Diving into the world of “The Boys”
"The Boys" is back with a second season. It is a loose adaptation of a comic series of the same name, written by Garth Ennis, and co-created, designed, and illustrated by Darick Robertson.
Both versions turn the superhero genre on its head, and deal with interesting and complex themes including but not limited to the military-industrial complex, political economics, corporate manipulation. Both the show and the comic series are quite good, with solid storytelling. Also, they feature excessive gore and violence. Although the show is highly rated, since it is ongoing, it remains to be seen if the quality does decline. We try to draw a comparison with the comics and try to see where the show might be headed.
The setting of "The Boys" is intriguing. "The boys" is a group of CIA operatives lead by Billy Butcher that keeps the superhero community in check through various means, often questionable ones. The superhero community is also a façade, with the superheroes not being who they seem to be. Under the guise of heroes, they have built a despicable society. But how everything actually runs even deeper than this is revealed as the story progresses.
The comic is hardcore and does not pull any punches. Right from the start, it is made very clear to the reader that the story is going to be explosive and gory. There is lots of violence, but they are hardly unnecessary as the story proves. Some of the violent encounters are drawn with great details. These features actually go well with the series because of the story it wants to tell.
The characters in the series are not the deepest, and character development is not really a thing. This fits quite well though because most characters have been doing what they do for a long time and have settled down. However, the newbies (Hughie and Starlight) do get their share of development.
The implicit story told within the story is really fascinating. The way people with unstoppable superpowers can become mere tools for a corporation, how corporations use politicians to manipulate the government for their conveniences are very interesting to see here. The writer shares his view on how the military-industrial complex tries to stop a different kind of weapon, which would render it obsolete. All these manipulations are shown to be done in very systematically and through long term methods. A page out of the legendary "Watchmen" comic's playbook is taken through alteration of a historic event. In this case, that is 9/11. This plays a significant role in the story, but discussing more without discussing spoilers is not possible.
The ending of the story may divide the readers. But the comic tells a good story about how the status quo resists to change and a man using these forces to complete his vendetta. And it provides good perspective on many real-world complications. It is a lot less dramatic than the show, but it has its perks.