Wonder Man’s a lot like Wonder Bread in that there’s always a better option not far away. No comic book in history has ever been improved by the inclusion of Wonder Man. Honestly, the best thing Simon Williams ever did was accidentally lone his brainwaves to the creation of The Vision.
This of course begs the question, if I loathe Wonder Man so much, why am I wasting my time on a reading order. Aside from the obvious (I’m a dirty lil’ traffic man), I see it as my duty to recognize that with a Disney+ MCU series starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Kingsley, and Ed Harris, there will be comics fans curious to read related comics. And given that sad fact, somebody – some hero – needs to stand up and point them in the right direction.
The right direction being other, better comics.
So, below you will find a complete Wonder Man reading order, alongside my recommendation for the comic book you should read instead. Enjoy the comics!
Wonder Man: The Early Years Omnibus
Collects: Avengers (1963) #9, 52, 131-132, 151-153, 157-160, 164-166, 181, 192-194, 197, 203, 207-208, 211, 239; Giant-Size Avengers (1974) #3; Marvel Team-Up (1972) #78, 136; Marvel Premiere (1972) #55; Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #78; Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1982) #3; Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #2
This massive omnibus is the best collected version of Wonder Man’s Avengers debut and Bronze Age presence on the team, including his long, sordid relationships with Grim Reaper, Vision, Scarlet Witch and Ultron. The omnibus includes more, but I recommend you stop before the West Coast Avengers portion of Simon’s career, as those are collected more fully below.
Better Reading: For a superior example of Marvel characters that suck at being villains, check out The Superior Foes of Spider-Man.
Worst Coast Avenger: The Wonder Man Experience
Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: How the West Was Won
Collects: West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4, Iron Man Annual #7, Avengers (1963) #250, West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-7, Vision And The Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2, Wonder Man (1986) #1.
Better Reading: For a better example of powerhouses taking their talents to Hollywood, check out Brubaker and Phillips The Fade Out.
Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: Lost In Space-Time
Collects: West Coast Avengers (1985) #8-24, Annual #1; Avengers Annual #15.
Better Reading: For a better example of getting lost in space, check out Fear Agent.
Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: Tales To Astonish
Collects: West Coast Avengers (1985) #25-37, West Coast Avengers Annual (1986) #2, Avengers Annual (1967) #16, Marvel Graphic Novel (1982) #27: Emperor Doom.
Against all good taste, Wonder Man is borderline the lead in the non-Doom portions of the otherwise interesting Emperor Doom graphic novel.
Better Reading: For a better, more appropriately Doom-centric version of Victor Von Doom ruling the world, check out Secret Wars (2015) or One World Under Doom.
Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: Vision Quest
Collects: West Coast Avengers (1985) #38-46, Avengers West Coast (1989) #47-52, West Coast Avengers Annual (1986) #3, Avengers West Coast Annual (1989) #4, material from Avengers Spotlight (1989) #23.
Better Reading: For better comics about strange relationships between step-siblings, check out The Umbrella Academy.
Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: Darker Than Scarlet
Collects: Avengers West Coast (1989) #53-64, Avengers West Coast Annual (1989) #5, Avengers (1963) #311-313; material from Avengers Annual (1967) #19, What The–?! (1988) #6.
Better Reading: For better comics about emotionally manipulative baddies you be crushing on, check out Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me.
Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: California Screaming
Collects: Avengers West Coast #65-82, Annual #6.
Avengers Epic Collection: Operation Galactic Storm
Collects: Avengers #345-347; Avengers West Coast #80-82; Quasar #32-36; Wonder Man #7-9; Iron Man #278-279; Thor #445-446; material from Captain America #398-400.
As you may observe, a Wonder Man solo series is a part of the Operation Galactic Storm reading order. You may also observe that Wonder Man’s first and only substantive ongoing series is so unmemorable, Marvel has literally never bothered to collect it. I purchased every issue on a back issue sale at my local comic shop, and I haven’t regretted a decision so thoroughly since I bought a copy of Weezer’s Make Believe in high school.
Better Reading: For better Marvel events about the Kree Supreme Intelligence being a giant A-hole, check out Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four.
Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: Ultron Unbound
Collects: Avengers West Coast #83-95, Annual #7-8; and material from Darkhawk Annual #1, Iron Man Annual #13.
Technically, Wonder Man’s solo series is also a part of the Infinity War and Infinity Crusade Jim Starlin events that take place in the early 90s. But if you’re reading Jim Starlin’s cosmic opera for Wonder Man, I hope you get the help you need.
Avengers: The Death of Mockingbird
Collects: Avengers West Coast #92-100, 102; Spider-Woman (1993) #1-4; material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #143-144.
Avengers/Iron Man: Force Works
Collects: Force Works #1–15, Force Works: Ashcan Edition; Century: Distant Sons #1; material from Iron Man/Force Works Collectors’ Preview.
Wonder Man In the 2000s Still Stinks!
Avengers By Kurt Busiek & George Perez Omnibus Vol. 1
Collects: Avengers (1998) #1-23, 0, 1 Rough Cut; Iron Man (1998) #7; Captain America (1998) #8; Quicksilver #10; Avengers Annual ’98, ’99; Avengers Forever (1998) #1-12.
To their credit, Busiek and Perez really made a go of making Wonder Man fetch, particularly through the ways his story continuities all over Ultron, Vision, Hank and Janet Pym, Grim Reaper, and presumably some other lesser second cousins who never get mentioned in these twisted family dramas. Busiek seems particularly interested in what it means for Wonder Man if Scarlet Witch married the Android based on his brain patterns, highlighting the hilarious fact that when given the choice between duplicates, Wanda choose the robot over Simon. And she was right!
Better Reading: For better comics about wonder by George Perez, check out George Perez’s Wonder Woman.
Wonder Man: The Saga Of Simon Williams
Collects: Avengers Two: Wonder Man & the Beast (2000) #1-3
The “Saga of Simon Williams” is both the most boring Saga in the history of mankind, and a much larger collection than what I have listed here. Nonetheless, it’s the cleanest way to get a collection with this Wonder Man and Beast spinoff. Being Avengers friends with Beast is probably the second best trait of Wonder Man, but it’s also the second worst trait of Henry McCoy (the worst being all the genocide he got into during Krakoa!).
Better Reading: For a better comic about unlikely friends, check out Chew.
Avengers by Kurt Busiek & George Perez Omnibus Vol. 2
Collects: Avengers #24-56, 1 1/2, Annual 2000-2001; Thunderbolts #42-44; Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet; Maximum Security #1-3; Avengers: The Ultron Imperative.
The best of Wonder Man is right here! During the Kang Dynasty he and Wanda are romantic star crossed lovers in a prison.
Better Reading: For better comics about finding love in a hopeless place, try Jason Lutes’ Berlin.
Wonder Man: My Fair Super Hero
Collects: Wonder Man: My Fair Super Hero #1-5.
Mighty Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis: The Complete Collection
Collects: Mighty Avengers #1-20
I read Mighty Avengers for the My Marvelous Year club somewhat recently, and I honestly could not have told you Wonder Man was in these comics.
Wonder Man Still Sucks but He’s In Some Decent Comics For a Minute!
Uncanny Avengers Vol. 1: The Red Shadow
Collects: Uncanny Avengers vol. 1 #1-5
As usual, Wonder Man is the least interesting member of a team made up of Wolverine, Sunfire, Scarlet Witch, Havok, Captain America, Thor, Wasp and Rogue. His role is mostly “uselessly pine after Wanda,” which to be fair, is what he’s best at. The run itself is interesting though, hot on the heels of Remender’s time writing Uncanny X-Force.
Uncanny Avengers Vol. 2: The Apocalypse Twins
Collects: Uncanny Avengers vol. 1 #6-11, 8AU
Better Reading: For better comics about complicated families, try My Favorite Thing is Monsters.
Uncanny Avengers Vol. 3: Ragnarok Now
Collects: Uncanny Avengers vol. 1 #12-17.
Uncanny Avengers Vol. 4: Avenge the Earth
Collects: Uncanny Avengers vol. 1 #18-22.
Uncanny Avengers Vol. 5: AXIS Prelude
Collects: Uncanny Avengers #23-25, Magneto #9-10, Uncanny Avengers Annual #1
I think Wonder Man actually bails for end of Remender’s Uncanny Avengers arc before Axis, giving you extra incentive to finish the run here.
The Uncanny Avengers Unity 4: Red Skull
Collects: Uncanny Avengers #18-#23
Uncanny Avengers reboots as a series after the Remender run, and while it seems that the run is safe from Wonder Man at first, eventually his big dumb useless face reappears.
Uncanny Avengers: Unity Vol. 5: Stars and Garters
Collects: Uncanny Avengers #26-30.
Collects: Avengers (2016) #675-690.
War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery
Collects: War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #1-5
A War of the Realms tie-in written by The McElroys (of podcast fame), drawn by the amazing Andrew Lima Araujo, and fitting Wonder Man into one his best roles yet: confused guy who doesn’t know how to set up a car seat.
Better Reading: For better comics drawn by Andre Lima Araujo, check out A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance.
Collects: X-Force #49-50
Beast’s Krakoa era character assassination finally runs into the one thing worse than his arc: a reunion with Wonder Man.
Collects: West Coast Avengers #6 to #7
Gerry Duggan has the very good idea to give someone else the name Wonder Man and see if that works better than Simon Williams. How could it not?
Marvel won’t collect the ongoing series because it was written by a pedophile.
So, just to be clear, do you like this character or not ?
Some say there are no bad characters, only bad writers.