While we eagerly awaitSeason 4 ofThe Boys, the folks at Vought, er, Amazon, have blessed us withthe series’first spin-off:Gen V.Gen Vis set atGodolkin University, the feeder school for Vought where only the best of the best Supes can make it onto The Seven. What makesGen Vso intriguing is that it gives us a fresh perspective. We’ve seen the world through the lens of the likes of Homelander (Antony Starr) and Vought, and we’re very familiar with the way The Boys like Hughie (Jack Quaid) and Butcher (Karl Urban) see the world, but never have we seen it from this level.These Supe-students are unaware of Vought’s lack of morals and hold The Seven in high esteemlike any other non-Supe civilian. But they all have the potential to join The Seven and have powers of their own, which separates them from the rest of The Seven’s doting fans.
And with a fresh perspective comes new eyes. We areintroduced to new charactersinThe Boysuniverse, college students all vying to maintain their prestigious high ranking at Godolkin. Our protagonist, Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) soon finds herself at the top of Godolkin’s ranking, making history as the first freshman to do so. Marie possesses the ability of blood manipulation, and while she may seem like a new character,it isn’t the first time she’s appeared inThe Boysuniverse.
From the world of “The Boys” comes “Gen V,” which explores the first generation of superheroes to know that their super powers are from Compound V. These heroes put their physical and moral boundaries to the test competing for the school’s top ranking.
Marie Moreau First Appeared in ‘The Boys’ Season 3
In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment back inThe BoysSeason 3, Episode 2, “The Only Man in the Sky,” Hughie visits the Red River Institute to investigate Nadia Edgar’s (Claudia Doumit) past before she made her way to Congress and rebranded herself as Victoria Neuman. While Hughie is scrolling through a database of all the Institute’s residents,it is clear that one of the orphans listed is none other than one Marie M.At this point inThe BoysUniverse, Marie would still be a minor, 17 years old as stated by the database, and therefore still housed by the Red River Institute (something we get flashbacks to inGen V).But as we come to learn about Marie, there is nothing she wants more than to attend Godolkin University and make her way to The Seven. In her mind, it would be the very least she could do to make up for the tragic death of her parents, which happened at her own hands in a freak accident when her powers first manifested.
Like many of the characters onThe Boysand nowGen V,it’s tragic to think that Marie’s well-intentioned aspirations — similar toStarlight (Erin Moriarty)— are all a falsity and thatreaching The Seven won’t be the solution she’s spent the last several years of her life promising herself it would be. But unlike Starlight, considering the mystery Marie is caught up in at Godolkin, she’ll likely discover the sinister intentions of Vought before she gets close to joining The Seven.
Homelander Is Up to Something Menacing in New ‘The Boys’ Season 4 Image
Anthony Starr returns as the powerful villain in the Prime Video drama.
‘The Boys’ Universe Understands How to Execute a Spin-Off
In a world where every IP is connected and each film or TV series leads to the next, there is a lot hanging on the continuity. If Marvel plants a reference in Movie “X,” they have to make sure to follow through with it on TV Show “Y.” While this works most of the time, with different creatives on every series, it’s not always a perfect system and can lead to some confusing follow-ups.ThoughThe Boysis a considerably smaller universe than the decade-spanning MCU, it is already proving tounderstand the ropes,as Marie’s cameo inThe Boysproves. When “The Only Man in the Sky” dropped on Prime Video, Gen V hadn’t even been announced to the public and yet,showrunnerEric Kripkealready had Sinclair inserted intoThe Boysas Marie, primed and ready to go for her own spin-off even though we wouldn’t be able to recognize the Easter egg until now. It is that subtle level of detail that makes this world-building so special.
The Boyshas also done some prep work by preparing us for some of the zanier and downright unexpected moments inGen Vthat could arguably rival the scenes of its predecessor. Introducing us to a size-shifting character like Termite (Brett Geddes) inThe BoysSeason 3 andshowing us just what Ant-Man could do if he was raunchy enough was pretty much just a warm-up for Marie Moreau’s roommate and one ofGen V’s best characters, Emma(Lizze Broadway), who is also able to shift her size. While we’ve seen people use Emma to fulfill their sexual fantasies (as Termite does duringthatmoment inThe Boys), we have also seen what size powers can truly allow for whenleaning into the R-rated aspect, like crawling straight through a dude’s brain — using the ears as doors — making for one of the most brutal deaths across both shows.
With anotherlooming threatfrom the endlessly sinister Vought and great new complex characters like Marie,Gen Vis a major success. It proves thatnot all spin-offs are low-effort cash grabs to expand on IP and demonstrates just how much the creatives like Kripke care aboutThe Boysuniverse, as we’ve seen with their meticulously crafted Easter eggs. With four episodes left, who knows what other hidden connections toThe Boysare waiting to be found?
Gen Vis available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.
Watch on Prime Video
