{"id":4605,"date":"2026-01-27T17:15:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/?p=4605"},"modified":"2026-01-29T14:57:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T14:57:30","slug":"in-wonder-man-yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-perfectly-captures-the-anxiety-of-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/27\/in-wonder-man-yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-perfectly-captures-the-anxiety-of-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"In Wonder Man Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Perfectly Captures The Anxiety Of Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Simon Williams\/Wonder Man (Yahya Adbul-Mateen II) in Marvel Television\u2019s WONDER MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television. \u00a9 2025 MARVEL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Mere minutes into Wonder Man<\/a>,<\/em> I had to take a break from the series. Not because it wasn\u2019t good \u2014 it\u2019s great<\/em> \u2014 but because I saw so much of myself in Simon Williams<\/a> and his relentless anxiety, it was, well, making me anxious. Lately, it feels like conversations surrounding representation and have been flattened, and we decide if a piece of art is good only if we can see ourselves in it. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s true. And I think Wonder Man<\/a> <\/em>is a brilliant show, whether you\u2019re a self-flagulating overthinker like Simon and me or not, but when I was watching it, I was struck by how real he felt, and how rarely we get to see anxious Black characters, especially Black men, onscreen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All eight episodes of Wonder Man<\/a><\/em> drop on Disney+ today<\/a> and in the Marvel series, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II<\/a> stars as Simon, a struggling actor who just wants to be seen for his craft, not the anger-induced superpowers he\u2019s desperately trying to hide and has no idea what to do with. You may think you\u2019re getting an origin story for one of Marvel\u2019s most underrated superheroes, but as its eight episodes unfold, Wonder Man<\/em> quietly transforms into one of the most honest portrayals of anxiety I\u2019ve seen in a superhero show, maybe in any<\/em> show. Simon\u2019s overthinking, his paralysis in the face of opportunity, his fear that one misstep will cost him everything hit so close to home. Created by Destin Daniel Cretton (\u201cShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings\u201d<\/a>) and Andrew Guest (who has written for \u201cCommunity\u201d and \u201cBrooklyn Nine-Nine\u201d), Wonder Man<\/em> is a slow burn meditation on Hollywood, ambition, and who gets to be a hero. And after all these years of oversaturation accusations and critiques that superhero projects have nothing more to offer, this is the MCU at its best and most original.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Simon Williams\/Wonder Man (Yahya Adbul-Mateen II) in Marvel Television\u2019s WONDER MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television. \u00a9 2025 MARVEL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s this scene early in the series where Simon shows up to set for a small role on American Horror Story<\/em>. He\u2019s done his research, prepared a whole backstory, and workshopped different line deliveries. He\u2019s in his head. When he starts suggesting tweaks to the scene, the director humors him at first, then grows frustrated, and finally, he gets fired on the spot. Watching Simon\u2019s face collapse as he realizes he\u2019s sabotaged himself yet again \u2014 that he tried so hard to be excellent that he forgot to just be<\/em> \u2014 is what made me pause the episode. I had to sit with it for a minute because I\u2019ve been that person, the one so terrified of mediocrity that I self sabotage, the one who shows up with five times the preparation and still feels like an imposter. But Simon isn\u2019t shy or lacking confidence necessarily, he\u2019s anxious because he wants to be the best. He\u2019s anxious because he feels like he knows the character better than anyone, even the director. It\u2019s bravado and fear warring with and wrapped up in each other, and it\u2019s a dangerous combination.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnxiety is kind of new to me too. I understand what it\u2019s like,\u201d Abdul Mateen II says, sitting across from me during the film\u2019s junket in Los Angeles. \u201cAs an actor, a part of our job is to be able to identify the anxieties and to be able to use our tools to decrease it and then to work through it, to \u2018tolerate our discomfort.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it is uncomfortable at times to watch Simon war with his own mind, struggling through who he knows he can be and who he is. Abdul-Mateen II brings so much depth and sensitivity to Simon\u2019s anxiety. This isn\u2019t the one-note brooding, mysterious kind of troubled hero we\u2019re used to seeing. Simon\u2019s anxiety is mundane, messy, and for Abdul-Mateen II, it was personal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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It was really gratifying, and sometimes scary at the same time, to show that vulnerability, to show that anxiety, to show what it looks like to just not be sure of myself at all but still have to proceed.<\/p>\n

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II <\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was really gratifying, and sometimes scary at the same time, to show that vulnerability, to show that anxiety, to show what it looks like to just not be sure of myself at all but still have to proceed, and to have the camera be right here<\/em> while I\u2019m doing that,\u201d He says, gesturing with his hand close to his face. \u201cTo be feeling something before a scene and to realize, \u2018Oh, yeah that\u2019s right, this is what Simon is feeling\u2019.<\/em> Oh, OK so I\u2019m right at home so just share it. I\u2019m just there to share it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Abdul-Mateen II shares is revelatory. It\u2019s one of the strongest performances the MCU has ever seen. And at times when the script doesn\u2019t give us much about Simon\u2019s interior, Abdul-Mateen II fills in the rest of the story with his face. Simon\u2019s anxiety shows up in him standing outside an audition rehearsing the same line forty-seven different ways, or calling his ex-girlfriend to apologize for apologizing too much, or him lying awake at 3 a.m. mentally cataloging every interaction he had that day, searching for where he went wrong. There\u2019s a scene where Simon practices his audition in front of a bathroom mirror, and you can see him cycling through emotions \u2014 confidence, doubt, overcompensation, resignation \u2014 in the span of thirty seconds. It\u2019s exhausting and exhilarating to watch Abdul-Mateen II work. It\u2019s also deeply, painfully relatable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wonder Man<\/em> connects Simon\u2019s anxiety to his Blackness without making it the sole defining factor. Simon doesn\u2019t just want to be a good actor; he wants to prove he belongs in spaces that weren\u2019t built for him. There\u2019s this unspoken weight he carries, this understanding that his margin for error is razor-thin. One mistake and he\u2019s not just Simon Williams who messed up; he\u2019s a confirmation of every stereotype and every lowered expectation. It\u2019s the burden of representation that so many Black creatives carry, the exhausting math of needing to be twice as excellent to be considered half as good. It\u2019s such a prevailing understanding, it\u2019s become a clich\u00e9. And so the show doesn\u2019t need to spell this out in obvious dialogue, which I appreciate. Instead, it lives in Abdul-Mateen\u2019s performance, the way Simon\u2019s shoulders tense when he walks into a dinner full of white executives (save for his agent Janelle, played pitch perfectly by X Mayo<\/a>) trying to push him to capitalize on his Wonder Man<\/em> casting, the way he code-switches without even realizing he\u2019s doing it, the way he shrinks around his overachieving brother and how the legacy of his late father is simmering beneath every decision Simon makes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(L-R): Simon Williams\/Wonder Man (Yahya Adbul-Mateen II) and Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley) in Marvel Television\u2019s WONDER MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Suzanne Tenner. \u00a9 2026 MARVEL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The genius of the series is pairing Simon with Sir Ben Kingsley\u2019s Trevor Slattery, a washed-up actor (also known as The Mandarin,<\/a> making his fourth MCU appearance) who\u2019s decided that \u201cgood enough\u201d is, in fact, good enough. Trevor is delightfully shameless in his mediocrity. He shows up to auditions unprepared and somehow charms his way through. He forgets his lines and improvises. He lives in the moment because he\u2019s already survived the worst his career can throw at him. He\u2019s also acting as a double agent, spying on Simon for the government\u2019s Department of Damage Control. Agent Cleary (Succession\u2019s <\/em>Arian Moayed) is his point person at the bureau tasked with bringing in \u201cenhanced\u201d individuals. This part of the script is its weakest, because it\u2019s never really clear why Simon is a target when he\u2019s hiding his powers and can barely control them, but the beauty of Wonder Man<\/em> is that it doesn\u2019t care much about the MCU politics of it all. This is a small story an unlikely friendship forged between two actors who approach life differently \u2013 one living like he\u2019s got nothing to lose (Trevor) and the other carefully clinging to things he doesn\u2019t have yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their dynamic is hilarious. Simon\u2019s anxious perfectionism is constantly butting up against Trevor\u2019s chaotic \u201cwe\u2019ll figure it out\u201d energy and it\u2019s also the emotional heart of the show. Trevor becomes the person who gives Simon permission to be imperfect, to make mistakes, to take up space without apology. Their friendship is a quiet rebellion. And when you juxtapose the purity of Simon and Trevor\u2019s bond with what goes on between Byron Bowers\u2019 DeMarr \u201cDoorman\u201d Davis and Josh Gad (playing the asshole version of himself) in Episode 4 (a truly revolutionary, gorgeous, gutting episode), it\u2019s even more evident how special their friendship is.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My favorite scene of the series comes when Simon and Trevor are at the house of the famed eccentric director or Wonder Man <\/em>(the movie within the show) participating in a day-long audition. When put on the spot to improvise a monologue, Simon cracks and resorts to reciting a scene from Pretty Woman<\/em>. Yes, that Pretty Woman<\/em>. Abdul Mateen II says he had fun channeling his inner Julia Roberts, but aside from the comedy of that scene, it\u2019s more proof of Simon\u2019s debilitating anxiety.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat just shows how much of a wreck Simon is. Simon is a control freak. He has a photographic memory so he remembers every line from every movie he\u2019s ever seen. He has it in his head. That was a lot of fun. He\u2019s trying his best,\u201d Abdul Mateen II says with a laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I keep thinking about what Abdul-Mateen said in a recent interview with Esquire<\/a>, how Simon \u201clives his life always trying to avoid the next worst thing\u201d and that \u201cit\u2019s paralyzing.\u201d That line stayed with me because it perfectly describes what so many of us are navigating, this constant vigilance, this bracing for impact, this belief that if we just work hard enough, prepare thoroughly enough, excel sufficiently enough, we can somehow protect ourselves from the unfairness we know is coming. But Simon\u2019s journey in Wonder Man <\/em>is learning that excellence isn\u2019t armor. Sometimes it\u2019s the opposite. Sometimes our desperate need to be exceptional keeps us from actually living, from taking risks, from being human. The show doesn\u2019t offer easy answers (spoiler: Simon doesn\u2019t suddenly stop being anxious by the finale) but it does give him permission to be a work in progress. To be, dare I say it, mediocre sometimes. And that feels radical.<\/p>\n

Simon Williams\/Wonder Man (Yahya Adbul-Mateen II) in Marvel Television\u2019s WONDER MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television. \u00a9 2025 MARVEL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wonder Man <\/em>is technically a superhero show, but it\u2019s really about what happens when you realize that the superpowers you\u2019ve been hiding might be less scary than the ordinary vulnerabilities you refuse to show. The Marvel series is a surprisingly tender meditation on perfectionism, performance, and the paralyzing fear of not being enough. It\u2019s about the courage it takes to just show up as yourself \u2014 flawed, uncertain, still figuring it out \u2014 in a world that demands perfection from people who look like you. Abdul-Mateen\u2019s performance is quietly devastating in its specificity, and the series as a whole is a love letter to everyone who\u2019s ever felt like they\u2019re one mistake away from losing everything. It\u2019s a reminder that sometimes the most revolutionary thing we can do is give ourselves permission to just be fine, not exceptional, not extraordinary, just fine<\/em>. And, honestly, that might be the superpower we need most.<\/p>\n

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Simon Williams\/Wonder Man (Yahya Adbul-Mateen II) in Marvel Television\u2019s WONDER MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television. \u00a9 2025 MARVEL Mere minutes into Wonder Man, I had to take a break from the series. Not because it wasn\u2019t good \u2014 it\u2019s great \u2014 but because I saw so much of myself in Simon…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4605"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4605"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4612,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4605\/revisions\/4612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}