Review - The Boys (2019-2022)

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and like many on the Internet, I have become a massive fan of Amazon's superhero streaming series The Boys. Based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis, The Boys was created by Eric Kripke, who serves as executive producer alongside the likes of Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Neal H. Moritz. The series features a really stacked cast, which includes the likes of Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Karen Fukuhara, Dominique McElligott, Chace Crawford, Aya Cash, Jensen Ackles, and a slew of others. 

       So, in the world of The Boys, the world is populated by Superheroes, or Supes for short. There are several groups of Supes, but the most famous among them is a team known as The Seven, which consists of Homelander, Queen Maeve, Black Noir, The Deep, A-Train, and Translucent, with the newest member joining them being Annie January/Starlight. The Seven are not only superheroes, but superstars appearing in movies, television, and having tons of public appearances and merchandise, all crafted by multinational conglomerate Vought Industries. 

        Our main protagonist is Hughie Campbell, who is dragged into the world of Supes when his girlfriend, Robin, is ran through by A-Train and ends up exploding. Initially, Bought offers him a settlement in exchange for silence, but he refuses as he wants a face-to-face formal apology from A-Train. It's around this time that Hughie meets Billy Butcher, who used to work for a CIA unit called The Boys, whose job it was to monitor and, if necessary, eliminate Supes that get out of line. And, after a confrontation with Translucent, Billy and Hughie team up and seek help of former members of The Boys like Frenchie and Mother's Milk, and unfortunately Translucent dies. So, eventually The Boys add an additional member in the form of Kimiko, who was initially referred to only as "the Female," who has enhanced strength and agility, but doesn't speak. However, after they meet her brother Kenji, Frenchie begins to communicate with Kimiko through sign language. 

        Throughout the first season, the Boys work to contend with the Seven, and they eventually uncover a truth about Vought and their work with Supes. Apparently, Vought used a compound called Compound V, which was either injected into newborns, or into their expectant mothers in the case of The Seven, which made these children into Supes. The secret is, eventually, revealed, and the truth gets out. 

        The second season sees a new addition to The Seven: Stormfront. Now, while Stormfront was a man in the comics, the character is a woman in the Amazon series. But, either way, Stormfront is a pretty kickass character at the start, and she and Homelander eventually form a romantic relationship with each other. Unfortunately, it's learned that she was a Nazi, and she eventually is turned on by everyone. The third season introduces the precursor team to The Seven in the form of Payback. Let me put it this way, if The Seven is supposed to be the Justice League, then Payback is pretty much the Avengers. And, one of their more extreme members is Soldier Boy, leader of Payback and father of Homelander. 

         Now, while Soldier Boy was initially frozen, he is reawakened and goes on a killing spree against his former teammates, including the likes of Black Noir and Crimson Countess. Eventually, he is stopped and refrozen. All the while, public trust in The Seven is wavering, and Annie eventually leaves them to join The Boys, as she was in a relationship with Hughie throughout the series. And, that's about it. Oh, yeah, and apparently Homelander had a son, Ryan, whose mother Becca is the wife of Billy Butcher. 

         Okay, so this series boasts quite a few things that make is as popular as it is. The first thing is how it acts as satirical commentary on the superhero genre, as well as corporate overselling of superheroes in media. The idea that a single company is responsible for the existence of superheroes, and is also marketing them as public figures with all manner of merchandise and media exposure is absolutely nuts, and it tends to make these superheroes become egotistical, and borderline psychotic. 

        I actually like the concept that the government would assemble a black ops team as a contingency to keep Supes in line, and the members of The Boys are all fantastic in their own right, with easily my two favorites being Karl Urban as Billy and Timer Capone as Frenchie. The dynamic that Frenchie has with Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko is easily a highlight, and the two are just fun to watch on screen. Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk is also pretty awesome, and he shows that he can be pretty badass when it's called for. 

         The relationship between Hughie and Annie/Starlight is easily one of the better dynamics in the series. Both Jack Quaid and Erin Moriarty work really well together, and the romance between their characters, off and on as it is, is easily one of the many bright spots in what is otherwise a dark and violent series. 

       The various members of The Seven are also well played, with both Antony Starr and Dominique McElligott being the standouts as Homelander and Queen Maeve. Both Jessie T. Usher and Chace Crawford are both hysterical as A-Train and The Deep. And during the second season, I thoroughly enjoyed Aya Cash as Stormfront, up until her villainous turn by the end of the season anyway. And seeing Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy was pretty awesome, given his previous experience working with Eric Kripke on the show Supernatural.

        Now, there's a lot more I want to say, but unfortunately the series is nowhere near finished. A fourth season is, as of now, still forthcoming, and I definitely can't wait for it. As for the series first three seasons, I absolutely loved them. In a world where Marvel and DC is overcrowding movie theaters and streaming television, it's nice to see a superhero franchise that is more gritty and outside of the norms of Marvel and DC. I'm giving the first three seasons of The Boys a rating of 5/5. 

       Well, guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll be back later today with my review of the recent spin-off of The Boys called Gen V.