Without even having seen an officially released trailer, fans are starting to believe Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be something special.
It’s long been known that the fourth installment in Marvel Studios and Sony’s collaborative Spider-Man franchise will feature a multitude of villains but in recent days, merchandise and promotional art for the project has emerged, providing first looks of various quality for some of the key antagonists. A backpack teased the designs of Boomerang, Scorpion and the Hulk–all present as shadowy background figures behind a clear look at Spidey. Now, new art has been uncovered, providing a more detailed look at many of the film’s baddies.
Possibly the most impressive reveal comes from what looks to an unfinished shot from the film, providing the first look at Tombstone, played by Marvin Jones III. Though fans are skeptical, multiple accounts are standing behind its legitimacy.
Additonally, artwork for Brand New Day surfaced revealing the designs for Tarantula, Boomerang and the new-look Hulk, who will reportedly become a big problem for the Webhead.
In other news, fans won’t be waiting too much longer for the first teaser, according to director Destin Daniel Cretton. “I think it’s so funny how people really want a trailer. Of course it’s gonna come. It’s gonna be really good when it comes. It’s coming,” said Cretton in an interview with Majic 102.1.
When will then be now? Insider Cryptic HD Quality, who has long been a reliable source of intel on trailers, shared that he’s heard rumblings of a March release for the teaser.
With just over five months until the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Sony has yet to release so much as a teaser trailer for the all-new, all-different fourth installment in the franchise. Fans have been treated to plenty of photos and videos from the set, however, and now as retailees begin to prepare for merchandise hitting their shelves, a first look at three of the film’s characters has found its way online.
After low-res photos of a backpack made the rounds recently, Twitter user @JuanEditzs provided a higher-resolution look at the bag, which provided clear-but-shadowy first looks at a trip of characters set to cause trouble for Peter Parker in the upcoming film.
Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, Michael Mando’s Scorpion and Boomerang–recently rumored to be played by Tom Holland‘s brother, Harry–can all be seen by zooming in on the pack.
DIFFERENT ANGLE HD VERSION OF THE SPIDER-MAN BRAND NEW DAY BACKPACK
Mando‘s Mac Gargan–who will return to the series for the first time since Spider-Man: Homecoming–has been rumored to be sporting a suit that’s a mix of the classic comic book Scorpion suit and the one seen in Insomniac’s Spider-Man video game franchise. The tail on the suit from the film can clearly be seen to have some significant mechanical structure to it.
The appearance of Boomerang on the bag confirms the character will appear after he was first reported to be in the film in May 2025. It will be interesting to see if first-time franchise director Destin Daniel Cretton has chosen to the recent relationship dynamic between Parker and Boomerang that saw the two as roommates with Boomerang unaware of Parker’s alter ego.
And as for the Hulk, it’s long been reported that Brand New Day will feature a more savage Green Goliath doing battle with Spidey. A recent Lego set leak seems to have confirmed this and the shadowy appearance of the character on the bag, where he looms behind Spidey, hardly makes the case he’ll be a hero.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will hit theaters on July 31st!
Soon, Marvel Studios’ stars will be back in London preparing for additional photography on Avengers: Doomsday ahead of the film’s December release. A series of short, character-driven teasers for the film successfully built much-needed hype, though fans are still eagerly awaiting a true teaser trailer.
As much as we run at fun in terms of what these films can be, we also run at the complexity and difficulty of what these movies can do at a narrative level. I think we’ve found a new level of that in Doomsday.
-Anthony Russo via Empire Magazine
Despite the lack of said teaser, fans have had ample opportunity to get a peek at the film’s villain (and protagonist), Victor Von Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. And with just 10 months until the film hits theaters, those opportunities will continue to increase as marketing begins and merchandise hits shelves. And right on cue, a new piece of promo art for the film has provided a detailed look at Doctor Doom’s iconic mask.
Like Castle, Jones will be teaming up with Daredevil to take on Wilson Fisk as Mayor Kingpin looks to tighten his grip on New York City. If you’re looking to catch up on some of the major storylines that might intersect during the new season, we’ve got you covered with…The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before Daredevil: Born Again Season 2!
Daredevil follows Matt Murdock, attorney by day and vigilante by night. Blinded in an accident as a child, Murdock uses his heightened senses as Daredevil, fighting crime on the streets of New York after the sun goes down. His efforts are not welcomed by Wilson Fisk — aka Kingpin — and others whose interests collide with those of Daredevil. Though Murdock’s day job portrays a man who believes in the criminal justice system, his alter ego suggests otherwise, as he takes the law into his own hands to protect his neighborhood.
_Official synopsis for Daredevil, via Disney Plus
Wilson Fisk isn’t just a crime boss anymore; he’s an institution. In Season 1, we saw him consolidate power and launch the Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF). Heading into Season 2, he is no longer running for office—he is running the city, and his first order of business is ensuring there is no room left for a Devil in Hell’s Kitchen.
Daredevil, Season 1 (2015)
🍅 99%
In the inaugural season of Daredevil, Wilson Fisk wasn’t just a villain; he was a dark mirror held up to Matt Murdock’s own ambitions for Hell’s Kitchen. If you’re tracking the DNA of the current Mayor of New York, it all starts here, in the shadows of a city he claimed to love while simultaneously tearing it apart.
When we first meet Fisk, he is a ghost—a name that causes men to commit suicide rather than speak it. He isn’t interested in being a crime lord in the traditional sense; he views himself as a visionary philanthropist. His goal in Season 1 was to gentrify Hell’s Kitchen by any means necessary—extortion, murder, and the systematic demolition of the neighborhood’s soul to build something pristine in its place. The most critical thread from Season 1 that weaves into Born Again is his relationship with Vanessa Marianna. She is the anchor that prevents him from being a mindless beast and instead turns him into a calculated tactician. His vulnerability through her is exactly what Matt Murdock eventually exploits, leading to the “mutually assured destruction” pact that defined their rivalry for years. Long before he was a politician, Fisk was practicing his stump speech. In Season 1, he attempted to step into the light as a Good Samaritan to counter the narrative of the masked vigilante. This was the beta test for his 2026 Mayoral campaign. He learned early on that public perception is more powerful than even his brute strength.
Runtime: 11 hours and 40 minutes
Murphy’s Memo: If you want to understand why Fisk is so effective as Mayor, watch 1.08, “Shadows in the Glass.” It’s the definitive look at the trauma that shaped the monster that now runs the greatest city in the world.
Daredevil, Season 2 (2016)
🍅 81%
While Season 1 was about Fisk building an empire, Season 2—specifically his stint in Ryker’s Island—was about him mastering the art of the long game. Even behind bars, Fisk proved that a cage is just another room to run a business from. Indeed, Wilson Fisk’s Season 2 arc may ultimately have proven to be the secret ingredient to his eventual Mayoral win.
Fisk begins Season 2 at his lowest point, but he doesn’t stay there long. This season is a masterclass in institutional capture. He doesn’t fight the prison system; he buys it. By the time Frank Castle arrives on the scene, Fisk has already turned the guards into his personal security detail and the inmates into his infantry: he is the Kingpin of Ryker’s. The most pivotal moment for the future of the MCU’s New York happens in a blood-soaked prison hallway. Fisk manipulates the Punisher into eliminating a rival, effectively handing Fisk total control of the prison’s black market. This taught Fisk a lesson he uses as Mayor: vigilantes are tools. He realizes that a man of action like Castle can be pointed at a problem to solve it, a tactic we see him replicate in Born Again by weaponizing official task forces to do his dirty work under the color of law. The brief, violent meeting between Matt and Fisk in the prison visitation room is the spark for Born Again. When Matt threatens Vanessa’s safety, the Good Samaritan facade officially dies. Fisk doesn’t just want to beat Matt anymore; he wants to destroy the very idea of a hero. This interaction is where Fisk realizes that to truly win, he has to change the rules of the city so that Matt’s brand of justice is no longer just illegal, but obsolete.
Runtime: 12 hours and 15 minutes
Murphy’s Memo: If you’re short on time, skip toEpisode 9, “Seven Minutes in Heaven.” It’s the definitive look at Fisk’s transition from a businessman to the Kingpin. It’s the blueprint for how he eventually treats New York City: as a prison where he holds all the keys.
Daredevil, Season 3 (2018)
🍅 97%
In Season 3, Fisk orchestrates a move from Ryker’s to a luxury penthouse by turning the FBI into his personal concierge service. He paints himself as a victim of the system and a cooperator helping the government take down even worse criminals. He realizes that if you can control the narrative, you don’t have to hide in the shadows. He begins to position himself as a man who was unfairly persecuted by vigilantes and a corrupt legal system—a platform he eventually rides all the way to City Hall.
Of course, Fisk’s greatest achievement in Season 3 wasn’t beating Daredevil; it was corrupting Benjamin Poindexter. By turning a decorated federal agent into a mass murderer dressed as Daredevil, Fisk effectively turned the public against their hero. The season ends with Fisk back in a cell, but the damage was already done. He had successfully mapped out the corruptibility of every major institution in New York—the courts, the FBI, and the press. When he returns to the public eye in Born Again, he isn’t trying to corrupt the system from the outside anymore; he has become the system.
Runtime: 11 hours and 15 minutes
Murphy’s Memo: If you want to see Fisk at his most terrifyingly brilliant, watch Episode 4, “Blindsided.” It’s the famous one-take prison riot, but more importantly, it shows the sheer scale of his influence. It proves that even when he’s losing, Wilson Fisk is always three moves ahead of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.
Hawkeye (2021)
🍅 92%
Following the events of DaredevilSeason 3, Fisk was supposedly neutralized. Matt Murdock had him pinned with a mutually assured destruction pact involving Vanessa. But as we’ve seen in the MCU, the Blip changed the rules of the game. While the world was mourning half its population, Fisk was quietly rebuilding. By the time we catch up with him in Hawkeye, he’s no longer just a rumor in Hell’s Kitchen; he’s a man looking to reclaim a city that belongs to him.
After the chaos of the Blip, Fisk didn’t just survive; he adapted. While the world was reeling from the Snap, Fisk was rebuilding his empire from the ground up, using the Tracksuit Mafia as his blunt-force instrument. In Hawkeye, we see a Fisk who is less concerned with “Rabbit in a Snowstorm” and more concerned with territorial dominance. He’s grittier, he’s wearing the comic-accurate Fat Man floral and he’s more physically imposing than ever. The finale of Hawkeyesaw Fisk take an arrow to the chest and survive a massive explosion, establishing his increased durability in the MCU. But more importantly, it provided the physical scar that fuels his platform in Born Again. When he’s shot in the eye by Maya, it doesn’t break him but rather gives him a visual receipt of the vigilante violence he promises to end as Mayor.
Runtime: 4 hours and 2 minutes
Murphy’s Memo: If you’re watching for the lore, pay attention to the Eleanor Bishop connection. It proves that Fisk’s reach extends into the highest levels of New York’s elite social circles. He isn’t just a criminal; he’s a partner to the city’s power brokers. Watch Episode 6, “So This Is Christmas?”—it’s the moment the Kingpin officially became a Big Game player in the Disney+ era.
If Hawkeyewas the physical return of the Kingpin, Echowas the psychological rebirth. The Marvel Spotlight series took Fisk away from the skyscrapers of Manhattan and dropped him into the dust of Oklahoma, forcing him to confront the one thing he can’t control: his own legacy. His appearance in Echo ultimately serves as the origin story of Mayor Fisk.
In Echo, we see a version of Fisk that is deeply unsettled. His obsession with Maya Lopez isn’t just about power; it’s about his desperate need for love and validation. When Maya uses her ancestral powers to force Fisk to relive his childhood trauma—the hammer, his father, the blood—it doesn’t cure him. Instead, it strips away the last of his hesitation. He leaves Oklahoma with a singular focus: if he cannot be loved as a father, he will be feared as a ruler. While Fisk was away chasing Maya, New York was falling apart…at least that’s what he took away from the news. The series subtly establishes that the city is exhausted. The street-level heroes are scattered, and the public is tired of the collateral damage. Fisk realizes that the city doesn’t need a savior; it needs a manager. The real catalyst for Fisk’s political career happens in the back half of a private jet. After a brutal psychic and physical confrontation with Maya Lopez in Oklahoma, a battered Fisk is seen watching NY1. The anchors are discussing the lack of a “fighter” in the upcoming New York City mayoral race—someone who isn’t a career politician, someone who understands the pain of the people.
Runtime: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Murphy’s Memo: Do not skip the Episode 5 post-credits scene. It is a true prologue to Born Again. It turns a series about Maya Lopez into the definitive launchpad for the next five years of the MCU’s New York. It’s the moment Wilson Fisk decides that instead of breaking the law, he’s going to BE the law.
Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again wasn’t just a revival; it was a total restructuring of the power balance in New York City. The second half of the season serves as the immediate prologue to the chaos of Season 2; it’s where the Cold War between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk finally went hot and the series turned back to its Netflix roots.
The most shocking element of Season 1 was the dismantling of Matt Murdock’s support system. The loss of Foggy didn’t just break Matt’s heart; it broke his faith in the legal system and became the reason behind the more aggressive stance Matt seems poised to take in Season 2. Without Foggy to act as his moral North Star, the Devil is less interested in courtrooms and more interested in the rooftops.
Runtime: 7 hours and 6 minutes
Murphy’s Memo: Fisk returns to New York with a refined strategy. He leans into his history not as a criminal, but as a survivor and a builder. His platform is simple and terrifying: Anti-Vigilantism. He frames heroes like Daredevil and the Punisher as the source of New York’s chaos. Fisk isn’t just making local laws; he’s trying to set a national precedent. If he can prove that New York is safer without vigilantes, he becomes a candidate for the White House, though it’s clear his rise to political power will not go unchallenged. Watching Episode 9, “Straight to Hell”, may indeed be all you need to prepare for Season 2.
When a tragedy puts an the end to her short-lived career as a superhero, Jessica settles in NYC and opens her own detective agency, called Alias Investigations, which seems to be called into cases involving people who have special abilities. Suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, Jessica wants to do good, but her primary interest isn’t in saving the world, it’s saving her apartment and getting through each day. Based on a graphic novel intended for adults, this is not a superhero story for the kids.
-Official synopsis for Jessica Jones, via Disney Plus
Jessica Jones, Season 1 (2015)
🍅 94%
In Season 1, Jessica wasn’t trying to save the world; she was trying to survive a predator. Her battle with Kilgrave was a masterclass in how power—specifically the power to control others—destroys lives. In Born Again Season 2, Wilson Fisk has the legislative power to ruin anyone who speaks out and his jackbooted group of Anti-Vigilante Task Force goons to enforce his law. Jessica understands the mental toll of fighting an untouchable monster, making her a perfect ally for Matt.
As a lawyer, Murdock looks for evidence in a courtroom; as a P.I., Jones looks for dirt in the gutters. Season 1 established Jessica as the ultimate investigator—someone who can find the unfindable skeletons in a powerful man’s closet. With Fisk running a clean administration in the public eye, Jessica’s ability to dig through the trash is exactly what the Resistance needs to expose the corruption behind the Mayor’s Safe Streets initiative.
One of Jessica’s greatest strengths in Season 1 was her refusal to play by the rules of heroism. As Fisk tightens the legal noose around vigilantes in Born Again, Jessica’s cynicism and ability to operate in the grey area, and in a city where being a hero is a crime, will be of use to Matt’s army.
Runtime: 11 hours and 10 minutes
Murphy’s Memo: If you only have time for one episode, make itEpisode 7, “AKA Top Shelf Perverts”. It perfectly illustrates Jessica’s no-nonsense approach to systemic corruption and her willingness to go to the darkest places to get the job done.
The Defenders (2017)
🍅 78%
While the individual seasons of th bNetflix series show us who these characters are, The Defenders is the only reason Born Again Season 2 works as a team-up. It’s the vibe check” for the Matt and Jessica partnership.
The chemistry between Ritter and Cox catalyzed the crossover series, providing most of the memorable moments, including the first meeting between Matt and Jessica in an interrogation room.
The Defenders took on the Hand which was an organization that owned the city’s boardrooms, police, and real estate—much like Wilson Fisk does now. The Defenders showed Matt and Jessica that they can’t beat a massive organization by playing by the rules. They had to go underground, use unconventional tactics, and rely on a found family of heroes. This playbook makes need to get pulled back out when Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force puts a target on their backs.
Murphy’s Memo: If you’re short on time, just watch Episode 3, “Worst Behavior.” The hallway fight is great, but the real gold is the banter between Matt and Jessica. It’s the definitive street-level dynamic. If Born Again Season 2 revisits that interrogation room energy, fans will find some favorite moments outside of the brutal fights sure to take place.
Runtime: 6 hours and 30 minutes
Jessica Jones Season 2 (2018)
🍅 82%
Season 2 pulled back the curtain on IGH, the shadowy organization that gave Jessica her powers through illicit medical experimentation.
Much of the second season of Jessica Jones focused on Jessica trying—and failing—to save her mother, Alisa. It was a season about the collateral damage that follows “super” people. This is a goldmine for Wilson Fisk’s propaganda machine in Born Again Season 2.
Fisk weaponized the narrative of “vigilantes causing more harm than good” to justify his crackdown at the end of Season 1. Jessica has lived that failure; she knows what it’s like when a “heroic” intervention ends in a body bag, making her a more grounded and cynical counterpoint to Murdock’s idealism.
Though it was certainly not the strongest installment in the Defenders-verse series, Season 2 tapped into Jessica’s fear that she was becoming a monster like her mother. In Born Again, Fisk will try to convince the world—and the heroes themselves—that they are the villains. Jessica’s struggle with her own identity makes her immune to Fisk’s gaslighting.
Murphy’s Memo: Take another look at Episode 11, “AKA Three Lives and Counting”. It captures Jessica’s internal struggle with the hero pabel better than almost anything else. Perhaps her appearance in Born Again isn’t so much joining Matt because she wants to save the city; she’s joining because she’s tired of people like Fisk deciding who the monsters are.
Runtime: 12 hours and 5 minutes
Jessica Jones Season 3 (2019)
🍅 73%
The final season of Jessica Jones was a masterclass in the gray areas of morality, centering on the question: “What does it actually mean to be a ‘hero’?” Though it seemed to give Jessica somewhat of a happy ending”, it could serve as connective tissue to Born Again Season 2 because it leaves Jessica at a crossroads—one that leads her straight back to the streets of New York just as Wilson Fisk is taking over.
Jessica faced Gregory Salinger, the Foolkiller, sort of, a villain who didn’t have powers but had a twisted, intellectual vendetta against gifted people. He viewed heroes as frauds who “cheat” at life…the same rhetoric used by Fisk uses in his Mayoral campaign. Salinger was the prototype for Fisk’s propaganda—proving that you don’t need a super-suit to dismantle a hero; you just need to prove they are unfair to the common man.
The series ended with Jessica at a train station, ready to leave the city behind, only to hear Kilgrave’s voice in her head telling her to give up. In an act of pure defiance, she turned back. She chose to stay and fight. By the time we see her in 2026, she has been operating in the shadows of Fisk’s New York for years, likely as one of the few unregistered P.I.s still digging for the truth.
Murphy’s Memo: Go back and watch the Series Finale (“AKA Everything”). That final shot of Jessica turning back toward the city lights is everything. It tells you that she isn’t coming back to Born Again because she’s a sidekick; she’s coming back because New York is her city, and she’ll be damned if a man like Wilson Fisk is the one who gets to save it.
We’ve got the supernatural angles, we’ve got the street-level with our announcement of Daredevil, and of course, Spidey going into the street-level heroes.
I’ve made it no secret that I’m a huge fan of Tatiana’s and the fun we had on She-Hulk was some of the best fun I’ve had as that character. I thought she was amazing as Jennifer Walters and I would be a huge… certainly an advocate of her showing up in our show if she’s free and available and willing and all of those things. So I would love for that to happen. I have no idea if that is possible.
–Charlie Cox on the possibility of She-Hulk appearing in Daredevil: Born Again
While Matt Murdock appeared in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Daredevil didn’t make his MCU debut until the final two episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. While some fans bristled at the more carefree vibe Cox brought to the role in his appearance, it certainly fit the tone of the series, though at this point, it seems as though Marvel has decided they’d rather have Matt suffer than find happiness in the warm embrace of Shulkie.
Runtime of Episodes 8 and 9: 1 hour and 11 minutes
The Fast Track
Today is February 10, 2026, and the clock is officially ticking. With the premiere of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 set for March 24, 2026, you have exactly 42 days to conquer your 98-hour watchlist. To make this happen without losing your job or your mind, you need to average about 2.3 hours of Marvel per day. Here’s your Street-Level Resistance training schedule to hit that 98-hour goal by premiere night.
About Daredevil: Born Again Season 2
Season 2 of Marvel Television’s stars Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Wilson Bethel, Deborah Ann Woll, Margarita Levieva, Krysten Ritter, Matthew Lillard and Ayelet Zurer.
Mayor Wilson Fisk crushes New York City underfoot as he hunts down public enemy number one, the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante known as Daredevil. But, beneath the horned mask, Matt Murdock will try to fight back from the shadows to tear down the Kingpin’s corrupt empire and redeem his home. Resist. Rebel. Rebuild.
-Official synopsis for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2
The second season was created by Dario Scardapane, Chris Ord and Matt Corman. Episodes were written by Dario Scardapane (201, 202); Heather Bellson (203, 207); Chantelle M. Wells (204); Jesse Wigutow (205); Devon Kliger and Jesse Wigutow (206); Dario Scardapane and Jesse Wigutow (208) and directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (201, 202); Solvan “Slick” Naim (203, 204); Angela Barnes (205, 206); Iain B. MacDonald (207, 208).
David Chambers is producing with Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Sana Amanat, Dario Scardapane, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, Iain B. MacDonald, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio executive producing.
First-time franchise director Destin Daniel Cretton looks to be building an entire world around the Webslinger unlike anything that’s been done in the genre to date. And in doing so, he may be preparing to introduce one of the most comic book locations in all of Marvel Comics: The Bar with No Name.
A slew of rumors made the rounds over the weekend, all of which claimed that the already impressive roster of villains in the new film would be further filled out than fans had been less to believe. Baddies such as The Enforcers, Miles Warren–aka the Jackal–and 8-Ball were each name dropped by industry insiders, adding to an already impressive cast of rogues. And with Cretton reportedly sticking close to the comics, The Bar with No Name is the perfect establishment to bring them all together while they lick their wounds.
Though it first appeared in Captain America #318, The Bar with No Name has frequently been seen in the pages of Spidey comics. While rumors of a montage of Spidey fighting villains have circulated for some time, it would be FAR more entertaining to see the hero track one of his foes to the bar only to find himself battling dozens of his enemies.
Marvel Studios’ 2026 got off to a fantastic start with Wonder Man. A character study led by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley, the eight-episode series was roundly praised by critics and fans for its change of pace from typical Marvel fare.
The original shows were created as limited series… That made it challenging to make season 2s… But there are shows that were caught in the middle. I’d put Wonder Man on that list where we have to see. Season 2s could be on the table if people watch.
-Brad Winderbaum
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios is “very close” to giving the green light to a second season of Wonder Man.
Richtman’s report comes on the heels of a tease by Brandon Davis who responded to a comment about the potential lack of more Wonder Man in the MCU’s future by saying “Wonder Man will get more 👀.”
Though nothing is official, co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton is a certified idea man who most likely found plenty of potential for future stories while developing and overseeing Season 1: a supply to meet the demand for more. Should the studio decide toove forward, late-2027 would seem the earliest a sophomore season could be expected.
Matt Murdock will resume his fight against Wilson Fisk in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 but this time, he’ll have some help.
Disney unveiled the first trailer for the sophomore season of the streaming series–along with a March 24th release date–and it featured a surprisingly large dose of Jessica Jones.
In Season 2, Mayor Wilson Fisk crushes New York City underfoot as he hunts down public enemy number one, the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante known as Daredevil. But beneath the horned mask, Matt Murdock will try to fight back from the shadows to tear down the Kingpin’s corrupt empire and redeem his home. Resist. Rebel. Rebuild.
-Official synopsis for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2
As rumors, speculation and reports about the Russo brothers’ plans for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars begin to give MCU fans an idea of what to expect from the two-part (or will it be three-part) Multiverse Saga finale, it’s becoming fairly apparent that the directing duo has no intention of holding back. Though fans are bemoaning “fan service” moments 11 months before the debut of Doomsday, the four teaser trailers for the film generated some serious excitement. As the Russos prepare for additional photography on Doomsday ahead of principal photography on Secret Wars, an interesting bit of casting information has emerged.
According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Josh Brolin will return as Thanos in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Fans of the comics will remain hopeful that the presence of Thanos in the film will lead to the recreation of the moment shown above from Jonathan Hickman‘s 2015 Secret Wars. In it, God Emperor Doom quickly and easily dispatched of Thanos, establishing himself as THE ultimate power in the universe.
Described by Marvel Studios’ Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, as a “love letter to Hollywood” and a story “that anyone who came up in Hollywood or in the arts in general can relate to,” Marvel Television’s Wonder Man may indeed be just that…though at times anyone who did not come up in Hollywood might find themselves feeling a bit like a fifth grader on the outside of an inside joke. True to the word of Winderbaum, Wonder Man is entirely unlike anything Marvel has done because, at least in part, it feels as though it was created for the enjoyment of those who create.
A character study at its core, Wonder Man is almost entirely devoid of superhero action, choosing rather to spend its narrative currency peeling back the layers of the psyches of Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery. Like Midnight Cowboy, the film that brings the two together, Wonder Man is indeed, as advertised, a two-hander in which each of the dual protagonists recognizes the other as, perhaps, the first genuine human connection either has ever had. Over the course of seven of the eight episodes (an entire episode of Wonder Man is dedicated to NEITHER Simon nor Trevor), the leads’ personas are stripped bare, with Simon’s history told through fragmented flashbacks that deconstruct the damaged and insecure boy that lives behind the facade of an overconfident man. Simon is ALWAYS acting; however, it’s only when he realizes that he’s acting that he struggles.
As a character study devoted to the genre, Wonder Man stands apart from traditional superhero fare. By the design of co-creators Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, the stakes of its plot are emotional rather than physical. Despite Simon being perhaps one of the MCU’s most powerful individuals, the series eschews the genre’s classic climax for one that is simply anticlimactic. The earliest marketing for the series gave away the fate of Simon’s pursuit of his dream role, even if it did cleverly conceal the project’s best twist which isn’t a revelation about Simon. As such, Wonder Man follows a couple of actors talking about acting while pursuing acting roles for the vast majority of its runtime, with very little time spent on the unnatural abilities possessed by Simon Williams. By focusing on the mundane aspects of being a powered individual in the film industry (auditions, stunt work, publicists), the show humanizes Simon. While Wonder Man does provide Simon with the occasional opportunity to show off his powers on street-level cannon fodder, there’s more tension present in scenes where he’s trying to crack the backstory of his character in American Horror Story.
Though the time spent with Simon is rewarding, such little time is devoted to his innate ionic powers that the presence of the series de facto antagonists, the Department of Damage Control, feels shoehorned and contrived. Arguably, this is the one area in which Wonder Man taking place within a deeply developed shared universe based on superheroes forces a betrayal of Cretton and Guest‘s intent. Classic character studies rarely involve a conflict with an external aggressor, focusing rather on how the protagonist’s psyche prevents him from achieving his desired purpose. Given that Wonder Man thoroughly and expertly explores that avenue, it seems clear that the DODC’s inclusion was *suggested* by the Marvel Parliament rather than being narratively native. While it seems Marvel’s intent is that the DODC is destined to become the precursor of the MCU’s anti-Mutant division–even though it is not clear if Simon is a mutant in the MCU–their presence is one of the primary perplexities of the series.
Another is why Simon William is the protagonist of Wonder Man at all. Though it’s hardly the first time it has done so, Marvel Studios significantly reinvents Simon Williams–and those around him–for the MCU. And strangely, given the series’ designation as a Marvel Spotlight project–there’s no guarantee the decision to do so will eventually be paid off or explained. Yes, this Simon is prone to bouts of self-doubt, works in Hollywood and has incredible ionic powers; however, the decision to make Simon a mutant rather than a mutate strips him of the agency that made him such a polarizing character in his early adventures in the pages of Marvel Comics. An interesting choice to be sure and one that may never be liquidated. From his background to his family connections to the source of his powers, the MCU’s Simon has surprisingly little in common with his comic book counterpart…but nearly none of that matters when a star the caliber of Yahya Abul-Mateen II is involved.
In Wonder Man, Cretton and Guest created the equivalent of an HBO prestige streaming series. Rather than fill the runtime with superhero moments, Wonder Man lingers on the mundane, revealing the true natures of Simon and Trevor in a strangely slow burn for a series with such short runtimes. In the case of Simon, Wonder Man introduces an insecure man seeking validation. But brilliantly, the series uses Trevor as a dark mirror to Simon. If Wonder Man presents Simon as a study of a man trying to find himself through fame, Trevor is a study of a man who has completely lost himself to the performance. Trevor’s character study is built on the tragedy of a failed artist who finally found his greatest role by accident.
Whether he’s in a high-security prison or a warlord’s compound, Trevor’s constant performing ensures people find him too entertaining to kill. This reveals a deep instinct for self-preservation: Trevor doesn’t know how to be authentic because, in his world, being yourself gets you hurt. Strip away the accents and the anecdotes about “the stage” and his “mum” and you meet a man with a fundamental void of identity. Trevor is a character study in codependency. He needs an audience to tell him he exists. Without someone watching him, Slattery effectively vanishes. Using Trevor as a secondary character study reveals a man who uses acting as a survival mechanism and a psychological shield, serving as a near-perfect foil to Simon Williams’s worldview. And in Simon, he meets his co-dependent.
Where Trevor’s patience and experience provide him the relief of being the consummate actor, Simon holds the power of a god but the temperament of a struggling artist, creating a fish-out-of-water dynamic that makes Wonder Man such a particularly clever choice for a character study. While most superhero projects focus on the hero’s journey, Wonder Man is designed as a satirical character study, peeling back the layers of a man who is literally and figuratively performing for a living.
Tonally, Wonder Man balances comedy with a sense of isolation. Tragicomical character studies often use humor to mask a character’s deep-seated loneliness and Wonder Man is no different here, other than that it is led by Yahya Abdul-Matteen II, whose filmography reveals a generational talent.
Despite the series’ shortcomings in terms of its utility as another entry in the MCU’s shared narrative tapestry (it’s only in its last 15 minutes that Wonder Man feels like it belongs in the MCU), the series is undoubtedly one of Marvel Television’s best and, despite some other heavy competition, is carried by the studio’s strongest cast. At the end of the day, the only question that remains is why is was developed as a superhero study at all.
Once upon a time, Marvel Studios ambitiously planned to release two Avengers films in one year. As part of its big Hall H presentation at SDCC ’22, Marvel revealed that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars were set to hit theaters on May 6, 2025 and November 7, 2025, respectively. It’s 2026 and neither of those films have hit theaters yet and their release dates are now a full year apart, however, a new report claims that the studio may once again be considering double dipping on Avengers films, this time in 2027.
According to the Hot Mic’s John Rocha, the Russo brothers have put together a Multiverse Saga finale so grandiose that it may require the studio to split it into two parts.
On the January 23rd edition on the show, Rochareported that he had been told Marvel was “considering splitting Secret Wars into two parts.” He also shared that his source had “heard that Doomsday could run for three hours and that it’s huge.“
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