Did You Notice This Marvel Joke in The Boys Spin-Off Gen V?
Vought+ offers plenty of opportunities to poke fun at Hollywood.
Like their characters, the creators of The Boys franchise seem to have no limits when it comes to mocking modern pop culture, social life, and the way the world works in general. That's why viewers love it so much.
Of course, the new The Boys spin-off Gen V has picked up on this trend and somehow even extended it. The first three episodes of the series, which landed on Amazon Prime Video on September 29, are packed with references, Easter eggs and jabs at its own universe, current Hollywood tendencies and, of course, the superhero genre as a whole.
Sneaky WandaVision Joke
Gen V shows the Vought-controlled universe from a new perspective. It follows the younger and not yet too corrupted generation of supes studying at the Godolkin University.
The university has two main departments, the School of Crime Fighting, which trains supes to protect the cities, and the School of Performing Arts, which has one goal - to find new stars for the Vought Cinematic Universe (VCU), which is a clear reference to both the MCU and DCU.
Because the story in Gen V is fast-paced and action-packed, it is easy to miss the whole VCU angle and the satire of superhero blockbusters it contains. Thus, a WandaVision joke the writers slipped into the story went unnoticed by many viewers.
One of the supporting characters, Justine, who is a mean girl, a supe influencer and a rising TV star, brags about her booming acting career in Episode 1.
‘So my guys at Innovative are sending me out for this limited series on Vought+,’ Justine says. ‘It's an elevated superhero thing – a meditation on grief told through 70 years of sitcoms. And Zach Braff is directing.’
Ruthless Hollywood Satire
Of course, the creators couldn't pass up the opportunity to jeer at Zach Braff's somewhat controversial directing career, which has been the subject of ridicule for years. Aside from that, the new Vought+ show is clearly a rip-off of the Disney+ WandaVision.
By lampooning a popular series instead of some lesser superhero movie or show, the Gen V creators underscored their ruthless satirical approach and showed once again that there isn't a single DC or Marvel project that can escape the merciless and edgy humor of the Boys franchise.
It is sure interesting to see what other Easter eggs the VCU storyline has in store for us.
Gen V Episode 4 premieres on Prime Video on Thursday, October 5 at 8pm ET.