5 Ways The Boys TV Show Is Better Than The Comics Already

Eric Kripke's acclaimed show would not exist without Garth Ennis' comic book series of the same name. However, according to fans, the Amazon series has already surpassed its source material in many ways, including character development, social satire, and overall vibe.

Here are five aspects that illustrate why The Boys TV show is way better than the comics.

5. Complex Characters

The Amazon series has transformed comic book vigilantes and Supes from one-dimensional heroes and villains into complex, well-developed characters. In particular, Homelander has been given a much more compelling arc in the show — with a tragic backstory and a more recognizable humanity, he became an even more believable and terrifying monster than he was in the comics.

The same thing happened with basically all the members of The Seven and The Boys. Soldier Boy, Kimiko, Queen Maeve, Black Noir, and others were all given more active roles and became more fascinating characters.

4. Social Commentary

Like her teammates, Aya Cash's Stormfront has a more complicated arc than her comic book counterpart. Instead of a villainous Nazi, she is a cunning, modern, culturally aware woman who bends social opinion in her favor.

The way Stormfront's character has been altered underscores how well the show's creators handle social commentary. While the comic books were primarily a critique of the superhero genre, Amazon's The Boys takes political and social satire to the next level by holding up a mirror to American society and its everyday scandals.

3. #MeToo Storyline

As part of the social commentary, the show's creators added a storyline that allowed Starlight to seek justice after being sexually abused during the gut-wrenching 'initiation' into The Seven. Because the assault went differently in the comics and every male member of the team was a perpetrator, Starlight never got any meaningful closure for her trauma. The show, on the other hand, punished The Deep and had Starlight publicly condemn his crimes.

2. Shock Value

Although The Boys is one of the edgiest shows out there, it doesn't come close to Garth Ennis' comics in terms of shock value. Eric Kripke has done a good job of toning down the distressing nature of the source material by removing its most graphic moments, such as the killing of infants, child pornography, numerous sexual assault scenes, and animal cruelty.

At the same time, the most iconic scenes, such as Herogasm, were included in the show and made up its best parts.

1. Dark Vibe

While The Boys masterfully toned down the more disturbing moments of the source material, it hasn't lost the dark vibe that made the comics truly iconic. If anything, dropping some of the more absurd elements and bringing real-life issues to the screen made the show feel closer to home and at times even darker than the original.