The Boyshas a fairly straightforward premise. What if all the superheroes fans remember from the largest media properties in the world were actually disgusting, amoral, and mad with power? What if a team of complicated killers worked tirelessly to stop the most powerful beings on the planet from becoming superhuman dictators? It’s relatively uncomplicated, at least in the broad strokes. The satire rings true, and the action remains compelling. The new spin-offs, including the upcomingVought Rising, have to add a lot to the mix to stand out.Vought Risingcould lean into its alternate history storyline.
The Boysis rocketing towards its conclusion. The fourth season has just ended, setting the show up for its grand finale in season five. Thefirst spin-off,Gen V, launched last year to widespread acclaim. The best-case scenario would be a fitting end toThe Boysand a few good spin-offs to keep the franchise going. No one wants the original show to go on forever, but there’s still so much of the universe to explore. The spin-offs are a perfect way to carry the fire onward.
The Boysis (partially) an alternate history
The Boystakes place in a universe that viewssupes as an accepted part of society. They’ve been around for a long time, shifted culture around their actions, and created an entirely different society as a result.The Boyshelpfully explains the exact moment that its timeline breaks from the one that houses the audience. The franchise’s universe changed forever when Frederick Vought created Compound V in 1939. Vought was a card-carrying Nazi and a brilliant geneticist. Hitler made him the lead physician at Dachau, where he refined his superpower formula by experimenting on humans. His wife, Klara Risinger, became the first successful supe created with Compound V. Vought defected to the United States in 1944. He used his miracle drug to create supes like Soldier Boy, gradually attaining a place of prominence in America. He earned a pardon and founded Vought-American, which would become Vought-International. The premise ofVought Risingcould give writers a chance to explore the gap between Frederick Vought’s successand the modern Homelander era.
The BoysVought Risingcan explore the history of supes
Vought Risingcenters on Soldier Boy, a hero who served during World War II.The Boysseason 3 depicts the end of Soldier Boy’s original journey, providing a specific timeline for the series. Soldier Boy popped up around 1944, joining the tail end of the Second World War. He worked with his team, Payback,until his capture in Nicaragua. His career lasted 40 years before he went into his long cryogenic slumber. Soldier Boy’s work as a supe was nightmarish. He’s personally responsible for or a party to a massive percentage of the worst things that have ever happened in the United States. Soldier Boy’s involvement in World War II is a matter of some debate, but his actions between D-Day and Operation Charly are a bit more concrete.
Soldier Boy’s story is an American History lesson with superheroes
Soldier Boy demonstrates that the more things change, themore they stay the same. Most of the terrible things he did happened in the real world. He just stands in for the American military or police. Soldier Boy testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, rooting out anyone who dared to oppose capitalism. He spent most of the 60s and 70s silencing civil rights protestors with overwhelming violence. Some believe that he killed JFK on the government’s behalf. Soldier Boy was an agent of the state who carried out countless classified missions at home and abroad. By 1980, Soldier Boy became more of a street-level vigilante, violently murdering people for minor offenses and frequently killing innocents standing nearby. The mission that led to his capture was a small part of one of many US interventions in foreign governments. Heis an avatar of state power, but any story about Soldier Boy is also a story about American history.
Vought Risinghas an interesting direction
In an interview withVariety, showrunner Eric Kripke describedVought Risinglike this:
It’s like cops and robbers. So to really do it classically with like fedoras and trench coats and salacious stuff, and like ‘L.A. Confidential’ with superheroes
Kripke pitchesVought Risingas an old-fashioned pulp noir project with superheroes. This is a fascinating new direction for the series that could lend itself well to an exploration of the surrounding universe.The Boyshas largely outgrown Vought. The company is a name hiding Homelander, the charismatic central villain.Vought Risingwill bring the show back to an earlier time and dig deeper into what seemed like a more stable era. This is a great chance to explore the path that brought the world to Homelander.
Vought Risingpresents a fascinating opportunity that could massively expand the universe. When the show begins, the world comfortably believes that supes have their best interest at heart.They saw them as heroes. It’s a great metaphor for American history. Like a public school student finally learning the truth,Vought Risingcan depict how bad things have always been with Vought around.
