A 100% Rated Superhero Series Just Dethroned Netflix's Biggest Action Thriller
Netflix’s new superhero series is flying past the competition, leaving a rival streamer’s Man on Fire reboot in the dust with viewers.
Streaming charts are a bit of a battlefield these days – not that you’d know it from the breezy front pages on Netflix. But behind the scenes, Netflix’s newest big numbers aren’t being racked up by yet another moody detective or some tragic royal, but by an offbeat bunch of ragtag superheroes, of all things. Naturally, there’s a newly-rebooted action hero getting upstaged in the process. Here's how the streaming shake-up is playing out.
The WONDERfools: An Unlikely Smash Hit
Two weeks back, Netflix dropped a show almost no one outside Korea saw coming: The WONDERfools. If you’re wondering why you hadn’t heard a peep about this, it's because the whole thing is based on an unpublished idea from Marvel’s Stan Lee, of all people. Back then, it was called 'The B-Team' – a not-very-subtle hint the heroes here aren't exactly card-carrying Avengers. There’s just something about the origin story: ordinary, arguably rubbish people suddenly wake up with very odd powers, band together, and end up fighting mad scientists and megalomaniac supervillains. Standard fare, yes, but with a wicked twist on how they handle their newfound abilities.
What sets The WONDERfools apart isn’t grand action set-pieces or cinematic spectacle; it’s the shamelessly comedic approach to classic superpowers, and the fact that these powers are as inconvenient as they are heroic. There’s the 20-something human disaster with a terminal heart condition who dies by accident, only to come back with a super-strong, teleporting ticker; a painfully polite council worker who — in a move that feels like the world’s worst prank — lands the power of telekinesis; a husband whose superpower is getting glued to things whenever he lies; and a rather gentle giant who can only muster super strength when his feelings take a bruising. Not your standard Justice League, really.
Statistics: Numbers and Reactions
- Date released: 15 May
- Total views (so far): 7.9 million
- Total hours viewed: 74.8 million
- Critical score (Rotten Tomatoes): 100%
- Audience score (Rotten Tomatoes 'Popcornmeter'): 96%
- Genre: Superhero comedy-drama (with a fair bit of chaos)
- Showrunner: Kang Eun-kyung
If you’re someone who obsesses over review aggregates (and plenty do), the show’s been pulling off a near-impossible feat: a flawless 100% from critics, gliding alongside a 96% from regular viewers. In an age where someone on the internet will genuinely argue about oxygen, this is basically unheard of. ScreenRant went so far as to say:
'Not only do the fights look good, but characterization and emotion are never sacrificed for the sake of action sequences.'
Meanwhile, Over In Action Thriller Land: Man on Fire Simmers
Now, while The WONDERfools has been busy breaking streaming records, Netflix was hoping their latest action reboot would set the internet ablaze. Man on Fire – yes, the same story Denzel Washington made famous, now with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (fresh from Aquaman and Watchmen) stepping into the lead. He’s playing the same vengeful ex-mercenary role, this time in a suitably slick streaming series.
Despite Netflix clearly putting their marketing muscle behind Man on Fire, the numbers aren't exactly stacking up to their superhero underdogs. Since debuting at the end of April:
- Total views: Just 3 million
- Total hours viewed: 16.8 million
- Critics' score: 58%
- Audience score: 64%
Not a disaster, but hardly the smash hit Netflix would have hoped for from a ‘classic’ action property, regardless of who's stabbing, shooting, or doing angry monologues in the lead.
So, About The WONDERfools Cast
Netflix hasn't been shouting about every single cast member, but here’s what’s clear: all four core characters bring a comic edge that steers well clear of anything glossy or cookie-cutter. The supernatural elements are more a curse than a blessing, and if you squint, you’ll spot influences from everything from The Boys to Misfits, but mashed together in a way that frankly shouldn’t work, yet somehow does.