VERDICTA none-more-black satire of
superheroes,The Boysis a timely reminder
that even with super-strength and x-ray
vision, people still ain’t no good.THE BOYS
SHOWRUNNEREric Kripke
CASTKarl Urban, Elisabeth Shue, Laz Alonso,
Jack Quaid, Karen Fukuhara, Tomer Kapon,
Erin Moriarty, Erin Moriarty, Antony Starr
PLOTAfter his girlfriend is killed by a careless
superhero, young Hughie (Jack Quaid) is
recruited by Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) to join
The Boys – a black ops unit who police the
superhuman community with brutal and, if
necessary, lethal force.
OUT NOW / AMAZON PRIME
★★★★ VIDEO / EPISODES SEEN 1-3
[TV]
BASED ON THE CONTROVERSIAL comic
book series by writer Garth Ennis (Preacher) and
artist Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan), new
series The Boys takes aim at the soft underbelly of
the superhero genre and sinks its size 12 steel-
capped Doc Martens right in. It’s a gleefully
nihilistic and iconoclastic affair, dragging the cape
brigade into the harsh light of day and revealing
them for the craven, narcissistic frauds they are.
It’s a blast.
The story is this: in the world of The Boys,
superheroes exist, and they’re all corporate-
sponsored and carefully stage-managed, busting
criminals for maximum media exposure in order
to boost merchandise sales and move tie-ins.
While the world’s premiere superteam, The Seven
(the Justice League in all but name) preen for the
cameras and bicker over residuals, their
corporate masters, Vought American, lobby to
have superheroes included in the defence budget.
Our protagonist Hughie gets an inkling of
the venal interests in play under the capes and
cowls when reckless speedster A-Train (Jessie
Usher) accidentally disintegrates his girlfriend
right before his eyes. Angered when Vought tries
to buy his silence with a token payment, Hughie
gets an opportunity for payback when Karl
Urban’s cheerfully foul-mouthed and violent Billy
Butcher draws him into his world. From there it’s
all brutal smackdowns, naked invisible men,
superhero sex clubs and power-enhancing drugs.
The self-serious world of superheroes is ripe
for satire and although there have been a few
onscreen stabs at it in the past – 1999’s Mystery
Men comes to mind, as does whatever variation
of The Tick you care to name – none have been
quite so savagely wicked as The Boys.
The comic it’s based on narrowly predates
2008’s Iron Man and the dominance of the
Disney/Marvel heroic axis, but showrunner Eric
Kripke (Supernatural) and developers Seth
Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Sausage Party) have
certainly leaned into the awful implications of
publicly palatable heroes being beholden to the
capitalist bottom line, giving us a show that rips
strips off of both superheroes themselves and the
business interests that propagate their popularity
and then milk it for all its worth.
We get another insider’s view of the story
through Annie (Erin Moriarty), a young super
recruited to the ranks of The Seven, only to have
her illusions shattered when fellow team member
The Deep (Chance Crawford) maneuvers her onto
the casting couch. Annie’s journey balance’s
Hughie’s trial-by-fire nicely, giving us two different
but equally jaded angles on the subject at hand.
The Boys certainly isn’t for everyone – even if
you’re okay with the relentless violence, gore,
nudity and language, the utterly jaundiced take on
human nature can be wearying. But if you’re sick
up to the back teeth with costumed clowns, you’ll
have a ball. TRAVIS JOHNSON2019 Jesus got a bitchin’ makeover.
OUT NOW
THE BOYS ★★★★ P41
CAMINO SKIES ★★★★ P40
DEFEND, CONSERVE, PROTECT ★★★★ P40
LATE NIGHT ★★★ P36
THE LION KING ★★★ P37
OPHELIA ★★★ P40
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME ★★★★ P388 AUGUST
DANGER CLOSE:
THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN ★★★★ P35
MIDSOMMAR ★★★★★ P34
PALM BEACH ★★★ P4022 AUGUST
THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM ★★★★ P3629 AUGUST
DOGMAN ★★★★ P35
DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE ★★★ P40
KURSK ★★★ P40
THE NIGHTINGALE ★★★★★ P32CHECKLIST
Your at-a-glance view
to this month’s reviews