Image via MarvelPublished Jan 28, 2026, 2:19 PM EST
Giovana Gelhoren is a High-Trending Topics Writer at Collider, covering the most-talked-about stars, movies, and TV shows. Before joining Collider, she was a Digital News Writer at People Magazine and served as Associate Editor at SheKnows, where she honed her expertise in celebrity coverage and entertainment journalism.
A proud Latina from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Giovana graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Journalism and International Studies. She has interviewed countless celebrities, including Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Brenda Song, and is known for her encyclopedic knowledge of film, TV, and pop culture.
After falling short with its latest mega-productions like Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and even The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel is trying something new. On January 27, 2026, their new Disney+ TV show Wonder Man premiered on the streaming platform, and it's been a welcome surprise. Already, the series has received the highest Rotten Tomatoes scores Marvel's gotten in years, earning an impressive 90% from critics and 89% from the audience. But as viewers tune in and give Marvel another shot to beat superhero fatigue, we're breaking down what Wonder Man is about, and what supernatural powers he actually has.
What Is 'Wonder Man' About?
Wonder Man is the story of Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a young actor looking for his big break in Hollywood after getting rejected time and time again. That all changes when he meets and forms a friendship with former drug-addicted terrorist patsy-turned-recovering Shakespearian performer Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), who tells Simon that legendary filmmaker Von Kovac (Zlatko Buric) is remaking Simon's all-time favorite superhero movie, Wonder Man. Simon jumps on the opportunity, feeling like it's a role he was born to play. But there's one hiccup: Simon has superpowers and, according to the Doorman Clause from the Department of Damage Control, superpowered individuals are strictly forbidden from acting in movies.
Throughout the season, as Simon continues to prove his worth to get the role, hiding his powers from the rest of the world becomes harder and harder. According to Collider's very own Aidan Kelley in his review, that plot is a breath of fresh air for Marvel viewers. Instead of having the main superhero fighting off bad guys and saving the day, Wonder Man flips the script and becomes "the most grounded, low-stakes series the MCU has ever produced." By doing so, Wonder Man isn't about good versus evil, or power versus more power, and is solely a personal, character-driven drama based on one aspiring actor's big Hollywood dreams.
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What Are Wonder Man’s Powers?
While the synopsis of Wonder Man sounds heartwarming, don't let Simon's aspirations fool you; He's a powerful superhero. According to Marvel.com, Wonder Man is one of the strongest characters in the Marvel universe, someone who can certainly hold his own against Hulk, Thor and even Hercules. His powers all stem from iconic energy, which permeates every tissue and bone in his body. For starters, the iconic energy has given him superhuman strength, in which lifting over 100 tons is no big deal and without breaking a sweat. In addition to superhuman strength, Wonder Man also has superhuman speed, stamina, agility, senses and invulnerability. All those together, Wonder Man is a superhero who's extremely strong and agile, has insane reflexes, never tires from a fight and never gets hurt himself.
Onto his perhaps most surprising powers, Wonder Man does not require food, water or air to live, and does not age, as per Marvel.com. He also has the ability to fly at speeds over 700 mph, and can leap hundreds of feet from a standing jump. All those powers considered, Wonder Man is a powerful adversary, one that can just about everything except shapeshift or mind control.
With all that said, as viewers continue to break records as they tune in to Wonder Man, the series begins a new chapter for Marvel. Not only does the show steer clear of its traditional storylines and action-packed projects (Wonder Man reportedly has only one fight scene), but the series also introduces one of Marvel's most powerful superheroes to date. Soon enough, Wonder Man will surely be a force to be reckoned with, both in the Marvel universe and out of it.
Release Date January 27, 2026
Network Disney+
Writers Andrew Guest
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