tony Leung.
Wonder Man premieres on January 27 on Disney Plus. For more, check out our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
