The superhero genre peaked around the “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) era. Tickets were selling like hotcakes with “Endgame” earning $2.8 billion worldwide at the box office. “Infinity War” earned $2 billion the year prior and stoked the flames of the worldwide sensation of “Endgame” and its flashy conclusion with departures of some of Marvel’s most loved characters, such as Iron Man and Captain America. It was the perfect ending to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but why would they stop when they still had so many more characters to explore and more money to make?
Post-“Endgame,” Marvel began their “falling off” stage with most of their new projects receiving lower ratings compared to the ones released before “Endgame” and “Infinity War.” Around the same time, newer shows like “The Boys” came out, and they surprised audiences that were used to the oversaturated superhero genre seen on the silver screen.
The first episode of “The Boys” engaged audiences with a darker storyline about the gory death of Hughie, the protagonist’s girlfriend. It was unapologetic in the way that it was done as well. His girlfriend was run over by the hero, A-Train (essentially a speedster, similar to the Flash and Quicksilver) and her body shatters with only her hands left in Hughie’s arms. This made the show very gory and equally entertaining to viewers, including myself.
The show went on to develop around taking down the Supes, the “heroes” of the show (they were actually the antagonists and ran the world like it was theirs). “The Boys” plot runs deeper than most Marvel movies since the show explores darker themes such as inequality, revolution and power. The show is in its fourth season with each season getting bigger than the last. The violence is only one part of why viewers enjoy the show so much.
The show’s highest-rated episode, “Herogasm,” is a good example of why it made powerful strides in the superhero genre. The episode is about this convention that happens where Supes meet up without cameras, sign NDAs and engage in activities a college paper probably can’t print. The main characters go to a convention with the intention of completing an assassination, but they then realize that the show’s main antagonist, Homelander, is on his way to the event as well. The characters see an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, and go after Homelander. A cynical powerhouse whose presence on the screen automatically spells out “danger,” Homelander is an incredible villain. He does everything brutally and has the highest kill count on the show. For more context, think of Superman if he was evil and chased internet fame harder than Logan Paul.
The closest thing the MCU has in terms of a scary villain would be Thanos since he was a villain who posed the biggest threat to the Avengers, but when compared to Homelander, Thanos doesn’t size up with how the latter is presented in the show. The violence that is depicted in Homelander’s actions is one of the many reasons why he’s a better villain.
Superhero violence is something that we need more of, with shows like “The Boys,” “Gen V” and “Invincible” providing us with a breath of fresh air about what the superhero genre could look like. “Invincible” is another Amazon Prime show that centered on gory violence with a deeper storyline, following a similar approach to “The Boys.” These shows remind me more of the classic CW shows that have darker storylines and more character-building like “Arrow” and season one of “The Flash.” These shows were enjoyable to watch and their worlds were fun, whereas with MCU movies, everything moves fast to the point things feel lazy — violence and storylines alike.
Gabriel Capellan, FCRH ’28, is a journalism major from the Bronx, New York.
