Are All the Superheroes in Amazon's The Boys Giving You Deja Vu? You're Not Alone

Updated on 7/27/2019 at 9:48 PM

There have been a lot of superhero shows made over the years, but we can assure you that Amazon's new series The Boys — which released on July 26 — isn't anything like them. The show, which is based on the comic book series of the same name, follows a group of superheroes who tend to embrace the "darker side of their massive celebrity and fame." As showrunner Eric Kripke (Supernatural and Timeless) pointed out during the show's world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival, it's basically "what would happen if you combined the worst of celebrity with the worst of politics."

While it's a superhero series at its core, the show essentially offers a tongue-in-cheek take on beloved characters from Marvel and DC Comics through its major superhero team, The Seven. While some of the resemblances are more recognizable than others — for instance the team's leader, Homelander, who wears patriotic colors and looks like a Ken doll — others are more open to interpretation. Here's the lowdown on The Seven and their famous superhero counterparts.

Homelander

Homelander (Antony Starr) is essentially a mix of Captain America and Superman. While he dons patriotic colors like the Marvel superhero and bears a striking physical similarity to Chris Evans, he also flies, has superhuman strength, and can shoot laser beams out of his eyes like the DC Comics character. And, just like Superman with the Justice League, Homelander is considered the leader of the Seven.

Queen Maeve

Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) is clearly the Wonder Woman of the group. Not only does she have superhuman strength, but her outfit is nearly identical to Gal Gadot's in the 2017 film.

A-Train

Since A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) is a speedster, it can be assumed that his character is The Flash of the Seven. However, he is likely a version of Wally West rather than Barry Allen since in the comics, the original speedster in the Seven is Mister Marathon and A-Train seems to have a little more trouble controlling his powers.

Starlight

While Erin Moriarty argued that her character doesn't really have a superhero counterpart during Tribeca Film Festival, she does share a lot of characteristics with Supergirl, as she's able to fly and emit light beams.

The Deep

Based on his aquatic outfit and name alone, it's pretty obvious that The Deep (Chace Crawford) is a parody of Aquaman.

Black Noir

Though we don't see too much of Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) in the first episode, in the comics he is thought to be the Batman of the Seven.

Translucent

Translucent's (Alex Hassell) superhero counterpart is a little trickier to pin down. It's possible that he's a mixture of different X-Men characters like Glob Herman and Wraith, aka Hector Rendoza, who possess the ability to make their skin translucent. However, on The Boys, the character is able to be completely invisible.

The Boys Teaser

You can see the Seven in action when The Boys premieres on Amazon on July 26.