When Zemo used his technology to transform inventor Simon Williams into the powerhouse he named Wonder Man, Williams donned his new costume* and provided an impressive demonstration of his abilities, both on his own and in combat against Zemo's ally, the Executioner:
*In the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" category, believe it or not Zemo's taste in clothing is leaps and bounds above that of the West Coast Avengers.
Though it's one of Wonder Man's abilities in particular which gives us pause here:
Yeahhh. About that. Unless Zemo has been hiding his godhood under a bushel, he doesn't have the means or the power to duplicate the sheer might of Thor's hammer in a human body (not even an ionic human body); so while Wonder Man's strength is off the charts and reputedly nearly the equal of Thor's, his fists likely wouldn't be able to deliver the incredible destructive power of Thor's hammer. Which means we won't be seeing those fists pull off feats the likes of which the God of Thunder has demonstrated in his own mag.
Or look at it this way: If Thor's personal might could equal the striking power of his hammer, he wouldn't have much use for a hammer, would he? After all, we've seen him invoke the power of the storm without the need of Mjolnir, either with his hands or by invoking spells. And while in Asgard, he typically gets around on horseback, rather than using his hammer for flight.
Nevertheless, this feature of Wonder Man's strength would persist when the character returned to The Avengers after thirteen years of
In fact, Williams seems to have some weird fixation on Thor's hammer--that, or he just doesn't have that much field experience yet.
There was also mention in the original tale about Wonder Man's extraordinary speed--for instance, striking Giant-Man with "almost incalculable speed"... dealing with the Enchantress by "moving with dazzling speed for one so strong..." Which means that we got an earful of that as well, from friends and enemies.
Obviously, Quicksilver was second-rate next to Wonder Man in Jan's eyes.
Of course, if Wonder Man is packing a Mjolnir punch, a few precautions would be in order, wouldn't you think?
You can almost hear Captain America now, can't you: "Wonder Man! Stop hammering at that force field, you fool--you'll kill us all!"
Fortunately, it only took a humiliating demonstration in the Avengers' gym to give Wonder Man a little perspective on Thor being in a class of his own...
...though for what it's worth, I'll bet Thor isn't nearly as fast.
7 comments:
Wonder Man is definitely one of *those* heroes. Writers constantly tell us how strong he is but somehow never seem to get around to showing us some solid examples of his power. Off the top of my melon, I can think of many moments where Wonder Man does some generic muscle action, but never that jaw-dropping moment that Hulk or Thor or Thing enjoy.
Yeah, that's Wonder Man's whole problem in a nutshell. His power is defined by unflattering comparison with a big-name hero; therefore he will never be as big a name as said hero. What should have been done from the beginning is what Kurt Busiek did in AVENGERS vol.3: emphasise the uniqueness of the character. Emphasise that he's a ball of ionic energy that assumes the form of a man and is therefore, practically unkillable. Work from there; maybe introduce new powers that make him less 'generic strong guy with faster than normal reflexes.'
New day's thinking, new day's addendum:
Name the hero:
"FOR ASGARD! FOR ODIN!" "HULK SMASH!" "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" "Gosh, I hope I don't fail again."
Beyond no singular power/strength moments, Wonder Man's problem is he has no personality. At all. Even when Simon Williams finally got over his fears and lack of experience, he became essentially a regular guy. Many stories try to push how the Vision is a copy of Willams' brainwaves, but I've always felt it was more the other way around. The "sequel" is much more than the original.
It's a fair point that Wonder Man, aside from his history with the Avengers, has little to offer as a character beyond his super-strength. The original Ms. Marvel, a replacement member of the Fantastic Four, had much the same problem when Steve Englehart made her into a second Thing, a character who then was instantly rendered redundant and had even less of an identity of her own than before. And as much as Englehart tried to elevate Wonder Man in the West Coast Avengers, we already had a more interesting version of him on the team in the form of Iron Man. At this particular point in time, Wonder Man's only hook (other than returning from the "dead") appeared to be fists that "hit like Thor's hammer," a refrain that grew to be more peculiarly obsessive rather than something which served to set him apart.
I remember loving Wondy's first appearance when I was a kid, and wishing he'd come back, then being really disappointed when he did.
I just could never get past that red safari suit for a costume, and when they tried to make him interesting by giving him an acting career? Nah, go back to comic book limbo, Simon, you ain't welcome round here no more.
Mind you, that whole 'like Thor's hammer' couldn't've made that much of an impact, 'cos I've read all those comics a million times, and this is the first time I've ever noticed it!
BTW Comicfan, I shamefacedly admit, I completely missed the fact you'd put up a link to my blog there. Apologies, I have now reciprocated and you're linked to the Bronze Age blog and The Kids From Rec. Road.
From inventor to actor did seem like quite a career change for Simon Williams, Pete--perhaps another attempt to make him unique and not so much a poor man's Tony Stark? Then again, it's hard to deny he'd be a perfect fit for the action/adventure craze in Hollywood films. (And no stunt man needed!)
No worries about the linking--I was glad to have your blog on the roll call, regardless. You bring an excellent perspective to the medium. :D
During the Attuma/Tyrak storyline, Wonder Man knocked the Submariner unconscious with one punch. You don't see the Thing do that!
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