The acid-tinged novel satiation that is ‘The Boys’, now commemorating its penultimate season on Amazon Prime, is no ordinary superhero tale. Flitting its origins to Garth Ennis of Dynamite Entertainment (Wildstorm hosting the first six issues), the comics harbor a stark disdain for the superhero genre that has consumed the English comic literature, and frankly, doesn’t mince its sentiments.

Flashing back to 2006, when superhero culture was in its formative years, Ennis tenaciously poked holes into the ballooning culture of American exceptionalism. The malignancy of the latter part of the Iraq War paints politico-military debacles as some pantomime of self-serving ‘Supes’ led by Homelander clashing with the smug CIA agents under Billy Butcher.

The Boys’ universe, mirroring the pretentious DC superhero settings, hosts major superhero groups fighting baddies with an aloof nonchalance. The Seven, led by a caricature of Superman/Captain America alias Homelander, is ludicrous in its alleged devotion to service, which is essentially a ploy to pad their pockets. Sculpting brutal violence into grotesque sexual displays goes overboard for the showrunners at Amazon Prime.

The story arc in the comic bursts the bubbles of any rosy preconceptions Starlight had following induction into The Seven. She confronts an unsolicited sexual advance, a scene that is mirrored delicately in the series albeit with a shift in context. The comic version is indeed bolder but doesn’t deviate much from the on-screen adaptation in terms of realism. However, the discourse revolving around sexual assault has evolved over time, infusing gravitas into narratives spotlighting systemic sexual abuse—a subject that seemed alien in 2006.

The Boys harps on a rather crass narrative surrounding Tek Knight—The Batman takeoff—who is consumed by a bizarre desire related to carnal pleasure eventually subdued by a brain tumor revelation. His character volleys between a lousy attempt at a Batman parody and a not-so-shocking innuendo suggesting a concealed sexual orientation. Laced with Tek Knight’s sordid humor, his narrative dilutes his real character trait—his wealth—that seems to be the golden ticket in his superhero journey.

There’s a synchronic disagreement between the comic and the Amazon Prime shows vis-a-vis The Boys referring to the characters themselves. The series lightly brushes over their affiliation with the CIA, whereas the comic delves into a critique, even questioning the ethical fabric of this intelligence agency. The critique punctures through the facade, juxtaposing the brutality of the Abu Ghraib and George W. Bush’s CIA torture program. A cerebral throwback to Zero Dark Thirty, the show accentuates the irony of cruelty in the name of intelligence gathering.

Despite the stark difference in adaptations, the comics and TV series find commonality in the portrayal of superheroes’ insufficiency which resonates with near-irony, especially when they fail to prevent 9/11, permanently scarring the storyline. The series, however, doesn’t indulge in historical parallelism, instead underscores the essence of imagery. The show subtly tweaks Hughie’s character, transforming him from a Scot to an American—another attempt to depict how the U.S. influenced its allies into supporting the War on Terror.

For Garth Ennis, ‘The Boys’ indeed is an ironical masterpiece – a Northern Irish writer dabbling in the American comic industry denounces the very superheroness he is orchestrating. And yet, The Boys basks in its fame, owing to an audience besotted by the flavor of superheroes, a phenomenon that Ennis clearly finds distasteful.

Branding has been as critical to The Boys’ success as its audaciously dark narrative, although it wasn’t such a cultural stronghold during the comic book era. The character A-Train, an African-American superhero, escalating from a ghetto life offers branding brilliance in the series. However, its comic version dons a white skin, highlighting the creators’ unfamiliarity with the actual demographics of the A-Train.

The contemptuous cynicism entrenched in its comic origins reflects in its TV adaptation. Poised on the brink of its final season, The Boys skews towards a macabre showdown focusing on a virus threatening the Supes’ existence. A relentless pursuit over four seasons, however, leaves them empty-handed in the quest for any redeeming qualities underlying the superhero narrative.