Superman Analogues: Wonder Man
61What if you had a Superman who was more concerned about fame than being a hero? Well, here's Marvel's Wonder Man!
Find the original thread here: https://twitter.com/CaseAiken/status/1075085937405816832
Original Text: OK, today I want to talk about one that goes a little bit away from the personality archetype but keeps the power set very much the same, Marvel's Wonder Man.
Wonder Man, objectively, looks very Superman like. His powers are nebulously defined super strength, invulnerability, some energy powers, and occasionally flight. However, his personality is vastly different: he's a movie star.
The character started as an industrialist rival to Tony Stark but was convinced by Baron Zemo to become a pawn in his war against the Avengers in exchange for aid in getting out of some legal troubles.
He died in his first appearance and that kind of became a recurring theme. The character has died A LOT.
He went on to become an Avengers mainstay with some... interesting... outfits. All of them better than his first, though his most famous would be the "Leisure Suit" version.
And eventually he'd get an energy form that kind of makes for a Super Saiyan type.
His moral stance has fluctuated. He's generally played a "B list" actor who's more famous for being a super hero (very reality tv but predates that by a few decades). He usually is a little but of a well meaning jerk and his criminal past comes up from time to time.
Also his half brother is the super villain Grim Reaper and his brain was copied and used as the basis for #Vision (who I think is close enough to talk about at some point separately) making him part of the very messed up Pym/Scarlet Witch/Robot family
He survives into the far future where he associates with the Guardians of the Galaxy of the 30th century
And sometimes, he makes bad choices. During the super hero registration era, he was doing propaganda films for the government and being kind of scummy about it. He's been known to take bribes. But a lot of that is just inconsistent writing, the rest is an identity crisis issue that he faces having died and been resurrected. It's been hinted that his body was just a reanimated form fueled by the ionic energies that power him, that happened to have the memories of Simon Williams. (Very Alan Moore Swamp Thing)
I was a regular reader of Avengers West Coast in the 90s and into Force Works (*snicker*). As a result, I ended up going back and picking up his solo series, which I quite enjoyed.
Now days I'd do a book like his as a super hero version of "Get Shorty" or "Entourage", though, if it hadn't already been done to death, a reality star version could have been interesting.
He never had the stature in the Marvel universe to be a star, but it was hard to deny that he was a heavy hitter.
Also, his bromance with Beast was always a fun thing that humanized the character and made the pair a welcome addition to any book.
Ultimately, much like Union, if he wasn't in such a densely populated world of supermen, he might have been a bigger character. The difference here is that I actually read his stuff so I can speak a little more passionately.
Oh, let me know if you want me to talk about the Wonder Man family tree of MCU characters. It is... insane. He is very connected to some really out there characters.
Image 1 – Wonder Man #1, Cover by Jeff Johnson
Image 2 - Marvel Comics Presents #119, 1993, by Pete McDonell and Don Hudson
Image 3 – Avengers Vol 1 #9, by Don Heck
Image 4 – Wonder Man’s first death. Depicted here by Jim Starlin
Image 5 – The various outfits of Wonder Man, by Keiron Dwyer
Image 6 – Avengers Vol 1 #9, by Don Heck
Image 7 – The “Leisure Suit”. Looks like John Byrne, but not sure.
Image 8 – Variant cover for Avengers Vol 2 #3, cover by George Perez
Image 9 – I have no idea who did this one, but I love the framing.
.
Image 10 – Avengers Vol 1 #160, Cover by George Perez
Image 11 – The family tree is a collage of classic images of the myriad characts involved.
Image 12 - “Hollywood” in Galactic Guardians #1, Cover by Kevin West and Steve Montano
Image 13 – The New Avengers Annual Vol 2 #1, Cover by Gabriele Dell'otto, Mark Bagley, Andy Lanning, and Frank Martin Jr.
Image 14 – Force Works #1, Cover by Tom Tenney and Rey Garcia
Image 15 – Wonder Man Vol 2 #3, cover by Jeff Johnson
Image 16 - Marvel Masterpiece 1992 Trading Card by Joe Jusko
Image 17 - Avengers Vol 1 #198, Art by George Perez
Image 18 – Avengers Vol 3 #14, Cover by George Perez
Music by Bret Eagleston - www.breteagleston.bandcamp.com
Certain Point Of View is a podcast network brining you all sorts of nerdy goodness! Learn more on our website: https://www.certainpov.com
Discord: https://discord.gg/wcHHer4
PODCAST:
▶ Men Of Steel - https://www.certainpov.com/men-of-steel
FOLLOW US:
▶ Twitter: @certainpovmedia
▶ Instagram: @certainpovmedia
▶ Website: https://www.certainpov.com
#CertainPOV #Podcast #Podcasts #Superman #supermananalogue #marvel