Soldier Boy’s Backstory Nails Marvel’s Captain America Problem

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Boys season 3's finale

In telling Soldier Boy's backstory, The Boys absolutely nails Marvel's oldest Captain America problem. Many a character in Amazon's The Boys (based on the comic books by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson) riffs gleefully on Marvel and DC's finest creations, but none land quite so on the nose as Soldier Boy and Captain America. Both were young men injected with drugs on the eve of World War II, gaining superpowers to fight against the Nazis. Both carry shields and peddle a patriotic gimmick, and both resurface in the modern day with a preference for older women.

Before The Boys season 3's final battle, Soldier Boy shares his sad backstory with a disinterested Billy Butcher. The supe explains how he came from money and attended boarding school, but was dismissed by his father as a "f**k-up." Desperately seeking approval, Soldier Boy signed up for Vought's Compound-V trials and transformed into a national treasure, beloved by all. Alas, Soldier Boy Sr. remained unimpressed, accusing his son of "taking a shortcut" because he achieved power through a test tube rather than hard work or skill.

Intentionally or not, Soldier Boy exposes the inherent hypocrisy behind Captain America here. Steve Rogers is renowned for his clean-cut lifestyle, hard-working attitude, and traditional all-American values. He's Marvel's resident bastion of morality and righteousness, painfully aware that the right path and the hard path are often the same. Those are pretty big words for someone who possessed the physical constitution of a paper bag until a scientist dosed him with super soldier serum. Tony Stark studied to become a genius, Black Widow trained as an assassin, and mutants must learn to harness their powers properly, but Captain America is invariably the Avenger prattling on about hard work and perseverance. Even more than the silver-haired threesome, the serum shortcut problem is The Boys' most scathing Captain America criticism.

How Marvel Justifies Captain America's Power Origin

Captain America The First Avenger Steve Rogers Transformation

The Boys season 3's Captain America criticism isn't lost on Marvel, who find various ways of justifying Steve Rogers' super-serum. The most common can be found in the MCU, in which Dr. Erskine explains how super soldier serum "amplifies what is inside... good becomes great; bad becomes worse." In other words, Captain America's strength doesn't come from the serum itself, but from the courage, heart and morality he possessed from the very beginning. Erskine claims his drug merely turned Rogers' inner fortitude into outward strength. Another regular excuse for Captain America's super soldier serum is the hero's honest motivation for taking it. Rather than desiring power, fame, or vengeance, Steve Rogers sought the means to protect his country. Cap could have gained physical power through exercise and hard work, but by the time he'd put on enough muscle, the war would've been over...

The Boys isn't buying Marvel's justifications. Soldier Boy took Compound-V because he mistakenly believed paternal approval would follow, but his father merely dismissed the stunt as cheating. The key lesson young Soldier Boy misunderstood is that ends don't necessarily justify means. Jensen Ackles' character believed his father wanted a successful son, but it seems Soldier Boy's dad would've preferred his son to simply work harder. While no one could accuse Steve Rogers of lacking effort, the "positive ends don't justify shady means" message still applies.

Even Marvel has acknowledged this over the years. Both the MCU (see Isaiah Bradley in Falcon & The Winter Soldier) and original comics add a troubling legacy to Dr. Erskine's super soldier serum, casting doubt over whether Captain America was right to accept it in the first place. Later incarnations of Captain America, meanwhile, accept the mantle without possessing super soldier serum, proving shiny abs and a six-foot frame were never necessary to make a positive difference. Once again, The Boys' shines a laser-focused satirical light on the superheroes we know and love.