The Boyscomic book series is known for satirizing superheroes and corporate greed, so it might sound funny when I say it is a relatively “grounded” comic book universe, compared to some others – which is whyI was legit surprised when the series casually confirmed that aliens exist within its fictional world.
As fans will know, the “supes” ofThe Boyswere created by a super-serum; though it is fantastical, it is not outside the realm of possibility. While I suppose neither are aliens, the way that the existence of extraterrestrials is met with such a flippant non-response inThe Boystook me aback, at least for a moment.
Ultimately, I’m not against the inclusion of aliens inThe Boyscanon, as it makes the franchise weirder and wilder – a tall order given the terrestrial antics Ennis’ characters get into – but it does lead me to reconsider the series as a whole.
Jack From Jupiter Might Be A Fake, But Real Aliens Do Exist In “The Boys” Comic Universe
Aliens are such common knowledge inThe Boysuniverse, that not only does Butcher know about them, but so does the general public. Butcher proves his knowledge of aliens by recounting the origin of the Boys' version of Green Lantern, confirming that, while the exact truth of aliens inThe Boysis unclear, they are out there to some extent. What this suggests to me is that the Boys was clearly originally meant to be far more fantastical like DC/Marvel, before Garth Ennis seemingly altered its trajectory.
I don’t think there’s any way that Vought could use the excuse of an “alien invasion” if the public didn’t already readily accept the existence of aliens in this universe.
Every Supe under the Vought corporation needs an exciting origin story, of course, so that they can sell merchandise. That’s why Homelander has dozens of movies exploring his origins and his adventures. Likewise, every other member of the Seven needs to be marketable. This resulted in Vought just making up their origins for some of them. Such as Jack from Jupiter, who, as his name implies, is marketed as being from the planet Jupiter. While this isn’t actually true, the important bit is that Vought believes the public will buy it.
Aliens never play an actual role in The Boys' storyline,but because Vought is more than happy to use aliens in their marketing, it’s fair to assume that the public just accepts them as real.This is especially true because Vought uses the excuse of an alien invasion toexplain away the events of Herogasm, a massive orgy that the Supes participate in every year to “let off steam.” I don’t think there’s any way that Vought could use the excuse of an “alien invasion” if the public didn’t already readily accept the existence of aliens in this universe.
Galaxius Is “The Boys” Unbelievable Version Of Galactus, A World Destroying Alien
AnotherBoysproof of aliens I’d like to point out is Galaxius, an obvious parody ofMarvel’s iconic Galactus character.In the Marvel Universe, Galactus is a character with an unending hunger. He must consume planets to satisfy his hunger. This results in him often coming to Earth and trying to consume it, only to be repelled by the Fantastic Four. InThe Boys, Galaxius needs to find sexual pleasure, and only one hero has the power to satisfy him. This results in Galaxius continually returning to Earth again and again.
The Boys Wanted Starlight to Have a Very Different Arc, But One Scene Changed It All
Starlight is one of the most important characters in The Boys, which is why it’s so surprising that her character arc was meant to be a lot darker.
With characters like Jack from Jupiter or the Herogasm event, I think it’s easy to just hand-wave those as being Vought publicity. But Galaxius doesn’t work for Vought, he’s a true and honest supervillain. Because of this, there’s no real reason to believe that he isn’t an alien. He’s certainly presented as one, and he’s clearly a parody of one.It’s a surprising leftover of whatThe Boysuniverse was apparently supposed to be, but Garth Ennis seemingly decided that involving aliens made the story more complicatedthan it had to be.
Having Aliens Would Ultimately Have Taken Away From The Boys Overall Story
In the end, I thinkI understand why Garth Ennis made the decision to hold back on incorporating more things like extraterrestrials – or magic, which is also hinted at early inThe Boys, but ultimately never plays a prominent role – into the main storyline. As Ennis continued to shape the story, its plot and themes came into focus, and he followed these threads in order to maximize the impact of the story. This meant certain elements had to be foregrounded, while others fell by the wayside.
I think it’s ultimately a good thing that Garth Ennis dropped the idea of including aliens and magic, which would have made it more like a typical comic book universe.
WhileThe Boysdoes have superheroes and incredibly silly moments, it never strays so far into absurdism that it can’t be taken seriously at its core. Because of this, I think it’s ultimately a good thing that Garth Ennis dropped the idea of including aliens and magic, which would have made it more like a typical comic book universe.The Boysalready has plenty of absurd and incredible moments in it. It really didn’t need aliens, even if I do think it’s a little weird they confirmed aliens exist, and then never addressed it again.
The Boys
Cast
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
