Summary
The Boysrecently announced a spin-off with most of the details still under wraps, but series creator Eric Kripke has recently revealed that the show has at least one must-watch episode that fans will certainly be excited to see.
The Boyshas grabbed a niche in the taciturn superhero genre, growing and stoking fan interest at a time when even titans of the field like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are in desperation mode as they struggle to bounce back from staggering declines in franchise interest. From the get-go the show has distinguished itself with gratuitous gore and obscenities, a tendency that came into full effect in the show’s third season. The magnitude of visual spectacles laid out therein was so high that leading manKarl Urban revealed that the makeup department on set ran out of fake blood during filming.
No singular event or plot point quite sums up the show’s gleeful relationship with almost comedic obscenity quite like Herogasm, an infamous comic book storyline that had readers spinning when it was confirmed thatThe Boys’third season would be adapting the infamous eventin live-action. WhileThe Boyshas more pressing matters at hand as it closes out its run with the fifth and final season, its newly announced spin-off certainly has room for those antics. When asked about the possibility of the event making an appearance in the upcoming showVought Risingin an interview withTVLine, showrunner Kripke confirmed that fans could expect to get more than just any ole’ Herogasm display, saying, “I think we’d be crazy to not get to the origin of Herogasm because Soldier Boy and Stormfront founded it, and they are the two leads of this new show.” Kripke, who will executive produce, also recently released a statement withVought Risingshowrunner/EP Paul Grellong giving fans a rundown of what else to expect from the show.
It’s a twisted murder mystery about the origins of Vought in the 1950s, the early exploits of Soldier Boy, and the diabolical maneuvers of a Supe known to fans as Stormfront, who was then going by the name Clara Vought. We cannot wait to blow your minds and trouble your souls with this salacious, grisly saga drenched in blood and Compound V.
While there’s very littleinformation about Vought Rising following the announcement, the spin-off seems set to fall into an adjacent category as a murder mystery, which could affect how the franchise’s signature appeal translates. However, this confirmation from Kripke promises fans at least one episode ofThe Boys-style irreverent indulgence in the crass and humorous. Better yet, at least for fans of the stuff, setting up the very first ever Herogasm is liable to take up multiple episodes, if not the entirety of a subplot/story arc.
While this would just be the franchise sticking to its nature, the question of whether this is really necessary isn’t without its merits. When the showteed up Herogasm the first time around,fans ofThe Boysknew what to expect, even if only broadly, because the series was only adapting and paying homage to its gross and problematic source material. In that sense, the Herogasm episode was actually a bit of a triumph of good writing and tasteful (relative term here) use of the event to couch the plot. However,Vought Risingis a wholly new project with little to go off of beyond throwaway lines inThe Boyscomics, few of which were decent enough to include even in the gratuity show that itThe Boysseries. It’s valid to wonder if Kripke really needs to hold the show to such an event or tone before it’s even begun production.
With the much more focusedfourth season ofThe Boysperforming better than prior onesdespite what some might term divisive moments and plot beats, there’s no doubt that the fan base is willing and able to move past the spectacles and get to grips with a really well-written story. There’s always room for a little fun, of course, but much like withGame of Thronesat a certain point,the time forso muchof the gratuity might be past forThe Boys’budding franchise, and that might be for the best.
