The Boys - An Amazon Prime adaptation of the Ennis comic series

[Sexual Chocolate]

I don't read comic books (because I'm a grown man who has sex with women) but I liked this show.

The casting was great, especially Homelander, who has a sort of "American Psycho" vibe in the best possible sense. There's just enough tragedy and sadness in him to stop him being a one-dimensional bad guy.

The Christian-baiting episode was the worst written - heavy-handed, yet lazy. It's fine to write about abusive religious hypocrites (they prey on people in real life even without super powers, and everyone in this story is a psycho or a scumbag), but I don't believe a small town conservative Christian girl would suddenly hold Tumblr-tier opinions overnight, and that's a boring character arc anyway.

She was rolling her eyes like "Ugh! Can you BELIEVE they think marriage is between one man and one woman?" (Bitch, it's in the Bible) And her speech was gay and fake. But it's produced by fedora-Jews, so meh. (If you want to be subversive in 2019, write a Christian character who isn't an idiot or a creep.)

The #metoo stuff was actually quite clever and funny. Especially the sleazy corporate monetization of grrl power, and when Aquabro was being mocked by the subtitles (on porpoise). I felt sorry for the guy by the end, all he wanted was blowjobs and to save the dolphins.

A-Train as a steroid-addicted super athlete was well done. The scene with the sarcastic cancer kid was black comedy perfection, Larry David would be proud of that skit.

Frenchie and his fucked-up anecdotes are also funny, as is Karl Urban's enthusiastic swearing.

I don't believe Dollar General Topher Grace would get a girlfriend like Starlight, but it's testament to the actor's talent that he's not annoying.

It was GREAT to see that kid from the Sixth Sense again, and Billy Zane. Sucks what happened to Hayley Joel.

The girl from "The Ring" was entertaining when they thought she was a helpless captive, and then quickly found out why she was locked up. Other than that, she was boring.

Simon Pegg was also wasted as "Hughie's dad".

The ending was really unexpected and left me wanting to know more.

Also this:

 

[Violence Jack]

Simon Pegg was also wasted as "Hughie's dad".

Simon Pegg was literally born to play Wee Hughie. But I guess they recognized that in a roundabout way. I'm still kinda salty over it.

 

[Agent of Z.O.G.]

Also, The Boys is also a blatant ripoff Marshal Law and Team Achilles it’s not even funny, Like how the fuck Ennis was not sued.

It's distinct enough because while other "deconstructions" focus on superheroes being corrupt or evil The Boys instead focuses on superheroes being shit.
Note this very subtle cover for the final issue.

By "superheroes being shit" I mean it gets into the usual corruption, evil and general dickishness but it also touches upon what would happen if someone with no training would put themselves into the situations the barely trained heroes in regular comics get into. The best example being when the Seven's attempt to stop 9/11 but just get one of their team members killed and crash the plane into brooklyn bridge instead of the towers.
Of course the show fucks up the fuckups so there's no real reason why they couldn't have chosen something else to adapt but I guess Seth Rogan has some deal with Ennis and I guess the suits would prefer it was based on something that already has a fanbase instead of making an original herohuntaz show.

 

[Liucage67]

It's distinct enough because while other "deconstructions" focus on superheroes being corrupt or evil The Boys instead focuses on superheroes being shit.
Note this very subtle cover for the final issue.

By "superheroes being shit" I mean it gets into the usual corruption, evil and general dickishness but it also touches upon what would happen if someone with no training would put themselves into the situations the barely trained heroes in regular comics get into. The best example being when the Seven's attempt to stop 9/11 but just get one of their team members killed and crash the plane into brooklyn bridge instead of the towers.
Of course the show fucks up the fuckups so there's no real reason why they couldn't have chosen something else to adapt but I guess Seth Rogan has some deal with Ennis and I guess the suits would prefer it was based on something that already has a fanbase instead of making an original herohuntaz show.

Then Seth could have made Hitman then.

I mean if you ever read Ennis hitman it was awesome

 

[Affluent Reptilian]

I like Warren although I find his work hit or miss. I didn't read The Boys but I like Ennis' other works and Mark Millar is decent. Moore is way more subtle and as a result his work has a bigger impact on the reader.

I think Ellis is more consistent than Millar. Millar has a bunch of stuff which is really indifferent (1985, that one where some poor kids take pills and get superspeed) or even bad (his Authority run is atrocious and I'm thankful everything in it was memory-holed by other Wildstorm writers) - and I'm pretending here The Unfunnies doesnt exist. Ellis seems to lose interest halfway through a lot of his work, which is irritating - see the crappy wrapup of Black Summer, the fact he lost his notes for New Universal and went 'oh well, fuck it, those three series I'm writing are now over forever'. But they still usually have a few interesting ideas or premises. And his best works are obviously incredible - Planetary is up there in my top 5 favourite works.

Oh, and a strong recommendation, if you like Millar, for his recent Jupiter's Circle and Legacy books. At a bunch of instances in both it looked like he was about to veer into the eye-rolling excess of his other works, but he pulled back. He also manages to depict both conservatives that live up to their principles and well-meaning liberals positively, which is something I would never have expected from someone who had an aneurysm from George Bush.

 

[UQ 770]

Do those who think the changes for the worst think much of the depiction of Homelander? I think Antony Starr nails it, depicting someone with superficial charisma who can appear convincingly to others in-universe as a hero, while being pretty vile and incredibly maladjusted under that. Obviously, Homelander's character is a bit different, between the mother complex (he had a father one in the comics) and being much more manipulative.

Antony Starr's Homelander is just depression incarnate. He really comes off a cynical guy who just like, gives up the moment he knows the situation is fucked. Especially during the hijacking scene. Its not like he gets a phonecall or anything from corporate, he just declares "Welp, shit's fucked." on his own gumption and leaves everyone to die. I really want to see the original version of this scene given fluid motion, but at the same time the new interpretation feels more realistic. Most people in real life just give up and lie when they fuck up that hard. Seeing a superhero do it is still somehow disturbing even though I am 99.9% sick to death of superheroes and have been since I was a kid. Its really terrifying.

 

[Agent of Z.O.G.]

I really want to see the original version of this scene given fluid motion, but at the same time the new interpretation feels more realistic. Most people in real life just give up and lie when they fuck up that hard.

But he literally says "fuck it" in the comic. It's just in the comic this is precipitated by a natural series of fuckups("FUCKING NIGGER") while in the show it all goes well until Homelander lasers the controls and you're left wondering whether he did it intentionally or not, then he just kinda fucks off without trying anything despite being an arrogant god who certainly doesn't know enough about physics to know he would fuck up trying to stop the plane.

 

[UQ 770]

But he literally says "fuck it" in the comic. It's just in the comic this is precipitated by a natural series of fuckups("FUCKING NIGGER") while in the show it all goes well until Homelander lasers the controls and you're left wondering whether he did it intentionally or not, then he just kinda fucks off without trying anything despite being an arrogant god who certainly doesn't know enough about physics to know he would fuck up trying to stop the plane.

The show does come off as being more self-aware about superheroes. The trouble with this is that we've all been saturated for years now by documentaries and Youtube videos and such discussing this sort of stuff, so I'm left with the vibe that in-universe Vought has given the supers at least a cursory education on how they can overdo it. In the show when he just suddenly rattles off trivia about why he can't save the plane, he comes off as someone rattling off bullshit they learned in the employee handbook. Its possible I'm just reading his performance wrong, but it really looks to me like there's a small reaction shot when he lasers the controls to indicate he fucked it up. He then instantly washes his hands of the situation like every shitheel fuckup I've ever worked with.

In the comic the series of screwups is much more spectacular, which is why I'd still like to see that version in motion, but the subtlety of the show's version is more in line with reality.

 

[iRON-mAn]

While the Brooklyn Bridge plane crash is a pretty good way of showing the folly of power without knowledge or expertise, it also seems rather ill-conceived and very unlike the modern Vought-America. Like, they messed up with the fighter planes, and their rifles got men killed in Vietnam, but the Supes are apparently their big success, so then why send them, ill-equipped to take down the hijanked plane? The comic treats it like VA are playing a long game to put themselves in power with the supes as their defense, but wouldn't that require either A- training the supes to actually be able to deal with hostile situations or b - keeping them out of the way of actual situations where they could make the party look bad? Calling off the tactical fighter planes and sending in the supes seems to accomplish neither.

 

[BrunoMattei]

While the Brooklyn Bridge plane crash is a pretty good way of showing the folly of power without knowledge or expertise, it also seems rather ill-conceived and very unlike the modern Vought-America. Like, they messed up with the fighter planes, and their rifles got men killed in Vietnam, but the Supes are apparently their big success, so then why send them, ill-equipped to take down the hijanked plane? The comic treats it like VA are playing a long game to put themselves in power with the supes as their defense, but wouldn't that require either A- training the supes to actually be able to deal with hostile situations or b - keeping them out of the way of actual situations where they could make the party look bad? Calling off the tactical fighter planes and sending in the supes seems to accomplish neither.

That whole element of the comic never made any fucking sense. If the main problem is that the superheroes lack training then train them? That was never explained and it just annoyed me. Also, the drug that A-Train's girlfriend took in the show basically gives you temporary super powers and in the comic prostitutes would inject themselves with it to endure the marathon fuck sessions. Okay, then if the drug is so common that whores get access to it (in the comic) then why has it not hit the streets? Why aren't there more super villains, vigilantes and the like?

And in the comic, Huey takes the drug, inadvertently kills A-Train because he didn't know how strong the drug would make him, and later on A-Train comes back as a zombie to reclaim the hamster he likes to shove up his ass. The comic is edgy with a capital E to say the least.

 

[UQ 770]

While the Brooklyn Bridge plane crash is a pretty good way of showing the folly of power without knowledge or expertise, it also seems rather ill-conceived and very unlike the modern Vought-America. Like, they messed up with the fighter planes, and their rifles got men killed in Vietnam, but the Supes are apparently their big success, so then why send them, ill-equipped to take down the hijanked plane? The comic treats it like VA are playing a long game to put themselves in power with the supes as their defense, but wouldn't that require either A- training the supes to actually be able to deal with hostile situations or b - keeping them out of the way of actual situations where they could make the party look bad? Calling off the tactical fighter planes and sending in the supes seems to accomplish neither.

The comic seemed more like it was meant to be a joke. Vought-American is so useless and incompetent that its like a keystone comedy sketch. I have a miserable sense of humor so I do find its edginess funny, but if it was translated directly onto the screen I'd still just be laughing my ass off. I could tell right away that the show was different since I really haven't laughed at just about anything in it, they're playing this completely straight. I'm surprised it works so well.

 

[TungstenCarbide]

That whole element of the comic never made any fucking sense. If the main problem is that the superheroes lack training then train them? That was never explained and it just annoyed me. Also, the drug that A-Train's girlfriend took in the show basically gives you temporary super powers and in the comic prostitutes would inject themselves with it to endure the marathon fuck sessions. Okay, then if the drug is so common that whores get access to it (in the comic) then why has it not hit the streets? Why aren't there more super villains, vigilantes and the like?

And in the comic, Huey takes the drug, inadvertently kills A-Train because he didn't know how strong the drug would make him, and later on A-Train comes back as a zombie to reclaim the hamster he likes to shove up his ass. The comic is edgy with a capital E to say the least.

Actually, he kills Blarney Cock. Yes, he also kills A-Train, but later and willingly. Blarney is his first killing, and a totally inadvertent one. About the drugs I think that Ennis was so focused on the main plot(s) that he forgot/didn't want to explore this too. Even though Hugie, in one of the last issues, tells Butcher that a lot of people in the world came inadvertently in contact with the V.

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

Watching this made me dip into the Preacher series, and man I think they nailed it - expanded the material but (so far) fleshing characters out in a way that feels natural.

Tulip is fucking embarrassing though, Jesus. The whole girl power thing is cringey as fuck, and I'm getting increasingly irritated by her pestering Jesse. He's said no ya dumb bitch, move over and leave more time for Cassidy.

 

[UQ 770]

I've been thinking about that baptism scene.

Spoiler

Really captures that feeling of being an unbeliever in religion, but being placed into a situation where you have to make vows, and you feel like you're in a Greek myth or something where saying the wrong thing means some diety owns your ass forever. Hypothetically if you really are a true atheist or agnostic then saying some words and getting dunked under water should be meaningless, but your mind creates just that chance that something is watching and judging you.

A lot of resemblance to There Will Be Blood. Not literally, but metaphorically. People sperging about how this show tackles religion are correct. Its really from an agnostic/questioning perspective where you don't normally take it seriously, then when you're forced to its freaky and insanely uncomfortable. Anyone who views things through a more faithful perspective should give it a rewatch in this context. No offence, I'm just astonished that this series took that route. Its hard to relate.

Contrast with:

Spoiler

How fucking miserable Butcher is over that gravessite. Yeah, there's no corpse in the ground, and its just a rock with a name on it. But he feels the need to show up there and smash it to pieces because he hates what it represents so much. Again, if he was really that atheistic, he shouldn't care if his family goes to pray at a rock to feel better about their dead kid. Its just a thing people do.

If you've ever struggled with mystical thinking more than you should have, this show is for you.

 

[iRON-mAn]

Unfortunately, the atheistic/agnostic approach makes the depiction of religion come across as strawmanning at times. Anne is supposed to be this sheltered, devout young woman but during the Highland Laddie special, when she's telling Hughie her backstory, she talks about Capes for Christ and mentions being uncomfortable with it, as if she's aware that its all a lie. It doesn't really make sense with how she's first portrayed, and it does make her seem ambitious and self-serving. Ennis seems to have a problem understanding that there really are some people who really believe it, and thinks that everyone involved, at some level, must have some self-awareness that it's a sham.

Spoiler

I really need to get round to watching the show for comparison, but given current year's view on religion, I doubt it's any more balanced.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

Actually, he kills Blarney Cock. Yes, he also kills A-Train, but later and willingly. Blarney is his first killing, and a totally inadvertent one. About the drugs I think that Ennis was so focused on the main plot(s) that he forgot/didn't want to explore this too. Even though Hugie, in one of the last issues, tells Butcher that a lot of people in the world came inadvertently in contact with the V.

Yeah, this is something the comic skims over but then reaches levels of existential horror when you realize the implications.

Spoiler

In the comic, Butcher develops a plan to wipe out the super population, using a variant form of Compound V and a special radio 'trigger' that causes people affected to suffer head-splosions. The problem is that something like 95 percent of human life has been 'tainted' by V, they just don't have any powers to show for it (think like having a latent copy of the X-gene in Marvel). But Butcher's plan would kill them too.

This was also how Mother's Milk's powers kicked in; he wasn't injected with V, he was born with it in his body to start with.

So essentially you have all these people wandering around, and every time the right two get together -- oops, Junior has powers.

 

[UQ 770]

Unfortunately, the atheistic/agnostic approach makes the depiction of religion come across as strawmanning at times. Anne is supposed to be this sheltered, devout young woman but during the Highland Laddie special, when she's telling Hughie her backstory, she talks about Capes for Christ and mentions being uncomfortable with it, as if she's aware that its all a lie. It doesn't really make sense with how she's first portrayed, and it does make her seem ambitious and self-serving. Ennis seems to have a problem understanding that there really are some people who really believe it, and thinks that everyone involved, at some level, must have some self-awareness that it's a sham.

Spoiler

I really need to get round to watching the show for comparison, but given current year's view on religion, I doubt it's any more balanced.

Its updated for Current Year for both better and worse. Its not quite as insane of a parody of Christian cults, but it also has a more broad skeptical viewpoint. Very much made for agnostic millenials and zoomers. Its not fully atheistic, mind, but there's a lot of doubt in there. Its not balanced in my opinion, but its also not blatantly anti-Christian or anti-religion. I think it makes a good point about how religion can make people uneasy if nothing else. It seems to be trying to make this point without just flipping the middle finger to religion altogether, which I think is a noble endeavour given how split everyone these days is between hating religion and total worship. Maybe its more offensive on the other side of the cross, I dunno.

 

[NN 401]

Its updated for Current Year for both better and worse. Its not quite as insane of a parody of Christian cults, but it also has a more broad skeptical viewpoint. Very much made for agnostic millenials and zoomers. Its not fully atheistic, mind, but there's a lot of doubt in there. Its not balanced in my opinion, but its also not blatantly anti-Christian or anti-religion. I think it makes a good point about how religion can make people uneasy if nothing else. It seems to be trying to make this point without just flipping the middle finger to religion altogether, which I think is a noble endeavour given how split everyone these days is between hating religion and total worship. Maybe its more offensive on the other side of the cross, I dunno.

I’d say this is a spot on assessment. However, I have a hard time believing that starlight never saw any of the “pray away the gay” and reticence about gay marriage growing up in the fold.

It was the topic in religious circles at the height of gay marriage fight and especially during the bush years.

 

[Idiotron]

It's OK although I can already tell that this will never end. they will keep milking it for another 6 years before everybody will stop giving a shit.

Has anybody noticed just how gay this show is?
We get what I think is 0.5 seconds of female nudity in the 1st episode and that's it.
Meanwhile, dudes are practically shoving their asses and dicks into the camera. Homosexuality is even essential to the plot.
I personally don't care but I haven't seen this being advertised as some kind of gay show so it's a bit strange.

 

[BrunoMattei]