Doorman: The comic book history of Wonder Man's tragic hero

Simon Williams isn't the only superpowered metahuman who appears in Wonder Man. There's another, even more obscure hero in the mix – Doorman, a member of the Great Lakes Avengers in comics.

Doorman (portrayed by Byron Bowers) plays a key role in Wonder Man thanks to the so-called 'Doorman Clause' that has been shown in promotional material, a contract stipulation that prevents metahumans from starring in movies or TV shows due to the dangerous nature of their abilities.

The reason for the Doorman Clause is both funny and disturbing, a tragedy that ripples throughout the entertainment industry within the MCU. But to explain any further, we'll have to get into some Wonder Man spoilers along with his comic history. If you want to stay totally unspoiled, now's your chance to turn back.

Doorman in Marvel Comics

In comics, Doorman is one of the founding members of the Great Lakes Avengers, an unofficial branch of Earth's Mightiest Heroes made up of some of the Marvel Universe's biggest oddballs. As one of Marvel's most obscure heroes, Doorman is an oddball himself.

Real name DeMarr Davis, Doorman has the mutant power to turn his body into a portal through the Darkforce Dimension, a plane of elemental darkness, allowing people and objects to pass through solid objects by stepping through him.

Doorman's powers later evolve after he sacrifices himself to help the GLA take on the cosmic villain Maelstrom. Upon dying, he's summoned to the Darkforce Dimension by another cosmic entity known as Oblivion, who recruits Doorman as, essentially, his angel of death.

This allows Doorman to return and help defeat Maelstrom, banishing him to the afterlife. Along with his newfound connection to death itself, Doorman's evolved abilities include becoming fully intangible and, weirdly, summoning skis that allow him to fly (an homage to DC's Black Racer, an emissary of death who also rides on skis).

Doorman in the MCU

Much like in comics, the MCU's Doorman is DeMarr Davis, though rather than a superhero, he's an actual doorman at a club who gains the ability to turn his body into a portal through solid objects. Unlike in comics, he's not a mutant. Instead, his powers manifest when he comes into contact with a mysterious black goo leaking out of a Roxxon container, the evil industrial mega-corporation that has been responsible for numerous disasters in Marvel Comics.

When his powers allow him to save a crowd of people from burning to death after the club catches fire, including actor/singer Josh Gad (playing himself), Doorman becomes a member of Gad's entourage, and eventually his co-star in a series of heist movies that make use of his portal abilities.

However, his fame comes with a cost as he's quickly made the butt of jokes due to his overuse of his "Ding dong!" catchphrase, sending him into a spiral of drinking. During the filming of a new movie with Gad, the actor attempts to jump through Doorman's body as he's done many times before. However, Doorman is hungover, becoming nauseated as Gad passes through his body, sending him into the shadows.

With Gad never being found, presumably lost in an MCU version of the Darkforce Dimension, Doorman loses everything and superhumans are banned from movie sets due to the high risk of another such incident – the Doorman Clause.

Whether Doorman ever returns remains to be seen, but you can watch his tragic story unfold as Wonder Man is now streaming on Disney Plus. For more, check out our Wonder Man review, and stay up to date on all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows in the works.