What to Watch: The Boys

by Mike Lunsford, Editor-In-Chief Great Geek Refuge

There is never a lack of super hero content in our current world. You can always turn to the comic books as the tried-and-true method that never disappoints. There’s also online streaming services. Netflix has all of Marvel’s Defenders in their own series and the crossover event, plus they have many of the MCU movies and the CW “Arrow-verse” shows at their disposal. There’s a DC streaming service that has original series, their much celebrated animated content, and more. There is also the video game world where the PS4 boasts an open world Spider-Man game that has garnered rave reviews. If you’re a superhero junkie, there is a smorgasbord of media to sate your fix. There are even new players in the superhero media game, namely the subject of this installment of the “What to Watch” series: Amazon Prime’s The Boys.

Based on the ultra-violent comic book series of the same name, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys is not your typical superhero series. In fact, nearly every hero you see on screen is far from heroic. We’re introduced to “The Seven,” this universe’s Avengers or Justice League stand in. As we begin to find out, many of the heroes are beyond just flawed, they’re downright morally corrupt. We see that they are not just superheroes that out to “do good,” they are managed, promoted and corralled by corporate handlers, a company known as Vought.

The Seven, from left to right: Starlight, The Deep, Queen Maeve, Homelander, Black Noir, A-Train and Translucent.

The series is still less than a month old so I won’t spoil any more of the details for those who have not seen it yet, but I will give my overall impressions of The Boys. For those of you who want a fresh take all their own, stop reading before the line. I’ll give you my quick take on it: It’s not bad, it’s also not great. It’s violence, gore and language is over the top, which is not always a bad thing, but if there’s no point to it, it’s just gratuitous. It’s, as the kids would say, “extra.” 7 out of 10: good enough for a 2nd season but I really hope they have something more to say than ultra-violence, sex, gore and profanity.

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Our story starts as non-supes Hughie (Jack Quaid) and his girlfriend Robin (Jess Salguiero) are sharing a tender moment on the sidewalk when super-speedster A-Train (Jessie Usher) runs right through Robin, turning her into goo instantaneously. Hughie is left holding just her hands as the speedster keeps running. Bent on revenge for the death of his girlfriend, Hughie meets Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) an ex-CIA operative with a hatred for “supes” who recruits Hughie to join his group “the boys.”

The Boys is vastly different than most superhero movies/series. It’s almost a nightmare scenario when you think about it: what if people with super powers didn’t care about morals? What if there was no restraint? And worse so, what if the ones who we normally expect to “protect and serve” didn’t care about doing right? We as a culture always expect if someone has superpowers that they’ll ultimately do good in the end. We’ve seen it for decades, probably centuries if you consider classic characters like Beowulf to be the early models of super heroes. They do good because it scares the crap out of us to think they could do evil. There’s so much in the world we cannot control or change that having a hero above it all, both in physical attributes and moral constitution is comforting. The Boys really turns the mirror on the audience. Our culture is often obsessed with celebrities to the point where they can do no wrong and their misbehavior is swept aside and scoffed at. The heroes of “the Seven” are often treated like that; their wrongdoings covered up by the Vought corporation or spun by their PR department to look like it was heroic. Who in our world, when given ultimate power has been careful with it and not abused it? The list of victims continues to grow as we see celebrities, politicians, athletes, musicians and other people of notoriety fall from grace seemingly on a daily basis. If extraordinary powers were a thing that could be bestowed on humankind, would we really use it for good or succumb to the seduction of evil? The Boys says emphatically that it’s the latter.

double middle finger. Emphatically.

With the exception of Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) and newcomer Starlight (Erin Moriarty), the collection of “Supes” all have horrible character flaws and revel in their power as gods among men. And even Queen Maeve could be accused of being an accomplice to their actions, having not stood up to any of the other superheroes like Homelander (Antony Starr) or The Deep (Chace Crawford) for their improprieties. Whereas most superhero stories are about hope in hopeless situations, these heroes revel in their debauchery. They know they’re unstoppable and their corporate masters will make sure it stays that way. After all, who can stop them? Billy Butcher and “The Boys” certainly will give it a go.

Overall, the series is worth a watch. Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher is so damned likable and charming, even if his over-the-top usage of the c-word gets tiresome. Elizabeth Shue plays Madelyn Stillwell, the corporate handler of Superman-stand-in Homelander and she is wonderful. Her role requires her to be morally devoid just like her superhero charges and she is one of the few characters that shows some complexity. Plus, she has some scenes that are uncomfortable to watch that she unblinkingly performs. What a pro. Jack Quaid looks like a combination of his father Dennis Quaid and Colin Firth, but he holds his own in this series.

Be warned though: it is not for the faint of heart. The series is vulgar, bloody, gory, violent, contains nudity and there is plenty of sexual content as well. That being said, it has a great deal to say about our world and how we treat celebrities and the perils of absolute power corrupting anyone who is given it. The message is delivered in a messy way, pounding you over the head with it’s violent and uncensored nature. It reminds me of someone who is shocking just for the sake of being so, an edge lord if you will. What they’re saying may be true and they’ll defend their shocking comments with statements like “I’m just being honest!” Yes, you’re being honest and in doing so you’re being a jerk.

I give The Boys 7 out of 10 stars. As a series, it is super interesting. The first few episodes are gripping but it drags a bit in the middle and feels ham-handed at times with it’s satire. That being said, I’m anxiously awaiting a second season, I just really hope they have something more to say than “can we top ourselves and out-violent the last episode” that season one seemed dead-set on doing.