The Boys season 5 has spawned debates over another, more comic-accurate rendition happening in the future, but this would be a bad idea. Already, conversations about The Boys and its comic book ending have been circulating online. The comic book ending is now impossible, given the developments around Black Noir and how he is not a secret clone of Homelander.
In the source material, Homelander is defeated by his clone, with the twist ending revealing that the latter framed the former for his biggest crimes, including the sexual assault of Becca Butcher. This is but one of the major differences between the comic book story of The Boys and the Prime Video adaptation. The show, for instance, has The Boys’ signature guest stars, meta humor, and biting social commentary that sets it apart from the source material.
In light of season 5 receiving somewhat of a mixed reception from wider audiences, The Boys’ differences from the comic books has become less of a benefit to the show and more of a talking point. Audiences are wondering how a more comic-accurate adaptation would look, even in animation, which is something one of The Boys‘ spin-offs has explored, to an extent.
However, while it is normal to be curious about a more comic-accurate rendition of the show, it would be a bad idea. No matter how disappointed some may be with The Boys’ final season, the Prime Video show has deepened its source material in a staggering number of ways, making the former much better than the latter, which would only result in a comic-accurate story feel underwhelming.
Prime Video’s The Boys Is Better Than The Comics In A Lot Of Ways
Firstly, it is worth exploring some of the ways in which Prime Video’s The Boys has improved upon the comics. Perhaps the biggest is how The Boys has fleshed out its main characters. Kimiko, for instance, was not even provided a name in the comics. She was a nameless figure, named only “The Female,” who served primarily as The Boys’ muscle. Her backstory with her family and the Shining Light Liberation Army was all constructed for Prime Video’s adaptation.
On the other side of the moral line, characters like The Deep were barely developed. In the comics, The Deep had a helmet covering his face the entire time, and, despite making sexual remarks about Starlight, he was not involved in her sexual assault. This plot point in the series led to a lot of development for both The Deep and Starlight, as well as creating a rivalry that was satisfying to see resolved when the latter beat up the former in season 4.
A-Train’s redemption arc was also not part of The Boys’ original comic book story, proving again how much deeper the show made certain characters. Finally, the same can be said for a character like Homelander. The villain is one of the more iconic in the modern realm of TV, which is only possible due to how great Antony Starr is and how his character is changed from the comics.
Yes, Homelander is evil in the comics. Nonetheless, the entire reason for The Boys’ opposition to Supes, Homelander’s sexual assault of Becca, is revealed to have been someone else who framed the leader of The Seven. This is not part of the Prime Video show, allowing for a despicable villain who has depth to him and is sympathetic in some moments, such as his upbringing, but who audiences cannot wait to see defeated. Overall, The Boys took a decent comic book story and made it a truly great TV one.
The Boys’ Comic Book Ending Wouldn’t Work, Even In A New Adaptation
One of the perks The Boys has as a superhero show is that it doesn’t face wider pressure from fans or audiences to be like its source material. Projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or based on DC Comics are the opposite, with many judging them against the original stories themselves. The Boys does not have this issue, given that the comic books are not as popular and, as is evident, have been improved upon by the show.
Therefore, Prime Video’s The Boys is now the standard against which any other project in the franchise will be judged. This includes any possible new, comic-accurate adaptation of The Boys. Only fans of the source material will appreciate this, but even then, many of those still consider Prime Video to be an improvement over it. As a result, a comic-accurate adaptation wouldn’t work.
The Boys‘ development of its characters means the original ending, in which Noir reveals himself as a Homelander clone and that he framed the latter for the assault of Becca, would be underwhelming, as Prime Video’s story drastically improved upon this. Other elements, such as Butcher killing his team in the end or The Boys having superpowers from the start, would also seem anticlimactic in comparison.
All of this is proof that, no matter how disappointed people may be in Prime Video’s conclusion, they wouldn’t want or appreciate a comic-accurate The Boys adaptation, after all.
- Release Date
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2019 – 2026-00-00
- Showrunner
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Eric Kripke
- Writers
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Eric Kripke
- Franchise(s)
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The Boys
