Amazon Prime's new series The Boys seems to have come along at the perfect time. With superhero movies and shows everywhere now, this ultra-dark take on the genre is strangely refreshing. It is based on the comic by Garth Ennis? which is somehow even wilder than the show, telling the story of the Boys. a group who goes around policing superheroes who get out of hand.
While the superheroes in this world are generally terrible people, the Boys aren't afraid to get dirty. Seeing the creative and brutal ways they deal with "supes" makes us wonder how they would fair against Marvel's biggest heroes. Here are some of the Marvel superheroes the Boys could definitely defeat and some they wouldn't stand a chance against.
10 Could Defeat: Hawkeye
Hawkeye is a bit of a joke compared to the other more impressive Marvel heroes, especially thanks to the MCU films. Though he might act like the coolest guy around in those films, a guy with a bow and arrow just looks silly next to godlike heroes.
Hawkeye is a little more self-aware in the comics, especially the great series by Matt Fraction. Though he is a skilled marksman, the Boys would make short work of him and probably laugh about how useless he is afterward.
9 No Chance: Hulk
The Boys deal with some pretty impressive superheroes in their adventures but nothing like Hulk. The strongest Marvel heroes have gone up against Hulk and failed to subdue him. Even in his Bruce Banner form, he is seemingly invincible as he can just transform when attacked.
The Boys would likely welcome the challenge put they wouldn't last long. Unlike most other Marvel heroes, Hulk wouldn't go easy on them. If they made him angry enough, he wouldn't hesitate to tear them apart.
8 Could Defeat: Iron Man
Iron Man might be one of the most popular Marvel heroes now and he might have gone toe to toe with some very powerful enemies but the Boys seem to know where to find those weak spots. After all, underneath the armor, Tony Stark is just a man.
It’s easy to imagine the Boys tampering with Stark’s tech in some way that could have him falling out of the sky. Not only that, but the Boys are perhaps the only group that would be totally unphased by Stark’s endless quipping.
7 No Chance: Thor
Even for a group as tough as the Boys, taking down the God of Thunder is a tall order. Thor is one of the strongest and most durable heroes in the Marvel Universe. It's hard to see any humans doing him damager, even though the Boys would surely give it their best effort.
Thor is certainly heroic, but it's easy to imagine him losing his patience with the Boys rather easily and showing them how powerful he really is. After a few swings of his mighty hammer and summoning some thunder, the Boys would likely understand that they met their match with this one.
6 Could Defeat: Ant-Man
Ant-Man is one of the founding members of the Avengers and one of the oldest heroes in the Marvel universe. But that would not save him from the Boys and the terrible things they would do to him.
Ant-Man’s incredible shrinking abilities make him a unique hero and he might be able to hide from the Boys for a while. But those powers would also likely be his downfall. The Boys play rough and there’s just too many outrageous ways Ant-Man could use those fantastic powers against him.
5 No Chance: Wolverine
Wolverine actually seems like one of the few heroes who seems like he’d be a better fit in the Boys than in the Avengers. He is grumpy, mean and doesn’t like a lot of his fellow heroes. The Boys would also be lucky to have him mainly because they would have absolutely no chance of beating him.
The Boys would quickly run into the dilemma of how to kill someone who can just heal themselves. Not only that but when Wolverine is in berserker mode, he can be as brutal as the Boys are.
4 Could Defeat: Spider-Man
It’s hard to imagine that everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man would do anything to get on the Boys' bad side. But if he did find himself targeted by the group, things would likely go very badly for him.
Without a doubt, Spider-Man can handle himself in a fight and he takes on a lot of very intimidating enemies. But all his web-slinging and wall-crawling would be no match for the twisted and violent minds of the Boys. Though they might go easier on a high-school-aged superhero, it’s not very likely.
3 No Chance: Captain Marvel
In the MCU, Captain Marvel has quickly proven herself to be the strongest hero around. Though that might not always be the case in the comics, she is more than powerful enough to deal with the Boys. She is basically the Marvel equivalent of Superman and despite the Boys' impressive results against other overpowered heroes, she’s just out of their league.
From the ability to fly to super strength to energy blasts, Captain Marvel would blow the Boys away if they tried anything.
2 Could Defeat: Captain America
In many ways, Captain America is the leader of the Marvel universe. Though there are heroes who are stronger and more powerful, Cap seems to represent all the good that heroes can stand for. Of course, the Boys wouldn’t buy that for a second. They would be convinced he is hiding some dark secrets.
Cap would certainly put up a good fight and beat the Boys pretty badly at first. But like Cap, the Boys would not back down. And unlike Cap, the Boys would be willing to do some shocking and brutal things that he would just not be ready for.
1 No Chance: Deadpool
Deadpool is another hero whose irrelevant attitude seems to mesh well with the Boys. He also seems like one of the few Marvel heroes who could be a plausible target for the Boys. Sometimes Deadpool can go a bit off the rails and cause some major mayhem, however, even the Boys would be unable to stop him.
Like Wolverine, Deadpool can regenerate himself and is therefore nearly invincible. Also, like Wolverine, he is not shy about the kind of ultra-violence other heroes tend to avoid. And while the Boys like blackmailing heroes, there’s nothing shocking about Deadpool that he doesn’t freely admit himself.