Though based on a comic book, the Boys showed that they were not tied to their source material in their first year and it looks like we are in for plenty of new twists this year. With the recent news that the Boys has been renewed for a 3rd season, and the debut of season 2 right around the corner let’s take a deep dive into the Boys and where we think this season will take them. Here I will review what happened in the first season, where it left our characters, introduce the new characters for this year and guess what will happen next.
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Season 1 of the Boys
OK, there will be spoilers for the first season, from the comics and possible for next season so be warned if you want to go in fresh. The first thing to realize is that this is not the type of comic book super hero series you are probably used to. The Boys live in a universe where superheroes exist just as they do in the DC & Marvel universe’s but instead of being actual heroes they are basically just irresponsible, immature, egotistical sociopaths. Turns out, these heroes are created by receiving a drug named Compound V, which is a ecret that hardly anyone knows, which includes most of the supes who were created by it. The worst of the lot seems to be Homelander, who is meant to be an approximation of Superman and is just as powerful but without a known weakness such as Kyptonite and was created by scientists instead of growing up on a farm. He has been corrupted by his creation as well as his upbringing in a lab and is now completely narcissistic and has no regard for humanity. With all this physical power, we learn that Homelander may actually be the weakest emotionally as he is unable to make a meaningful connection and can only lead by intimidating those around him. In the public eye however, Homelander as well as the rest of the “Seven” are shaped as the perfect team of champions and even their deadly mistakes are turned into stories of heroism.
The “Seven” are an analogy of the Justice League, and are generally regarded as the most powerful superheroes in the world. In the beginning of the series they welcome a new member Starlight, who is a simile of DC’s Stargirl. She seems to be the only true hearted powered person that we meet and quickly her innocence is destroyed upon meeting her heroes. Throughout the season she also learns that her Mother had lied to her about her getting her powers at birth (which she got as a toddler from Compound V) and that her father left after not being able to live with the truth. She also meets and falls in love with Hughie, who goes through quite a journey of his own in the first season.
His girlfriend at the start of the series is killed right in front of him while he is holding her hands by a superfast speedster named A-Train, who runs through her accidently and completely eviscerates her. This tragedy puts him on the radar of a man named Billy Butcher, who for years has recruited like-minded individuals to aid him in his fight against these super powered maniacs. Hughie must come to terms with this new world that he is suddenly thrust into and what he is really capable of. In the first episode he is unable to even speak up to his oss, but not long after joining the Boys he is responsible for the death of one of the “Seven”, with the help of his ingenuous teammates. But by the end of the season, his characters shows that he is able to move past blind vengeance when given the chance to kill A-Train, Hughie instead saves his life. We learn that Billy Butcher has an intimate history with Homelander, as he believes that he is responsible for the disappearance of his wife. Billy believes that Homelander’s weakness is Voight executive Madelynn Stillwell and hatches a plan to kill her in front of him. But to his surprise, Homelander kills Stillwell in front of him and her child, but Butcher decides to enact his plan and blow up the house regardless. When he wakes, he is surprised to see that he is alive, that his wife is seemingly also alive and living with a child that she conceived with Homelander. The team also includes Marvin aka Mothers Milk, Kimiko aka the Female & Frenchie who each have their own issues with powered people and it looks like we will see more of their stories in the second season. Another plot point throughout the season is that Stillwell is trying to convince the government to allow her superheroes into the military. Before her death at the hands of her greatest hero, the government concedes to her plan after it is revealed that there are now super powered terrorists. Ironically, it is Homelander who has created this crisis by giving Compound V to terrorists around the world. This development leads to the government dismissing their involvement with Billy Butcher & the Boys and now he and the rest of the team are fugitives from the law.
Current State
The writers have not confirmed how long it has been since the first season ended, but given the events that transpired I am guessing it will be in the last moment of the season or soon after. From the trailers that have been released, we can see that the Boys are still on the run and it looks like they may be without their fearless leader at first. During a sneak peek special on Amazon hosted by Patton Oswalt, Eric Kripke the executive producer of the Boys revealed that Butcher would not be in the first episode, along with a bunch of other details. He also confirmed that the first 3 episodes would be released on September 4th, with an episode being released each week after that until October 9th. There will also be an after show, similar to the Talking Dead, hosted by Aisha Tyler. So we have to guess that we will be given some sort of answer as to what is going on with Billy’s wife Becca as well as her and Homelander’s son Ryan. There is also the state of Voight now that Madelyn Stillwell has been killed and their contract with the government has been approved, which leaves the door open for Giancarlo Espositos mysterious character Mr. Edgar to have a larger role. In fact, we see him in a sneak peek trailer negotiating the terms of Voight America’s contract with the United States military. Mr. Edgar is also working to get a “Yankee White Designation” for Compound V, which is an actual term the US military uses that classifies something as “need to know” for the President, Vice-President or few others. This will hurt the Boys ability to use Compound V as blackmail against the supes since even if it were to get out in the public; the government would deny it & work to suppress the information.
The “Seven” themselves are fractured and down at least one man with the death of Translucent. And besides Black Noir, the rest of the “Seven” all have issues that could see them changing sides. With Starlight saving A-Train, this may lead to a change of heart for the speedster that could motivate him into helping Hughie, Starlight and the Boys in their fight with the Seven. Or, with his body now broken it may force him to face the issues in his life instead of constantly running from them. Either way, he will be a dangerous wild card to start the second season.
When we last saw The Deep he was still in Ohio and sad, but it looks like he may be leaving the Buckeye state (and get a chance to use his mostly useless power) after a thrilling 2 minute preview that was released during the Boys comic-con stay at home panel. Queen Maeve looks to be near a crossroads with her allegiances after the horrific plane crash she was witnesses to. She may become a bigger ally to Starlight if she continues to question her loyalties. Also, there is the matter of the as of yet unknown amount of supe terrorists that Homelander has created. Now, there is some precedence with a similar storyline from the comic that I will talk about in a few minutes, but if you watch the sneak peek trailer released in June you know that the evil supe we saw at the end of the season 1 will not be heading into season 2.
New Characters
The biggest addition to the cast is Aya Cash as Stormfront, who is a character from the comics but it looks like this adaptation will be a rejuvenated version that would exist in today’s technological environment, not to mention be a different sex. Her character joins the “Seven” as a replacement for Translucent and is said to immediately cause havoc within the team for Homelander and the rest. Fan favorite and fan of all comics, Patton Oswalt, has joined the cast in a secret role that I will be happy to speculate on in the next section. Goran Visnjic is said to have a role as a Russian cult leader and Claudia Doumit was cast as a political ally to Voight. Simon Pegg is not set to return in the second season, as his appearance in the first was really due to his reverence & likeness for the original Hughie character. Ryan Butcher, the son of Becca and Homelander, was added to the cast and is listed as in every episode, promising a long arc for his story with his new Super Dad.
Comic Book Source Material
Like the first season, the titles of the second season episodes as well as some of the new characters are taken from the comic book. Stormfront promises to be an explosive addition to the cast, even if the character does not look to take much inspiration from her comic counterpart, sans the electricity and the eagle crest. The Stormfront in the Boys was a product of the Third Reich and was part of the superhero B team, Payback, which are a parody of Marvel’s Avengers. Even though he was the most powerful member of the group and strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with Homelander, he could not be the face of the group due to his extreme beliefs. He was actually the first superhero created by Compound V, having been brought to America in 1938 with Dr. Vogelbaum and was the basis for what would become Homelander as well as many others. The version of Stormfront we are getting this season seems to be a marketable version, already using social media during her first meeting with the Homelander & Queen Maeve. There are also rumors that Black Noir will play a much bigger role this season, and if they follow the comic books there is no telling what this could mean for the show.
In the comic’s, Black Noir never speaks until Homelander completely loses his mind and tries to take over the US government by killing the President. As Homelander stands over the President’s dead body, Black Noir removes his mask to show that he is actually clone of Homelander, created as a fail-safe to kill Homelander if he ever got out of control. Waiting years to complete this task has driven Black Noir insane, which turned him into among others things a violent rapist & cannibal, who had gas lighting Homelander by doing all these horrible things that Homelander is not able to remember doing, driving him even more insane. One of the atrocities Black Noir committed in Homelander’s name was the rape of Butchers wife Becca, meaning Homelander was actually not involved. Black Noir is able to kill Homelander but is then cut down in a hail of gunfire by the US military and then pummeled by the Boys. As with the first season, I would not expect any of the stories to come together in the show as they were originally written, but I am surethere will be so reference to it. The volumes referenced in the episode titles mostly have to do with the history of all the Boys, and during the comic-con panel the Boys admitted that we would be getting to know why Kimiko, MM & Frenchie do what they do.
Predictions
There is still a lot of mystery surrounding the second season of the show, even with the fans having over a year to try and pry details away from the cast and crew. Aya Cash as Stormfront is one new character we do know about, but given the different direction they have gone it would seem that the role may not follow its counterpart very closely if at all. She is also rumored to be able to read people’s minds, which is not a power her character had in the comics but one that could make her very dangerous, especially with a group of people trying to get a million secrets. In fact, I could see that being the thing that drives her to immediate conflict with Homelander, because there is no way he wants someone inside his head. In the preview we see her commenting on how blue Homelander’s eyes are, which may be how her power is activated (be locking eyes with someone). She is also very dismissive of Queen Maeve, which leads me to believe that her view of the “master race” are supes or maybe even more specifically supes that were given powers in the whom and not those who were given treatments as children. We got a very memorable scene in season 1 with Billy Butcher and a baby with really bright blue eyes which confirms that Voight America is able to breed supes. Not to mention the existence of Homelander’s son Ryan, which would seem to confirm that supes are being conceived. Perhaps she was conceived as well and looks upon any supes that are not created at birth as less than her. This would also make her very upset that Homelander just juiced a whole bunch of people around the world, and with Black Noir taking one out in the first 3 minutes of the first episode we can go ahead and guess that removing “un-licensed” supes so to speak is a priority for Voight America. This would be a good way to present thoughtful but delicate subjects like systemic racism & nationalism through the lens of a comic book show. This would put Kimiko on Stormfront’s list as she has been given V treatments and there is a pretty epic fight in the comics that they have together that I believe we get a glimpse of in one of the trailers. Speaking of Homelanders son, is he going to be a chip off the old block or is he going to grow up wanting to be just one of the Boys?
There isn’t too much you can tell from their short interaction in the last episode, but from his mother’s reaction she looks to be horrified to see Homelander and confused at the sight of Billy Butcher. It appears that the boy was raised by his mother in secret so that his father as well as Butcher did not know either was alive. Given what Dr. Vogelbaum said to Homelander about wishing he had been raised by a family, you can understand how this came about but what if that is not Becca? It may be nothing, but I noticed that she is wearing the same small diamond necklace in the party scene at Voight America when they first meet Homelander that she is when we see her again in the aforementioned scene. Would someone be wearing the same necklace 8 years later, or could that possibly by a shapeshifter, like the character Doppelganger that we were introduced to in season 1, creating a copy of a person off a picture? In the comic’s, every child born with abilities kill their mother in childbirth, so we could assume the same is true in this universe, especially after the scene of the bright red light coming out of Becca Butchers’ belly while barely showing pregnancy. But one thing is for sure, Homelander will definitely be a more dangerous character now that he does not have anyone left that can control him. He will also feel added pressure now that he knows he can’t trust anyone on his team and we see from moments in the trailer that public opinion may be turning on the Seven as well, and the group’s newest member may be a big reason for that. There is a shot of him in one of the trailers walking off by himself as the doors slam behind him, which could signify that his character is getting fed up playing by any rules.
Plus, there is the addition of Patton Oswalt to the cast and in my mind; he could be playing one of two characters. The obvious choose is a character from the comic’s known as the “Legend”. The “Legend” worked for a comic book publisher that wrote propaganda for all of the “Seven” missions that would portray them in the best light instead of what actually happened. He knows more about the “Seven” and the Boys than anyone else, and recites their history to Hughie along with his own involvement. He also had a relationship with Queen Maeve that produced a supe child, who Hughie ended up killing, but it looks like Translucent was the replacement for that character so I doubt they will play that out. It would hardly be a stretch for Patton Oswalt to be a comic enthusiast, so why would the show hide the role if that were true? Something is only a surprise if it isn’t what everyone already thinks that it is going to be. This is why I do not believe Patton Oswalt is playing the “Legend”, instead I think he is playing a character named Robert Vernon better known as Tek Knight. Tek Knight is like if Bruce Wayne were Iron Man, if that makes sense. Robert Vernon has a butler, who gets quite an ear full at point, along with a couple sidekicks that would be Robin and Night Wing named Ladio & Swing Wing, but his actual suit looks more like a black Iron Man costume. His story is infamous in the comics and I really do not want to spoil it, but, it would be amazing to have Patton Oswalt navigate that storyline. The addition of Goran Višnjić as Alistair Adana may actually be a substitute for a Russian character for the comics named Little Nina, who has a vibe that would be hard to translate to TV for various reasons. In the comic’s, she is the one giving Compound V to people around the world instead of Homelander, while trying to build an army to take over. So I wonder if Alistair will be the face of the evil society while Homelander is actually the one pulling the strings. There is a character shown in the trailers that seems to have telekinetic or gravity related powers that could be a version of Silver Kincaid or perhaps new character created just for the show, like Translucent. There is also the aforementioned scene I mentioned that has the Deep finally getting to use his powers and chase down the Boys in a body of water. However, it is still the Deep so that whale never stood a chance. While this is hilarious, it is probably also a hint that the Deep is back in the Seven and trying to get back in Homelanders good graces.
There is said to be some huge twists and turns for the Boys, especially the relationship between Frenchie & Kimiko which Eric Kripke said would be pushed to new levels. Hughie & Starlight must also move on now that they both know who they work for and it looks like Starlight is still in the Seven, when the season starts that is. I doubt Starlight & Hughie are still a couple but they will have to work together which should make for some warm scenes. Hughie has to decide if he is all in as a member of the Boys now that he really doesn’t have anything else in his life. He seemed to be coming into his own towards the end of the season so hopefully he continues to blow up. Starlight must also deal with her world crashing down around her and trying to be a pure hero in an impossibly toxic environment. Her saving A-Train means that she knows he killed his ex-friend Pop-claw which I am sure she will use to her advantage. A-Trains physical & mental state must be completely broken now that there is no way he is the fastest man alive, so his status on the team and as a supe in general may be at stake. Having to face his issues may make him a better person, but given his characters actions in the first season I am guessing that this vulnerability will instead just make him more dangerous.
Then there is Black Noir, who is set to play a larger role this season. I don’t know that they are going to go with the story from the comics because the version of Homelander in the show seems to be already corrupted by his own actions. Even the supposed rape of Butchers wife he seems to be aware of, so it doesn’t look like Noir is pulling any strings trying to make Homelander crazier than he already is. I do still think there is a chance he is still a clone of Homelander, but I think that maybe instead he could be the actual Stormfront that Homelander was based on? If Homelander does decide to turn his back on the Seven and the world in general, that could force Black Noir to remove his mask and take out the star spangled hero. Eric Kripke promised that characters would be forced into unlikely parings, with Butcher & Starlight being one of the combos that he admitted to.
And my one crazy thing that may happen this season; I think Queen Maeve is gonna die. There is a scene from the trailers of Homelander slowly descending to the ground, covered in blood and looking very distressed. I mentioned earlier that Homelander doesn’t care about anyone, but we have learned that he and Queen Maeve had a romantic relationship in the past so if there is one person left (besides his son) that he would care that much about it would be her. So, there is a chance that the blood could be his sons but if I had to guess between the two, I think Queen Maeve may be a victim of either Stormfront of Homelanders negligence.
Close
I have to admit, I loved reading the Boys as a comic and so far I think I like the show more. The thing that makes this show special is its ability to tell crazy stores about real characters that have super powers. To me, it feels like the most realistic comic book because in my opinion, if people did get super powers there would be a lot more people trying to take advantage of it than trying to be heroes. The adage that “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” seems to hold true in real life, so it stands to reason that it would in fiction too. When you start to learn about these characters you can understand what makes them tick and why they choose to make these horrible decisions. Eric Kripke promised that this new season would be crazier, more emotional and have higher stakes than the first, which the trailers released so far seem to back up.
I am most interested to watch Homelander ascent into his final arc and how it manifests itself on the show. His character is truly the most diabolical on the show and may already be unstoppable should he choose to rule. But tell me what you think. What did miss? What characters do you think will have crazy scenes this year? Let me know in the comments and don’t forget to like and subscribe! I will be reviewing the episodes each week as they are released, as well as adding other content each week.
See ya next time!