Behind the invisible visual effects in the Marvel Television series.
Wonder Man, co-created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, with Marvel production visual effects supervisor John Haley overseeing the show’s visual effects, dropped all its episodes at once in January on Disney+, and has been providing audiences with a fun Marvel treat ever since. In an era where superhero storytelling often leans on the spectacular, Wonder Man takes a slightly different approach; grounding its narrative in performance, perception and the blurred line between reality and illusion.
The series follows Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a struggling actor navigating Hollywood while secretly imbued with extraordinary abilities, as his on-screen roles begin to collide with his off-screen identity in increasingly unpredictable ways. Simon ultimately teams up with Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley)–yes, that Trevor Slattery of Mandarin fame–for some rather unusual adventures.
While the premise of Wonder Man offers ample opportunity for overt visual spectacle, much of the show’s most essential effects work is, in fact, invisible. Working with Haley, Base FX served as the primary vendor on the series, leading all look development and final delivery of the Simon/DeMarr power set, as well as delivering all heavy FX-based sequences. Here, Base FX visual effects supervisor Wang Lei, who shared duties with Jared Sandrew, tells befores & afters about several key moments, alongside a range of before/after images.
b&a: Can you talk about some of the VFX crafted for the old-school Wonder Man film? What were the challenges of making them look a little ‘hokey’, as if done in the optical days of effects?
Wang Lei: For this sequence, our work included laser trajectories, impact effects on characters, environmental debris and dust, as well as rocket exhaust smoke and flames. Among these elements, the laser trajectories and impact effects were the primary visual focus. The key challenge was achieving a very specific stylistic balance. While the lasers needed to retain recognizable visual characteristics, we also had to avoid overly detailed or modern-looking textures. The sequence was designed to evoke the visual language of 1980s action films, so the effects intentionally needed to feel slightly less refined.
Working as the primary VFX vendor on the series, our team collaborated closely with the Marvel creatives to establish the visual tone. Using references provided by the Marvel team, along with additional vintage film references, we developed the laser design around a lightning-like structure. We preserved the core form and displacement behavior while reducing excessive procedural detail in order to maintain the retro aesthetic.
Through multiple rounds of testing and feedback, we refined the motion and distribution of the lasers. During compositing we also introduced subtle highlight clipping to reinforce the vintage look. The collaborative process with the Marvel team helped us strike the right balance between stylization and readability within the action.
b&a: For Simon’s eye effect, what were the various iterations you tried out here? What did you finally settle on?
Wang Lei: Controlling the subtlety of Simon’s eye effect was one of the more challenging aspects for us. From a creative standpoint, we wanted to keep the energy grounded in physical realism rather than letting it feel overtly magical. The effect needed to be readable enough for the audience to sense that something was happening, while remaining restrained so it wouldn’t pull focus away from the actor’s facial performance.
Our initial concept featured energy ions fluctuating deep within the pupil and propagating outward across the iris and sclera, even creating subtle ripple effects on the surrounding skin. Internally we were quite happy with this version, but through discussions with the Marvel team the effect was ultimately refined to feel more restrained and physically grounded. The skin ripple component was removed, leaving a subtle ion jitter within the pupil and delicate wave textures across the eye itself. Once the overall direction was approved, we integrated the effect into the full 3D pipeline. Simon’s eyes were replaced with CG in the final shots, and the energy motion was created during the FX stage before lighting, rendering, and compositing.
Because the visual language had already been carefully established during development, the final production stage could proceed efficiently and consistently across the sequence, allowing the team to scale the effect across multiple shots while maintaining visual continuity.
b&a: When Simon’s skin needed to show the ion fluctuation effect, can you break down the steps involved in body tracking, matchmoving and then in realizing the final effect on different parts of his body?
Wang Lei: For the skin energy effect, we adopted a hybrid approach that balanced visual fidelity with production efficiency. Instead of building the entire effect as a full CG simulation, we developed a 2.5D and 3D hybrid workflow. The actor’s arm was first match-moved to the live-action plate, after which procedural FX textures were applied to the skin model to generate the wave motion.
A significant portion of the work involved controlling the strength, amplitude, and frequency of the wave patterns so that different areas of the arm responded naturally. Regions with stronger musculature required more pronounced motion, while areas with more visible bone structure — such as the wrist and fingers — required subtler deformation. Once the motion was established, we simulated the lighting variations caused by the skin deformation and projected the original plate textures back onto the model before sending the shots to compositing for final integration. Throughout the process we shared iterations with the Marvel team, whose feedback helped refine the final balance of the effect.
b&a: How were various ‘lighter’ moments of Simon’s energy forces accomplished, for example, his outbreak at his apartment and encounter in the alley?
Wang Lei: A core visual concept for Simon’s power was that energy propagates outward from his body in the form of ion waves, affecting the surrounding environment. In some scenes, the production had already captured practical vibration effects. For example, in the apartment sequence the set was mounted on vibration rigs during filming, so some of the shaking visible in the footage is entirely practical. Our work focused on enhancing and extending these effects. We refined areas where the motion felt inconsistent and introduced subtle vibrations to additional objects such as wall frames and props.
Because the sequence involved a large number of assets, we relied heavily on projected geometry derived from the original plates rather than replacing everything with full CG builds. Wave-driven motion was applied to these elements to simulate the propagation of Simon’s energy. For objects requiring larger movement or more complex perspective changes, we created CG replacements. In the apartment living room, for example, we added CG papers, pens, clothing, and debris falling from the ceiling. Additional atmospheric elements — such as floating dust reacting to the energy waves — helped bring the environment to life.
b&a: For the kitchen island destruction, can you talk about what had been filmed on set for this, and how VFX then took over the effect? What extra elements helped sell it?
Wang Lei: The key shot was captured with a high-speed camera, requiring precise control over both timing and animation. The sequence begins at normal speed before transitioning into slow motion at the moment of impact, placing greater emphasis on the physical detail of every element. As a result, each fragment and object was carefully choreographed to maintain a strong sense of weight and believability.
Although the kitchen counter was partially broken in-camera during filming, the final effect was designed as a seamless interplay between practical elements and CG FX. We replaced the countertop and all objects on it with CG, including items such as cake, fruit, keys, and utensils, allowing the destruction to be art-directed while still preserving the tactile realism established on set.
The overall behavior was driven by the outward propagation of Simon’s ion waves. In the FX simulation, fractures travel across the surface along an expanding wave front, while debris fragments inherit subtle wave motion as they are propelled outward. Combined with Simon’s eye effects, skin waves, sparks, debris, and smoke, the shot clearly communicates the moment when the character’s energy is released—there being in-camera and CG FX that worked in harmony to create a physical response to Simon’s powers and not just a magical light show.
b&a: For the movie studio / sound studio destruction, there’s such a great design of the shockwave and breaking in that moment of the camera locked onto Simon’s face – can you talk about art directing that?
Wang Lei: This scene represents a major energy eruption for Simon and involved a wide range of visual elements. To manage the complexity, we divided the work into two primary components.
The first focused on environmental impact, including vibrating props, cloth simulations, falling lights, debris, dust, flickering illumination, and structural destruction. Many of these elements were driven by physically plausible simulations designed to remain believable while supporting the character’s performance. The second component focused on Simon’s internal energy itself. The Marvel team emphasized that the effect should feel grounded in physical behavior rather than appearing magical.
To explore this direction, we conducted multiple development tests, building the effect as a set of independent layers that could be adjusted individually, giving the creative team flexibility to refine the energy behavior throughout the sequence. These layers included ion jitter within Simon’s eyes, subtle energy fluctuations around the body, high-frequency flickers as the energy builds, and small ion particles escaping from the body prior to the release. In compositing, we carefully balanced the intensity of each element so that the final result felt like a subtle physical phenomenon rather than a supernatural effect. The close collaboration with the Marvel team throughout the process helped refine the visual language of the energy and ensured the sequence supported both the performance and the story.
b&a: With DeMarr’s teleportation ability, how were scenes of characters or objects disappearing through him achieved?
Wang Lei: DeMarr’s ability appears in two forms: objects can pass through his body, and he can phase through solid objects such as metal doors. The work relied primarily on model integration and compositing techniques. The key challenge was ensuring accurate spatial relationships during the phasing process. For example, when DeMarr passes through the vault door, we needed to carefully account for body thickness, timing, and the surface structure of the door. To ensure correct interactions, we reconstructed the scene in 3D to match the live-action movement and refined the occlusion relationships and interaction shadows. These adjustments helped maintain a coherent spatial relationship between the character and the environment, making the phasing effect feel natural and believable.
b&a: When Simon kills another actor in a ‘daydream’ scene and punches through the actor’s head, how was that crafted?
Wang Lei: During filming, the special effects team captured practical footage of a prop head breaking. Our initial plan, developed together with the Marvel team, was to replace the entire head with CG, and we created a digital version of Richard’s head in preparation. However, as the creative direction evolved, the team decided that the sequence takes place within a dream-like context and did not require an overly graphic or hyper-realistic destruction effect. The final approach therefore retained most of the practical footage. Our work focused on carefully compositing multiple elements together so that the plates connected seamlessly. We also added additional CG debris and dust interacting with the character to enhance continuity and integration, allowing the shot to feel cohesive while maintaining the intended surreal tone.
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