Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys is a brutal satire on superhero comics, set in a world where caped crusaders exist but are fueled by a desperation for celebrity and fame. Per Amazon’s first set of teasers for their adaptation of the books, it looks like the new TV series isn’t shying from the grim humor that has made the source material a cult hit.
In case you were unsure if the NSFW nature of the comics would be translated to screen, the newest trailer for the series features a woman crushing a man’s head with her thighs during… a climax, and Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher blowing up someone’s head using a baby with laser eyes. So the irreverent and violent boxes have both been ticked.
This short introduces “Wee” Hughie, who in the comics is an anti-superhero conspiracy theorist. This meeting is key to the plot as Urban’s Billy enlists the young loner as part of his black ops team formed to take down the billionaire corporate superheroes The Seven.
The Seven are the antagonists of The Boys, and are a powerful superhero team who are essentially revered as godlike celebrities. Led by The Homelander (played here by Anthony Starr), the group’s members are known as the best of the best but are in reality corrupt and villainous. Other members include Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), A-Train (Jessie Usher), and The Deep (Chase Crawford). We get a glimpse of all of the team in the core teaser whereas this short focuses on The Homelander.
A member of The Seven, Starlight A.K.A. Annie January is a young superhero who was once part of a hyper-right wing hero team known as the Young Americans. In her day-to-day life, she’s friends with Hughie, though neither of the two youngsters know the truth about the other’s secret life.
The Boys hits Amazon Video on July 26, 2019.
Images: Amazon
