How big of a ball does it take to try to beat someone who flies, moves faster than light, or can smash an armored car? And face seven world famous superheroes? Or maybe it is enough to ask for death instead of courage ? Eric Kripke will answer that.
The foundation of the bloody fun that the series is based on the comic book by Garth Ennis is to show that superheroes are not as great as they seem. In this world, their broad smiles are just a facade to nasty characters. Watchmen , Kick-Ass or The Incredibles – all these productions have already dealt with this theme, but does that make The Boys less interesting or not as fun as the above-mentioned titles? Well no!
Charming as (n)ever
In the boys’ universe, superheroes are stars. They appear in films, commercials, and at rallies and concerts. They don’t have aliases, they don’t have to look for a phone booth to change into their flashy costumes when the situation calls for it. They all work for a large corporation that controls their image and (it seems) conduct. Superheroes are also assholes, careerists, or pathetic losers. It is with them that a group of derailed people under the leadership of Billy Butcher, played by Karl Urban, who is basking in the questionable morality and aggressive charm of his hero, is fighting against them.
Butcher presents known motifs – when he meets old friends, most of them greet him with the text “oh no, I don’t work with you anymore” or with a shot in the face, his methods of operation are far from diplomatic, and the whole thing is completed by a tragic story and its burning for this reason, the desire to take revenge on superheroes. The one with whom we are most strongly identified – traumatized Hughie Campbell (played by Jack Quaid) – over time begins to accept that the world around us is not one-colored and innocent. Their partners, Mother’s Milk and Frenchie, who is gifted in every shady field, seem to be just dodgy types at first to show their better side in no time. But the same as with the superheroes from The Seven (here the creators are making fun of the Justice League a bit),
It would be easy to write a story of noble heroes fighting against the incarnations of evil. In The Boy s, even those we are to treat as antagonists at first turn out to have complicated characters or broken lives. The show’s creators let us know the reasons why The Seven members are burned out, up to their ears in scandal, manipulated, or manipulated. The strongest plot of this type definitely belongs to Homelander – a megalomaniac who sometimes does shocking things to uphold his image while struggling with the demons of his own tragic past. Thanks to the characters written in this way, we cannot ultimately take one side, which means that the series is watched with unflagging interest.
Pardon my Frenchie
The Boys don’t take prisoners when it comes to critically portraying our beautiful world. It gets it mainly to large corporations, but televangelists and moralizers also collect theirs, and the Church is also torn by Butcher’s mouth. The consumerism prevalent everywhere is also criticized, along with the accompanying media manipulation and the negative impact of social media. Everything is watered with a sauce of dialogues that Eric Kripke would probably like to put into the mouths of the Winchester brothers years ago if he had the opportunity.
The series also has its meta-moments, it is enough to mention the guest appearance of Seth Rogen (one of the producers of the series) or the whole role of Haley Joel Osment playing Mesmer – the guy who was most successful as a child actor.
Visually it is quite dark and cool, which fits in with the gloomy atmosphere of the whole production. But those who flinch at the sight of blood should think twice about watching this series, because there is a Star Trek doctor or a Katana from the Suicide Squad . The splattering blood is the most delicate motif in this macabre festival. Bones and guts literally fly in the air here, and the heroes wade through corpses. This is not shocking for the sake of shocking and the possibility of using a bucket of sauce, because the age category allows it. The vast majority of such bloody scenes have weight and significance, and the characters grapple with their aftermath throughout most of the show.
Smile and wave, boys
Until now, Amazon Prime has not had a really decent and much-watched fantasy, science fiction or superhero title in its library. The Man in the High Castle is known to a group of Phillip K. Dick fans, and Good Omens was a one-time adventure, although it was really good. The Boys ‘ viewership was record-breaking – within two weeks, the series became Amazon Originals’ most watched production, and the platform quickly ordered a second season. And until the preview of Tolkien’s monstrous series adaptation is on the horizon, Eric Kripke’s series can safely be called Amazon’s flagship title. Or at least it should!
So if you love dark humor and have a strong stomach, reach for the best production that Amazon has for us. And also the best superhero series we’ve ever got.
