SerpApi.Org
While all eyes are on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday coming later this year, it will be hard to top Simon Williams as the biggest breakout star of the MCU in 2026. Marvel stunned everyone with the release of the show-stopping Wonder Man on Disney+ back in January, not only reintroducing a character who has been a part of the company's comic history since the 1960s, but also using him for a satirical exploration of Hollywood and the process behind superhero movie-making. The meta-comedy series was an instant hit with both critics and audiences, earning a Season 2 renewal and the first acting Emmy nomination in five years for the MCU for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the lead. It'll be a while before Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest get Simon's next chapter to the screen, but fortunately, there's another story featuring the character that's just wrapping up.
Marvel Comics has released the fifth and final issue of Wonder Man Vol. 4 onto store shelves, concluding prolific Deadpoolwriter Gerry Duggan's run with the character, which began earlier this year. Like the new show, it's been one big love letter to the history of Simon Williams on the page and to Hollywood itself, as the hero picks himself from the lowest of lows to return to super-heroic stardom. That is until his old cellmate comes around, kicking off a series of events that see Simon framed for murder, starting a whirlwind romance with Hellcat, and facing down The Spot as he threatens L.A. In Issue #5, everything finally comes together for the hero, but not before Simon finally drops his terrible representation.
Accompanying the release, a new preview was shared that combines both the thrill and comedy of Wonder Man into one sequence. The pages catch up with Simon after he learns from the Avengers where Matthew Walters' plane is heading and decides to pay an in-flight visit to the Hollywood weasel. Walters certainly isn't expecting to see his client casually fly up beside him and ask where his old pal, Rudolph Chancellor, is. When the agent can't give him an answer, he stops asking nicely, getting a panicked story about how Chancellor leaped out of the Cessna to his death out of sheer guilt. Unfortunately for Walters, Simon is familiar with his slimy tricks and decides on a different approach, ripping the door off and dangling Walters until he reveals the very stupid truth. Walters was a terrible investor, buying into the future of NFTs and specifically, a certain line of JPG monkeys, leading him down a path of embezzlement and murder. It's so dumb and evil that Simon simply drops his former agent over the water, but surely he wouldn't just let a man die without facing justice, right?
Will 'Wonder Man' Issue #5 Give Simon Williams His Hollywood Ending?
Much of Wonder Man #5 revolves around finally piecing together the answers to all the chaos that has taken over Simon's life. His confrontation with Walters shows the who and the very idiotic why behind the deaths close to him, but there are still questions left to untangle about how this all happened. Among the most burning, unrelated to the series' central mystery, is whether the will-they-won't-they between Simon and Patsy is built to last after a run full of romantic tension. All signs are pointing to a climactic and comedic finale for Hollywood's greatest hero. Joining Duggan for the issue is artist Phil Noto, with Marco Checchetto and Frank Martin handling the cover.
Wonder Man #5 is now out on store shelves. Check out a sneak preview of the issue in the gallery above.
