My new Wonder Man article in Den of Geek Magazine, plus extended interviews with Englehart and Michelinie
Wonder Man drops on Disney Plus on Jan 27th, and my new Simon Williams timeline in the latest Den of Geek Magazine will get you all caught up on his complex comic book history before you watch the Marvel Studios show.
My vision for the piece was originally an in-depth feature with lots of words coming directly from two of Wonder Man's most influential writers, Steve Englehart and David Michelinie, along with insight from showrunner Andrew Guest. Den of Geek shifted their vision from a feature to a timeline, which looks fantastic. But that means a good deal of the interviews didn't make the cut!
Here are my full Q&As with Englehart and Michelinie about their Wonder Man work in The Avengers and beyond...
STEVE ENGLEHART
What motivated you to resurrect Wonder Man the first time in Avengers #131?
I was intrigued by the idea of a guy who had been dead, and who, when he came back to life, knew it. I was going to do a very dark, deep consciousness, very profound, and play it off the Vision's artificial but not-as-dark personality.
Rumors have it that retribution for DC's publication of Power Girl contributed to Wonder Man's permanent return. How much did this motivate your second resurrection of the character in Avengers #151?
I'm actually unaware of anything Marvel may have done about Power Girl, but as far as I was concerned, bringing back WM was just something I wanted to explore; I wasn't told to do it.
When you came back to Marvel in the 80s, Wonder Man had gone through significant changes and this iteration featured heavily in your work on West Coast Avengers. How did you feel about taking on this version of Simon that differed so much from the one you initially brought back?
Yeah, as a comics writer, I believe that if you inherit a character you should accept him as he is, at least to start. If you want him to be something else, the journey to that is a story. But I got the WM I got, so I rolled with it. That said, I never found the WCA WM to be that interesting - not because he wasn't what I'd intended, but because he seemed pretty shallow. Good guy, second-rate actor - not a lot to work with. But I tried to do him right.
The Vision and the Scarlet Witch limited series presented the opportunity to explore the complex relationship between the title characters and Wonder Man. What intrigued you most about this unique dynamic?
That bit did intrigue me: take the same consciousness, put it in two beings who live individual lives, and see how they diverge. I did that later with Dr. Doom and Christophe, and would have done it with a Marvel Night Man and a Malibu Night Man. But again, WM was sort of resolutely, generically "good," so I couldn't get too deep with him then. It might have been interesting if he had the same taste in women that his other self has, but there was no way to go there, especially in a series where Wanda was going to have her babies.
One last thing: Mark Gruenwald and I designed WM's red and green costume, with the W and M, and we both thought it was fantastic. Then the letters came in...
DAVID MICHELINIE
The Wonder Man you inherited wasn't a blank slate per se but he certainly didn't have the same defined qualities as his more established teammates. Did you know what direction you wanted to take him from the start or did that evolve organically throughout your run?
I didn't have a Grand Plan for Wonder Man's future. I just took the things I liked about the character and kind of let those lead me (and him) through the ongoing storylines.
Do you recall your inspiration for introducing two of Wondy's most enduring character traits, his rocky pursuit of a professional acting career and his camaraderie with Beast?
At the time I started writing Simon Williams he wasn't comfortable being a super hero. That's one of the reasons he wore that red safari jacket instead of a more traditional hero costume. He wasn't the kind of guy who goes around looking for bad-guys to fight, so he needed something else to pursue. And his invulnerability and super strength seemed to be an understandable asset for an actor, especially in action rolls. As for his relationship with The Beast...I thought Simon's desire to be normal could benefit from having a friend, someone to hang out with and confide in. And the personable Beast seemed a good choice to fit that roll.
Wonder Man's performances didn't exactly set the entertainment world on fire! Why did you opt to have him struggling as an actor rather than succeeding?
I thought a struggling actor would be more realistic and believable than an instant Oscar-winning super-star. It would also be more fun to write--and, I hoped, to read. It also provided an opportunity to add some humor to the stories, while fitting in with Simon's quest for finding his niche in life.
Your abandoned Wonder Man miniseries that became Marvel Premiere #55 saw Simon return to his roots as a businessman. What other ground did you hope to cover if the full miniseries had moved forward?
That was decades ago, and memory-wise I like to tell people that I can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning--and I'm still eating it! I'd have to dig through massive amounts of notes, discarded plots and other detritus of half-a-century of storytelling to jog enough memory to answer this question. And frankly I'm just too damned lazy to do that. The only reason I can think of that would have me showcase Simon's businessman history would be just that: it was part of his past and that might have been a trigger for the story.
