‘Wonder Man’ Is Hiding a Supervillain in Plain Sight, and It’s Not Trevor Slattery

The following article contains mild spoilers for Wonder Man.Wonder Man is proving to be a surprise for Marvel Studios. Not only is the new Disney+ series receiving glowing reviews, but it's also one of the rare superhero projects that doesn't feature its lead saving the world or battling the forces of evil. Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is mostly concerned with proving he can be a great actor, eventually running into fellow struggling actor/former Mandarin Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) along the way. Most of Wonder Man is dedicated to Simon keeping his ion-powered superpowers under wraps, yet the series features a classic Marvel villain: Simon's brother, Eric, better known as the Grim Reaper.

The Grim Reaper Lives Up to His Name in the Pages of Marvel Comics

Eric Williams first appeared in Avengers #52 by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, ambushing the Avengers and forcing the Black Panther to stay one step ahead of him. It's later revealed that he pushed Simon into becoming Wonder Man, and when Wonder Man seemingly died, Eric sought revenge. Wonder Man eventually returned to life, but the Grim Reaper would continue to battle the Avengers, most notably when he formed the supervillain team known as the Lethal Legion. True to his name, the Grim Reaper replaced one of his hands with a scythe that can absorb and redirect energy, and also lets him reanimate the dead in addition to other supernatural abilities.

The Grim Reaper is also notorious for dying at the hands of villains and heroes. In Uncanny Avengers #5 by Rick Remender and Olivier Coipel, the Reaper attacks the new team of Avengers, only for Rogue to accidentally snap his neck after she absorbed Wonder Man's ionic powers. The Vision #1 by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta features the Vision's newfound wife, Virginia, brutally beating the Reaper to death and burying his body in the backyard. Yet he continues to return and torment his brother, alongside the Vision and Scarlet Witch.

How Does Eric Williams Fit Into 'Wonder Man'?

Eric Williams first appears in the third episode of Wonder Man, "Pacoima", played by Demetrius Grosse. When Simon goes to his mother's birthday party, Eric is already there — and the friction between the two is palpable. Eric constantly throws jabs at Simon's acting job and pressures him to tell their mother, Martha, that he was fired from his role on American Horror Story. He might not wield a scythe or summon the dead, but it's clear that Eric and Simon's brotherly rivalry from the comics is still intact. Prior to the premiere of Wonder Man, Grosse previously teased that fans would be in for a surprise when it came to the Williams brothers.

"Yes, and I think people are going to be intrigued by the dynamic between Simon Williams and Eric Williams as much as they’re excited about the dynamic between Grim Reaper and Wonder Man...This series is gonna be a very, very different kind of show, but pleasantly so."

Ironically, Wonder Man isn't the first time the Grim Reaper has appeared in a Marvel television show. WandaVision, the very first Marvel Studios show, features a sly nod to the Grim Reaper in its second episode, "Don't Touch That Dial". During the opening credits, animated in a style that pays homage to Bewitched, the Vision (Paul Bettany) sinks into the ground and briefly passes the skeleton of the Grim Reaper, complete with his iconic headdress and scythe. The Grim Reaper also appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes as an agent of HYDRA, with science fiction icon Lance Henriksen lending his gravelly voice to the undead villain. What makes it even more unsettling is that Earth's Mightiest Heroes' take on the Grim Reaper actually makes him look like a corpse. Given Wonder Man's comic history, it only makes sense that the Grim Reaper would appear in Wonder Man in some form.

All episodes of Wonder Man are available to stream on Disney+.