Superhero fanswill surely know (and if not, should be made aware of) the twisted superhero seriesThe Boys. Developed by Eric Kripke for Amazon Prime Video, it follows a group of people who actually track down people with superpowers, but who decide to abuse them rather than using them for good.
Set in a world where superpowers are a thing, those who have them are called Supes and are recognized as heroes by the public, and work for a huge organization called Vought International. However, while they may be praised and loved by their followers, the majority are actually vain, selfish, and do whatever they can that will benefit themselves. The viewers are invited to follow two groups — a team of superheroes called the Seven, led by arrogant, self-centered Homelander; and the Boys, a group of people looking to destroy Vought and its horrible ‘heroes’, along with its leader Billy Butcher, who does not have any time for superheroes and hates them all. The violent series begins with Hughie Campbell after the death of his girlfriend, which was accidently caused by a superhero, and we follow the hunt for superpowered criminals.
The Comic Inspiration For The Boys
While the series was a huge hit, it’s actually based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. First released in 2006, the comic continued up until 2012, as it came to a close with its 72nd issue.The Boysis inspired by the comic’s take on the danger to the world when superheroes abuse their power in society, and as suchsubverts the superhero genrein interesting ways.
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Not only do thecomics inspire the television showbut should actually inspire us to be more self-reflective and possibly change as a society; these superheros are just as powerful and influential as celebrities and are widely admired by the public, yet power can be dangerous and can easily be misused. The story behind these comics are perhaps a warning sign and an eye-opener to how dangerous it could be if power is not used correctly.
The Boys on Amazon Prime vs The Boys Comics
Based on the hugely successful comic book series,The Boysbecamethe most binged showof 2019 on Prime and despite being quite violent and misanthropic. But let’s see where the similarities lie and how close it is to the comic it’s based on.
The eight-episode first season did actually feature some differences from the original comic, which mainly resided in the season finale’sshocking cliffhanger ending, regarding the death of Butcher’s wife. In the series, Butcher’s wife Becca, after giving birth to Homelander’s baby, was supposedly dead. However, when Vought had actually kept this huge secret from both Homelander and Butcher, it was revealed that Becca was actually alive.
This cliffhanger takes a majorly different spin on the original comic, where Becca was actually brutally raped and murdered by Homelander, and the baby (Ryan) didn’t survive. In the comics, we see that Butcher found his wife suffering a horrific miscarriage to Homelander’s child and as she bleeds out, it is his hatred towards Homelander that was inspiration for him to form The Boys to take down The Seven. Ryan doesn’t even exist in the comics.
These huge plot details have to be the main difference between the show and the comic, and is very recognizable for fans of both. Although there were a number of plot details that had been altered or changed, thebasic storyline ofThe Boysand their quest to stop The Seven still remained and kept the series quite close to the original comics. The violent nature of the show also brought the comics to life and detailed the feel of the comics very well throughout.
Changing Genders and Humanity in The Boys
While the premise of the story is the obvious main correlation between the comics and the series, viewers and comic fans will definitely notice the small detailed differences like the fact that in the comics, the superheroes are barely human. In the series, they are actual fully functioning human-beings, instead of just barely developed, odd humans who can’t really say much (the actual group The Boys is just plain human in the comics, but use Compound V almost from the start).
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Instead, we are not only given humans,but horrible characterswho are ten times more hateful than the comics. As well as this, small details like the characters' gender and names are often different, such as Stormfront (a man in the comics), Victoria Neuman (Victor Neuman, or Vic the Veep in the comics), and Madelyn Stillwell (James Stillwell in the comics).
Regardless of whatever changesThe Boysmade from the comics, the series is fun, adventurous, and wonderfully violent. Keeping the running storyline close to the comics, it is understandable that they would make slight changes in order for character development and to create a gripping storyline (as seen from leaving us on a huge cliffhanger). Without abandoning any of the essential parts of the comic, the series has gone on to make lists like thebest comic book adaptationsand even thetop TV showsof the yearsThe Boyshas a new season.The Boys— great to read, great to watch.
