The upcoming Disney+ series Wonder Man is doing more than just introducing a new hero. A close look at the show’s promotional material suggests it might be setting the stage for one of Marvel’s most unusual and comedic superhero teams: the Great Lakes Avengers. This is not the powerful team of heroes the world relies on. In the comics, the Great Lakes Avengers are famously known as the “worst” Avengers offshoot, a group of lovable misfits whose adventures are more about laughs than saving the universe.
The series focuses on Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, an aspiring actor who gains superpowers while trying to land a role in a Hollywood superhero movie. The show promises a satirical look at the entertainment industry. But within its story, Marvel is planting the seeds for a much bigger and stranger corner of its universe.
Why the Great Lakes Avengers Are Considered Marvel’s “Worst” Team
To call the Great Lakes Avengers underdogs would be an understatement. They are often the punchline of the Marvel universe. The team was founded by a mutant named Mister Immortal, whose only real power is that he cannot die. He started the team by placing an ad in a local newspaper to recruit other heroes who didn’t fit in anywhere else.
Their roster is a collection of some of Marvel’s most bizarre and purposefully underwhelming characters. A key member is Doorman, a hero who can use his body as a living teleportation doorway. Others include Flatman, who is essentially a less impressive version of Mister Fantastic, and Big Bertha, who can transform her body fat into mass and super-strength. The team is so ineffective that in the comics, the actual Avengers have sometimes sent them “cease and desist” letters to stop using the famous name. They are not meant to be iconic saviors; they are the “lint trap” of the superhero world, catching all the odd characters with nowhere else to go.
The MCU’s Growing Connections to the Great Lakes Roster
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has already quietly introduced two members of this quirky team. The first was Mister Immortal, who made a memorable appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. In the episode “Just Jen,” he hired Jennifer Walters after being accused of faking his own death to escape multiple marriages, demonstrating his immortality by jumping out a window.
The second member is set to debut in Wonder Man. The character Doorman, played by Byron Bowers, is confirmed to have a role in the series. Promotional material for the show hints that Doorman is actually central to its plot. A fictional newspaper headline in the marketing reveals a “Hollywood ban on all super powers,” citing something called The Doorman Clause. This suggests an incident involving Doorman’s powers led to a new law banning super-powered individuals from working on film sets, which creates the main conflict for Simon Williams, who must hide his new abilities.
The poster in question features the front page of the fictional newspaper, The Sunny Los Angeles Film Times, which features a bold headline claiming that “Hollywood bans all super powers.” Below the headline, the paper elaborates on something it calls “The Doorman Clause.”
Introducing two separate members of this specific, obscure team in different Disney+ series is a strong signal. It points to a larger plan to eventually unite them and form the full Great Lakes Avengers roster in the MCU.
The Unique Role a Comedy Superhero Team Could Play
If the Great Lakes Avengers do assemble, they would not replace the main Avengers or other serious teams. Instead, they would fill a unique, comedic niche in the ever-expanding MCU. Their stories would be lighter, focusing on smaller-scale misadventures and the humor of their own inadequacies. This would provide a tonal contrast to the universe’s larger, world-ending crises.
With the story of the Guardians of the Galaxy concluded, there is room for a new team that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The Great Lakes Avengers could be that team, offering a different kind of superhero story that leans into satire and character-driven humor. Their inclusion would also allow Marvel Studios to explore deeper into its catalog of lesser-known, “D-tier” characters, which has often led to surprising successes in the past.
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How Wonder Man’s Story Directly Leads to a Team-Up
The Wonder Man series provides the perfect backdrop for these characters to meet. The show is set in Los Angeles and follows Simon Williams as he navigates the challenges of being a powered individual in a Hollywood that now fears those powers. Doorman, as the apparent cause of the superhuman ban, is already connected to this world.
It is easy to imagine a storyline where Simon, trying to understand his new place in the world, crosses paths with other “outsider” heroes like Doorman and Mister Immortal. Faced with a common problem or a minor threat that the big-name heroes would overlook, they could decide to band together. This would mirror their comic book origins, where they formed not for glory, but because they had no other team to join.
The series also introduces Simon’s brother, Eric Williams, who becomes the villain Grim Reaper. A personal threat from a family member could give Simon a powerful reason to seek help from other available heroes, further pushing him toward forming his own makeshift team.
Wonder Man will release all eight episodes on Disney+ on January 27, 2026. As the first Marvel series of the year, it is positioned to kick off new storylines for the future. While the show will focus on Simon Williams’ personal journey, fans will be watching closely for any sign that the Great Lakes Avengers are opening for business in the MCU. Their arrival would mark a bold, funny, and deeply comic-accurate expansion of the live-action Marvel universe.
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