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Wonder Man
Gender	Male
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Origin	Patterson, NJ
First Appearance	Avengers #9 (1964)
Creator(s)	Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Alter ego	Simon Williams
Aliases	“Wundy”, John Porter
Abilities	Superhuman strength, invulnerability, flight, immortality, professional actor.
Affiliations	The Avengers, The Initiative, Force Works, Masters of Evil.

Wonder Man is a fictional comic book superhero, owned by Marvel Comics. Wonder Man started as a criminal, but became a long-time member of the Avengers, present in its various line-ups and incarnations over the years. His body is permeated by ionic energy, and, as such, is not really human anymore. He doesn’t need to eat, sleep, and doesn’t tire or age. He is in a strength class with the powerful character Thor (Marvel Comics). He can fly at speeds of almost 700 miles per hour. Very few things can harm him.

Simon's eyes are usually solid red, glowing with ionic energy. For this reason, he usually wears sunglasses. Simon can make his eyes seem normal for short periods of time.

He is also a professional film actor, and lives now on the West Coast. He is the founder of the non-profit foundation, Second Chance. Second Chance’s mission is to give a helping hand by those overwhelmed by circumstances beyond their control.

Since the crossover event Civil War, Wonder Man is again an Avenger. He is part of Tony Stark’s (Iron Man’s) project, the Initiative, and a member of the newly formed Avengers, the team made up of registered superheroes complying with the Superhuman Registration Act. He has starred in many short lived series and limited series, and currently appears regularly in The Mighty Avengers.

Character Origin

Simon Williams is the younger son of Sanford Williams, a munitions manufacturer whose company, Williams Manufacturing, competes with Stark Industries in the early days. Sanford is a hard to please and abusive father, and both of his boys grow up with problems of self-worth. His brother, Eric, drifts towards organized crime. When his father dies, Simon inherits the company. He has trouble competing with Stark Industries, as Tony Stark’s genius always seems to lead the way in research and development. When he couldn’t make a success of it, Simon’s need to feel worthy of his deceased father makes him desperate. He embezzles money from the company and tries to use his brother’s connection with organized crime to turn a quick profit. He is caught and admits his guilt.

Bailed out of jail by the Asgardian sorceress, the Enchantress, Simon is offered superpowers, and the chance to help the Masters of Evil (a very nasty super-villain team) destroy the Avengers, who were funded by his rival Tony Stark. The Enchantress, who typically uses her beauty and magic to persuade and enthrall men, convinces him to accept the offer. Nazi scientist Baron Zemo, her partner and Captain America’s sworn enemy, administers ionic ray treatments, which give Simon superhuman strength and durability. He also tells Simon that he will die without further treatments. Zemo believes this last part cements Simon’s loyalty to him.

When the Masters of Evil attack the Avengers, Simon appears to come to their aid as Wonder Man. When the villains are defeated and forced to flee, The Avengers take Wonder Man in with them. Soon they make him a member of the Avengers, as Zemo had planned. Simon is moved by the Avengers and the respect they show him, but reluctantly leads them into an ambush by the Masters of Evil, which was Zemo’s plan all along. At the last minute, Simon switches sides, and rescues the Avengers. At the conclusion of the battle, he collapses and dies, as Zemo promised him he would.

Zemo is wrong. Simon is in a hybernative state, as his powers continue to strengthen, as the ionic energy fully permeates his being. Simon was believed dead for some time, but eventually awakens, and joins the ranks of the Avengers.

Wonder Man’s Relationships

When Wonder Man supposedly died, Henry Pym, the Avenger Giant Man, formerly Ant-Man, records his brain patterns and preserves his body in hopes of reviving him some day. His brain pattern is stolen by the robotic villain Ultron, who used the patterns to create the android, the Vision.

The Vision rebels against his maker, and ends up becoming a long term member of the Avengers. He falls in love with the fellow Avenger, the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), and the two eventually get married.

Simon’s brother Eric, blaming the Avengers for his brother’s death, becomes the super-villain the Reaper. The Reaper tries to embrace the Vision as a brother and restore Simon by placing the Vision’s consciousness into Simon’s body. Of course, the Vision, very much his own person, declines this offer.

Years later, when Simon revives, he explores the possibility of the Vision and he being like brothers. When the Vision is destroyed, Simon later has a romance with Wanda. The theory at the time was that, since he had the same brain patterns as the Vision, he would love the same woman. When Simon moves to Hollywood to become a film actor, their relationship cools over the long distance.

While in the Avengers, Simon makes particular friends with the Beast (Hank McCoy) and Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers). He remains close to both of them to this day.

Another good friend is Cindy Knutz, Simon’s biggest fan. Years before, Wonder Man had saved her life. When she met him again, she told him how he had inspired her and changed her life. This led to Simon starting Second Chances.

Simon was once engaged to screenwriter Alex Flores. During a long period when Simon is thought dead (again), Alex marries someone else. She and Simon remain friends.