I am not really the type to enjoy superhero content. I have never really cared for comicbooks nor did the huge wave of Marvel and DC related franchise films manage to capture my attention; in fact, I still haven't seen the vast majority of them and likely never will. Much of this disinterest stems from a very tame set of ideas and storytelling when it comes to these films, having much of the creative soul of them sucked out in pursuit of generating large ticket sales and printing essentially free money from merchandise. I haven't paid much attention to their attempts to transition into series either, though I have heard that they have been relatively weak. It's an interesting decline in recent years as superhero fatigue has started to set in, as people aren't necessarily tired of the characters, but the way they're being handled.
Over the years we haven't seen a whole lot of attempts to do things any different from the main franchise owners, and it has been outside productions that have tried to shake things up a little, still banking on the superhero interest, but seeking different ways to introduce characters and tell their stories. I recall watching the first season of The Boys when it started airing, quickly finding it quite encaptivating, but eventually I sort of forgot it existed. I don't think it was particularly due to any reason, but that the lengthy wait for new seasons to come just had me moving on to other things; something that happens often with me when it comes to watching shows still airing. I do remember The Boys being a show that quickly gained a fanbase, mostly for its unique ideas on the superhero genre that essentially picked it up and dangled it upsidedown.
Just the other day I remembered the show. I had just finished watching a miniseries and was craving picking something else up. I remembered being curious about how the show would progress despite seeing some negative comments on it regarding its sudden political talking points, and decided to start the show from the very beginning, to see whether it would again stick. Not quite remembering everything.
The Boys
First off I want to state that I don't think a show has ever made me as uncomfortable as The Boys has. Purely due to one single character: The Deep. This character is a human with gills, and seeing those gills makes me genuinely want to hurl. But beyond just being a very visually repulsive character, it actually works very well in displaying the diverse character designs that are the superheroes. These superheros have their own abilities that are typically found within the superhero genre, ranging from running very fast, flying, or being able to go invisible. But what works so well with The Boys is how it takes these superheroes and actually portrays them as horrific monsters. People void of morals and incapable of truly seeing the rest of society as meanginful. They're above all to the point in which their egos are all they care for. Fuelled by their perception in the public eye and the corporations that aim to profit from their presence.
This means the story follows a very grounded look at superheroes and how they could be utilised in reality. How a corporation may manufacture superheroes and push their own agendas through them, seeking out money and power over the government, attempting to bend society to their will. This story of manipulation extends beyond just corporations and superheroes, as we see the struggles that everyday people have faced as a result of their existence. Collateral damage being treated like nothing, quietly settled and twisted for political and corporate gain; effectively removing much of the idea of superpowers from the show as it rarely displays any action. Rather pursuing a more chsarcter driven narrative that explores pain and the idea of revenge. At its core, much of the first season is a revenge story due to collateral damage. And in similar fashion to a cyberpunk novel, we see varying perspectives of this corrupt world: those with power, those with money, and those who scrape the surface and lurk within the shadows for information.
An interesting idea starts to become explored with the idea that none of these people are remotely happy. That they're all running from something or seeking revenge from one another. It forms a world that is heavily built on lies, so much so that you start to question who is lying to who and why. It pulls the various perspectives together slowly while hardly answering any broader questions. Instead, we discover the ways in which these superheroes are created, but this only opens up a whole new set of problems for everyone. For a first season, it's actually very strong. And it doesn't feel like it suffers from any weird pacing issues as a result of relying on the typical superhero storytelling structure we have come to grow tired of. In a way, it reminds me a little of the Heroes television series that unfortunately suffered due to from what I recall was the writer's strike. Introducing a dense set of characters but making their stories vastly unique from one another.
Alongside this is a show that takes things to a darker tone. Full of gory moments with the occasional bits of action. It has a lot more of an adult theme to it which definitely helps with the more serious feel to it. Though I have noticed a bit of immaturity in the whole talking points regarding modern (and now past) political events. Fortunately, I have noticed that these aren't really increasing in their frequency nor do they have any major relevance to some eye-rolling narrative. In fact, some of it does instead connect to the characters and the world they're in as the corporate and political sphere does contain that sort of fragility. I definitely wouldn't say the show is perfect by any means, but I will admit that for a superhero series, it has managed to not just hold my attention, but keep me wanting to see where things end up. It has many positive qualities to it that makes it stand out, and this stems even into the acting and visuals. It's a very beautifully shot series that doesn't scream lower budget at all, which is a surprise given this ended up on Amazon Prime Video; infamous for their low budget look. I do have concerns regarding the characters and plot, however, mostly from just things I saw people saying online regarding the most recent season. But for now, it has me watching episode after episode. Perhaps some time away from the show was needed for me to appreciate it more, taking a break and letting a few more seasons come out before really giving it a chance.
