The Boys are a highly skilled task force of relatively average individuals led by the vengeful Billy Butcher, assembled by the C.I.A. to handle their world's reckless superheroes. However, there is one mythical hero that even Butcher and his accomplished group of superhero watchdogs can admire.
Each member of The Boys team are equally capable of dishing out justice in their own unique ways, from their leader Butcher, to the master planner Mother's Milk, to the civilian eyes and ears Hughie Campbell, and the chemical engineer / stealth expert the Frenchman, a.k.a., Frenchie. But, the most dangerous asset to Butcher's team is unquestionably The Female of the Species (unnamed in the comics). Boasting immense superhuman strength, capable of ripping off the body parts of her opponents, as well as superhuman agility and speed, The Female is a superhero force in and of herself. Along with her active Boys duties, the young Female is linked as an occasional enforcer for the American mafia. Nevertheless, the only tether keeping The Female of the Species slightly grounded are her team of The Boys. In an effort to keep The Female's murderous urges at bay, the Frenchman introduces The Female to the world of comic books.
These are not just any comic books either but classic issues of 2000 A.D. 2000 A.D. is not a fictional publisher created solely for The Boys series but a real British science fiction anthology magazine responsible for the creation of obscure comic figures Johnny Alpha, Nemesis the Warlock, and most famously the law enforcement officer of the future Judge Dredd. Frenchie had purchased the vintage comics off eBay with the hopes that they would temporarily keep The Female occupied in a more peaceful manner. However, the superhero comics truly act as a worthy diversion by Frenchie and Butcher to help keep tabs on The Female and any assigned missions received from other employees who wish to take advantage of her abilities.
Judge Dredd would make his first appearance in 1977's 2000 A.D. #2 before later appearing in two feature films, the first Judge Dredd released in 1995 with Sylvester Stallone taking on the role and a reboot simply titled Dredd in 2012. On a meta note, actor Karl Urban, the man responsible for bringing The B0ys' feared leader Billy Butcher to life on the Amazon Prime Video tv adaptation, portrayed the rebooted take of Judge Dredd in the 2012 re-imagining. There were talks of a sequel as well as possible series following the film's release, but a proposed follow-up never left planning stages due to the film's poor box office success.
The inclusion of Judge Dredd may have simply been a neat reference to The Boys creator Garth Ennis' run on the character and his affinity for the lore, but there is an additional layer to the inclusion. Both The Boys and Dredd are hardened forces for justice that will not hesitate to take extreme measures to keep their worlds in check. Dredd is the war-torn cop who ultimately acts as judge, jury, and executioner for criminals, while The Boys pkay more or less the same role with their society's abundance of superheroes. Including Dredd in this universe, albeit via a minor appearance of the character's publication, is a significant analogy of the two groups. Government vigilantes (The Boys) and superheroes (Dredd) may not be as different from one another as they seem.