Now in its second season, Amazon's The Boys has become one of the most popular shows on television. The series is based on the Garth Ennis comics and is set in a world where superheroes exist. However, these superpowered beings are actually corporate-owned celebrities, some of whom are far more sinister than any villain. It is then up to a group of humans to brutally keep the "supes" in check.
The series is a blast as it combines dark humor and gore in its satire. While it is a very unique series, there are some movies out there that can touch on some of the same vibes of the hit show.
The Avengers (2012)
At first glance, The Avengers and The Boys seem to be total opposites in how they portray superheroes, but there are some intriguing similarities. The Avengers brings together some of Marvel's most iconic heroes in the first team-up film of the MCU.
The Boys seems to ask the question, "what if the Avengers" were egomaniacal, but this film actually does have some fun with the ego clashing of these larger-than-life heroes. When Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America are in one room, not everyone gets along, and The Boys also has fun with the pettiness of these godlike beings.
Fight Club (1999)
While superhero culture seems to be at the center of the show, The Boys is really a satire of corporate America. Fight Club also took aim at this subject with its own satire that was also masked by a story filled with brutal violence.
The film stars Edward Norton as a man living a mundane life when he is opened up to the world of underground fight clubs by a man named Tyler Durden. Not only are there similarities in how the characters in Fight Club also take on the powerful corporations, but Hughie's exposure to Butcher's world in The Boys feels similar as well.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Many of the superheroes in The Boys are terrifying because of the terror they can cause for no reason. But it is thrilling to watch such evil characters get what's coming to them at the hand of Butcher and his teams.
Inglourious Basterds is another gloriously fun revenge story in which the heroes are just as brutal as the villains. Brad Pitt plays the leader of a company of Jewish soldiers who hunt down Nazis. There is strange dark humor to watching "the Basterds" do their thing; viewers get the same feeling from Butcher and his team.
Chronicle (2012)
Probably the most compelling character in The Boys is Homelander. He is a superhero and leader of The Seven — basically Superman without any morals or love for humanity.
Homelander is a terrifying display of what power in the wrong hands can result in. Chronicle is a similar disturbing look at the wrong person getting superpowers. This found-footage story follows three young men who gain powers, one of which begins using them for evil. This kind of story almost feels like an origin tale for Homelander.
The Incredibles (2004)
In terms of tone, The Incredibles is as far from The Boys as you can get. However, they both have fun exploring a world in which superheroes exist. The Pixar movie follows a superpowered family forced to hide their true nature when superheroes are outlawed.
Obviously, The Incredibles doesn't go as dark with their examination of this reality as The Boys. Still, the worldbuilding of these two stories beautifully walks the line between fun and grounded.
Mystery Men (1999)
Aside from all the gore and satire, The Boys is just a fun, humorous take on superheroes. And one of the most underrated superhero comedies ever is 1999's Mystery Men. In a world where real the big-name superheroes are sponsored by corporations, the film follows a group of blue-collar crime-fighters trying to make a name for themselves.
Mystery Men came out before the real superhero movie boom so it's even funnier now. With plenty of hilarious actors, it really is an overlooked gem.
Super (2010)
Before he was helming his own superhero movies for Marvel and DC, James Gunn told a much darker tale of a superhero in Super. Rainn Wilson stars as an everyman who dresses up as a hero named Crimson Bolt to get his wife back from a drug dealer.
The hero is this film is another unhinged crime-fighter who is probably more of a threat than a help. Super is surprisingly brutal with its violence while also filled with outrageous pitch-black humor.
Watchmen (2009)
Before HBO's acclaimed series Watchmen explored the dark side of superheroes, Zack Snyder directed an adaptation of Alan Moore's groundbreaking graphic novel. Set in an alternate reality, the film follows a conspiracy set in motion by the death of a former masked vigilante.
Like The Boys, these superheroes are often not righteous heroes like Captain America and Superman. Watchmen is a dark story filled with memorable characters and some shocking moments.
Deadpool (2016)
For anyone used to the modern superheroes of the silver screen, the violence and humor in The Boys will be shocking. The show really embraces the tone of Ennis' source material which did not hold back in the slightest.
Deadpool was another refreshingly R-rated take on the superhero genre, featuring Ryan Reynolds as the talkative mercenary. The violence is also quite shocking as Deadpool slices, dices, and shoots his way through armies of bad guys. He only stops long enough to make some very vulgar jokes —which would feel right at home on The Boys.
Kick-Ass (2010)
While The Boys imagines if superheroes were dark in our world, Kick-Ass looks at if someone for our world suddenly decided to be a superhero. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays a young man who decides to take after the heroes in the comics and fights crime as the masked hero Kick-Ass.
This is another violent and vulgar satire of superheroes that seems to have as much fun with the idea as The Boys. Chloë Grace Moretz also has a breakout role as the young, profane, and badass superhero Hit-Girl.