Wonder Man is proudly disconnected from the broader MCU, but make no mistake about it – this is set in the same universe as the Infinity Saga and various other canonical Marvel properties across TV and film. Now, on the one hand, this raises some interesting questions, especially considering that this show confirms several real-world media properties – such as Twilight and American Horror Story – exist in the MCU, which is a bit weird considering several stars of those shows also play characters in the MCU. But it also allows us to do a bit of fun detective work to figure out where this story fits, if indeed it fits anywhere, in the broader continuity.
So, what follows is a relatively comprehensive list of ways in which Wonder Man is connected to the MCU, divided roughly in terms of probable importance. There are big, obvious, Sir Ben Kingsley-shaped ones, and then there are smaller, funnier, more esoteric ones. Enjoy! Oh, and let me know if I’ve missed any big ones in the comments.
Trevor Slattery
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. The biggest connection that Wonder Man has to the rest of the MCU is Trevor Slattery, the actor who played the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 and has since made some other appearances, including in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
This includes other associated Trevor-adjacent ephemera, such as the Ten Rings logo cropping up, a reference to Morris, and a redo of his famous “You never saw me coming” line when, at the end of Wonder Man, he decides to adopt the Mandarin persona once again to exonerate Simon from blowing up the studio set.
The Department of Damage Control
Trevor meets Simon as a cat’s paw of the Department of Damage Control, represented almost entirely by Agent Cleary.
The DODC debuted in Spider-Man: Homecoming and has reappeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Agent Cleary was in No Way Home and Ms. Marvel. The DODC Supermax Prison, seen in She-Hulk, is also still in use.
Roxxon
In this show’s version of Hollywood, people with powers are prohibited from working on movie sets on account of the “Doorman Waiver”. There’s an episode clarifying this, which finds Marvel character DeMarr “Doorman” Davis gaining his unique portal powers through a Roxxon spillage, leading to the disappearance of Josh Gad and the implementation of the waiver.
Roxxon has featured in several MCU properties. Iron Man 3 villain Aldrich Killian used a Roxxon oil tanker to stage one of the Mandarin’s terrorist attacks, which is a very direct link, but the company has also cropped up in Agent Carter, Daredevil, and, notably, the barely remembered but half-decent Cloak & Dagger. Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson both got their powers from an explosion at a Louisiana Roxxon facility.
Some Other, More Minor Connections
Rogers: The Musical is getting a theatrical release. This continues an ongoing thread that began in Hawkeye about a play based on Steve Rogers.
There are recognisable movie posters everywhere. One of them is another Kingo movie, a gag that has been recurring since Eternals debuted and everyone hated it. There’s also one for The Zaniac!, starring Brad Wolfe, otherwise known as Hunter X-05 of the Time Variance Authority, primarily from Loki.
Other existing MCU heroes are mentioned. Notable examples include Sam Wilson’s Captain America and the Incredible Hulk. Furthermore, Van Kovak has pictures of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and both Black Panthers on his wall of inspiration.
