Prime Video’s satirical superhero TV series The Boys is one of television’s most creative adaptations in recent times. Premiering on July 26, 2019, The Boys was introduced at a time when Hollywood was oversaturated with films from the superhero genre. Unsurprisingly, The Boys has been a critical and commercial success.
However, besides producing a successful spin-off series, Gen V, The Boys‘ success proves audience discontentment with the conventional superhero genre and superhero fatigue. There’s certainly no denying that DC and Marvel Comics have influenced Hollywood’s superhero genre for several generations. However, the growing popularity of The Boys franchise, especially because of its realistic portrayal of superheroes, may just be what the genre needs for its future success.
What Is The Boys TV Series About?
The Boys television series is set in a world where having superheroes is the new normal. These superheroes are generally referred to as Supes by humans. The Boys superheroes are a loose blend of superheroes in DC and Marvel Comics. However, while the DC and Marvel Comics have Justice League and Avengers, The Boys have The Seven. In The Boys, The Seven are a premier superhero team comprising the seven top, most powerful superheroes. The Seven is overseen/managed by a powerful corporation, Vought International.
Although the Supes generally keep up with the good-guy persona, in The Boys, they’re mostly callous, self-serving superheroes who leave more damage while trying to be of help. While most of their actions go unchecked, a team of self-appointed vigilantes, known as The Boys, take it upon themselves to see that these Supes are brought to justice. Although it’s revealed there are hundreds of Supes in the fictional world, The Boys primarily focus their attention on trying to stop The Seven. Interestingly, Vought International, which oversees the Supes affairs, is run by humans.
Vought International profits, alongside the Supes, by turning The Seven into celebrities. They oversee the superheroes’ merchandise, endorsement deals, acting careers, etc. In The Boys season 1, Vought International was looking for a multi-billion-dollar military contract to integrate The Seven into the military. The leader of The Seven is Homelander (Antony Starr), while the leader of The Boys is Billy Butcher (Karl Urban).
The Boys Exposes the Realistic Callousness of Superheroes
Unarguably, DC and Marvel Comics superheroes were created for a younger fan base. As such, these superhero characters inspired faith and hope for readers. Superheroes were inherently good, while villains/supervillains were mostly inherently evil. Although this narrative has served its purpose for decades, besides promoting morals, it only made the concept/idea of superheroes unrealistic. The Boys gives a closer portrayal of what superheroes, if they ever existed, would act like.
Although conventional superhero movies hint at collateral damage, it’s often placed on the villains. However, just as A-Train unintentionally and accidentally runs through and kills Hughie Campbell’s girlfriend, Robin Ward, any superhero with supersonic speed will be a threat to any human population. Intoxicated on Compound V, Popclaw accidentally kills her landlord by crushing his head. In a world where superheroes existed, there’ll be more reported accidental mishaps than portrayed in comics and their on-screen adaptations.
Real Superheroes Will Always See Themselves As Superior
If superheroes existed, like in The Boys, they’d most likely have a natural inclination to be condescending. Although the comics often depict supervillains like Thanos as condescending towards humans, in reality, superheroes, too, have a tendency to act the same. Imagine being conformed to self-serving rules set by supposed inferior species like humans. Superheroes would naturally live by a moral code set by them. In a conflict of interest, superheroes would naturally be self-serving, like any human.
In all honesty, humans aren’t the most well-behaved species and can often be controlling and demanding. Real-life superheroes wouldn’t sit back and be manipulated by humans. While Homelander comes off quickly as the villain in The Boys, he gives off a more realistic attitude that superheroes would have towards humans. Although it wouldn’t necessarily apply to all superheroes, a majority wouldn’t live their lives just to please and get validation from a lower species like humans.
Superheroes Will More Likely Be Intoxicated By Fame
Hollywood is filled with individuals who enjoy an enormous amount of fame and wealth from providing entertainment. Superheroes, if they existed, would offer the world a lot more than entertainment. Like in The Boys, the Supes have played god for so long that they have become intoxicated by fame. Who can blame them? By virtue of their superpowers, they hold the very existence of life in their hands. They can singlehandedly start and end wars, as well as combat natural disasters. Although a superhero like Tony Stark explores the propensity for fame, The Boys makes it more realistic. The Seven in The Boys have long blurred the lines between being superheroes and celebrities/entertainment stars.
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