The Boys: Superhero Parody or Reinventing Superheroes?
/Do you like superheroes? Blood, gore and violence? If you answered yes to those questions, then The Boys is the perfect show for you. Released on Amazon Prime in 2019, it has become one of Prime’s most popular series. Based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis, the show has seen some significant changes from its original source material while staying true to Ennis’s original vision.
Superheroes or Supervillains?
The Boys takes place in the present day and follows a reality where superheroes exist. However, it’s not what you think. The main plot of the show follows a team led by Billy Butcher, known as The Boys. They are a secret government operation created to keep what they call “supes” in line by any means necessary.
Image courtesy of Amazon Studios
The Boys is parody of classic superhero movies and comic books. Plenty of the supes in the show take clear inspiration from fan favourite heroes. The most notable example is Homelander, who is this universe’s version of Superman.
My favourite thing about this universe is how the superheroes are portrayed. The superheroes are a business and that business is corrupt. They star in their own movies and are created into products. Just like everything else, it seems like making money is their priority and saving the world comes second.
I like this portrayal because if superheroes were real, I think it would be similar to how they are handled in The Boys compared to something like Marvel or DC. There are some superheroes in the show whose focus is saving the world, but the majority are reckless, dangerous, selfish and evil.
Can Something Be Too Edgy?
image courtesy of Amazon
Edgy is a great word to describe The Boys. The Prime series has had to tone down the amount of nudity and inappropriate scenes compared to the comics. Being a comic series, it’s easier to get away with being depraved so it was expected for the series to be more mellow. However, the show still has plenty of blood and gore and eighteen-plus scenes. There have been multiple instances where even I’ve had to look away. It still amazes me how they can make the violent scenes look so real.
Through the first three seasons, this didn’t take away from the story. It was a part of the show and what made it unique. But the fourth season has taken its edginess to a whole new level. Scattered throughout the season are plenty of “not safe for work” scenes which feel unnecessary and take you out of the story.
The recreation of the human centipede, Homelander being breastfed, and an entire episode centered around Hughie being stuck in a pleasure dungeon, among many others, makes it hard to immerse yourself in the story. It felt like they were trying to be edgy for the sake of it, and it showed.
Major Changes
Many changes were made from the original comics. Many storylines were scrapped or reworked along with many characters. A lot of new characters were added as well. One of the changes that stood out to me the most was the number of gender changes to characters.
image courtesy of ign
A handful of characters were changed from male to female for the show. For example, Stormfront was changed to female, Victor Neuman became Victoria Neuman, and James Stillwell became Madelyn Stillwell. I like this change because it added more female characters to the show.
The biggest change from the comics for me was the character, Ryan. Billy Butcher’s wife, Rebecca, is assaulted by Homelander and later gives birth to his son. In the comics, Butcher’s wife dies during childbirth and her son is killed shortly after because he is born with superpowers. Ryan is merely a disturbing part of Billy’s past.
The show handled this completely differently and it massively affected the plot. Both Rebecca and Ryan survive and are put in hiding to keep Ryan safe from Homelander. Butcher believes his wife is dead until the end of the first season.
This change added a lot of character development for Homelander, who is far more complex in the show. He embraces his son and wants him to follow under his wing. In the comics, Butcher’s hate for the supes is derived from the death of his wife, and even though she is killed in the second season, Ryan becomes the prominent reason for taking down Homelander and the other supes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Boys is a screen adaptation that was done right. When comparing the two, I have to say the Prime series is the better version. Although both versions have their issues, the Prime series is the stronger of the two. The Boys is a fun and unique take on superheroes and it never disappoints as an entertaining watch.
Brayden Lowe is currently a professional writing student at Algonquin College. Brayden has been passionate about writing and telling stories since a young age. While creating his own stories, he also critiques everything he watches and reads, both the good and bad. He has been watching TV shows and movies his whole life but only started reading novels at fifteen. He now considers novels to be the purest form of entertainment and comparing his favourite books to their screen adaption is something he is very passionate about and a subject he could talk about all day.
