Everyone knows (and many love) Marvel’s super-hero movies full of caring super-folk who have hearts of gold, right? Well, get ready to see that hopefulness stomped into a pulp and replaced with a big helping of Nihilism when you start steaming, “The Boys,” on Amazon.
Set in a world where those with super-powers are carefully controlled and marketed by a mega-corporation named Vought, it becomes apparent quickly this isn’t a cheery Cinematic Universe. Most (but thankfully not all) of those with super-powers are terrible people and it takes a group made-up of members who have an axe to grind with heroes–The Boys–to make sure those so-called super-heroes stay in line.
For a show coming from Amazon, it is surprisingly anti-corporate and some scenes of incredible violence make this show absolutely not for the squeamish. Like the comic-book source material it draws from, however, “The Boys,” will at times work in enough moments of heart or have some genuine sweetness (one super-hero named Starlight is a rare kind soul in this Universe) to make the otherwise relentless cynicism bearable. If you’re one of those people who scoff at the idea of squeaky-heroes and think that in a World where folk had powers they would actually be huge jerks, “The Boys,” is likely the kind of show for a skeptic like you.