The Boys twists our usual perceptions of superheroes and paints them in a totally different light—whatever prior ideas you have about superheroes, throw them out the window. The heroes here are a group called “The Seven” with enough fame, money and power to do whatever they want, regardless of consequences. The Seven, comprised of seven superheroes carefully selected by the corporation Vought, are brought together as a council to work together in saving civilians and helping law enforcement to do so as well.
Working to expose the corrupt nature of superheroes are The Boys, led by Billy Butcher. Hughie, one of the main characters, is a civilian whose daily life is relatively untouched by superheroes until his girlfriend, Robin, is killed by a member of The Seven. He later joins The Boys after being approached by Billy Butcher, who introduces him to the full extent of the violence and carelessness that occurs at the hands of Vought’s Seven.
The superheroes do save the day, but for the most part, they err on the side of corruption. Take A-Train, for example, who quite literally runs through Robin, Hughie’s girlfriend. Instead of being held accountable, A-Train, backed by Vought, simply apologizes to Hughie and Hughie is persuaded to take a settlement and sign an NDA. Robin’s death is mostly forgotten by the public after this, who still hails A-Train as a hero.
As someone who has watched very few movies about superheroes, let alone TV shows, I had little to no expectations when The Boys was first recommended to me. Having finished the first season, I can say I enjoyed watching The Boys and am currently an episode into season two. I wouldn’t say that this is a show you can have on in the background. Throughout the show, there is a lot of violence as well as some gore. If you can get past that and/or don’t mind it, this is definitely a worthwhile watch. None of the characters in this show are completely blameless, as they all have moments where they still continue to do bad things. However, this also works in reverse: the generally “bad” characters are put into situations or given storylines that give them a more human side. Even some of the superheroes, while being mostly corrupt, had moments that found me sympathizing with them.
I also liked The Boys’ take on Vought, the overarching company that hires and manages The Seven, along with a host of other superheroes. Vought views superheroes as a money-making investment and often uses The Seven for public appearances, movie deals and merchandising. This is a side never fully considered by superhero franchises and TV shows and it provided an interesting spin to the show, especially since the world of The Boys is centered around superheroes and the economic benefits they create for Vought.
Amazon Prime initially released the first season of The Boys in 2019, following it up with a second season in 2020. The third season is set to come out on Jun. 3 of this year, with an initial three-episode premiere followed by weekly episodes.
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