Helmed by Eric Kripke, Craig Rosenberg, and Evan Goldberg, Gen V takes place in the violent universe of The Boys and is set at America’s only college exclusively for superheroes, run by Vought International. It follows competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test as they compete for the best contracts in the best cities. But when bloodshed occurs on the campus grounds some of these Supes soon discover there is a larger conspiracy at play that threatens their lives and could change the course of the superhero world.
The Boys series has been consistently amazing with three fantastic seasons featuring strong storytelling, investing characters, hilarious satire, compelling themes, and unhinged violence, but it was clear that there was a lot more to explore with this universe outside following the main characters, which is what brings us to this spin-off series. We live in an era where spin-offs of popular IPs are popping up frequently, causing many people to question if any of them are necessary. But as showcased with some marvelous spin-offs (like Better Call Saul, Peacemaker, and Loki) they can be equally as good and compelling as the main stories they spawned from if they are given the same amount of effort by the film/showmakers behind them.
With the same creative team behind the main series being heavily involved in this spin-off, I was definitely interested in giving it a fair shot. After watching all eight episodes, I can say that Gen V is an incredible series that is equally as great as the main series while also managing to stand out on its own.
Gen V takes a lot of various ideas we have seen from other genres, including the comic book genre and college drama genre, and puts creatively wild spins on them, resulting in a crazy series that is unique, refreshing, and compelling. Gen V follows the same format as The Boys by giving audiences a character-driven narrative set in an ultra-violent and satirical-toned universe, but this time it is through a different perspective. Several familiar characters from the main series either appear or have an impact on the story due to previous events, but this series primarily focuses on a group of young misfit superheroes who are on their own journey and dealing with their own personal struggles.
I wasn’t expecting to be as invested in this group as much as the ones from the main series but I truly was invested due largely in part to fantastic performances and writing for every character. Each one of the main characters are individually messed up in their own ways yet they share a lot in common, which is what brings them together and makes them so emotionally compelling for the viewers. We get a detailed understanding of each character through all the episodes in order to connect with them as well as understand the choices they make as they uncover the disturbing truth about the university they are attending.
Our primary lead is Marie Moreau, played by Jaz Sinclair, a hemokinetic (the ability to physically manipulate blood) Supe with a tragic past who is one of my main favorites of the series due to her story and Sinclair’s incredible performance that showcases lots of emotional layers of her. Out of everyone, she’s the one you certainly will feel the most invested in but that doesn’t take away from how investing the other characters are.
First, there is her roommate Emma Meyer, played fantastically by Lizze Broadway, who at first looks to be the quirky roommate kind of character but that changes very quickly when you see the truth behind her and her abilities to shrink/grow. I loved Emma for not only the humor she brings but also the empathy she gives, showing herself to be very caring for those in need and proving herself to be as pure-hearted as Starlight while having similar struggles to her.
Then there is the fascinating Jordan Li (London Thor / Derek Luh) a Supe gender shifter who starts off as a rival to Marie but then becomes more as the series progresses. We have had plenty of shape-shifting characters over the years in media, especially in comic book adaptations, but I will say I really liked the unique approach they took with this character. There are a lot of interesting themes that this character brings up as we see them explored over the course of the series, and I have to praise the writing team on their handling of this character and their story. I also have to give huge praise to the double performance of London Thor and Derek Luh who had the challenging task of playing the same person.
Next is Andre Anderson, played by Chance Perdomo, who is the son of a former superhero Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas), and inherited his abilities of magnetic manipulation. He is desperately trying to live up to his father’s expectations and legacy by being a hero but when he loses his best friend, uncovers a conspiracy within the university, and discovers his father’s potential involvement with it his whole world begins to fall apart.
He is by no means a perfect person as showcased by the numerous bad decisions he makes in the series but you still feel bad for him because he is desperately trying to be a good person and a hero for everyone even as everything he initially believed in crumbles around him, and Pedromo does an excellent job portraying his many conflicts.
Also dealing with similar conflicts but on a whole different level is telepath Cate Dunlap, played by Maddie Phillips. Again this is another character you expect to be a certain stereotype but she ended up surprising me as we see her true self begin to unravel throughout the series leading to a major twist that I did not see coming. Due to spoilers, I can’t say too much about what happens but she is a complex yet great character that I didn’t expect to be invested in so much.
Then there are the Riordan brothers Sam and Luke played brilliantly by Asa Germann and Patrick Schwarzenegger respectively. Sam is a test subject of the conspiracy going on within the university and is the key character that brings our main heroes together as he is trying to escape his circumstances by any means. He is an extremely strong Supe but he suffers from an enhanced case of schizophrenia, which causes him to experience hallucinations and delusions as well as makes it difficult for him to distinguish between what is and is not reality.
His years as a test subject combined with his mental vulnerability make him a very sympathetic character that you feel so much for throughout the whole series, as well as making you worry about what he is capable of due to his unstable nature. Asa Germann does amazing work portraying a very tortured individual. Patrick Schwarzenegger also does an incredible job portraying a tortured individual as Luke, showcasing an amazing range of emotions even for the limited amount of time that he’s in this series.
As the son of the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger I didn’t know what to expect from Patrick going into this series but he really surprised me and I honestly wish that we had more of him because he was extremely good in this and has the ability to become a major star one day like his father.
There are other great supporting performances from both new and old cast members but one that stood out was the main villain of this season, the Dean of the University Indira Shetty, played phenomenally by Shelley Conn. Dean Shetty is easily one of the most manipulative villains we have had so far in The Boys universe due to her ability to exploit trauma in others through diabolical psychological work. Her actions and motives initially seem to align with those of Vought but it becomes more apparent as the series progresses that her goals are radically different from expected, leading to shocking revelations that not only impact the main characters in this series but also set up major events to occur in the upcoming fourth season of The Boys.
This series does hold up extremely well on its own with its story and, much like the main series, it feels very unpredictable with its surprising twists and unhinged humor that pretty much breaks all the boundaries. It seems that with every installment of The Boys universe, the showmakers want to come up with something hilariously insane that tops the last thing they did and that trend continues in this spin-off with some of the craziest shit I have ever witnessed, not just in comic book media but all media in general. The amount of demented ideas they managed to come up with in this series is baffling but my god are they brilliant and effective, whether to make me laugh or be completely shocked. I question how much further they will push things in the next installments but I am certain they will find a way.
The usual satire of the superhero genre and other topics are all accounted for in this series, similar to the main series, complete with twisted spins on certain ideas that have been done before; as some have pointed out a lot of this series is clearly parodying Marvel’s X-men but it does so in really great ways. Certain ideas that the X-Men films of the past presented do show up in this series but I will say Gen V does a way better job executing them than those films did, which is not something I thought I would be saying. Obviously, the different directors of those films had their own visions that they wanted to follow, but the showmakers of Gen V kind of proved that they were not thinking out of the box enough as much as they could’ve.
But even when this series features satire and twisted parodies of other things it doesn’t lose sight of being a more original story that has compelling characters driving the narrative, which is something the main series does as well. The fact they put the same amount of effort into the writing and production for this spin-off as they do for the main series was something that I loved seeing.
Speaking of production, Gen V features the same levels of absurdly bloody and intense action as the main series, but with the main characters being superheroes with mostly different powers from the ones we have seen before in this universe, it does make the action feel visually unique in terms of style and scale. A lot of creative work went into the action scenes of this series including this one hilarious sequence involving an R-rated puppet massacre that puts “The Happytime Murders” film to shame.
The effects, both practical and CGI, are all really great and make for some fantastic moments both in the action and dark comedy. Although I will admit there were some instances where the CGI did not look as refined as it could have, but I would not say it was terrible because I have seen a lot worse. The cinematography was excellent, featuring some very memorable shots that give this series a distinct visual style from The Boys, especially with the well-crafted sets used for certain sequences.
When it comes to score and soundtrack both are once again just as great as the ones in the main series, though most of the songs in Gen V seem more appropriate for the university setting.
Gen V really surprised me with how awesome and unique it is as a spin-off and I heavily encourage fans of The Boys to give it a watch, not because of how good it is on its own but because it does set the stage for major events that will unfold in the upcoming fourth season of The Boys, especially for what happens in the final two episodes. This series is set to also have a second season that takes place after season 4 which is great because I am definitely eager to see where these characters and their story will go next. I am going to give Gen V Season 1 an A = 97.
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