There is no shortage of great comic book shows out there, including Daredevil, The Walking Dead, Peacemaker, Wandavision, and some of the earliest seasons of CW’s Arrow. But there is no doubt that the spectacular hyper-violent superhero satire The Boys, is by far and away the best. Based on the comic of the same name, The Boys follows a small group of vigilantes who attempt to take down the most powerful and ever-changing superhero group in the world, The Seven. More specifically, they want to rid the world of the most terrifying, dangerous, and powerful “superhero” on the planet, Homelander.
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Writing
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There is no denying that The Boys has some of the most polished and engaging writing of any show still currently streaming. Even competing with TV greats such as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. The show has an amazing team of writers, with Eric Kripke, The Boys creator and show runner, at the head of the writers table. The team has managed to write compelling characters with incredible character arcs, engage audiences in a brand new but familiar world and bring a new life to the superhero and comic book genre, through its satire, comedy and important themes.
Characters
The cast of sadistic supes and somewhat lovable non-supes is really where the show soars the most. As we previously mentioned, the characters are expertly polished by the writers and treated with such care, but it’s the impeccable performances from the amazing cast that help elevate these characters, and serve to why we love them so much, faults and all. The supes in the show all feel familiar, but also so fresh. While yes, they are all genius parodies of all our favorite superheroes from Marvel and DC alike. But the show does an amazing job at making them all feel so different and unique. In some instances, the characters in this satirical superhero show feel much more developed and polished than many comic, movie, or TV storylines of the heroes the show parodies.
These characters, with or without superpowers, feel real, which is a seemingly impossible task, given it’s a show based on superheroes and humans with no powers trying to end the reign of supes for good. But yet again, the show manages to sub vert all expectations and deliver polished, real, and fleshed out characters.
Homelander
We cannot talk about The Boys without mentioning its utterly terrifying antagonist Homelander. This evil incarnation of Superman, is one of the best villains not only in television but in all media. Homelander is one of the major backbones of the show and is why it’s so special. Without him, the show wouldn’t be able to succeed. Antony Starr is utterly terrifying and unpredictable in the role, adding so many layers of nuance to his truly evil character. Starr has been nominated for his impeccable role in the show, and even took home the award for Best Villain in a Series at the Critics Choice Super Awards in 2021.
Homelander is an exceptionally complex character, from being a spoiled supe who the public loves, to an emotionally unstable wreck throughout the most part of season three. He is an utterly terrifying character, mostly due to his unpredictability. Not to mention his raw power as the most powerful supe on the planet, making every other supe his lackey and live in fear of him; more specifically, the members of The Seven. But Homelander knows exactly who and what he is, while we have seen him do so many unforgivable sadistic acts throughout the course of the show. The ending of season three showed us we haven’t seen anything yet.
Satire
The Boys is first and foremost a satire, and a spectacularly hilarious one at that. The show not only lives up to the best comic book shows, but as one of the best satirical comedies period. There is no avenue that the show will not explore; from mocking Disney and the MCU on numerous occasions, to #releasethesnydercut, and even Kendall Jenner’s controversial Pepsi ad. The satirical comments and references scattered throughout the show, give The Boys so much more depth and add an infectious amount of humor that you won’t find anywhere else.
The show doesn’t stop there, and even satirizes on its sex scenes, which is an angle of the show people don’t appreciate or talk about enough. With pop culture glamorizing and being littered with female nudity and needless sex for years, The Boys turns this cliché on its head in ways that only The Boys can do and get away with. The show really doesn’t pull any punches with these scenes, and delivers many hilarious, tongue-in-cheek and uncomfortable sex scenes. While the show isn’t kink-shaming or being negative towards sex in any way shape or form, The Boys sheds new light on these scenes, by not only demonstrating healthy and refreshing sex scenes, but also not allowing these scenes to feel crude. The Boys lack of female nudity and extensive amounts of male nudity, make the show feel like a refreshing take on a problem that has scathed pop culture for years.
Politics
The Boys also comes with a splattering of modern political takes, that make the show feel fresh and unique compared to anything we have ever seen before. Some aspects that the show tackles are particularly hot topics which most would shy away from. Such as corporate capitalism, lack of government power, police brutality, racism, sexism, and how people with power think that they can do whatever they want and get away with it. The most notable outlook is how the show demonstrates how one person’s ideology and faux-populism can horrifically impact the world we live in. These are topics we all need to be aware of and talk about, but where everyone else is too afraid to speak out, The Boys relishes in it. The show delivers the most poignant and shocking outlooks on the world, and it is something everyone has to see.
