SUPERHEROES’ DARK SIDES
Amazon Prime Drops Anti-Hero Series The Boys
Yeah, you say you’re tired of superheroes, but are you really? If you’re truly tired of the genre, then you’ll love the new anti-hero series coming to Amazon Prime on July 26.
The show is called The Boys (but there is also a female slayer). It revolves around a group that calls themselves “The Seven.” As Simon Pegg references in the trailer — which you can watch above — the group is like the Spice Girls: It’s not the Spice Girls if one is missing.
Gone are the sanitary, bright views. The show takes a darker hue and gory tone. Blood pops out of people’s eyes and someone is killed when super-speedy hero runs right through the person. It has all of the gore of a Quentin Tarantino film. Think of it as a more refined Suicide Squad or the first Deadpool movie.
Superhero series are gaining as much popularity as their film counterparts. It allows for character building across one season that you can binge in one sitting rather than waiting a year for the next film in the franchise. Although that method has a different appeal.
The Boys also gives viewers an opportunity to see what superheroes would be like in the real world. Let’s be real: All of them would have more Instagram sponsors than our favorite Bachelor contestants. The Boys shows that self-promoting side of being a hero. There is no doubt Colgate would love to sponsor the hero with pearly white teeth.
The honesty and self-awareness is what makes The Boy so refreshing. If it didn’t contain a shred of mockery to a tired genre, it wouldn’t be worth watching. And it’s just cool to watch people kick ass.
The Boys stars Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Chance Crawford, Erin Moriarty, Antony Starr, Jack Quaid and Jessie T. Usher.
