The Boys has repeatedly referenced the collection of in-world movies known as the Vought Cinematic Universe — here's a breakdown of each VCU installment starring The Seven. Created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the saga debuted in graphic novel form 2006. Dark in both tone and humor, The Boys was set in a world where superheroes existed but had mostly become corrupted. In direct response, Billy Butcher and his titular group took it upon themselves to hold them to account - by any means necessary. A television adaptation, starring Karl Urban as Bucher, debuted on Amazon Prime in 2019. The series was devised by Eric Kripke alongside Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

Rather than just their incredible gifts, the amoral attitudes embraced by supes were equally fuelled by a culture of celebrity. The superheroes created by Vought International don't just save lives, they also actively feature in a range of entertainment. Sometimes these are television shows, such as The Mesmerizer, of which Mesmer (Haley Joel Osment) was the child star. More often than not, however, the outings as depicted as movies. Across the episodes, there are many allusions to Vought Studios' cinematic offerings. These sometimes take the form of clips - like those from the Terminal Beauty trilogy starring Popclaw (Brittany Allen) and Billy Zane. Others, like Tek-Knight Lives and G-Men: World War, are only mentioned in passing or noted to have inspired porn versions. In all cases, it has allowed The Boys to parody not just the comic book worlds of Marvel, DC, and more, but openly satirize all corners of pop culture and even Hollywood itself.

Related: The Boys' Herogasm Means Season 3 Can Finally Mock Avengers: Endgame

The crown jewel of Vought's interests, however, has undoubtedly been The Seven. Fronted by Homelander (Antony Starr), the superhero team has featured several faces across the years. These have included Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), The Deep (Chace Crawford), Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), Translucent (Alex Hassell), and more. In Hollywood terms, The Seven were deemed the A-List. In that capacity, they produced countless commercials, best-selling albums, and even reality shows. Each member of The Seven also amassed a whole host of IMDB credits between them — with many mentioned or referenced across the show's run. Riffing on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these movies were widely dubbed the VCU. Here's a rundown of each VCU installment starring The Seven that's been teased on The Boys.

Translucent: Invisible Force

Alex Hassell as Translucent Invisible Force Promotion Jimmy Fallon The Boys

The Boys season 1, episode 1, "The Name of the Game" opened with two young boys discussing various VCU installments. One quickly expressed excitement for an upcoming sequel. The statement was swiftly rebuked by his friend, who said, "Please, Invisible Force 1 was lame." The outing was one that starred Translucent as some kind of invisible hitman or rogue government agent. No posters for the film have been included in the show. However, that franchise was what Translucent was promoting on such talks shows as The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.

Translucent: Invisible Force 2

Translucent Invisible Force 2 Bus Poster The Boys

The conversation between the two teens was sparked by a poster. The marketing material was glimpsed on the back of a bus as it pulled away. Featuring the tagline, "You can't kill what you can't see," Invisible Force 2 was announced and coming soon. It was left unclear who besides Translucent would have starred. Further posters for the fictional sequel were peppered throughout multiple subsequent episodes. Seth Rogen appeared as himself to promote the film in The Boys season 2, episode 1, "The Big Ride." In the wake of Translucent's now-publicized death, Invisible Force 2 was put forward as a posthumous part of his legacy. Based on the Amazon Prime trivia section, it was projected to have a $50 million opening weekend.

The Deep: Rising Tide

Chace Crawford as The Deep VCU Rising Tide Movie The Seven Billboards Times Square The Boys

During the same discussion in The Boys season 1, episode 1, The Name of the Game", a Deep-centric film is also name-dropped. The same kid that disparaged Translucent's cinematic endeavors followed up by stating, "I'm all about Rising Tide." The debate then swiftly turned to which superhero could win in an actual, luridly-described fight. The conversation was then cut off altogether by an attempted robbery — as well as the in-person arrival of Homelander and Queen Maeve. Given The Deep's established powerset, it's more than likely that Rising Tide was a play on 2018's DCEU offering, Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa.

Related: The Boys: How Powerful The Deep Really Is

A torn version of the Rising Tide poster could be seen on the wall behind the two kids. A more complete version featured later in the same episode. In his first attempt to recruit Hughie, Billy Butcher took him on a walk through the city. During the conversation, Hughie asked why incidents similar to Robin's death on the show weren't all over the news. Butcher answered by indicating to several billboards and emphasizing superhero popularity. The poster for Rising Tide was among those pointed to. It could be seen directly beneath a characteristic call from Homelander that all lives mattered.

Black Noir: Insurrection

Seth Rogen and Black Noir doing an interview with The Boys

Also featured on the billboard was Black Noir: Insurrection. Later, in The Boys season 1, episode 6, "The Innocents", a brief clip showed Black Noir promoting the film. Given his silent nature, however, he mostly relied on nods. More vocal was Rogen, who appeared as a version of himself. It was left unclear whether he was the film's writer, director, co-star, or a combination of all three. Whatever the case, Rogen described it as his first foray into the Vought Cinematic Universe. The Amazon Prime trivia section offered that it was projected for a strong, $40 million opening weekend.

Queen Maeve: Her Majesty

Madelyn Stillwell The Deep Dominique McElligott as Queen Maeve VCU Movie Poster Her Majesty The Boys Season 1 Episode 6

Also in The Boys season 1, episode 6, "The Innocents", a standalone adventure for Queen Maeve is also hastily glimpsed. The moment comes in the wake of Starlight exposing The Deep's more abusive ways. Confronted by Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue), Deep was ordered to issue a public apology. As the duo walked and talked through the corridors of Vought Industries, they also swiftly passed a poster for Queen Maeve: Her Majesty. The promotional material was only seen momentarily. However, its design was no doubt heavily inspired by 2017's Wonder Woman. The poster also declared that fans would be able to experience the film in 3D.

Dawn of The Seven

The Dawn of The Seven Movie Poster Vought Cinematic Universe The Boys Season 2

Drawing direct inspiration from Justice League, a team-up prequel film was first teased in The Boys season 2, episode 1, "The Big Ride." Titled Dawn of The Seven, a giant billboard poster for it was seen when Hughie (Jack Quaid) and the others met with Susan Raynor (Jennifer Esposito). Subsequent episodes would offer a behind-the-scenes look at the film's production. This first manifested in the form of a storyboard meeting. The director, Adam Bourke (PJ Byrne) revealed that the villain would be a man named Martinez. He also stated that it would be scored by Hans Zimmer and that he wanted to film it in the handheld style of Paul Greengrass. Furthermore, he declared that Hamilton's Lin Manuel Miranda would voice the now-deceased Translucent.

Related: The Boys: How The Seven Look In The Comics vs. The Show

In The Boys season 2, episode 5, "We Gotta Go Now" gave viewers a peek at Dawn of The Seven's filming. The scenes cheesily solidified Stormfront (Aya Cash) joining The Seven with a parody of Avengers: Endgame's awkward girl-power moment. Equally, they reflected Vought's hijacking of Queen Maeve's sexuality, adding a lesbian character named Ruby to the story. Referencing the tendencies of J.J. Abrams, Greg Grunberg also featured, playing a version of himself playing a character named Agent Pearson. As if that wasn't enough cinematic mockery, allusions to rewrites by Joss Whedon and more were slipped into the filming scenes. Dawn of The Seven was also designed to be a swansong for A-Train. Things were left in flux, however, by Stormfront being outed as a Nazi and violently brought down. As such, it was left to The Boys season 3 to reveal whether it would be overhauled and make its Summer 2021 release date.

Y2KOS

Jordana Lajoie as Cherie Y2KOS Lamplighter VCU Movie The Boys

Although he's merely a former member of The Seven, Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) was widely deemed a breakout figure in The Boys season 2. He appeared in multiple episodes, with elements of his backstory intertwined with flashbacks to Frenchie's own. In The Boys season 2, episode 6, "The Bloody Doors Off", one such scene saw Frenchie called by Cherie (Jordana Lajoie) to come and save their friend Jay (Michael Ayres). In the immediate aftermath of the tense moment, a poster for Y2KOS could be seen behind Cherie. Based on the hooded costume and torch, it almost certainly starred Lamplighter. Meanwhile, the title suggested that it was centered on the infamous panic around the year 2000.

Homelander: Origins

the boys homelander origin story

The Boys season 2, episode 7, "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" saw Homelander continue his deranged quest to form a family unit. Joined by Stormfront, he aggressively tried to bond with Ryan (Cameron Crovetti). To that end, Homelander watched one of his son's homemade Lego movies and informed Ryan of his own film career. "I'm in a bunch of movies, man," he said. The twisted superhero then rattled off a list of his credits. The first to be mentioned was Homelander: Origins. No further details were offered. Regardless, it was clearly a play on such X-Men franchise spinoffs as X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Homelander: Rise of a Hero

Antony Starr as Homelander The Boys

The second title he rattled off was Homelander: Rise of a Hero. Yet again, no elaboration was put forward. Regardless, it would be easy from the title to deduce what kind of movie it would have been. The rise of a superhero has been a common trope on both page and screen. The word "rise" has even been used frequently in titles. Most notably, it featured in 2007's ill-received Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Such adventures usually involved the first foray of a hero into the world, often amid a brief struggle to master their powers.

Related: The Boys: Everything We Know About Homelander's Origins

More often than not, these kinds of journeys featured a dark reflection of the title character. That has been true in Marvel, DC, and everything in between. In the world of The Boys, however, Homelander hasn't really faced a physical or superpowered equal. Instead, Homelander's main weaknesses are all psychological in nature and rooted in his issues. Equally, Homelander himself is the darkest reflection of the superhero spirit. Still, given Vought's established ways, a villain or disaster was falsified for him to overcome — in real life and the fictional realm of the movie.

Homelander: Darkest Day

The Boys Homelander

The third title he mentioned was Homelander: Darkest Day. The plot of that particular film remained just as unknown as the others. However, it would prove to be some shrewd foreshadowing of the kind of day Homelander would have in The Boys season 2, episode 8, "What I Know". The title also served as a fun nod to the Green Lantern comics. Though the film was called Darkest Day, it was no doubt an amusing reversal on the words spoked as part of the Green Lantern oath. "In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight," the motto has stated for decades. Blackest Night was also the title of a 2009-2010 Green Lantern storyline. The Boys has thus far avoided parodying more space-based heroes. Still, clearly, no comic book realm can be considered safe from the show's referential touches.

Homelander: Brightest Night

Antony Starr as Homelander Cameron Crovetti as Ryan Butcher The Boys

The final film on his list was Homelander: Brightest Night. It was also clearly inspired by the Green Lantern motto and another Geoff Johns-penned story. Vought has a penchant for embellishment and fabrication. Therefore, it wouldn't be surprising if they included elements of a space rescue in one of Homelander's staged adventures. That would certainly lend itself to the evident Homelander and Superman parallels that have been widely noted to exist by the pair.

Whatever the case, Brightest Night was one that even Stormfront herself praised. "Oh, your dad is so good in Brightest Night," she offered. Ryan was also clearly won over and swiftly requested to see them. Fans have likely requested the same thing — especially after the crowd-pleasing snippets from Dawn of The Seven. However, it shall remain a waiting game to see if footage of those other aforementioned outings (or VCU installments revealed in future seasons) makes it into an actual episode of The Boys.

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