The Boys: Unraveling the Intriguing Inspiration Behind Gen V

Highlights

Around 40% of big-budget entertainment is based on comic books, with The Boys' spinoff Gen V adding to the mix alongside Marvel and DC.

The Boys TV series expands its satirical elements and portrays its characters with more empathy, in contrast to how some critics perceived the original comic as being unkind.

Gen V showcases the university established by Vought International to educate young individuals with extraordinary powers, centering around Marie Moreau, the main protagonist, and her struggles in a battle royale-style tournament.

Around 40% of the entertainment that the average viewer consumes seems to be derived from various comic books. While the Marvel and DC cinematic universes dominate the market, there are other significant players as well. One notable recent adaptation is Eric Kripke's The Boys, which has expanded its shared universe with a second live-action series called Gen V.

The stark contrasts in tone and presentation between Kripke's series and Garth Ennis's original comic have garnered much attention. Critics of Ennis's work often viewed the comic as cruel, unpleasant, or unnecessarily dark. In contrast, the TV adaptation has taken a broader approach, satirizing a wider range of societal issues while also giving its characters more depth and humanity.

What is Gen V about?

Vought International exerts control over every aspect of superhero society in The Boys. They oversee the assignment of supes to cities, manage the roster of The Seven, control the production of Compound V, manipulate the media to idolize their actions, and bribe legislators to keep the system unregulated. Gen V will reveal the existence of a university created by Vought to train young adults with superhuman abilities to join their team of supes. This series will run parallel to the upcoming fourth season of The Boys and will be set in the Godolkin University School of Crimefighting, the only nationally accredited institution that aims to transform supes into heroes. Those familiar with Vought's methods will recognize that their college is unlikely to cultivate stable and well-adjusted adults.

The main character of Gen V is Marie Moreau, played by Jaz Sinclair from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Moreau is a first-year student at Godolkin who possesses the power to manipulate blood. Despite facing challenging circumstances, she stands out in her classes and competitions, earning a reputation as a prodigy. Brief glimpses of Moreau have been seen in the Red River Institute's database, an orphanage for supes. She is driven by ambition, but the challenges she faces quickly turn sinister. Marie and her classmates find themselves forced to participate in a series of battle royale tests that could prove fatal for the graduating class. This has drawn comparisons to The Hunger Games, and the trailer is filled with intense action and bloodshed, much like its sister series. Marie's fellow students possess abilities such as size manipulation, metal bending, fire conjuration, and gender-shifting. Some familiar faces, including A-Train, Vought's publicist Ashley Barrett, and Soldier Boy, will make brief appearances. While Gen V remains connected to The Boys, it also expands the franchise's scope by introducing new elements.

What is "We Gotta Go Now" about?

Gen V is based on the seventh story arc of Garth Ennis's original comic book run, "We Gotta Go Now." It presents a self-contained narrative with limited connections to the larger story. While the TV series primarily focuses on Butcher and his Boys' efforts to dismantle the Seven, the comic introduces additional supes. The particular arc explores Ennis's interpretation of the X-Men through the Boys' investigation of the G-Men, a group of teenage supes led by John Godolkin, who is honored by having a university named after him in Gen V. The showrunners have indicated that the series will only loosely adopt elements from the source material. Therefore, fans who are not fond of the comic should hope for significant deviations.

"We Gotta Go Now" begins with the violent suicide of G-Men member Silver Kincaid. Butcher is assigned the task of infiltrating Godolkin's empire in order to uncover the cause of the suicide and assess the ethical direction of the organization. Hughie, wearing a ridiculous costume, takes the initiation test and passes, discovering that most of his new peers are decent but slightly unstable young supes. He is then sent to work with a younger branch of the G-Men, where he unintentionally blows his cover. Frenchie and Kimiko (known as "the Female" in the comic) come to Hughie's rescue. Butcher interrogates the only survivor, who reveals that Godolkin creates G-Men by randomly kidnapping children and subjecting them to regular exposure of Compound V. Those who survive gain superpowers. Additionally, Godolkin sexually abuses each child, forming a cult-like group of willing child slaves who occasionally resort to suicide as an escape from their trauma. The story abruptly concludes when Vought, using a team armed with flamethrowers, destroys Godolkin and the G-Men, thus finalizing the investigation and preventing further questions regarding Kincaid's death.

Gen V appears to have drawn inspiration from "We Gotta Go Now" by creating a debauched college filled with superhumans. However, they have wisely chosen to focus on this concept rather than exploring the disturbing idea of "What if Charles Xavier was a child molester?" which would not be suitable for a low-quality YouTube sketch nowadays. Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Gen V showrunner Craig Rosenberg continue to excellently adapt Garth Ennis's work by omitting the less commendable elements while capturing the essence of his storytelling.