*Contains minor spoilers
*not for kids/ Extremely Mature content & language
“In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone’s got to make sure the “supes” don’t get out of line.
And someone will.”
THE BOYS
Imagine a world where superheroes are more powerful than politicians, more popular than celebrities and can do whatever the f*** they want. Who puts them in check? Amazon Prime’s binge-worthy adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s gritty comic series The Boys is one of the best new television shows of 2019. With a literally gut wrenching explosive pilot, this ultra-violent 8 episode series is a must-watch!
Adapted by showrunner Eric Kripke (Supernatural) along with Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg, The Boys takes place in a world where there are corrupt superheroes who abuse their powers rather than use them for good. The story follows an informal and extremely dangerous squad known as THE BOYS: a CIA-backed team each with a personal vendetta against the supes that wronged them. (The Boys) Billy Butcher, Mother’s Milk, The Frenchman, The Female and new-comer Wee Hughie set out on a quest to expose the corruption of the super squad The Seven and the billion-dollar corporation Vought which covers up all their dirty secrets.
The show starts off with the world’s top superheroes doing everyday typical superhero things; like you know saving lives and fighting bank robbers. But what happens behind closed doors once the cameras go off?
Drugs, meta-orgies, blackmail, harassment, and even murder are all some of the scandalous escapades by these so called heroes! Some real life shit! This is exactly what Superheroes would be like in the real world: greedy, self-obsessed, power-crazed assholes! The series precisely portrays the dark side of this super conglomerate and offers a violent yet funny take on superhero tropes. Even tying in social media, public relations, capitalism and the impact marketing has on society today. After all, this is a multi-billion dollar business.
Who’s crazy enough to try to stop the Justice-League-esque super group The Seven.
Meet “Wee” Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), the newbie who reluctantly joins the Super-hating vigilante crew after witnessing the horrific murder of his girlfriend by the super speedster A-Train (Jessie T. Usher). What the hell do you do when “The Flash” kills your girlfriend?
Hughie Campbell has the perfect origin story, as the average Joe left with nothing to lose, caught up in the middle of this personal war between The Seven and his new vigilante friends. Quaid portrays this vulnerable, charming, and timid yet actual badass protagonist quite perfectly. We see so much growth from this character throughout the season that we wonder if he’s starting to enjoy it.
But Karl Urban is the show stealer as the foul-mouthed, ultra-violent and ruthless leader William “Billy” Butcher. Perfectly cast, Urban delivers as the terrifyingly violent, yet hilariously charming leader of the titular Boys, with a reasonable hatred for all things Supe. Butcher is on a personal vendetta to hunt down the hero responsible for his wife’s death and absolutely nothing will stop him. He recruits Hughie and gets his “boys” Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) and Frenchie (Tomer Capon) back together to take deadly action against the Seven, Vought and anyone else with super-strength that gets in his way.
Billy Butcher: “See, people love that cozy feeling Supes give them… but if you knew half the sh*t they get up to… F*ckin’ diabolical. But then, that’s where I come in. To spank the b*stards when they get out of line.”
Despite lacking superpowers the strong-minded crew each fully equipped with a formidable skill-set have one simple mission: Destroy the supers!
So who are THE SEVEN?
“The Seven” is made up of the top tier Supers; they are not only the most popular and respected, but the highest paid. From billboards, endorsements and all kinds of merchandise to movie deals, these Supes are literally everywhere and looked upon as gods. Currently The Seven are composed of The Homelander, Black Noir, Queen Maeve, The Deep, Translucent, A- Train, and newbie Starlight. Like any good superhero they are there to save the day, but the Seven do it for all the wrong reasons: power, fame and glory.
Antony Starr (pictured) plays the cocky All- American patriotic leader of The Seven, Homelander. Starr does a marvelous portrayal of the self-absorbed Captain America-Superman hybrid. With the movie-star looks and the power of a god, Homelander is the greatest superhero alive. Not only does he have super-strength, super hearing, and the ability to fly, but he also has X-Ray vision and laser beam eyes.
I absolutely loved him as Homelander, and cannot wait to see more of this character. Without giving too much away, Homelander is definitely one of the most compelling characters in this series.
Another stand out character was Erin Moriarty’s Starlight, the newest member of the corrupt super Seven. Annie “Starlight” January, is the sincere young, naïve girl next door with dreams of saving the world. In a subplot we learn she’s selected to join The Seven and watch as her world turns upside down, and all her dreams are destroyed. You can’t help but fall in love with her character and only hope she always stays true to herself. There may be some hope for these Supes yet.
“Since when did “hopeful” and “naive” become the same thing? I mean, why would you get into this business if not to save the world? That’s all I have ever wanted. And that’s why I have always wanted to be in The Seven.”― Starlight
These worlds collide when Annie and Hughie cross paths and soon a grand conspiracy emerges that could ultimately destroy Supes and Vought. The Boys embark on a quest to take down Vought, doing whatever it takes, whether it be blackmail, beatings, mutilation, or even shoving c-4 up someone’s ass.
The Boys renowned for its explicit violence, sex, and dark gritty humor is a perfect spin on the super-hero genre. The Boys imagines a world where metahumans are the villains, but the biggest antagonist are the corporations that profit off them. Making this dark reality all to real. Though we don’t live in a world where super-heroes actually exist, we do live in one with shitty people in positions of power and wealth.
From flying guts, smashed heads, and exploding dolphins the series is actually pretty tame compared to the comic. The showrunners did a great job translating The Boys from page to small screen, making it more relevant to society today. Some aspects of the story haven’t aged well over the last decade, so the producers really made sure the adaptation would work without changing too much of the underlying story. However, there are some major character changes so I’m very curious as to how season 2 will play out.
Overall I was super impressed, right away the pilot immediately had me hooked and I couldn’t stop watching. This binge-worthy series is already a fan favorite and everything you ever wanted in a Super-Hero story. It features compelling characters, fantastic character development, and overall amazing casting. it is extremely violent and vulgar yet loads of fun. There are moments where you cringe and moments when you can’t stop laughing. It is so f***** up on so many levels, yet covers real life predicaments like the Me-Too movement. It’s a modern day spin on superheroes being above the law. It also leaves us with a major cliffhanger and possibly TVs best villain!!
9/10: Amazon’s “The Boys” is JLA on Compound V
and a bloody masterpiece
The Boys is an American comic book series, written by Garth Ennis and co-created, designed and illustrated by Darick Robertson. It was originally published by Wildstorm before moving to Dynamite Entertainment.
Just days ahead of the series premiere of The Boys, Amazon has renewed this dark superhero series for a second season!
Gotham Geek Girl 