Trigger warning: this article discusses themes of violence and sexual assault.
I am usually not one to be big on television shows as I am more of a film person, but for a few years now, I have been obsessed with a current show titled âThe Boys.â Seen as a political and cultural satire in which a world of superheroes is normalized and viewed through a realistic lens, âThe Boysâ does a fantastic job at addressing very pressing large issues such as violence, idolatry, tyranny, and corruption, all while being set within a (somewhat) realistic world. While the show has prided itself on being a contemporary satire with many intentional parallels to real-world issues, the most recent season has become eerily realistic, which makes it all the more important to watch than ever before.Â
âThe Boysâ television show is an adaptation of a comic book series with the same name, intentionally designed to be a satire on comic book superheroes. In their diegetic world, superheroes are as real as you would imagine them today â they are modern-day celebrities with their own media accounts, merchandise, connections to other celebrities and politicians, and they are idolized beyond belief.Within the show and comic book, the multi-million company Vought owns the production and image of the most prominent superheroes aptly named âThe Seven.â This includes the main antagonist of the story, Homelander, a bastardization and amalgamation of Superman and Captain America, described as the personification of âhow the world sees America.â The Seven, as well as the “Supes” industry at large, are incredibly morally and physically corrupt, revealed to have many ulterior motives that differ from their public, heroic persona.
The counterbalance to the Seven lies in a group of vigilantes known as the Boys â a group of people who have been dramatically personally impacted by Supes and vow to take revenge on them by bringing to light the real faces behind the facade of the superheroes. The tension throughout the show lies in the Boys and (predominantly) the Seven, coupled with interlinking plotlines, complex characters and relationships between characters, and many allusions to contemporary issues and media sensations.Â
âThe Boysâ is gripping in how it does not shy away from violence in the slightest and is genuinely one of the funniest shows I have ever seen. Besides this, what caught my attention the most was the way the show, both intentionally and unintentionally, greatly mirrors the real world. I am not typically a fan of superheroes and superhero franchises, and that is precisely why I took a liking to âThe Boysâ. Not only was the show fundamentally a satire on mainstream superheroes, but it is satirical in the sense that it also makes fun of the contemporary world in the fictional case of whether superheroes were real and lived amongst us.
Some of the best ways that “The Boys” makes connections to the real world is its portrayal of idols and how media celebrities are idolized and portrayed to the public differently than how they actually are. While the powers that the Supes have are real, everything else is falsified, including their backstories (upbringings) and their platonic and romantic relationships. Furthermore, to punch more at the superhero film industry, the Supes star in their own films that are intentionally cringey in their pompous depictions. Other examples are when characters within âThe Boysâ post covers of âImagineâ by John Lennon paralleling that of celebrity COVID-19 renditions (the top is the parody if you are confused by their similarity), or when the Supe A-Train makes his own Pepsi ad paralleling that of Kendall Jennerâs, which received immense backlash for its insulting âsolutionâ to social and political unrest.Â
âThe Boysâ not only makes direct contemporary parallels but also does an excellent job at handling vital personal issues that are at large today, reflecting the âpersonal is politicalâ ideology. White supremacy, sexual assault, interpersonal violence, and moral challenges are everpresent within the show, and it does a good job of highlighting the ridiculous and inhumane ways that these topics are typically discussed today. While the show does depict these issues accurately (to the detriment of being violent and hard to watch), it does so with the knowledge that these topics must be discussed, drawing attention to their prevalence and how they should be handled.Â
Keeping all of this in mind, the most emerging parallels âThe Boysâ have begun employing are ties to U.S. politics. This has always been present within the show, especially considering Vought, Homelander, and how these entities are tied to the U.S. and white supremacy. Season 4 of the show has especially brought attention to the alarming way that politics in the country has become increasingly polarized and dangerous for many people. In the season, a highly contested election takes place, and without revealing any spoilers, the outcome of the election is unlike anything The Boys or other characters would have seen for themselves, lending to a large amount of uncertainty and fear. Along with this, âThe Boysâ honed in satirical parallels to today, including the Supe Firecracker, an alt-right podcast host and fear monger, and rising amounts of protests between different organizations that greatly mirror that of pro-life and Proud Boys protests in our world.Â
The most glaring parallel that happened actually ended up being altered â while episodes of season 4 were being released weekly in the summer of 2024, the last episode was originally titled âAssassination Runâ and was released on July 18, but the title had to be changed to âSeason Four Finaleâ as it was glaringly similar to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump that happened just five days earlier. Speaking on the similarities between the show and the current world in its earlier seasons, producer and writer Eric Kripke stated, âItâs not like we were designing it to reflect reality, but we happen to be making a show about violent authoritarians who present as celebrities. Then suddenly, the world changed to reflect the show, not just in the States â all over the world. Suddenly we found ourselves making one of the most current shows on television.âÂ
Talking more about the show and its parallels today, Kripke goes on to say, âwe realized that we felt an obligation really, and an opportunity, to say, âWell, letâs make a really current show, make it reflect reality and let it be a satirical take on reality as much as possible.’â Evidently, Kripke and the rest of the people working on the show have taken these words in stride. Making it a priority to have the show continue in its satire and heavy references to the current world lets audiences reflect on what is occurring in a variety of ways, ranging from the personal, political, and the intersections of both.
While the fourth season of âThe Boysâ concluded this past summer, season 5 is already in production and is expected to release its first episode in 2026. This will be the last season of the show, and many people are wondering how the show will decide to wrap up its storylines and just how similarities and accuracies will be present. Undoubtedly, âThe Boysâ will continue its trajectory of being glaringly satirical and making mockeries of things that we see today. This is precisely why watching âThe Boysâ is more important now than ever before. The United States is about to step into another Trump presidency where many liberties can be at risk, and other contemporary topics are on peopleâs minds. âThe Boysâ can easily tap into these issues to provide humoristic yet accurate reactions to contemporary issues, raising awareness of how we view and respond to these issues. Even if you are not a big television person or even a superhero person like I am, âThe Boysâ is one of those shows that everyone should watch. Not only does it largely parallel the contemporary world, but it also holds a mirror up to the viewer, as these events donât happen in a vacuum.