8 great superhero series that have nothing to do with Marvel or DC
By Dan Selcke
The Boys — Amazon Prime Video
In Marvel and DC stories, the superheroes usually beat the bad guys in the end. But if the superheroes are the bad guys? That’s the question posed by The Boys, which takes dead aim at the (mostly) wholesome superhero entertainments put out by the big two and fires. The superheroes on The Boys are monsters plain and simple, starting with Homelander, the show’s psychopathic version of Superman. Queen Maeve, its version of Wonder Woman, is far too jaded to care about the atrocities he commits. The Aquaman-like hero the Deep is a sexual harasser. These heroes are not here to save you.
Instead, our protagonists are the titular group of hero hunters dedicated to exposing the corporate backed super-beings for the dangerous frauds they are. It’s a fun inversion of the usual superhero formula, and the show has a blast satirizing everything from corrupt politicians to Scientology to big budget Avengers-style superhero movies.
The Boys show is funny, but it’s a bleaker, blacker kind of funny that what you’ll find in The Umbrella Academy. It’s action-packed, but it’s bloodier and more disturbing than anything from Marvel or DC. On The Boys, the people who have the most power aren’t to be trusted with it, and the only hope for humanity is to take them down.