40

The end of The Boys is so fuckin lib man. (hexbear.net)

submitted 6 days ago by Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net to c/movies@hexbear.net

41 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Butcher says "as long as there is Vaught there will be supes and it's just a matter of time before one of them becomes the next Homelander" to justify killing all the supes, but the problem as we all know is capitalism and they are literally in a revolutionary moment where they could actually end it with the supes becoming immortal folk heroes but no, mass slaughter because vengeance on the one that he hates is not enough he just wants to kill all the supes out of spite and frankly sure there is an argument to be made for that but that still ain't fixing the rest of the problems with capitalism.

top 41 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] Keld@hexbear.net 23 points 6 days ago

to justify killing all the supes, but the problem as we all know is capitalism and they are literally in a revolutionary moment where they could actually end it with the supes becoming immortal folk heroes

Okay but that's not a good idea? The Supes suck. They're bad. Both in terms of being a morally repugnant institution but also in the fact that they're empirically bad at their job. They're not trained crime fighters, they're not trained soldiers, they're media personalities with capacities that allow them to do work that should require expertise with minimal risk to themselves. Not a single superhero in vought employ (And that's all of them) has been observed in the show actually doing anything that would make them a "hero" since like season 1, and even then it was tenuous.
Do you think the people whose jobs is hawking energy drinks, doing tiktok dances and starring in action films are going to form a revolutionary vanguard? They have media careers and contracts with Vought.
Annie is explicitly in the minority among high level supes in actually wanting to do the hero stuff, and she's still a person who listens to police scanners and goes to kick the shit out of petty criminals.

[-] Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net 13 points 6 days ago

Remember in the show they explicitly state they are not sure it will only kill supes, and as evidenced by Starlighter and the others not all of them are evil and once Homelander is gone the playing field is leveled immensely. Again my main point is that he believes just getting rid of vaught and the supes would solve everything when they and all the harm they cause are just extensions of capitalism which would still exist and still kill more people than all the supes combined.

It's great man theory horseshit.

[-] Keld@hexbear.net 23 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Butcher doesn't believe killing the Supes would "Fix everything". Butcher doesn't care about "Everything". He believes you can't fix Vought, and you can't fix supes. Supes are inherently bad, the way they are created is inherently immoral, and he hates them.
And in neither the comic or the show are you supposed to agree with Butcher. You are shown explicitly that his views are myopic and based on his personal vendetta. That's the point.

Edit: He is literally the final villain. In the comics this is foreshadowed heavily by the chat with Mallory, where he explains mission creep of Special Operations with loose mission structures and directly invokes Butcher as an example of that. In the show they have like five seasons of telling you Butcher is bad, but then pulling back on it.

spoiler

In the comics he's the one who kills the boys, it isn't homelander. Butcher made it clear that he hates all supes, and that includes himself, it includes The Boys, and it also covers Hughie even though he really wishes it didn't.

Edit 2: And in the comics right after he states his thesis of all supes being rotten psychopathic monsters, we cut to Super Duper a group of people who could not more obviously be a refutation of Butcher's point if they tried. They are a group of disabled superheroes who go on missions to literally rescue cats from trees. (And Garth Ennis' portrayal of them is of course incredibly ableist)

But there is no revolutionary moment here, at least not with the supes. Within the unierse of the show, the supes in large numbers sided with Homelander, Homelander's supe supremacy was a stand in for white supremacy. But add in the fact that, again, all of them are employed by a military contractor come media company come explicitly right wing political organisation. They're just not gonna be the revolutionary cadres you want.

[-] Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net 10 points 6 days ago

See this is why I made this post and the comments I did, I wanted to hear some more developed takes and this thread paid dividends thank you and everyone else rat-salute

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 21 points 6 days ago

Yeah i dunno i don't really think you can have an egalitarian communist society at the end of it when some people are literal superhumans and, of them, some are essentially walking nuclear arsenals. I think the only way that'd work is if everyone had super powers but even then you'd have discrimination against people with shitty doodoo powers like in my hero academia

[-] Kefla@hexbear.net 10 points 6 days ago

i don't really think you can have an egalitarian communist society at the end of it when some people are literal superhumans and, of them, some are essentially walking nuclear arsenals.

I don't see why you couldn't in theory. As long as you have at least a couple of those walking nuclear arsenals that are committed allies and are willing to defend your communist project against other super heroes, then it's really no different than having a guy who has access to the nuclear launch codes or whatever. And it's not like communism is impossible if you've got a guy who has access to the nuclear launch codes, as long as that guy's a communist and is beholden to the party's will.

It's not like everyone has equal ability in real life. The existence of expert marksmen, and martial artists, and peak athletes, doesn't mean that communism is impossible because some of us are weak and chubby or missing some of our limbs or whatever.

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 7 points 6 days ago

The difference is that that relies on those walking nuclear arsenals not lying to you, being swayed to corrupt purposes, etc., and the difference between super powers and any of those other things is that you can take away access to a gun or nuclear launch codes but you can't really take away someone having the permanent ability to just like fly you into space at a whim

The existence of expert marksmen, and martial artists, and peak athletes, doesn't mean that communism is impossible because some of us are weak and chubby or missing some of our limbs or whatever.

i would argue the existence of expert marksmen is actually one of the main reasons why those other things are less effective in oppressing people who aren't trained warriors

when all the weapons you've got are swords and bows and shit and it takes literally years of dedicated training (that a peasant literally wouldn't even have time to engage in, if training were even available) that's when you get shit like the german peasant war seeing only a few thousand professional soldiers able to massacre like 20x their numbers (well, the weapons and the training and having no cavalry)

[-] Moidialectica@hexbear.net 4 points 4 days ago

Plus the difference ordinary marksmen and superheroes have are the fact that they're walking armies with everything to gain if they simply exploit society as-is, with all the leverage being a one-person-army, connections to both the state and other superheroes, and a stable life when you uphold the status quo gives you

Superpowers simply change material conditions massively, and the more widespread they are and the more general their use case they become incentivised to, instead, guarantee their own rights as a class of heroes rather than the class of people (and I argue this limits the likelihood of communism as an end-result) and might descend into near feudal conflict, with the ruling class constantly at their throats due to the natural antagonism between them (though this depends on how you define superheroes, where they could even count as producers if you include korean genres)

[-] hello_hello@hexbear.net 8 points 5 days ago

Butcher picking up the crowbar: "mmmmm imma do some larps" (excuse me sir)

I AM THE HOMELANDER

The Boys: Mexico

More coherent summary: The Boys TV show predictably ended up becoming what they set out to satire. A dated multimedia property that churns out content with no real direction or focus that somehow looks lower budget than what came a decade before it and is carried by celebrity actors (Anthony Starr's shoulders are broken from carrying this show).

The messaging deteriorated to a point where it appealed to no one who wasn't a democrat zionist millionaire (the producers). Theres really no authenticity to the shows politics when one of their main characters is a literal Israeli IDF genocide enthusiast and I hope all the chuds cannabalize their own show.

The core thematic thrulines set up in season 1 (homelanders plane hijacking, Vought stoking conflict by spreading the supe virus to other countries, etc) are just dropped to pave the way for asspulls and spinoff shows.

I doubt the Boys franchise will survive after the exit of Anthony Starr, I only tuned in to see butcher do some larps and homelander to land home.

[-] Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net 6 points 5 days ago

As far as the main show this is the end. I think they also pulled the plug on Gen V which was actually pretty fun. The fact they brought in the three best characters from that show for the finale and then did nothing with them was a shame. I think the franchise is dead in the water at this point.

[-] FourteenEyes@hexbear.net 13 points 6 days ago

Haven't watched it yet and not sure when I will, but for me the biggest disappointment by far is that Homelander does not have the promised mass-murder crashout where he skins people alive and levels cities. No observing nukes from space, no destruction of the Vought Tower like those two posters promised.

I'm sure it has its moments like the rest of this season and there's no fucking way in hell it's anywhere near as bad as GoT season 8 but it's just sad that this is looking like a trend and this is how the so-called "golden age of television" ends, with repeated disappointment. Can nobody plan out a fucking ending ahead of time anymore?

[-] MeowZedong@lemmygrad.ml 11 points 6 days ago

He threatened to kill all the billionaires and then only killed a single, inconsequential character. This was the biggest disappointment.

I WANTED TO SEE THE SNAKE EAT IT'S OWN TAIL!

[-] Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net 7 points 6 days ago

Yeah I was kinda hoping for some apocalyptic shit in the climax but they went another route which was actually the most interesting bit that would have made a crashout like you said even more punchy after declaring himself god. Best we get is he gets his power zapped away and spend his last living moments sniveling and groveling begging for his life..........

[-] Tabitha@hexbear.net 3 points 5 days ago

for me the biggest disappointment by far is that Homelander does not have the promised mass-murder crashout where he skins people alive and levels cities. No observing nukes from space, no destruction of the Vought Tower like those two posters promised.

is it better or worse than how Stranger Things 5 also chickened out of the upside down escaping into Hawkins?

[-] FourteenEyes@hexbear.net 5 points 5 days ago

This was one of the promo pictures for the season, instead it ended with an Oval Office beatdown that was nowhere near as good as the Herogasm fight in season 3.

[-] Tabitha@hexbear.net 15 points 6 days ago

Literary analysis of Butcher's Arc

Watsonian: I guess sometimes you can take revenge too far
Doylist: Stalin bad

very-smart very timely and in-touch

[-] BeanisBrain@hexbear.net 13 points 6 days ago

I can never keep Watsonian and Doylist straight, wish people would just call it diegetic and paratextual

[-] Keld@hexbear.net 12 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

But Doylist explanations aren't necessarily paratext. "Akira Toriyama forgot that character existed" isn't paratext, it's just a fact that exists outside of the fictional universe that explains things within the fictional universe.

[-] Le_Wokisme@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

in addition to what keld said, diegetic things are in the text and watsonian explanations can come from paratext, especially when they're word of god in response to fan questions.

the informal distinction is referring to holms and watson, because some of the sherlock stories are presented as watson's journals.

[-] Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net 10 points 6 days ago

Wait does someone actually compare him to stalin in the show? If so I just ignored it because it's such a common western media cliche

[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 12 points 6 days ago

The comics had a better ending lmao

Still you nerds shouldnt read them

[-] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 12 points 6 days ago

Garth Ennis may have some lib brainworms (loves the military, thinks the USA has the potential to be good), but he also knows how to write a good story from start to finish

[-] Keld@hexbear.net 12 points 6 days ago

I don't know dude, have you read crossed? I think it's better to say that he at least to write story with a beginning and an end.

loves the military

And while he does have that brainworm, The Boys contain criticism of neoconservative foreign policies, and mission creep (Specifically with regards to spec ops and CIA operations). Also it's made quite clear that everything terrible happens happens because the US allows it to happen. Which I think is a really important distinction.
In the show the US could not stop homelander if they tried, in the comics Vought gets to do what they do because of the power of the military industrial complex to sway policy and because both Dakota Bob and Vic the Veep are corrupt pieces of shit. The moment Vought becomes an actual problem heads roll (Although of course not the right heads).

[-] 9to5@hexbear.net 10 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I love edgy stuff. But after reading a lot of crossed I was like....alright maybe tone it down a notch.

[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 8 points 6 days ago

His Punisher Max run is good tho

[-] Keld@hexbear.net 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

My one friend who is really into comic books says the same thing. But he also said Preacher wasn't "Edgy for the sake of it, like his other stuff" so I don't know if I can trust fans.

I like The Boys and some of Preacher even if Garth Ennis is an edgy dickhead who cannot get enough of punching down and speaks 90% in gross out "humor". My tastes are bad and I should feel bad.

[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The Boys is just a hate comic he made because he hated current marvel and DC so thats why is edgy for the fun of it and Crossed is him wanting to make his version of a zombie apocalypse (but edgy)

His serious comics like Punisher and i think Preacher are his good stuff

He still has the humor of a 13 year old kid tho

[-] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

The ending of Hitman still makes me cry because it's so earnest and oh so tragic

Drinks are on the house, but you got to leave your guns at the door cri

[-] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 7 points 6 days ago

I love Garth Ennis (actually got him to sign a few things when I met him at a comic convention), but he definitely has his quirks

Man wanted to live in a world where he could make a living writing WWII comics and pulpy Man of Action books

Then he gets to the USA and it's all Marvel and DC schlock

It's no wonder why he gravitated towards Hellblazer and The Punisher style stuff

[-] Nacarbac@hexbear.net 8 points 6 days ago

The Power Fantasy is soooo much better. Six godlike superhumans trying their best to not kill each other (and what's left of the world in the process).

[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 8 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It really is, i wish more nerds read it, i should make some more post about it in the comics comm

[-] 9to5@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

Powerfantasy is amazing but conceptually also a very different story.

[-] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 9 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Smh. Butcher was clearly Stalin. Hughie was FDR. And you're all being Churchill. Do better. Lmao. owl-wink

[-] Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net 7 points 6 days ago

I think Hughie would be more like Churchill in this analogy.

[-] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 11 points 6 days ago

Look, we can pick apart analogies all day, but the point is that you're all ignoring the real travesty; They made our boy, Love Sausage, a fucking cop.

Nsfw

spoiler

[-] Keld@hexbear.net 12 points 6 days ago

Love Sausage and the other Red River characters is genuinely the worst aspect of The Boys, along with Sam from Gen V. The idea that being disabled inherently turns you into Kapos is some fucked up shit.

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 4 points 6 days ago

Worse than that tbh

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I just finished watching it, I gotta say, Butcher was 100000000000000000% correct and should have just pulled the trigger (or, more accurately, this is what a deadman's switch is for, if you're waiting to time it to begin with)

the writers are just so not good at writing. like I haven't read for pleasure in years and I haven't practiced writing in even longer but like, jesus christ, god damn, if you're going to have Frenchie's will just be an ode to talking about assholes, like

how hard is it to have at least a single bit of it be actually funny? he said a bit about "I don't know if I've wiped my slate clean enough to enter heaven" and it's like, so obvious, immediately after describing his friends' assholes at great length before saying that, that it should finish with "But I know one thing for certain. None of you wipe clean either, invest in ze bidet!" or something like idk at least that'd get a chuckle out of me instead of just cringing for the entirety of it

also the writers just clearly forget their own show, hardly a mention of Becca while Butcher's Doing His Thing until fucking homelander mentions her first! lol.

Ending it with this soldier boy blast shit was stupid as fucking shit from a storytelling perspective. Again, I'm a pig idiot stupid ignorant person from a "knowing technical knowledge about writing" perspective but like I'm pretty sure the story would have been way better if they just ended the Homelander plotline in season 3 with the Soldier Boy blast then, and then if they had to do more seasons go into the Butcher as ultimate antagonist arc.

Butcher and Ryan losing their powers also introduced the plot hole (see: writers forgetting their own show) of Butcher only really being alive because the sentient mass of cancer inside of him was keeping him alive. So if he's lost his powers, he's now just full of fucking nonsentient cancer that was previously, immediately prior to losing said powers, writhing through his body like a mass of worms. He shouldn't have even been able to kill Homelander, honestly, if he was also depowered

Also I think it would have been a wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy better ending from the perspective of getting the audience to hoot and holler and soypoint soypoint-2 if after Butcher's funeral they just did like a slooooow pan out to outer space where you get to see the frozen billionaire's languished grimace but maybe that's just me

[-] Bronstein_Tardigrade@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 6 days ago

Having learned my lesson watching Lost, I skipped the last season of GoT because I assumed it would be crap, and by all accounts, I was right to do so. I was thinking of doing the same for The Boys, and from the comments, this too sounds like the best path.

[-] Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net 9 points 6 days ago

It is cathartic at least watching the final episode with homelander groveling before getting brained.

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 7 points 6 days ago

Ironic that game of thrones has a character with comparatively little foreshadowing lose her tits and burn an entire city, and here we have the exact opposite

this post was submitted on 20 May 2026

40 points (97.6% liked)

Movies & TV

23766 readers

151 users here now

Rules for Movies & TV Discussion

Any discussion of Disney properties should contain a (cw: imperialism) tag. If your post isn't tagged appropriately it will be removed.
Anti-Bong Joon-ho trolling will result in an immediate ban from c/movies and submitted to the site administrators for review.
On Star Trek Sunday only posts discussing how we might achieve space communism are permitted. Non-Star Trek related content will be removed and you will be temporarily banned until the following Sunday.

Here's a list of tons of leftist movies.

Perverts Guide to Ideology

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

WhyEssEff@hexbear.net

Zoift@hexbear.net

Walk_On@hexbear.net

Infamousblt@hexbear.net

Grebgreb@hexbear.net

invalidusernamelol@hexbear.net