The Boys showrunner explains one 'Herogasm' moment they didn't do
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The Boys series creator Eric Kripke has been talking about adapting a popular but completely unhinged arc from the original comic books since season 1. That, of course, would be "Herogasm."
It's a moment that perfectly encapsulates the world of The Boys, which depicts most superheroes not as valiant defenders of truth and justice, but corporate-owned, spoiled celebrities who use their powers to get into all kinds of shenanigans not suitable for children. Comics writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson conceived the "Herogasm" premise as follows: Earth's heroes inform an adoring public that they are banding together to combat an alien threat in outer space when in reality they head to a secret island for a week-long orgy.
Despite everything that went down in The Boys season 1, from an anal pipe bomb to death by cunnilingus, Kripke never could have sold something as provocative as "Herogasm" that early on. That's not the case as they head into season 3, with a "Herogasm"-themed episode 6. "If you were to ask the Amazon executives, they would deny it, but I feel like it was in a strange way a reward for two seasons of a successful show," Kripke tells EW.
Still, the executive producer confirms there was at least one part of "Herogasm" they didn't adapt for The Boys — not because they couldn't, but because it didn't align with the direction of the season.
Gina Gizella Manning for Entertainment Weekly Jensen Ackles joins up with Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, and Karl Urban for EW's 'The Boys' season 3 cover shoot.
Famous panels from the "Herogasm" comic see Homelander, the Superman-esque leader of supe team the Seven, taking advantage of Soldier Boy, a cowardly and dimwitted hero who leads his own squad known as Payback. Soldier Boy wants nothing more than to join the Seven. So, Homelander promises that if he's good enough in bed, he just might earn a spot. There's a total "no homo" moment between them after it happens.
"I love that scene and it's hilarious, but for a dozen reasons, all of which will be revealed when you see the season, it ultimately just didn't track," Kripke explains. "We talked about it. It conflicted with a lot of the other things we were trying to build with Soldier Boy. So, unfortunately, that one had to go."
The version of Soldier Boy that debuts in The Boys season 3, by way of Supernatural alum Jensen Ackles, is in some ways unrecognizable from the comics character. Dubbed the original superhero, this Captain America-looking supe was active during World War II when he led Payback, revamped for the show as the world's premiere team of heroes before the Seven came along. Soldier Boy is a machismo embodiment of toxic masculinity and, as Ackles says, much more like "your drunk and inappropriate uncle" than Captain America. In short, he's not the kind of person who could be so easily played by Homelander.
"He was Homelander before Homelander," Kripke adds. "He was the biggest superhero in the world, but eventually faded off into obscurity."
Dynamite Entertainment Homelander seduces Soldier Boy in a page from 'The Boys' "Herogasm" comic arc.
The Soldier Boy-Homelander comics scene may one day be realized on Diabolical, the animated anthology series spun off from The Boys that envisioned standalone stories, most of which were not connected to the main show. It just depends if Amazon green lights another season. "I would love to see Soldier Boy and Homelander f---ing," Kripke says with a laugh, "but it can't happen in this show, unfortunately, for reasons everyone understands."
The "Herogasm" Kripke and his room of writers planned out still promises to be a wild moment of television.
Jack Quaid, who plays Hughie, a member of the Boys gang who fight to keep the supes in check, feels the episode might be his favorite of the season — "even if it's just so appalling and insane," he says.
"I read all of the comic books when I was cast as Hughie, and 'Herogasm' was one of those issues where I was like, 'Okay, we need to do this or some version of this because this is the craziest thing I've ever read,'" the actor recalls. "I think we definitely stayed true to the comic. I can't really say much about 'Herogasm.' I think the joy of 'Herogasm' is figuring out what exactly that means, watching it for yourself, seeing how it unfolds. That goes into places where you wouldn't necessarily expect it to go."
Amazon Studios Antony Starr's Homelander is off his rocker in 'The Boys' season 3.
Everyone seems hesitant to talk about "Herogasm." Antony Starr, who plays Homelander, says, "That's the one I don't want to spoil for anyone because I think there's so much anticipation." But there are a few things we do know.
Kripke wasn't on set for the filming of "Herogasm," but he watched the dailies ("It's hard to describe how insane they are"). He also relays something he heard from a fellow EP, Paul Grellong, who was on location.
"How you could have been around that much explicit nudity for that many days on a hot, stuffy, sticky film set is just … How anyone survived it, I don't know," Kripke says. "I asked Paul at one point, 'What's it like being there?' And he's like, 'Day 1, it's really novel and you're surrounded by all these beautiful naked people. By day 2, they're all naked mole rats and you just want to get outside.' I was like, 'That makes sense.'"
Starr considers himself a prude, especially when it comes to a room full of naked people. "It was actually quite a shocking time to come to work," he admits.
Ackles, meanwhile, remembers speaking with a camera operator on the "Herogasm" shoot. "Just the look on our crew was like they'd just been through some horrible, traumatic experience and that they were going to need counseling and some sort of self-help group moving forward past that episode," he says with a facetious tone. "I think we all might have."
The Boys premieres its first three episodes on Amazon Prime Video June 3 before moving to a weekly release. The "Herogasm" episode is scheduled to drop June 24.
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