With the seemingly endless wave of superhero flicks being churned out every year, The Boys is the critique of the genre I'd been wanting to see since the moment I realised I don't identify with any of them.

I love this show's more cynical, realistic reimagining of what our world would look like with superheroes integrated into it. It takes these beloved, celebrity-status "supe" archetypes we see all the time in Marvel movies and portrays a version them where severe corruption goes on behind the scenes. These "heroes," while being forced to maintain a flawless media image, get involved with bribery, manipulation, sexual assault, drugs, political assassinations, and fight not for good, but to protect the interests of a shifty conglomerate. It's interesting to see superheroes using their power the way two-faced politicians might, instead of the usual melodramatic cartoon Hollywood portrayal. Through this approach, The Boys offers a lot of commentary on corporate America as well as the soulless nature of pop culture - its references are very much in date, and it generally comes off as a really socially-aware show.

There are many solid characters, especially the show's main antagonist Homelander, who is easily the most memorable part of the show, Antony Starr giving an outstanding performance. There's some great set and costume design on top of that - I'm not sure if it's intentionally so goofy but I can't get over how hilarious A-Train looks to me.

Some aspects of this show are however flawed in my eyes - there were a few weaker plot-points I wasn't a fan of, with me specifically struggling to get into the second season at first. An ongoing problem for me throughout was the fact it felt way too easy for characters to just break in and out of what would be some of the highest-security places in America. Also, the semi-comical violence in this show gets to a point where it just feels too over the top - when you see multiple bloody CGI flesh explosions in every episode, the shock value wears off pretty quickly.

All in all though this is definitely worth a watch - as someone that evidently isn't a fan of superhero media, The Boys gripped me straight away, and I really enjoyed most of it.