Based on the comic series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys – S01 Season 1 did not just subvert the superhero trope; it eviscerated it. It posed a simple, terrifying question: What if superheroes were narcissistic, reckless, and beholden to a massive, soulless corporation?

Complete with a cockney accent (that fans either love or hate), Urban’s Butcher is a physical wreck with a tactical genius. He is motivated solely by revenge for his wife. He is manipulative, violent, and unlikable in the best way possible—you root for him despite knowing he is a terrible person.

Gritty vigilantes using street-level tactics and blackmail to take down Vought. Homelander

Season 1 masterfully peels back the layers of Vought’s elite team. We see the world through the eyes of Annie January, known as Starlight, a hopeful hero who wins a spot in The Seven only to find it filled with sexual assault, narcissism, and moral bankruptcy.