The Boys: Season 5
Pre-Thoughts


 

The satirical superhero series that has been running for 7 years and has been one of the best Amazon exclusives is coming to its thrilling end. It is still too early to talk about how the show is going to end and if it will pay off.  Yet I thought (as we count down each week towards the end) that maybe it's good to reflect a bit about the impact The Boys have had on the superhero genre and its seeming fatigue. The show truly emerged and grew at the perfect time. First premiering almost right after Avengers: Endgame (2019), it rode on the very bottom of the cape that Marvel had created and ruled in within the entertainment industry at the time. 

 

As time went on, however, and Marvel executed their next phase of projects, the superhero fatigue and oversaturation seemed to kick in. Fans had reached their threshold after the 2019 peak with superhero content, with each year, projects performing worse and worse. Yet through this time, The Boys stood its ground and started to reshape what superhero storytelling was capable of. In its identity, it is a very well executed satirical antithesis to what the fatigue was about: generic storytelling. One of the series greatest strengths was how in touch it was with our world and culture, and how "live" each season felt as a well-orchestrated commentary on the current "feeling" in the world. Even the political elements of the plot very strongly resemble events that were happening at the time of each season's release. That's well thought out and well executed. The show wasn't trying to teach any ideals; it was simply a reflection on our ever-developing culture, primarily fueled by the US and its events.

 

In terms of the overall idea, the series always did an amazing job at portraying superheroes as corrupt celebrities who abuse their powers for personal gain. A direct deconstruction of the idealism that DC and Marvel are supposed to represent. While also showing how superheroes would realistically become political figures, over-worshipped celebrities, and profitable marketing tools for a hyper-consumerist society. The success and timing of this relatively fresh take on superhero storytelling may perhaps also be attributed to the developing taste in the cultural sphere of said genre's fandom. After Marvel's perfectionism, perhaps it was time to face something more in touch with reality, in this case, through a satirical lens. Something that everyday people can relate to as our world evolves and culture changes. Though we do not know how the final season will fully play out (liked the first 2 episodes so far, setup is good), the testament of this show still stands as it allowed more mature storytelling to prevail within the seemingly declining in popularity genre. Shows that followed, such as Invincible, for example, show that there is still demand for superheroes; it's just that we prefer it done well with a solid narrative that maybe we non-superpowered souls can even relate to.