Marvel’s latest show, Wonder Man, is getting rave reviews from both fans and critics. It launched with an almost perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences generally agree – their ratings are actually even higher than those of professional critics! The series stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams and Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery. What makes Wonder Man different is that it’s less about typical superhero action and more of a character-driven story that offers a critical look at Hollywood, and even Marvel Studios itself.
Despite everything else happening in the series, episode 4 of Wonder Man truly shines. It’s a flashback focusing on Byron Bowers as DeMarr Davis, telling the story of how he became the Doorman – a character with teleportation abilities. The episode is set in Hollywood and explores the dark side of fame, specifically how the industry exploits people of color. It also introduces a wonderfully unique and relatively unknown character from Marvel comics.
Doorman’s Comic Book Origins Explained
The end of Thunderbolts hinted at a conflict between various Avengers groups, specifically over who has the right to use the ‘Avengers’ name – Sam Wilson even tried to trademark it! This idea actually comes from the comics, where the Avengers once tried to stop a particularly unsuccessful team from using the name: the Great Lakes Avengers. First appearing in West Coast Avengers #46, the GLA were portrayed as the less-than-stellar heroes, jokingly called “the bottom feeders” by writer Dan Slott. One of the original members was Doorman, whose only power is to transform into a doorway to any location.
Doorman is a surprisingly obscure character in Marvel history, appearing in only 37 comic book issues so far. Despite this limited exposure, one writer, Zac Gorman (who worked on Great Lakes Avengers), believes Doorman could have been a major star. Gorman has described him as a fascinating character with a compelling backstory tied to powerful cosmic forces. He explained to Nerdist that Doorman’s potential lies in the contrast between his flaws – he’s a self-centered, unreliable screw-up – and the fact that he’s somehow connected to the fate of the entire universe.
DeMarr Davis, from the comics, was a mutant – a fact that’s interesting considering the MCU’s Wonder Man suggests Simon Williams might be one, and Doorman also has a unique origin. Despite being a genuine hero, DeMarr was known for making mistakes. He tragically died while on a mission for the GLA, but was brought back to life as a servant of the powerful cosmic being, Oblivion. This turned him into a sort of angel of death, guiding souls to the afterlife – a role Gorman hopes to emulate – though he remained just as accident-prone as before.
The MCU’s Doorman is Very Different to the Comics (& It Doesn’t Matter)
The Doorman from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has the same powers as his comic book counterpart, but that’s where the similarities stop. This version got his abilities after coming into contact with strange black goo discarded by Roxxon, a long-standing and corrupt energy company in the MCU. This goo gave him access to the Darkforce Dimension, but he initially kept his powers hidden, continuing to work as a doorman at a Hollywood club. He only used his abilities when a fire broke out.
Doorman’s life then became a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of fame and the Hollywood lifestyle. He rose to celebrity as a movie star, but things quickly took a turn for the worse. Facing hard times, Doorman took a last-ditch chance with a film ironically titled Cash Grab 2. However, his powers failed, leaving Josh Gad trapped inside his body. According to Wonder Man co-creator Andrew Guest, Gad is still alive, just stuck within Doorman. “As long as Doorman is alive, Josh is alive,” Guest explained, meaning they need to find a way to free him.
The story of Doorman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ended on a disappointing note. Following the unfortunate incident involving Josh Gad, Hollywood studios have reportedly implemented a rule – nicknamed the “Doorman clause” – preventing anyone with superpowers from appearing in movies or on television. We never learned what happened to the character after that, and it doesn’t seem like the MCU will revisit his story anytime soon. For Josh Gad, it’s a particularly cruel twist of fate, considering his character in the comics ultimately became an agent of death.
Wonder Man is now streaming on Disney+.
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2026-01-29 19:40