There are plenty of valid critiques of the streaming era. Sure, it’s convenient that you can watch the Stranger Things finale at any time on any screen, but with that convenience comes shorter TV seasons, brutally long waits between those seasons, and a tidal wave of forgettable slop. And one of the biggest issues with streaming can be summed up in two words: Surf Dracula.
Meme’d into existence with a 2021 tweet, the term Surf Dracula describes the trend of streaming shows that promise a major moment up front, only to drag out the build-up for an entire season or longer. As Twitter user @topherflorence put it while inadvertently coining the phrase:
“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”
Some infuriating Surf Dracula examples include the Paramount Plus Halo live-action show (we never even saw a Halo space station in season 1), Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (two seasons in, the Dark Lord Sauron is still forging rings), and Netflix’s Resident Evil (canceled after season 1, with no plans to show the zombie outbreak until the end of season 3). Now, we can add one more streaming series to the Surf Dracula canon: Marvel’s Wonder Man.
[Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for Wonder Man.]
The trailers for Marvel’s Wonder Man teased an intriguing premise: an actor who has to hide his superpowers to get a job in a Hollywood superhero movie. Not only is that a clever hook, it’s also a meta send-up of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its cultural domination, but it’s not exactly what the show has to offer.
Instead, Wonder Man is a slow build. Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a struggling actor in Los Angeles whose career is going nowhere, but his luck changes when he befriends Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), a washed-up thespian best known for masquerading as a terrorist called The Mandarin. They both audition for roles in a high-profile movie also titled Wonder Man, a remake of an in-universe, pulpy superhero film that holds sentimental value for Simon. The casting process drags out for multiple episodes, however, while the show takes a detour into buddy-comedy territory as Simon and Trevor develop an endearing friendship.
Before the Wonder Man casting question is finally settled, we’re treated to episodes in which Simon and Trevor argue with Joe Pantoliano (the well-known actor plays himself in a scene-chewing performance), travel back to Simon’s childhood home for a family reunion, and get tangled up in an apparent drug feud. There’s also a standalone flashback episode that explains why superheroes are banned from Hollywood. These are mostly great side quests (the family reunion drags a bit, but pays off later, while the flashback is a standout entry), but they add up to a show that’s frequently treading water instead of grabbing the proverbial surfboard and going for it.
Ultimately, Wonder Man is an excellent show — one of Marvel’s best. When the story finally does catch up to the premise we were originally promised, the payoff is worth it. It’s just a shame it takes so long to get there, especially for a streaming series whose chances of renewal are virtually nil. We’re definitely not getting a season 2, though the ending does leave open the possibility that Simon and Trevor could show up in another MCU project in the future.
Then again, on the plus side, Wonder Man might just be the best Surf Dracula ever made, and that’s got to count for something.
All eight episodes of Wonder Man are streaming now on Disney Plus.
