Marvel’s latest show falls victim to the biggest flaw of the streaming age

The modern streaming landscape is rife with paradoxes. While the ability to binge the latest Stranger Things finale whenever you please is a luxury, it often comes at the expense of narrative density. We have traded long-form storytelling for truncated seasons, agonizing multi-year hiatuses, and a relentless deluge of uninspired content filler. Perhaps the most frustrating symptom of this digital era can be distilled into a single, bizarre phrase: Surf Dracula.

A concept birthed in the chaotic ecosystem of social media via a 2021 tweet, “Surf Dracula” encapsulates the industry trend of bait-and-switch storytelling. It describes shows that hook viewers with a high-concept premise, only to postpone the actual delivery of that premise for an entire season. As the original tweet by @topherflorence explained:

“back in the day if u did a tv show called surf dracula you’d see that fool surfing every week in new adventures but in the streaming era the entire 1st season gotta be a long ass flashback to how he got the surfboard until you finally get to see him surf for 5 min in the finale”

We’ve seen this play out in various high-profile disappointments. Paramount Plus’s Halo adaptation famously avoided showing its titular space station for the duration of its debut season. Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has spent two seasons gradually inching toward the forging of its eponymous artifacts. Then there was Netflix’s Resident Evil, which was axed after one season without ever reaching the actual zombie apocalypse it teased. Now, Marvel’s Wonder Man has officially joined this specific hall of fame.

The promotional material for Wonder Man suggested a fascinating, meta-textual hook: a superpowered individual navigating the absurdity of Hollywood by auditioning for a superhero movie based on himself. It promised a biting satire of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s cultural monopoly, but the actual product is a far more leisurely character study.

The series follows Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a struggling Los Angeles actor whose professional life is stagnant until he crosses paths with Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), the disgraced performer famous for his turn as The Mandarin. The duo competes for roles in a high-stakes blockbuster titled Wonder Man—a tribute to a vintage film Simon loved as a child. However, the actual plot of the show meanders through several episodes of buddy-comedy antics, delaying the core superhero conflict in favor of building the central bromance.

Before the “Wonder Man” identity is fully realized, the audience is treated to a series of diversions: Simon and Trevor bickering with a scenery-chewing Joe Pantoliano, a sentimental trip to Simon’s childhood home, and an accidental entanglement with a narcotics ring. The show even includes a standalone flashback detailing why superheroes were originally ostracized from the film industry. While many of these segments are high-quality—the flashback is particularly inspired—the overall structure feels like the narrative is treading water rather than catching the wave it promised.

Despite these pacing issues, Wonder Man stands out as one of Marvel’s most polished and enjoyable efforts. When the story finally aligns with its original premise, the execution is genuinely rewarding. It is simply a bit of a letdown that the journey takes so long to reach its destination, particularly since the series functions as a limited engagement with slim prospects for a second season. While Simon and Trevor may eventually resurface in the broader MCU, this specific story feels like a one-off.

Ultimately, if we must deal with the “Surf Dracula” trend, Wonder Man might just be the most charming and well-crafted version of it we’ve seen yet.

All eight episodes of Wonder Man are currently available to stream on Disney Plus.

Source: Polygon