Doorman’s comic history and MCU role behind the ‘Doorman Clause’

Gamesradar reports that Doorman, played by Byron Bowers in Wonder Man, is central to a plot device called the “Doorman Clause,” a contractual stipulation shown in promotional material that bars metahumans from starring in films or TV because their abilities are considered too dangerous.

In comics, Doorman is DeMarr Davis, a founding member of the Great Lakes Avengers whose mutant power lets him turn his body into a portal to the Darkforce Dimension so people and objects can pass through solid matter. He later sacrifices himself fighting the cosmic villain Maelstrom, is summoned by the entity Oblivion and returned with a death-anchored role; his evolved abilities include full intangibility and the odd ability to summon skis to fly, an homage to DC’s Black Racer.

In the MCU, DeMarr is reimagined as a club doorman whose portal power manifests after contact with black goo leaking from a Roxxon container rather than mutation. After saving a burning club crowd that includes actor Josh Gad (playing himself), he joins Gad’s entourage and co-stars in heist films, but becomes mocked for overusing a “Ding dong!” catchphrase and turns to drinking.