Gen V Trailer Breakdown: The Boys Spin-Off Looks Suitably Crazy
"The Boys" is arguably the biggest superhero show on television. Now that the Arrowverse is dead and gone, and with Marvel shows being really more like limited series (with increasingly fewer people talking about them), Prime Video's satirical drama based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson reigns supreme.
Just like any good modern superhero title, "The Boys" is already big enough to be at its cinematic universe stage, with an animated spin-off releasing last year to some acclaim, a new one just around the corner — and possibly more in the future. Sure, it seems ironic that a show so focused on pointing out the evils of capitalism and mega corporations turning superhero stories into massive franchises is becoming a franchise of its own, but "The Boys" manages to justify its expansion thanks to sharp writing and a love for cartoonish absurdism.
Now, the world of "The Boys" is entering new territory as it goes back to school in "Gen V," a spin-off series about supes in college, which eventually turns into a story of murder and depravity. It's a spin-off of "The Boys," all right, and it looks suitably crazy.
Not your typical Hero Academia
The fresh new trailer for "Gen V" shows that this is no "Sky High," no "My Hero Academia," but a much darker show that paints a picture of how young supes turn into the megalomaniac killers we know from the main "The Boys" series. Our protagonist Marie Moreau, played by Jaz Sinclair, is an ambitious young woman with powers who not only wants to become the first top-ranked freshman in the history of the prestigious Godolkin University School of Crimefighting; she also aims to be the first Black woman in the Seven.
But as the trailer shows, the road to becoming a superhero is paved with blood, with the students at the school being all about using their powers for degeneracy and partying. Before we get an A-Train or The Deep, you get young influencer kids who lie in order to sell crappy products on social media, and also hide dead bodies in their closets. Of course, our protagonist is no saint either, as Marie has the power to turn her own blood into weaponized tentacles, and can even control the blood inside other people's bodies. If you've watched "Avatar: The Last Airbender," you'll know just how horrifying the dark art of blood-bending can get.
May the odds be ever in your favor
Despite what the first trailer may have indicated, "Gen V" is not a murder mystery at all. Instead, Prime Video describes the show as "The Hunger Games" set in a superhero college. Indeed, a big part of the story centers around the ruthless competition to becoming the top ranked student, a coveted position — and probably one with several perks courtesy of Vought International.
The idea of a superhero "Hunger Games," really a superhero battle royale, is quite appealing. Battle royales are all about cunning participants and bloody duels, so if you add hormonal and competitive supes with poor self-control and bizarre powers, you get the makings of a thrilling new take on the genre. We've seen academia-set superhero stories before, from "X-Men," to "Sky High," to the hugely popular "My Hero Academia," the last two being already satirical of the superhero industrial complex. "Gen V" can take things further thanks to the highly violent and graphic style of humor we know and love from "The Boys."
How Gen V connects to The Boys
While watching the trailer for "Gen V," fans of "The Boys" may be wondering just how this connects to the main show, and whether Hughie, Butcher, and the other Boys might make an appearance. Well, though we don't know all the details, we know enough about how the spin-off connects to the main series.
For one, the trailer shows a few characters from "The Boys," like A-Train, Ashley, and Senator Neuman, meaning that Vought is heavily involved. Showrunner Eric Kripke told Deadline last year that "Gen V" takes place during the events of "The Boys" season 3, so before the capture of Soldier Boy and Homelander's broad daylight homicide. According to Kripke, events from that season will heavily impact the story of "Gen V" — particularly Soldier Boy, the presidential campaign happening in the background, and more.
What's more interesting is that Kripke said a few storylines happening in "Gen V" will then impact season 4 of "The Boys." Given that Victoria Neuman is set to be the big villain of season 4 of the main show, the fact that she's in the trailer for "Gen V" may hint towards a big role for the vice presidential candidate — and bad news for everyone else.
The source material
"The Boys" is always at its best when diverging from the comics, which it constantly does. That being said, knowing a bit about the source material could unlock clues about what is in store in "Gen V."
In the comic book story arc "We Gotta Go Now" we're introduced to the G-Men, who are essentially just the Vought International version of the X-Men, a school for ostracized, superpowered outsiders. The top students are part of an elite superhero force, but there are multiple teams.
In typical Vought fashion, of course, the G-Men are not really underdogs or outsiders, but rich kids branded as misfits for marketing purposes. Given the fact that people with powers aren't hated or discriminated against in "The Boys," it is likely that the inner struggles and conflicts of the characters won't come from that, but from the characters in the show being the first generation of supes to be fully aware their powers are not gifts from god, but the result of being drugged as babies. That's gotta mess with the mind of a superpowered teenager at a prestigious school, and we can expect the outcome to be pretty shocking.