Commentary: ‘The Boys’ Builds On A Dark Side Of Real History

It’s indisputable that The Boys is a wild story. It has a ridiculous number of superheroes with crazy powers who perform violent acts without remorse. It also leans eerily into current events as it portrays the rise of a religious fascist government. However, amidst all this satirical fantasy is a real history the show is based on. Of course, as a story about superheroes, the reality is watered down through science fiction. But it’s very scary to note that the background behind the rise of superheroes in this world is rooted in a factual backstory from our own timeline.

The show’s final season revolves around a virus Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) hopes will finally kill Homelander (Antony Starr). After he and his team test out the virus on several superheroes, including Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), they are pleased to know that it works on regular supes. Unfortunately, Soldier Boy was unaffected as he had V1 in his system, the original drug created by a Nazi scientist in World War II. After the war, that Nazi came to the US, where he continued his research on US servicemen. This is where Soldier Boy gained his powers. Now, Homelander hopes to acquire V1 to inoculate himself from the virus.

Up until this point, The Boys did very little world building in regards to fleshing out its wider history. Now, audiences finally known how Vought International began as a research program in Nazi Germany. Obviously, Dr. Vought is a fictional character and there’s no such thing as V1. However, it is true that Nazi scientists were recruited by the United States after the war and brought over to work on top secret projects. This endeavor was called Operation Paperclip and was kept secret for a long time. So while the story of superheroes emerging in the US is fictional, it’s based on real dark history of America turning a blind eye to Nazi atrocities in order to achieve scientific supremacy.

The Boys is now streaming on Amazon Prime.