There is a new show on Amazon, I am only two episodes into it but I love the premise. Like it was made for me.
The Boys
Faithful readers of this blog know that I hate the universe of Harry Potter. The books are well written, and J.K. Rowling is an immersive author, I just hate that universe.
I am also not a fan of virtually all superhero universes.
Both for the same reason.
We all know the old adage “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” It should go without saying that superpowers would therefore corrupt superly.
In the real world, superhumans would-be bullies and tyrants, using their powers to oppress or steal or do just about whatever they want.
In the Harry Potter universe, magic is essentially a superpower and the existence of the Death Eaters is pretty much just that. Use magic to oppress the non-magical. The “good” wizards don’t even care about the non-magical people, they simply want to keep the Death Eaters at bay to avoid the non-magical world from knowing about them. Both sides in the wizarding world treat non-magical with total disregard, not caring about the enormous amount of collateral damage they cause.
The problem is that these stories are aimed at children, so the authors want you to empathize with the wizards or superheroes. It’s escapism.
Not in the world of The Boys.
The superheroes of that universe are rapists, sex offenders, addicts, blackmailers, murderers, and every bit as awful as you can imagine someone who is both a super-wealthy A-list celebrity and indestructible could be.
For instance, the one whose power is invisibility is a total peeping tom.
The main character’s girlfriend is killed quite gruesomely when A-Train, their version of the Flash runs into her at top speed. Then you find out he can’t be prosecuted for her death or even sued because superheroes have qualified immunity.
Even in fiction qualified immunity is total bullshit.
So The Boys are a quasi-vigilante squad that deals with the superheroes when they get too far out of line.
This is fantastic. Previously, when a character in a superhero movie brings up the issue of those with superpowers being corrupt, they are the bad guy, e.g., the senator from the first X-Man movie.
This is finally a series that addresses how those with superpowers would really behave. Like assholes.
I’ve said it before. I believe in gun rights. I believe in the old saying “God created all men, but Sam Colt made them equal.”
In a world where superheroes exist, I’d be the guy selling Loretnz Force Disruptors. Because when the guy grabbing your wife in the bar has superhuman strength, you can blow his electrons off.
We have watched five episodes and it is hard to like either side. One side have the criminal Supes and the other is a major asshole leading a wuss, a less wuss and a Frenchman stereotype.
Theres a book, “Playing for Keeps”, where the primary superheroes are self-involved jerks; the difference between the heroes and the villains is just PR.
The focus, though, are on the people with super powers that didn’t quite reach the level of being useful. Being able to remove your limbs, shoot sewage from your hands, perfectly balance a tray of drinks, cook a meal that’s exactly what the diner wants…
The main character’s power is you can’t take things from her. Turns out her power interprets “take from her” in an extremely broad way…
Watch ‘The Mask’, in which Our SuperHero:
makes and fires a submachine gun
assaults the staff at his garage
robs a bank
comes close to committing rape, but the police turn up in the nick of time
breaks out of jail
etc.
finally, gets away with it all by framing someone else
I think they pretty much nailed it, although apparently unintentionally.
Minor spoiler (depending on how closely they follow the source material):
Billy the Butcher just likes killing super heroes, doesn’t matter if it’s justified or not, especially later on when the topic of genocide comes up.
Watched it all and loved it.
If you like the series and the premise do yourself a favor and read Worm the web serial by Wildbow. It’s long and very well written, like actual edited novel well written.