The Boys (Amazon Prime Video)

[patrickivan]

I immediately got sucked into the show and started reading the comic alongside.... and I have to say, I vastly prefer the show. For one thing, having the Boys be super-powered in the comics takes almost all of the risk away. If they can just punch their way through a fight with superheroes, where's the tension? How are they any better than the supes at that point? They're just super-powered people with a different agenda, which (frankly) got immediately boring.

Additionally, the comic doesn't really take any time in immediately laying out a lot of the background and context to the main characters- which I felt the show did a better job of slowly building up to. I also found it generally heavy-handed and overly exaggerated- especially with the characterizations of all the characters. In the show, they were more nuanced and had more dimension. All the characterizations in the comic felt hyper-exaggerated, by comparison.

To be fair I haven't gone too far in the comic series but I'm curious to see if it ends up anywhere near where the series ended- because I thought that was an amazing reveal that completely re-frames a lot of what we had been led to believe and (hopefully) forces Butcher to seriously re-think everything that has motivated him to that point.

And I could have sworn Karl was using an Aussie accent until I read the comic and realized he was supposed to be English. Just didn't land for me- but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter in the context of the series whether he's from Australia or England.

I don't know. I really enjoy the series, but I was perplexed how they were supposed to beat any of the supes without having any powers at all. While I enjoyed the first solution immensely, and even told my wife that it better happen before that episode ends, or I'm out of this series, I'm just not seeing an endgame without recruiting other supes. And I'll say no more for spoilers sake.

I can see how if the boys had powers, it wouldn't have hurt the show. Assuming they were more B level powers, but powers none-the-less.

 

[Richard Baker]

I am thinking that the Compound V may add some abilities to 'the Boys' but most of the dynamic is having unpowered people simply outsmart and outmaneuver the supes. People with an incredible advantage have a tendency to become dependent on that advantage and become vulnerable to the unexpected. This trope is played out in many ways, from a big game hunter relying on his firepower getting surprised to Tarkin not considering the snub fighters a credible threat. This also makes the contest between the two factions far more interested instead of just having power vs power contests. Translucent was complacent in his invisibility and was defeated at first through a simple application of electricity.
I know nothing about the comics this series is based upon and nor do I wish to- I think they are taking the premise in a new direction and one which I find fascinating.

 

[Shakeitdavey]

Just finished the series, absolutely loved it!

 

[mattycsi]

I am thinking that the Compound V may add some abilities to 'the Boys' but most of the dynamic is having unpowered people simply outsmart and outmaneuver the supes. People with an incredible advantage have a tendency to become dependent on that advantage and become vulnerable to the unexpected. This trope is played out in many ways, from a big game hunter relying on his firepower getting surprised to Tarkin not considering the snub fighters a credible threat. This also makes the contest between the two factions far more interested instead of just having power vs power contests. Translucent was complacent in his invisibility and was defeated at first through a simple application of electricity.
I know nothing about the comics this series is based upon and nor do I wish to- I think they are taking the premise in a new direction and one which I find fascinating.

I second this. We have a plethora of super v super movies an tv, this keeps it interesting and adds an element of danger an futility.

 

[Krieger]

Watched a few episodes again. Haley Joel Osment, Billy Zane, Tara Reid - its starting to make sense!