I’ll admit it, I had been in a geek rut for over a month.
My attempts to watch ‘Ratched’ on Netflix had gone downhill after the show’s quality followed a similar trajectory. Since then, all my old shows hadn’t quite been grabbing my interest. I needed something new, fresh and exciting.
Then, I saw Homelander’s eyes light up with murderous glee and I fell in love with my latest pop-culture obsession.
The Boys S1 is exceptional genre-storytelling, a realistic black-humoured satire and drama about what might really happen if superheroes were in our world. Such a concept invites incredibly cynical logic and characterization which; to be sure, The Boys does show many examples of how dangerous such a thing would be.
Yet what raises this above the lazy genre tripe of such things as Zack Snyder’s BvS, is the show’s constant commitment to the individual bravery, heroism and morality all can be capable of; in even the most dire of circumstances.
Such themes are not unique to the genre of course; far from it, yet here they have an edge to them like few others. This is a world where their ‘Superman’ AKA Homelander AKA MEGA-PRICK will happily leave civilians to die on a crashing airliner when it becomes too personally difficult for him to prevent. In such a narrative where many ‘heroes’ are; at best, narcissistic: Personal bravery feels particularly inspiring.
It is far from just the narrative edge however that gives this show its credibility, yet also its commitment to genuinely introspective world-building. In this world, the ‘Race of the Century’; heavily inspired by DC’s famous Flash-Superman race, is between two speedsters who both complete the race in less than four seconds: To wild applause.
This hilarious takedown of hyper-commercialized sporting events; for underwhelming payoffs, could not be more stinging if it tried and it is far from the only scathing social-commentary. The Boys explores how religions function in a world with heroes and show how deranged sociopaths; with just a touch of clever PR, can be treated as Christlike figures. American hardline Christianity comes in for a well-deserved beating, as does corporate advertising, economic power-structure, the United States intelligence services and much, much more.
The show is brutally honest in its takedowns, exaggerating the situations through its fictional contexts; yet maintaining the uncompromising emotional honesty. Watching Starlight; a genuine hero and good person, be tricked into sexually gratifying a disgustingly pathetic superhero colleague, hits with as much intensity as any depiction of such morally bankrupt behaviour ever has.
A few shows; like Jessica Jones, have explored sexual abuse in the genre before with excellent humanity. Yet few have ever shown it in such a realistic and thus, truly soul-sickeningly way.
The Boys S1 has shown that neither Marvel nor DC have a monopoly on great-storytelling within this sub-genre and I cannot wait to see how the show develops, as I watch S2 with excited glee and terrified worry, wondering if Homelander slaughters a/many characters I love.
Only time will tell.
Marley Eleven Bury is a twenty-one year old Film & TV writer who loves takeaway and the superhero genre far too much. His claims to fame are having listened to the entire 26-hour+ Fire and Blood audiobook multiple times and being able to sing the Periodic Table song from memory.
