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Wonder Man

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{{Superherobox| image=Image:wonderman1.jpg 200px |caption=Cover to ''Wonder Man'' volume 2 #1
Jeff Johnson, artist |comic_color=background:#ff8080 |character_name=Wonder Man |real_name=Simon Williams |publisher=Marvel Comics |debut=''Avengers'' #9 (October 1964) |creators=Stan Lee and Jack Kirby |alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0 |status=Active |alliances= |previous_alliances=Avengers (comics) Avengers, Defenders (comics) Defenders, Force Works |aliases= |relatives= Vision (comics) Vision (brainwave donor/"brother"); Grim Reaper (comics) Eric Williams (brother) |powers= Superhuman Strength, Speed and Stamina, Invulnerability, Immortality, Flight |}} ''This article is on the Marvel Comics character. For the DC character, see Wonder Man (DC Comics)''. '''Wonder Man''' is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics Marvel Universe universe, and is a member in long standing of the Avengers (comics) Avengers. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The 1st penciler to draw him in a published comic was Don Heck.

Character Biography
Simon Williams was born the son of a rich family, and inherited the family's company and fortune. His father died when he was in his twenties, and despite his best efforts, his company (Williams Innovations) began to decline and lose money to its biggest competitor, Tony Stark. On the advice of his brother Eric, Simon tried to embezzle money from his company and was imprisoned, blaming Tony Stark for his failure. The supervillain Baron Zemo found the desperate Williams and offered him a chance to escape by transforming him into the ionically ion-powered Wonder Man. Wonder Man joined the Avengers on Zemo's behalf, but ultimately turned on Zemo and was apparently killed in doing so. He actually remained in a deathlike state of suspended animation for years, during which time the android Ultron stole a recording of his brain-patterns, using them in the creation of an android of his own, the Vision (comics) Vision. William's brother, Eric Williams, became the supervillain called the Grim Reaper (comics) Grim Reaper, and the process that had empowered Simon was also used to empower the villain Count Nefaria, among others. Wonder Man was eventually revived as a zombie by Black Talon (comics) Black Talon, by voodoo, and attacked the Avengers again. His body being made of ionic energy, or in the way to be so, was probably the factor why he was able to regain his own free will, and for his consciousness to finally re-emerge. He finally joined the Avengers full-time, becoming close friends with his teammate, the Beast (comics) Beast and changed his costume including a period where he had a distinctive look with a turtleneck sweater under a short red trenchcoat with sunglasses. For some time after his "resurrection," Wonder Man suffered from two psychological problems. One--slight claustrophobia--was minor. The other was the far more serious fear of death; the thought of again being cut off from life was often crippling to him in battle. This fear made his Avengers service somewhat traumatic for him. In an attempt to find a less hazardous occupation, he sought work as an actor. In New York (where the Avengers are based), his career seemed forever stalled; he occasionally found work in stage plays, but more frequently found himself working on cable access shows. When he met Avengers reservist Hercules (during a time when the Avengers were reorganizing their membership rolls), the son of Zeus convinced him he had made many contacts in Hollywood who could help Williams to realize his dream; Wonder Man then travelled to Los Angeles with his new comrade. While Hercules was unable to help Wonder Man find acting work right away, Simon did find work as a stunt man, a job his invulnerability made him ideally suited for. Ironically, this work--undertaken to help him avoid danger--helped Wonder Man overcome his crippling fear, as repeated triumphs on the movie set allowed him to build up his confidence. The change in venue also led to Wonder Man become a founding and core member of the West Coast Avengers team, and eventually to greater success as an actor. [[Image:WonderMan-9.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Cover to ''Wonder Man'' Volume 2 #9 (May, 1992), featuring Wonder Man and the Vision (comics) Vision. Art by Jeff Johnson.]] Wonder Man eventually came to accept the Vision as his "brother". However, the Vision was dismantled and rebuilt as an emotionless machine, his memory erased by several governmental powers worldwide which were afraid of all the information contained in Vision's brain. The Vision's wife, the Scarlet Witch, asked Wonder Man for him to lend his brainwaves again for her lover to be reborn, but Wonder Man refused, suddenly claiming to have always had feelings for her which he could never really voice, and hoping this was his chance. She became mad at his refusal, and used her powers to throw a mountain at him which did not hurt anything but his feelings, sending him hurling and screaming into the airless space in which he is able to survive. When the Avengers West Coast disbanded Williams became a founder member of its successor group - Force Works, along with Iron Man, the Scarlet Witch, US Agent and Spider-Woman. However, Wonder Man was disintegrated in a battle with the alien Kree in an early mission with the group. The Scarlet Witch was eventually able to restore Williams to life with her magic, and in the process brought back the Grim Reaper, who at the time had been a ghost. They became romantically involved, but slowly drifted apart, and called it quits during the Kang War, promising to stay friends. Recently Simon was linked to Ms. Marvel, also known as Carol Danvers, during House of M.

Powers and abilities
Initially, as empowered by Baron Zemo, Wonder Man possessed superhuman strength and endurance that were comparable with Giant Man. After his first "death", his powers increased significantly while in stasis, placing him in the "Class 100" strength range, almost on a level with Thor (Marvel Comics) Thor; entailing that he can lift far in excess of 100 tons. Wonder Man also possesses superhuman speed but initially could not fly of his own power. After his revival, he gained a belt that featured a pair of rockets that tapped into his ionic power to give him the ability of flight. Without the belt, he could not fly, but eventually learned to leap great distances like the Hulk (comics) Hulk. After he was exposed to the energies of a Nega-Bomb in "Operation: Galactic Storm Operation Galactic Storm", his powers entered a state of flux that lasted until his second "death" in combat with the Kree. At one point during this state of flux, energy erupted from his body and temporarily empowered a group of his non-superpowered friends and associates, who were briefly known as the "Crazy Eight (comics) Crazy Eight". During an epic battle against Mephisto, he learned that his body made of ionic energy was able to do far more than he first fathomed. Among other things, he learned that he could fly by himself by projecting energy from his lower body. After that, he was killed by the Kree (see bio above and trivia below), and his atoms were dispersed worldwide. His body was later reformed by the Scarlet Witch. His body was now clearly in its natural state, a form of energy (most likely ionic energy).

Trivia
Even though Wonder Man has seemingly died numerous times, it has been claimed that he is actually immortal and no longer ages, but so far, the only source for this claim remains Mephisto, the self-proclaimed Lord of Lies. Also, he doesn't need to breathe, drink or eat, or maybe even sleep, but does so out of habit, not having known for a number of years that his body was made of ionic energy, or does so for general enjoyment of the pleasures of life. Because his body is made of ionic energy, Wonder Man's eyes glow bright red. He can consciously revert his eyes back to human-looking state through concentration (Simon's human eye color is grey), but only temporarily. We can assume his current natural form to be his "energized" one, and his "human" form to be "worn" out of habit of his human life. During his solo series, Wonder Man was forced to confront the long-buried truth that the real Simon Williams had indeed died in his original battle, and that his corpse had since become a living being of ionic energy. Since his subsequent return from death, this has not been mentioned, with the implication that he no longer remembers any of it. The recent breakdown of the Scarlet Witch, and the revelation that she had been unconsciously manipulating the world around her, has raised the possibility that the Wonder Man she resurrected may not be real, but this matter has yet to be addressed. In the 31st century of the Guardians of the Galaxy comic series (a future which diverged from the "true" Marvel Universe), Wonder Man now calls himself Hollywood. Mars had invaded Earth some centuries earlier, and Wonder Man was teleported by Vision away from earth so he could not help against the Martian invasion. Wonder Man insisted Vision teleport him back to earth which he did, but it was too late, the earth had lost, and Hollywood would share the weight of this fact with an all too rational Vision for centuries to come. Wonder Man has been featured in: * Avengers (first appearance and first "death" in Avengers ((1964)) #9 + various issues after first "resurrection" in ((1976)) #151) * Marvel Premiere #55 (1980 first solo adventure) * West Coast Avengers (various issues) * Wonder Man (1986 one-shot special issue) * Avengers West Coast (various issues) * Wonder Man (his own ongoing series which lasted for 29 monthly issues + 2 annuals) * Force Works (issue #1 only) * Avengers (volume 2) (various issues) * Tales of the Marvels: Wonder Years (2 issues, miniseries) * Avengers (volume 3) (various issues) * Avengers Two: Wonder Man and the Beast (miniseries) * House of M (miniseries) Wonder Man is one of several Marvel characters not to have an Ultimate counterpart. However, in Ultimate vol.2 #10, the Masters of Evil#The Liberators Liberators used a group of foot soldiers who gained superpowers(described as 'flight and class-three strength') for a month before their bodies burned out. The deaths were kept secret from the new soldiers. Category:Avengers members Category:Defenders members Category:Marvel Comics titles Category:West Coast Avengers members Category:Fictional actors Category:Iron Man supporting characters fr:Wonder Man

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