In a game of spot the differences, you’ll find that the characters in The Boys are actually a lot similar to many Marvel or DC heroes. Is Homelander an ultra douchey version of Superman? You bet he is!
The Boys just seems to be making fun of a bunch of superhero franchises that are massively popular today. So is this a fresh take? Or, is the show based on something?
Amazon Prime’s The Boys is actually an adaptation of a comic book series of the same name. It was co-created by Garth Ennis who wrote it, and Darick Robertson who designed and illustrated it. It ran between 2006 and 2012.
The story follows a former-CIA squad known as “The Boys,” who are recruited to monitor superheroes, most of whom have gone rogue, vain, or both, and whose actions have devastating worldwide consequences.
So how did it all begin, and why? Well, once upon a time…
The Origin Story
If you’re a massive superhero fan, it will be baffling to see someone mock your favorite superheroes and even tear apart the ideals that make up these larger-than-life characters.
Although it seems like there’s been a sudden frenzy of love and adoration for superheroes, the golden age of superhero comics (1938 to 1956) was almost a century ago
As the genre continues to be all the rage even today, it means there has to be at least one person who wanted to take a dig at it, call it out for being saturated, and point out how there is so much propaganda attached to it.
In 2006, Ennis and Robertson, who were very much part of the comic book industry, stood up to be those people.
As Ennis tells LA Times, not having grown up with such “heroes” and the real-world events (9/11 bombings) that preceded the creation of The Boys, had a deep impact on the kind of story he wanted to tell.
“They seem to be the perfect fantasy of hope and empowerment for a world that increasingly lacks either. Personally, not having grown up with superheroes, I find them completely moronic.”
Garth Ennis
Ironically, The Boys was initially published by Wildstorm, which was a subsidiary of DC Comics. This made some sense because the creators originally wanted the Boys to be within the DC universe as well, alongside the big names of Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, you name it. Obviously, DC wasn’t having that.
But what came as an expected roadblock was when Wildstorm suddenly refused to print the comics after Issue 6. Apparently, even though the Boys wasn’t set in DC, the company was not okay with the tone of the comics, which indirectly translated to they didn’t fancy publishing parodies of their own great heroes.
As Ennis would later put it, this was a blessing in disguise. Sure, they would struggle and be frustrated about how to carry forward the project, that is, if they could. But it freed them from any and all restrictions that DC would’ve put on them.
Thankfully only a few months later, Dynamite Comics agreed to publish The Boys, and the rest you know is history!
If you absolutely love the TV show, I encourage you to go read the comics right away. With only 72 issues, it’s no big feat and a whole lot of fun.
About The Boys
The Boys is an American satirical superhero streaming television series developed by Eric Kripke for Prime Video. Based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, which was originally published by DC Comics under their Wildstorm imprint before moving to Dynamite Entertainment, it follows the eponymous team of vigilantes as they combat superpowered individuals who abuse their abilities.
The show is a satirical take on the superhero genre and showcases a world where superheroes are corporatized and controlled by companies. What happens when these superheroes step out of line and rub some boys the wrong way, is the story.
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