If you were to ask us which superhero comics we thought were unadaptable back in the late 2000s, The Boys would've been at the top of our list. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's controversial deconstruction of superhero culture, mass media, and the American government is insanely gory and bitingly controversial. However, Amazon's adaptation of The Boys is one of the most popular shows of the year!
Critics and casual viewers alike love the first season of The Boys - as indicated by the show's 8.9 IMDb and 81% Rotten Tomatoes scores. With a second season underway, we can't help but wonder which scenes will make it from the comics and which ones won't. Hopefully, the following ten storylines and characters find their way onto Amazon's hit series.
10 The G-Men
If the name 'G-Men' makes you think of a particular group superpowered mutants, it's serving its intended purpose. The G-Men are a group of 'heroes' from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comics that blatantly lampoon the X-Men. The team's lead by the charismatic John Godolkin - a Charles Xavier knock off who lacks Professor X's psychic powers, poise, sanity, and moral compass.
We don't want to spoil too much about Godolkin's and the G-Men's true nature. Suffice it to say that the team would be in for the fight of their lives if the G-Men appear in the second season! In all likelihood, a thick barrier of legal red tape could stop the G-Men from appearing on the digital screen. Hopefully, the showrunners find a workaround if Fox or Disney try to intervene.
9 Payback
Have you caught the joke yet? Payback pays back evil unto evil. The Avengers avenge the downtrodden. We couldn't wipe the smug smiles off of our faces for a while once we figured this jab out. Anyhow, we hope that Ennis and Robertson's parody of The Avengers make into the second season - especially now that we live in a post-Endgame world.
The Mouse is stronger than he was in 2006, however, so we imagine Disney might try to prohibit Payback. It's also worth noting that Garth Ennis despises Captain America - a sentiment that most of us, especially MCU fans, might not jive with.
8 Tek Knight's Last Ride
While we're on the subject of thinly-layered stand-in characters, we hope that Tek Knight makes it into The Boys' second season. This guy is essentially a mix of Batman and Iron Man, with a dash of alleged homophobia thrown in. Believe it or not, Tek Knight's one of the more virtuous heroes in the comics - underscoring just how depraved Ennis and Robertson's world is.
Again, spoiling Tek Knight's storyline would be a massive injustice on our part. However, should TK appear in The Boys' second season, we hope that he goes out with a bang just as he did in the comics. We also hope that Tek Knight's sidekick Laddio appears - all his Yoga performing glory!
7 Superduper
Out of all the Supers groups in the series, Superduper is one of the few that genuinely help people. Their team consists of low-tier heroes whose powers barely work. Nevertheless, Superduper performs tons of community service and try their best to improve the lives of others. It'd be nice to see an authentic group of well-meaning Supers appear in The Boys' second season.
It'd also be funny/ terrifying to see Billy Butcher get cussed out by Klanker - a member of the team that has Tourettes. Best of all, Superduper doesn't parody any one specific group of heroes - so there shouldn't be any legal mumbo jumbo baring the team from showing up in season 2!
6 Herogasm
Herogasm was a miniseries that exposed just how depraved Vought's Supers could be when the cameras were off. The Homelander and his cronies have wanton sex like it's going out of style and consume copious amounts of drugs for six solid issues! The second season could probably condense all of this into one very long, stomach-churning episode.
What's that? Eric Kripke recently revealed that he and his team are set to reference Herogasm in the second season?! Yikes! Er, we mean, yeah! Since this arc is guaranteed to show up in season 2, we just hope that Herogasm gets depicted in full - with as little censorship or executive meddling as possible.
5 The Homelander's 'Gift'
Season 1 covered the Believe storyline in a similar vein as the comics; Starlight expresses doubts about her life while the Homelander covers everything up as usual. The comics go a bit further, however, when The Homelander gives a family at the expo a new car, carries them through the sky, then drops them thousands of feet from the air! This brutal moment didn't make it into season one, but it could show up in the second season with a bit of tweaking.
The Homelander could give his "only man in the sky" spiel to another family that he 'saves' before attempting to kill them as he did in the comics. The Boys, or even Queen Maeve, could intervene - taking this fake Superman down a few pegs. Either way, we hope that some form of this scene appears in The Boys' second season.
4 Terror
As sure as the sun rises in the morning, Billy Butcher hates those with Compound-V in their systems - save for his team and his dog. Terror is Billy's longtime Bulldog companion and attack dog. With a phrase, Butcher can sic Terror on unsuspecting foes. Special mention goes to Kessler - who redefines what it means to be a 'butt monkey.'
Terror technically appeared in a promo for the show - watching TV with the rest of the team. We hope that Billy's dog plays a larger role in the show's second season - hanging out with the team and striking fear into the hearts of corrupt politicians.
3 Proper Preparation and Planning
We hope that you've brought your tinfoil hats because we're about to dive headfirst into conspiracy land with this entry. Like we mentioned before, Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson are highly critical of the American government. So much so that they suggest that Vought American played a role in 9/11. What with Homelander's goals of creating a superpowered- military force, we imagine the second season will get even more political.
If so, the Proper Preparation and Planning storyline could play out in The Boys' second season. The show has already diverged from the comics in a few key areas - we'd like to see them update this storyline to comment about our current political landscape.
2 Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker
Butcher, Baker, and the Candlemaker is Billy's origin story; this miniseries chronicles Butcher's tragic upbringing, time as a Royal Marine, and how he met Becca. The second season could either dedicate an episode or two to divulging Billy's past, or it could spread it out across the season. Either way, we're eager to see how Karl Urban will handle Butcher's sad past.
Of course, things won't play out as they did in the comics - the show will have to modify Butcher's origin story to fit the new direction that they're taking the series. Either way, we hope that this storyline gets referenced if the second season takes a deep dive into Butcher's past.
1 The Truth About Black Noir
Of all the members of The Seven, none remain more mysterious than Black Noir. There's hardly anything human about him, save for the fact that he's got the same number of limbs and extremities. For all viewers of the first season know, Black Noir could be a robot or a demon in a costume!
The second season could spend more time with Noir, providing enough breadcrumbs for viewers to start piecing things together. Black Noir's identity is a huge mystery in the comics, and we don't learn everything that he's done until the series nears its end. Considering that the show is on a different course than the comics, however, we're eager to learn who (or what) Black Noir truly is.