How Wonder Man Sets Up Key X-Men Storylines in the MCU

1 week ago 12

Published Jan 30, 2026, 9:31 PM EST

Since 2019, Kevin Erdmann has been one of Screen Rant's Senior Staff Writers, covering all kinds of Superhero and Star Wars media with Easter egg breakdowns, theory pieces, breaking news, and more. A huge Star Wars & MCU fan, Kevin also loves Batman (because he's Batman), but could talk for hours about why Nightwing is DC's greatest hero.

With 8 years of total experience covering entertainment and pop culture, Kevin has gotten the chance to interview top creatives and talent, and has also attended major media events like Disney's D23 convention.

Majoring in Cinema Studies with a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife, adorable dog, and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Marvel's Wonder ManMarvel Studios' new show Wonder Man is helping to lay the groundwork for some key X-Men stories in the MCU's future. Featuring a new side to how the public views those with superpowers, Wonder Man feels like an important piece of the puzzle ahead of mutantkind's full debut in the MCU proper.

Although Wonder Man isn’t directly about the X-Men, it reinforces several ongoing themes Marvel has been building in recent years. To that end, the role of the Department of Damage Control in Wonder Man feels like a clear warning sign of what’s coming for the X-Men franchise once it finally begins in the main MCU timeline of Earth-616.

Wonder Man Confirms The Department of Damage Control Is Struggling

Wonder Man confirms that the Department of Damage Control is no longer the well-funded institution it once was when it first debuted in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. The DODC's Supermax Prison, designed to hold enhanced individuals, is confirmed to be half-empty, while budgets are rapidly shrinking and agents are at risk of losing their jobs.

Naturally, this pressured environment is what leads Agent Cleary (Arian Moayed) to think outside the box while building his case against suspected superpowered individual and struggling actor Simon Williams, using Trevor Slattery to get close to Simon and learn more about his past.

Combined with Hollywood's ban on superpowered beings seen in Wonder Man, rising anti-alien sentiments in Secret Invasion, New York Mayor Fisk's war on vigilantes in Daredevil: Born Again, it certainly seems as though the MCU is primed for a major turning point (one that would likely be in the DODC's favor).

The Emergence of Mutants Will Make The MCU's DODC Even More Prominent

In the original Marvel Comics, mutants are not just superpowered individuals; they're symbols of unpredictable evolution who have always terrified humanity. More often than not, mutants have always been feared and oppressed by people far more than they've been embraced with the spirit of coexistence.

As a result, one can imagine that the eventual emergence of mutants in the MCU's primary reality will also see the DODC at the forefront of dealing with "the mutant problem".

Registration, containment, and surveillance are all things the Department of Damage Control is already doing with superpowered individuals who aren't mutants. As a result, the expected influx of mutants in the MCU will more than likely put the DODC back on top sooner rather than later.

All episodes of Marvel's Wonder Man are now streaming on Disney+.