6. Overshadowed by the contemporary success of Wonder Woman, likely precluding any successful explicit adaptation for years to come, Wonder Man remains a salvageable character worthy of an appearance on the big screen.
First appearing in The Avengers issue #9 as one of the superhero teams earliest members, Simon Williams – alias Wonder Man – was created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby in 1964. Initially, a villain, desiring revenge against Tony Stark for the collapse of his family’s company and his own imprisonment, Williams sides with Dr. Heinrich Zemo’s Masters of Evil to destroy the Avengers. Transformed into an ion-powered superhuman, becoming Wonder Man, Williams infiltrates the Avengers with plans to betray them. However, after luring the superheroes into a trap, Williams has a change of heart, saving the heroes at the apparent cost of his own life.
Later revealed to have been in a state of suspended animation, existing as a being of pure energy and thus unable to be killed in the traditional manner, during his unconsciousness his brain was used by Ultron as the foundational map for the synthezoid Vision. Serving in a prominent capacity in countless Avengers story-lines, including Civil War, Secret Invasion, and Dark Reign, the reborn Williams later becomes intimately involved with Ms. Marvel. With the inclusion of Carol Danvers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now is the perfect time to introduce William’s Wonder Man in some capacity also.