Most of Marvel Comics’ major Avengers appear in the MCU in one form or another, with one important exception. The Wonder Man, a powerful hero closely associated with key characters and storylines, remains on the sidelines. The new report suggests that this will change soon: The series “Wonder Man” will be released by Shang-Chi and the director of “The Legend of the Ten Rings” Destin Daniel Cretton.
Comic book fans know that Wonder Man plays a crucial role in the history of the early Avengers, forming the third point in the complex triangle between the Vision and the Scarlet Witch. He has also joined the West Coast Avengers, which he can do in live action as some of these characters have now appeared in the MCU.
Originally a villain
Wonder Man first appears in Avengers #9 in 1964, co-created by a legendary comic book team including Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Don Heck. Wonder Man initially fights the Avengers as a villain, working with Baron Zemo in an elaborate gambit to disguise himself as a hero in order to gain team membership.
Wonder Man turns on the team almost immediately, leaving them vulnerable to the Masters of Evil. His connections with Zemo and the Masters may hint at how he appears in the MCU. The Masters of Evil eventually disguise themselves as the Thunderbolts in the comics, and a movie about the Thunderbolts is on its way.
Ionic forces
Wonder Man is among the most powerful Avengers in Marvel comics and will be in the MCU when he appears, thanks to his ionic energy powers. The Miracle Man acquired superhuman strength, endurance and speed thanks to Baron Zemo’s experiments with ion energy. Fans of comics know that Baron Zemo has huge resources and intelligence to engage in such endeavors.
Later comics allowed Wonder Man to transition from solid matter to pure ionic energy, giving him God-like power and effective immortality.
The Grim Reaper
Wonder Man appears to die in his first encounter with the Avengers, sacrificing his life to save the team from the Masters of Evil. This forces his brother Eric Williams to take revenge on the Avengers. He became the Grim Reaper, quickly becoming one of the main villains of the Avengers comics, fighting them several times in a row.
The Grim Reaper gets his trademark scythe from Tinkerer, the Spider-Man villain, and also gets other superpowers from Ultron in later comic book storylines.
Wonder Man returns
Wonder Man dies in Avengers #9, but Hank Pym uses his scientific genius to record and save samples of his brain. These patterns remained locked up until Pym found a solution, but Wonder Man never actually died. He was only in a coma.
His body had been wintering in a comatose state for years, even though his brother had tried to revive him in various ways. He returned only after a Live Laser subjected the Miracle Man to powerful radiation, which finally began to cancel Baron Zemo’s ion manipulations with his body.
Black Claw
Although the Miracle Man found a new life in the “Vision”, at that time he remained technically dead. The Grim Reaper stole his body from the Avengers Mansion and delivered it to Black Claw, a voodoo practitioner, the Grim Reaper hoped he could resuscitate his brother.
Black Claw brought Wonder Man back to life, although he was more like a zombie. The Scarlet Witch defeated Black Claw when he fought the Avengers, recovering Wonder Man’s body and eventually leading to his true resurrection.
Become a vision
Comic book fans know that Wonder Man returned to haunt the Avengers when Ultron used Simon William’s brain models to create a Vision. Vision first attacks the Avengers before realizing his origin and discovering his inherent humanity.
Vision discovers her connection to Wonder Man in Avengers #58, the cornerstone of the first Ultron saga and one of the best storylines of Avengers comics. Wonder Man’s connection to Vision probably manifests itself in some way in the MCU.
Personality crisis
Vision and Wonder Man differ in many ways, but they are actually the same person thanks to shared memories and brain patterns. This leads to a conflict between them and an identity crisis for both, which has been playing out in comics for years.
Vision simultaneously strives to become more like Wonder Man and less, while Wonder Man questions his place among the Avengers and in his life. Eventually they reconcile and think of each other as brothers.
Rejection of the Scarlet Witch
When Vision loses all her memories after being dismantled by the government, Scarlet Witch asks Wonder Man to borrow her brain samples again to restore her husband. The Miracle Man refuses, as he himself has feelings for Wanda.
Wanda and Simon eventually became romantics in the early 2000s, forming a love triangle that the MCU is bound to repeat in some way, since the Vision exists without his memories and can get a new identity from Wonder Man.
