The Boys: New air for the Supes generation.

Spoilers

Oi! Less than two months ago, I started watching The Boys for the first time, just a while after its fourth season aired in 2019. I used to wonder why this series was getting so many memes and so much acclaim. I procrastinated for a long time before watching it; by the time I said I would, it was already three seasons old, and I ended up watching it after the fourth season, so you can understand the delay in experiencing this impact. Now, you may ask: Is The Boys a series that stands out as a gem within the growing Gen Z audience, offering a different approach to superheroes compared to what we know? My answer: absolutely.

I'm a die-hard fan of watching shows as they air; however, with this show, despite watching it after its release, I felt like it was still airing as I finally understood everything I had wondered about it. You may wonder: How much of The Boys and its world caught your attention? You'll read about it in a moment; join me.

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Global Impact with its New Satirical Approach


It’s impossible to think of The Boys and not recall the huge variety of memes based on the series. But, of course, its global and industry impact is not just about its memes (which are great, worth noting); it goes beyond that. Its premise at the beginning could feel repetitive due to the overexploitation of superheroes that we've been inundated with over the last two decades. But, as they say, the exception proves the rule, and in this case, The Boys is the exception to the repeated perspectives we’ve had for so long.

Homelander's Strength Is Being Called into Quest as Memes Trend

Despite having a somewhat pronounced political message, the series is of very high quality, at least 90% of the time, with only a few narrative missteps that we’ll discuss in a moment. Now, its great innovation is undoubtedly the satirical approach to a world populated by the so-called'supes’, where they serve a very different role and have a different mentality compared to what we’re used to in Marvel or DC universes.

In this world, the supes are more like a marketing and money-making machine for exorbitant profits. They aren't necessarily good at saving the world, at least not entirely, because they don't want to save the world from themselves. With these two extremes, on the one hand, we have A-Train, a member of The Seven who only once truly feels like a hero. On the other hand, we have Homelander, who has the ability to save a plane full of dozens of people about to die but decides to let them plummet into the water because ‘there’s nothing more to be done’. From this, we see the psyche and modus operandi of these hypothetical heroes from the outside, but inside, they are just toys (or monsters) being run like a gold mine.

One thing to note, which most viewers will notice while watching the series (and if they have even a little knowledge of the most iconic superhero sagas in history), is that apart from being a satire of the approach, tone, and reality of supes, it’s also a satire of its own characters. Clearly, besides the biblical references, Homelander is a parody of Superman, that man who seems invincible and has all the powers anyone would want: super strength, flying, laser vision, super hearing, and more. And it’s not just him; A-Train is a parody of Flash, Black Noir of Batman, The Deep of Aquaman, Maeve of Wonder Woman... and so on.

What do yall think might happen in the boys season four? : r/TheBoys

Personally, I’m fascinated by how the series presents a real-world scenario if superheroes existed while still maintaining a distance from the fantasy element. But then again, they do say that reality trumps fiction, however dubious that may seem. Still, this world is built on lies, with naïve defenders of superheroes and politicians who are oblivious to global welfare, only interested in their own benefit... After that, it doesn’t seem like a satire anymore, does it?

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Virtues and Weaknesses

Clearly, this series is not free of scripting errors, especially the most criticized, which is its formula being repeated even in its best season. But let’s take this one step at a time.

Its Greatest Virtue: Character Development

Let’s start with the good, because The Boys deserves to be highlighted for its strengths, not just its flaws—far from it. First of all, as I mentioned earlier, the main strength of the series lies in how it draws you into a new way of viewing the world with these ‘deities’, bestowed by the hand of God as blessings to the world, demonstrated by the development of the characters.

I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone who’s seen the series that, alongside Homelander, the soul of The Boys is undoubtedly William Butcher. This is no less true given the development they decided to give to this genius of a misunderstood martyr.

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The cornerstone of everything that happens in this series can be traced back to Butcher, whose quest for revenge and hatred towards the Suppes stems from the hypothetical death of his wife at the hands of Homelander, which becomes more complex for many reasons. Aside from William, we also have Hughie, a reflection of what Butcher’s younger brother would have been and a graphic representation of what happened to him after the fraudulent world of supes took his girlfriend, Robin, at the hands of A-Train.

The Boys' arranca su tercera temporada con niveles inauditos de violencia,  veneno y humor incorrecto

Apart from the obvious protagonists of The Boys, Butcher, and Homelander—two sides of the same coin, with different ends—we have Hughie, the third driving force in the series. The first sadistic event in the series is the death of Robin by A-Train under the effects of Compound V, and from there, everything we know of The Boys is born, thanks to their thirst for revenge, eventually turning to Butcher and gradually becoming part of the group.

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Homelander, of course, also deserves mention. The glorified figure of a supposed god who came into the world to protect everyone but is, in reality, just another creation thanks to a serum designed to create supes, a biblical lie—or rather, an impossibility. The iconic scene where he murders a fan of Starlight’s band in the middle of their crowd, only to be applauded with no reproach, is chilling. His laughter and the music amplify the descent into madness of Homelander, much like the moment when he decides to unveil his true self on national television.

Basado en hechos reales: Escena final de tercera temporada de

At the same time, most of the characters in the series undergo development worthy of a lovingly crafted story, despite their flaws. Starlight unmasking her distorted reality of being a supe, Mother's Milk and his father's revenge plot, Hughie grappling with emotional dilemmas and the need to prove himself as a good leader, Frenchie and Kimiko with their similar tragic arcs, Maeve growing tired of the corrupt, broken world she’s been immersed in for years—each character has a meaningful arc (except for The Deep, who’s just a jerk).

Its Greatest Weakness: The Repetition of a Dastardly Formula

The Boys has many strengths; I’ve highlighted what seems to be its greatest one. But of course, it also suffers from a significant weakness, one that plagues it for three seasons in a row, even in its best season, as I mentioned earlier. What does this series repeat that makes it so cowardly for three seasons? Follow me.

In both the first and second seasons, we notice a clear pattern in the order of events, with certain nuances. The boys face a new antagonist, defeat them, rid themselves of the authorities or one of The Seven, and so on. And while this happened in the first two seasons, the repeated formula doesn’t make them bad; they maintain an excellent level. The problem lies in the third season.The Boys': Jensen Ackles on Soldier Boy-Homelander Twist and Finale

Everything we had seen in the previous two seasons was setting up for a final event that was supposed to be the death of Homelander (actually, the loss of his powers) and all the social and political ramifications of that. And yes, the season does execute all of this excellently, with star characters like Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie consuming temporary V-compound. The battle against Homeland had the potential to be a perfect season and closure... but at the last moment, when we were on the brink of the point of no return, the series wimped out and repeated the tired formula again, in an absurd and incoherent way within the narrative, squandering what could have been its perfect season.

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Fourth Season

Now it’s time to talk about the next season, which, I’ll tell you, is by far the worst of the four. But ironically, it’s the only one that doesn’t fall into the error of repeating the formula.

This season has many shortcomings, subplots that contribute little or nothing to the story, and feels very lackluster overall. The standout is Karl Urban’s great performance, especially with the new approach to Butcher’s plot after the poisoning of Compound V, having limited time to live, and his schizophrenic hallucinations with Kessler, representing his inner demon and the diabolical power inside him, restricting him until the end of the season after Ryan killed his aunt Grace. Now, the most important part of this season, and what sets us up for the fifth and final season.

The Boys: Billy Butcher Has A New Superhero Inspiration

Point of No Return

After Newman’s death at the hands of Butcher, accepting his counterpart from Kessler, the stage seemed set for more of the same, with the same formula. But surprisingly, it was not. Just when we thought the boys could go peacefully after Newman’s death, along came Homelander’s political rise and the loosening of the slaves’ restraints, which became a ticking time bomb preventing them from escaping.

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In the end, just as they were on the verge of escaping the chaos the country was becoming, they were caught: Hughie, MM, Frenchie, and Kimiko, with only Annie escaping. And alongside them, Butcher was driving, on his way to finish the job the others were unwilling to complete, with a final scene of Homelander reuniting with Soldier Boy, his father.

The Boys is a series that marks a before and after, offering a breath of fresh air for the genre. Despite its flaws and any criticisms, it remains one of the best installments of the last 10 years, and its impact is completely in line with its own level. I can’t wait two years (sadly) to see how the end of this story, first told in 2019, unfolds. And remember: you are the real heroes. God bless you.

The Boys Temporada 4: final explicado de la serie de Amazon Prime Video |  Ending Explained Season 4 | MAG | EL COMERCIO PERÚ
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Siempre es un gusto leerte, ya que tus aportes son claros, profundos y actuales. Debo reconocer que a partir de "El Gato con Botas 2: La última leyenda contra la última muerte" has despertado mi curiosidad y mi más ferviente interés. Nos seguimos leyendo...
20:56 27 November, 2024
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Oswaldo Ferrer

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https://www.peliplat.com/es/article/10039803/rocket-raccoon-el-corazon-roto-de-guardianes-de-la-galaxia-vol-3

08:20 21 January, 2025
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Maria Belandria
GOAT
02:19 28 November, 2024
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Alejandro Franco "Arlequin"
There is a scene that describes everything: in the first season when Homelander flies like Christ on the cross in the middle of a rally of religious fanatics, with his suit representing the US flag. It is an acid criticism of everything: the politically correct nature of comics, the fact that Supermans have no ego when they are gods on earth; to American culture, to the fanaticism of the masses, to corporate culture. It's brutal and ridiculous at the same time, it's what the superhero genre needs to survive. I vote for you!. I liked your article! If you have a few minutes, I invite you to read my note about how Gru helped me deal with my crisis by adopting my daughter (Thx!): https://www.peliplat.com/en/article/10028928/Everything-Gru-Taught-Me-About-Adoption-(Despicable-Me,-2010)
12:49 26 November, 2024
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User-1143319101
THE GOAT Siempre te leere, hermano mio que buenos articulos haces, sigue asi y llegaras muy lejos bro.....
04:14 01 December, 2024
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User-1253382689
🧐
02:43 01 December, 2024
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Charles Reds
A really great article!! I need to see it
02:41 01 December, 2024
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