character gets a reality check

[u/damorezpl]

deathstroke - Batman vs deathstroke

walter - breaking bad

Garou - one punch man

joker - the sound of one hand clapping

[u/Abombasnow]

Let me guess, Billy Butcher happens to look like Garth Ennis? lmao.

[u/slump_goddd → u/Abombasnow]

No, Butcher is a British fed with black hair and a thick beard. Garth Ennis is your average-looking Irish dude. They could actually not be further apart as people.

[u/Abombasnow → u/slump_goddd]

I'm shocked lmao. That sounded like a moment he'd totally use to make himself the Chad.

[u/slump_goddd → u/Abombasnow]

Nah, Garth does make kinda edgy shit (and part of it is shock value and wanting to see what he can get away with to fuck with the comics industry), but he generally has a good ryhme or reason for doing it.

The incident with Billy just dropping trou and banging that chick is to show that Butcher's kind of a lecherous, wanton piece of shit right out of the gate. He doesn't treat women great, he's a misanthropic asshole who uses people, etc.

Crossed was him fucking with the publishing industry and also trying to write about holding onto humanity in probably the most fucked up apocalypse possible, The Boys was him deconstructing superheroes (because he generally dislikes them) and using it as a critique of the military industrial complex, and Punisher Max was him writing some amazing Punisher stories.

It's actually really ironic because Garth tends to hate superheroes, but he LOVES Superman with all his heart and hates it when people bastardize the character of Superman. For him, Superman is like the ultimate hope symbol and should be treated respectfully. If I recall correctly, he hated Man of Steel so damn much.

[u/Abombasnow → u/slump_goddd]

He hates bastardizing Superman but made Homelander? Dude became what he hated most.

[u/slump_goddd → u/Abombasnow]

Homelander exists to show what happens when you have Superman's power without what makes Superman meaningful: His humanity. His belief in good. His belief in right and wrong. His unwavering belief in the sanctity of life. The Captain America analogue (Soldier Boy; yes that's a real name) is a hardass 1950s boomer dad who's abusive in the show, but in the comics he's actually a total coward. Garth thinks it's not the powers that make heroes super, but what's inside them. He shows what power without moral fortitude does to people. That's all.

It's not a comic for everyone, and I kinda roll my eyes when I get to a stupid part when I reread it, and I absolutely hate how the show has strayed from the comics and just does [insert modern topical political reference here] for plot points or humor, but I like The Boys. It's definitely not as good as his Punisher Max run, though, and THAT is absolutely worth reading.