By Jennifer Ariesta.
In The Boys, a band of misfits try to take down a group of celebrity superheroes who have wronged them in the past. Adapted from a graphic novel of the same name, this unhinged superhero series is a breath of fresh air amid all the cookie cutter entries in the same genre.
The series reimagined traditional comic book superheroes as debauched celebrities who are responsible for a lot of misdeeds behind their well-manicured heroic reputation. In this world, people with superpowers are known as Supes and their ultimate goal is to end up at Vought International, the mega corporation who manages the most famous group of Supes collectively known as The Seven. Freely depicting superheroes doing drugs, hard partying, committing murders, and engaging in unorthodox sexual acts, The Boys is as far away from Marvel and DC’s clean-cut, noble superheroism as it gets.
The show relishes in satirizing celebrity culture and capitalism within the superhero world. Imagine if The Avengers Initiative were filled with business executives who charge fees for superheroes appearance and have a PR team consistently monitoring their image?
The Supes are essentially products that are packaged and promoted to the nine to serve corporate interest. They have a full team responsible to craft their backstories, determine their images, and schedule their interactions with fans. Like any celebrities, if a Supe’s no longer relevant, they will be replaced by another one waiting in the wings. Nobody is special, even when they’re supposedly born with special powers. Time and time again, the show portrays the anxiety among the Supes to stay relevant by performing well with their target audiences (discussions about their approval ratings are a big part of their existence). It’s the old Hollywood studio system for superheroes.
Borrowing from its graphic novel roots, the show has a distinctly grunge aesthetic, visible from its logo, soundtrack – featuring a veritable selection of rock, metal, and pop bangers – to its visuals. The explicit debauchery from the novel is brought to life with vivid precision, although the gore tends to lean more comical rather than queasy.
Ironically, the main villains of the show, The Seven, are also its undisputed stars. Led by Homelander (Anthony Starr), the Supes wear flashy costumes that are undeniably send ups to well known comic book superheroes from DC characters. There is Homelander the quasi Superman with his red and blue suits, Queen Maeve the Wonder Woman redux, as well as other Supes that parody The Flash, Aquaman and other well-known comic book heroes.
These Supes are immensely riveting to watch thanks to their megalomaniacal, fame-obsessed, and violent tendencies. Despite their immense superpowers, many of them also privately struggle with internal strifes like mental health, closeted sexual identity, and childhood trauma. The duality makes for such a deliciously entertaining watch.
Raunchy and cynical to the max, The Boys takes all-out superpowered mayhem to a new height with its satirical approach.
