It seems that venerated comedic actor John Belushi has been immortalized forever in one particular arc of The Boys. In a story arc that tributes Animal House, one Supe bears a striking resemblance to Belushi's character John "Bluto" Blutarsky.
The Boys is Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's subversive and brutal take on the superhero genre. The story follows a clandestine CIA group, the titular Boys, aiming to take down the most powerful superheroes, aka 'Supes'. In their bid to take down The Boys' version of the Justice League and its violent pastiche of Superman, "Wee" Hughie Cambell and his associate Billy Butcher, embark on a number of dangerous missions involving some extremely unhinged Supes. Being a takedown of the superhero genre, the Boys often encounter heroes that are parodies of famous Marvel and DC characters, albeit with much more unseemly characterizations than once would expect from a hero.
However, one crew of parodies had an additional layer of pop culture references baked into their development. The Boys' infamous “We Gotta Go Now” arc runs through issues #23 and #28 and sees Hughie infiltrate the Supe faction known as the G-Men. It’s obvious to most comic fans that the teams serves as The Boys’ take on X-Men characters, but Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s rowdy training school for heroes doubles as a parody for National Lampoon’s Animal House. Rather than saving the world, the G-Men are much more interested in drinking and playing juvenile pranks, much like the ensemble of the 1978 film. To make the parody even more obvious, one of the G-Men serves as a caricature of John Belushi, who played Animal House's lovable and crass Bluto. The cover of The Boys #24 even directly styles itself after Animal House's poster.
What Making John Belushi a Supe Does For The Boys
Admittedly, it’s easy to miss the John Belushi parody in The Boys’ G-Men arc if one isn’t a fan of, or hasn’t seen, Animal House. But Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson sure do try to make it apparent. In fact, the Supe’s name is Discharge and his power is acidic vomit, almost certainly a reference to Bluto’s infamous ‘zit’ gag from Animal House. While The Boys is a comic that's lousy with parodies, pastiches and downright ripoffs of notable superheroes, Discharge stands out as one of the series' few non-comic tip-of-the-caps.
The Boys is a series that uses the familiarity of comic books to tell a powerful and subversive story. From The Boy’s evil Superman to its foul-mouthed version of Stan Lee, nearly everything in Ennis and Robertson’s story is built on something fans will recognize. By making one of the G-Men a caricature of John Belushi, it brings the hilarity of the Animal House characters. It also serves to pull the rug out from readers once they realize the G-Men’s personalities are nothing like the Deltas. There are plenty of cameos littered all throughout The Boys, and John Belushi’s Discharge remains one of the series’ best hidden tributes.