‘Wonder Man’ not only brings Simon Williams into the MCU, but it also silently redefines the way the audience is supposed to think about the origin of his powers. In contrast to the comics, where Simon’s powers are obviously linked to ionic radiation, the Disney+ series does not explicitly explain his origin.
No lab accident. No experiment gone wrong. Just powers that are there, and a man who does not quite know what to do with them. And the omission is not accidental.
Why Marvel Chose Not To Explain ‘Wonder Man’s Powers
Co-showrunner Andrew Guest stated that leaving his powers unexplained was a creative decision, based on the Fox X-Men films, in which powers tend to be seen not as an upgrade, but as a burden. In that regard, ‘Wonder Man’ is not posing the question of how Simon acquired his powers. The focus is on how they impact him as an individual.
“I look back at that first X-Men movie and how those powers that all those teenagers had felt so psychological. And Simon’s powers felt like it was some part of him that sort of happened to him as opposed to something that he was A, excited about, or B, wanted to even get to know,” he told the Direct.
Similar to Rogue or Cyclops, Simon does not appear to be excited by what is happening to him. His super strength and ionic pulses are not presented as a wish fulfillment; they’re framed as something that simply happened to him. That framing immediately begs a question that Marvel fans cannot overlook: Is it possible that his powers are natural, making Simon Williams a mutant?
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The show never says the word. But the similarities are difficult to overlook. Powers that come uninvited. A sense of isolation. The absence of any technological or scientific explanation. ‘Wonder Man’ has heavy mutant storytelling DNA even though it may never officially become part of the MCU.
Marvel’s Silence Is Strategic
Guest affirmed that the creative team debated whether Simon should be directly referred to as a mutant and decided not to answer the question at all. Such silence is not as indecisive. It is strategic.
The fact that Simon’s standing is not defined leaves the door open. Mutants are yet to be cautiously brought into the MCU, and restricting ‘Wonder Man’ to that label would restrict the narrative in the future. Meanwhile, the show provides the fans with sufficient breadcrumbs to make their own conclusions.
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Simon Williams is mutant-coded in a lot of ways. He was born with powers, he does not feel comfortable with them, and he does not know where he belongs in a world that does not fully comprehend him. And maybe that’s enough.
Marvel does not necessarily have to give the audience a label when the emotional reality is already obvious. Whether Wonder Man is officially a mutant or not may eventually be decided by higher powers at Marvel Studios. For now, the vagueness is deliberate.
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