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PORTSIDE CULTURE

WONDER MAN ACCIDENTALLY BECAME MCU’S MOST POLITICAL DISNEY+ SHOW  
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Matt Morrison
January 30, 2026
Superherohype
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_ Government corruption and overreach are frequent themes in both
Marvel Comics and the MCU. The same week the series was released, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) faced public heat regarding
the actions and overreach of ICE agents. _

, (Image Source: Marvel Studios)

 

WONDER MAN [[link removed]] has proven a
critical win for both Disney
[[link removed]] and Marvel Studios
[[link removed]]. Fans and critics
have praised it for its satire of Hollywood and the bromance between
its two leads. However, few have discussed the political implications
of the MCU
[[link removed]]
miniseries in relation to current events in the United States.

[Wonder Man Accidentally Became MCU’s Most Political Disney+ Show]

Wonder Man centers around actor Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
[[link removed]]) and his
efforts to make it big. He meets fellow actor Trevor Slattery (Ben
Kingsley [[link removed]]) at a retro
screening of Midnight Cowboy. Williams is an up-and-comer, whereas
Slatterly is trying to revive his career after playing the terrorist
Mandarin in a series of faked propaganda videos in Iron Man 3
[[link removed]].

The two hit if off and Slattery mentors Williams as they both audition
for a cinematic reboot of the fictional superhero Wonder Man. This is
Williams’ dream role as the original movie inspired him to become an
actor as a child. Williams auditions for the lead as Slattery
auditions for the role of the alien hero’s only friend. However,
unbeknownst to Williams, his meeting Slattery was no accident.

Following the events of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
[[link removed]],
Slattery was arrested while reentering the United States. Slattery had
been kidnapped from prison by the real Mandarin and was rescued by
Shang-Chi [[link removed]] before
spending some time in the mystic dimension of Ta Lo. Threatened with a
return to prison, Slattery agreed to spy on Williams on behalf of the
Department of Damage Control
[[link removed]] (DODC).

MCU’S DEPARTMENT OF DAMAGE CONTROL EXPLAINED

Damage Control was first introduced to the MCU in a flashback in
Spider-Man: Homecoming
[[link removed]]. In the
comics, Damage Control was a private company contracted to repair the
damage caused by alien invaders and supervillain attacks. By contrast,
the MCU version was introduced as a government agency which provided
the same support. However, the Department of Damage Control’s
mission expanded in later MCU films and television series.

By the time of Spider-Man: No Way Home
[[link removed]], the DODC
had also taken over policing superpowered individuals and managing
prisons for super-criminals. Wonder Man Episode 3, “Pacoima,”
reveals the DODC has come under fire for subverting civil liberties in
their missions. The Congressional Budget Office has also started
reconsidering their funding, given the prisons for supervillains are
half empty. The DODC head in Los Angeles warns his agents to “look
carefully at what you are contributing.” This is a clearly veiled
threat that any agent who doesn’t start bringing in dangerous
superhumans will lose their job.

Agent P. Cleary (Arian Moayed
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chief antagonist of Wonder Man. He makes the deal with Trevor Slattery
to spy on Simon Williams. He does this despite having little evidence
that Williams has superpowers, much less is a clear and present
danger. Indeed, his only evidence is a report of Williams’ surviving
a kitchen fire unhurt when he was 13 and a portable toilet exploding
on the set of a television show he once worked on.

WONDER MAN’S VILLAIN IS A CORRUPT GOVERNMENT AGENCY

The sinister evolution and overreach of the MCU’s Damage Control had
been examined in series and films before Wonder Man. Peter Parker
[[link removed]] was the target of a
DODC investigation in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The agency also served
as an antagonistic force in Ms. Marvel
[[link removed]]. There, DODC agent Sadie
Deever crossed multiple ethical and legal boundaries with her efforts
to investigate Kamala Khan
[[link removed]] as a potential
terrorist.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Agent P. Cleary was involved in both
incidents. However, he was portrayed as a more reasonable authority
figure in Ms. Marvel, eventually seeing Agent Deever fired. And yet,
his concerns were born more of her inability to follow orders and
operate covertly than any breech of ethics. This is consistent with
his portrayal in Wonder Man, where he is more worried about saving his
job than any threat Simon Williams might pose.

Government corruption and overreach are frequent themes in both Marvel
Comics [[link removed]] and the MCU.
However, the story of Wonder Man takes on a particular resonance in
early 2026. In the same week the series was released, U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) faced public heat regarding the actions
and overreach of ICE agents. ICE also faced questions regarding its
budget by Congress. Were it not for Wonder Man finishing filming in
2024, this might be taken as a direct reference. However, the
coincidence makes the drama seem all the more relevant.

WONDER MAN’S HERITAGE IS ALSO A POLITICAL HOT POTATO

Another accidentally political coincidence lies in Simon Williams’
background in the MCU. Wonder Man Episode 3, “Pacoima,”
establishes Williams as the son of two Haitian immigrants. Most of the
episode’s action occurs against the backdrop of his mother’s
birthday party. This involves a huge family gathering and a festive
neighborhood party, which accents their Haitian heritage. Indeed, most
of the family speak Haitian Creole in private, despite all of them
being shown to be fluent in English.

Originally, this point was meant to add some variety to the character
of Simon Williams. Reportedly, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II worked with the
Wonder Man producers to develop this idea. This was partly to give
Simon a specific cultural identity but also to reflect his own
heritage. In a 2020 interview with Men’s Health, Yahya Abudl-Mateen
II discussed how his grandfather immigrated to the United States from
the West Indies.

However, Wonder Man being the son of Haitian immigrants takes on a
different tone in light of current events in the United States. There
was a wave of anti-Haitian sentiment in the United States in 2024.
This peaked with conservative politicians spreading rumors that
Haitian refugees who migrated to the country legally were stealing and
eating people’s pets.

These epithets arose again in early 2026 amid reporting
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that ICE would prepare to target Haitian immigrant communities in
Ohio. Again, given when Wonder Man was written and filmed, this is
entirely coincidental. However, the choice to make the MCU Simon
Williams the son of Haitian immigrants hits with a different energy
because of real world events. This could turn Wonder Man into the
Andor [[link removed]] of 2026.

Wonder Man: Season 1 is now streaming in its entirety on Disney+
[[link removed]].

[Matt Morrison] [[link removed]]

Matt Morrison [[link removed]]

Matt Morrison has been writing about comics and superheroes for nearly
two decades. His work can also be seen at KabOOOOOm.com and No Flying,
No Tights. When he is not reading comics and writing, he enjoys
role-playing, cosplay and photography.

* MARVEL
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* wonder man
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* government overreach
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* Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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* disney+
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