The MCU’s Wonder Man series on Disney+ offered us a very different take on Simon Williams, an OG Avenger in the comics whose schtick is that he was also an actor in Hollywood movies. The Simon in the TV series only becomes a movie star through his role in the movie Wonder Man as opposed to Wonder Man being his superhero moniker already and he just happens to be a movie star. It’s a fun little twist, and through most of the series it’s the only real bit of superpoweredness we get. That is, except for the pivotal cutaway episode four, which gave us another Avenger from the comics…of sorts.
In the fourth episode, entitled “Doorman,” we get the entire backstory of DeMarr Davis (Byron Bowers), a bouncer at a Hollywood club who obtains the very strange superpower of creating dimensional gateways within himself which allow himself and others to pass through solid objects. While initially he has no interest in using this ability, a fire in the club leads him to saving everyone (Josh Gad included) via people climbing through him to safety. DeMarr then gains the nickname “Doorman” and joins Gad’s crew before shooting to superstardom himself. And, of course, inevitable downfall, which in turn begat Hollywood banning super powered individuals from appearing in film or TV.
NOTE: It is now canonical in the MCU that actor Josh Gad is lost in a dimensional void.
This is a very silly character in a very silly episode, but Doorman isn’t just a one-off for the show. Doorman is actually an Avenger from the comics…a Great Lakes Avenger, at least.
The infamous Great Lakes Avengers were initially a joke from writer-artist John Byrne in issue #46 of West Coast Avengers Vol. 2. West Coast Avengers was the second Avengers title and spinoff team which debuted in 1984 and lasted until 1994. WCA leader Hawkeye gets word that a group of lesser heroes from the Midwest who have coopted the name “Avengers” for their own team. He and Mockingbird then go to check them out and eventually agree to train them if they’ll stop using the name. (Noting: Wonder Man was also on West Coast Avengers during this period.)
Founding members of the GLA include what seem like Temu versions of beloved Marvel heroes. We have Flatman whose flat body grants him elasticity and origami shapeshifting. Mr. Immortal is…immortal. Dinah Soar, a humanoid lizard woman who can fly. (Get it, it’s like “Dinosaur.”) Big Bertha is rotund and has the ability to change her size, shape, and mass. And then of course we have Doorman whose body can tap into the Darkforce Dimension.
While Doorman was never all that good at being a superhero, his connection to the Darkforce Dimension proved an intriguing power set. During the GLA series in 2005, Doorman died in a heroic sacrifice so that Mr. Immortal could defeat the villain Maelstrom. Following this, the cosmic entity Oblivion recruits Doorman as his new Angel of Death. Upon his resurrection, Doorman suddenly had several new abilities, including a Death Sense which lets him see beyond the veil of life and death. He could also fly and became invulnerable and could manipulate Darkforce energy at will. He was still the same dope, but now was way cooler.
Doorman is definitely one of the weirder characters in the Marvel Comics pantheon but it’s cool he got to feature so prominently in something MCU related. We’d be surprised if he ever reappeared, or indeed if the Great Lakes Avengers ever team up on screen. Also very wild we got Doorman in the franchise before Blade, but hey. DeMarr Davis does prove a pivotal figure in Simon Williams’ life, however, so for that, we’ll always thank him.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.
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