If they want to succeed, superhero shows need to learn from The Boys spin-off Gen V

The bell has rang for this semester, but fear not, we will soon be heading back to the classroom for Gen V season 2. As a spin-off from its brutish big brother The Boys, Gen V showed a different side of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic series.

Based on the 'We Gotta Go Now arc from the comics, Gen V is a not-so-subtle homage to the X-Men, focusing on a younger crop of souped-up supes as they attend Godolkin University. With The Boys often being cited as one of the best superhero shows around, Gen V followed in its footsteps and largely put the rest of 2023’s comic book adaptations to shame.

An X-cellent idea

It’s been a rough year for comic book creations, with superhero saturation in full swing. We saw this in the commercial and critical planning of The Flash, while The Marvels will (somewhat unfairly) end its run as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's lowest-grossing outing. And it wasn’t much better on the small screen, as although Loki season 2 was praised as one of the best things the MCU has done, Secret Invasion was a different story. Timing couldn’t be better then for Gen V to swoop in, taking what we love and giving it a fresh spin.

One of the reasons the lauded animated show X-Men: Evolution worked is because we got snippets of the students' day-to-day lives at Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, coupled with all your standard teen dramas of love and loss. That's clearly something Gen V looked at, with executive producer Eric Kripke telling The Wrap that he wanted to “make this superhero show one of the most realistic college shows anyone’s made” - and we can all agree it does that.

Aside from a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference to Jaz Sinclair’s Marie Moreau at the Red River Institute in The Boys season 3, Gen V introduces new blood in the world of The Boys. Sure that show has Starlight and Queen Maeve fighting for the side of good, but the trope of “selfish jackass joins The Seven for their own purpose” is growing stale. Of course, The Seven being unlikeable assholes is part of The Boys' fun, but in Gen V, Moreau is a genuinely compassionate person who is hard not to like.

There are continued complaints that Marvel shoehorns in characters to set up future projects, often with years until they pay off. So, while it was great to see Vincent D’Onofrio back in Hawkeye, his Kingpin return was largely there to cue Echo and Daredevil: Born Again. More recently, The Marvels teased a franchise-hopping crossover we might never see. However, instead of just having some big name from yesteryear popping by, Gen V’s cliffhanger finale had genuine ramifications for The Boys and beyond.

The Boys are back in town

While it’s clear fans want something new, Gen V scratched that itch and exceeded expectations. The movie and TV spin-off curse can be seen with the likes of Elektra, The Defenders, and Catwoman, but Gen V escaped it. Similar to AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead, Gen V is a true continuation of the world created in The Boys. Where it outshines the rest is the fact it didn’t take multiple seasons to tie into the show it was spun from.

Only after the reveal that Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn) was cooking up a virus to eradicate supes do you realise just how important Gen V is to the wider mythos of The Boys. The same can be said for the introduction of Derek Wilson’s Tek Knight - a fan-favorite fans have been asking for since The Boys season 1. Also, shout out for finding the most batsh*t way to bring back Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy.

Even if Antony Starr’s Homelander saving the day in the finale was a little predictable, it reminds us just how unhinged The Seven’s golden avenger will be in season 4. These clever cameos allow the Gen V alumni to develop without being too tied to characters we already know. Dishing out an MCU-inspired post-credit scene, Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher was the cherry on top of a freshman season sundae.

Speaking of morally gray creations, Maddie Phillips’ Cate and Asa Germann’s Sam are set to be the big bads of season 2. Other superhero outings are guilty of seemingly rushed villain turns, whereas Cate and Sam have genuine reasons that put them at odds with Marie and the Guardians of Godolkin. Playing out like a gender-flipped Magneto and Mystique, the pair are destined to become more dangerous in their quest to preserve the supe race. Like how The Boys went bigger and bloodier in season 2, expect Gen V to do the same.

Souped-up supes

Gen V also wasn’t shackled to the source material. Aside from Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger) having a similar arc to Silver Kincaid in the comics, most of Gen V’s characters are wholly new creations. That doesn’t mean future seasons won’t bring in others, with Gen V mentioning the G-Men being embroiled in the #G-Too movement. The comics' John Godolkin is the G-Men’s own Charles Xavier, but with him being a brainwashing paedophile, he could be one of the franchise’s most problematic additions yet.

Then again, Gen V has shown it isn’t afraid to deliver the shock factor. Whether it be Cricket (Lizzie Broadway) riding a giant penis, Sam ripping humanoid puppets to pieces, or THAT exploding genitals scene, season 1 wasn’t beholden to the family-friendly mantra that many shows are cornered by. We’re no stranger to comic book violence, but few have managed to balance this with the dark humor that runs through Gen V. It was this inability to have fun or develop complex characters that largely led to the failure of Netflix's Jupiter's Legacy.

There are currently three shows in the ever-growing Boys-Verse - the main series, the animated Diabolical anthology, and now Gen V. Compare this to a deluge of MCU shows and movies or James Gunn’s equally stacked slate for Chapter One of the DC Universe, Amazon is keeping fans well fed without overwhelming them. The streamer has had a blinder of a year with Gen V and Invincible season 2, and if this trend continues, it could be the new home for comic book outings.

We still lament the fact that Disney’s Sky High series never moved forward, but with Gen V feeling like a perverted and outcast cousin, it’s the next best thing to fill that X-Men-shaped hole in our lives. It’ll take more than bringing Kelsey Grammer back as Beast for the MCU’s X-Men to top Gen V.  So, what do you get when you mix Peacemaker's violence with a dash of Doom Patrol’s humor, toss in a young crop of heroes akin to Marvel’s Runaways, and then bake it in the world of The Boys? The answer is, something truly special which other superhero shows could learn a lot from.

Find out where Gen V landed on our list of the best TV shows of 2023.

And if you want to look ahead to the future, here's everything we know so far about Gen V season 2.