The diabolical Amazon Prime series, The Boys, has been a joyride of naughty superheroes and dysfunctional hero-hunters. Since the advent of the series in 2019, the satirical action drama has climbed up the ladder of audience ratings and critic scores to become one of the most-watched Amazon originals.
With Season 3 now on the loose, the series has been drawing attention to its brilliant script and parody of famous comic characters. The latest season has in fact parodied one of Hollywood’s iconic members from the late 20th century, and no, it’s not Stan Lee.
The Boys: An Analysis
Adapted from a comic of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys follows a group of superheroes collectively known as The Seven. They live in a world where they hold as much power and influence as politicians and operate under the superhero-management company, Vought International.
The superheroes are loosely based on DC’s Justice League characters and are parodic versions of them. Known as “The Supes”, they are marketed and monetized by Vought, and although recognized by the world as heroes, they are merely shallow, corrupt, arrogant celebrity figures underneath their heroic personas.
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“The Boys” are a dysfunctional vigilante group who band together to take down Vought and The Seven. Also, expose their secrets and all their dirty laundry to the ignorant public. Among all its social satire and comic book spoofs, the series reflects an MCU-like world gone horribly wrong. In its latest season of the brilliant series developed by Eric Kripke, characters from well-known comics and real-world producers become the latest victims in their pool of parodies.
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The Parody of MCU Heroes and Hollywood Producers
The Boys Season 3’s newest member Jensen Ackles is a welcome addition to the cast which was otherwise guided by an unhinged version of Superman, known as Homelander. However, with Ackles’ Soldier Boy dressed in a Captain America-like uniform in the picture, things are starting to stir up. Episode 4 reveals Soldier Boy, who mainly operated post-WWII and was believed to be dead until recently, coming out of a cryo-chamber still alive, shaggy, and disoriented. Having been repeatedly experimented on by Russian scientists, Soldier Boy is an obvious parody of MCU’s Captain America and the Winter Soldier.
Also read: The Boys Hid A Clever Supernatural Easter Egg With Jensen Ackles’ Debut As Soldier Boy
In another wonderful parody, Episode 5 delivers an appearance from Paul Reiser. Amid all the wall-framing movie posters, cigars, and cocaine, the scene becomes a homage to the venerated 70s Hollywood producer, Robert Evans. The man behind movies like The Godfather, Rosemary’s Baby, and Chinatown, Robert Evans was a legend during his time, and aside from mimicking his physical appearance and character traits, Reiser’s character name drops enough actors from the golden era to confirm who The Legend is really modeled after.
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In an interview with Nerdist, The Boys showrunner, Eric Kripke said:
“In the comics Garth very definitively based The Legend on Stan Lee, and that was because Garth was living in a comic book world. The comic books were the huge media in that universe, so it makes sense that Stan Lee was the head of that. But in our world, movies and television are the primary source of superhero media. When you think of a producer from the ’70s and ’80s you land on Robert Evans pretty quickly. Paul and I spoke about it and it was a very conscious tribute to Robert Evans.”
“Both bracingly visceral and wickedly smart”, the 98% RT-rated Season 3 of The Boys is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Source: Slashfilm
