"The Boys." A Very... Different... Take on the Superhero Genre
I’ve been gone for too long. Forgive my absence. To get back in the swing of things, I think I’ll mix it up this week with a semi-review/informal recommendation of a television series. (do we even call it television even more? What’s the term now? Multi-sized screen serial?)
Anyhew. The series is called, “The Boys,” and it is… wow.
This show is not for the feint hearted – I’ll say that right out of the gate. It is also of the superhero genre – though that label actually does a disservice to describing what “The Boys” is all about.
This is the super hero story I’d recommend to people who have actively avoided the now thriving, mostly Marvel, genre. Superhero satire, perhaps? Sometimes even an outright farce. Only a mini rant can do some sort of justice to describing this multilayered roller coaster of horror and hilarity.
Commence the ranting!
“The Boys” doesn’t know how to play nice.
It’s adequately politically incorrect enough to feel grounded and honest, but acutely aware of it's commentary and wrongness - I'd posit that this is the kind of progressive we could use more of in our stories. It's not afraid to show everyone's ugly side, nor does it hold back from showing glimpses of humanity in the seemingly irredeemable.
But more than all this, the boys is simultaneously shocking and illuminating. It does not hold back in following each ghastly thread to its ghastliest conclusion, and in doing so it reveals horrible, though immensely important, truths about our human nature.
It is, at times, dark. So, so dark.
This should be known to all going into this show. There have been moments that have repulsed me, moments that have alarmed me, and moments that have straight up hurt.
But, it is all necessary.
Simply imagine shining a lantern on all the venom in our society, from bigotry to entitlement, vanity to bitterness, manipulation and tyranny. Now imagine superheroes are real.
Yep. Seriously. What do you think would happen in our world if a class of people rose who were literally invulnerable and almost all powerful? (Not quite, but enough to win at everything all the time.)
It wouldn't be Marvel. It would be super hero privilege. It would be narcissism, indomitable sociopaths, and even outright psychopathy run amok!
Sounds horrible, right? I might’ve said that already. I’m not even sure I’m endorsing this show anymore.
Thing is, all this shock only adds to the perfectly timed releases of tension that make this show an outright comedy at times. It’s the type of humour that makes you burst into laughter as a defensive mechanism to the horror you just witnessed.
And like Newton’s cradle (AKA, the metal ball thingies that go back and forth, back and forth), the humour only makes the serious moments more poignant and disarming. And so on, and so forth, until you are shaking your head by episode’s end, trying to figure out what the hell you just watched.
That's “The Boys.” A solid representation of how sophisticated graphic novels have become, adapted beautifully to the screen for your binge-watching convenience and pleasure. If you can handle some challenging moments, I couldn't recommend this show enough.