The Boys returned for season 4, with bleak situations and Homelander, who has gained more supporters for his murder of an innocent man in broad daylight. However, the show also faces issues with Butcher’s terminal illness and head-exploder Newman’s closer proximity to the White House.
Season 4 of The Boys revolves around the battle for the soul of young Ryan Butcher, who was forced into the arms of Homelander as Butcher was afraid of getting close to him. Ryan, who could have been a normal kid or a powerful weapon against Homelander, now serves as his apprentice.
Homelander is pulling off an All For One in The Boys season 4
Eric Kripke teased last year, that this storyline has become crucial to The Boys, where Homelander realizes he is not immortal and aging. Despite gaining fans through atrocities, he cannot fill the hole in his heart. Ryan lives with him and pretends to like him, but Homelander is obsessed with ensuring his legacy through a replica of himself, extending his personality and will through his son. This storyline has become crucial to the show’s overall narrative.
Watching this feels eerily similar to another hugely popular superhero TV show wherein the protagonist is trying to save the soul of a young man from being slowly taken over by a megalomaniac supervillain, the anime My Hero Academia.
My Hero Academia is set in a world where 80% of the population has superpowers. The biggest villain in Japan is All For One, who can take and redistribute others’ powers. After a battle with All Might, All For One’s body is decimated.
Tomura Shigaraki, a young protegé, helps him beat death. All For One grooms Shigaraki to become his successor, making the anime a must-watch. Except, rather than just raise him to be exactly like him, All For One is more nefarious, and instead transferred his power alongside his will into the body of Shigaraki. He then begins to slowly take over the body of his apprentice, with both of them wrestling for control.
Though All For One hasn’t fully taken control of Shigaraki, the young villain is still struggling with his mentor’s mind and ideas co-existing with his own dreams and personality. Our protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, aims to be the next number one hero, the symbol of peace. But now, in the face of the biggest enemy, in the face of unspeakable evil and horror, all he thinks about is trying to save the soul of Shigaraki and get him away from All For One.
A brief about The Boys Season 4
The Boys season 4 focuses on the battle between Butcher and Homelander over the future and soul of a young kid, who is torn between his desired identity and the person he is being turned into. The main focus is not on defeating The Seven leader.
Homelander may be trying to do a coup on the U.S. government and install himself as a dictator, he may start a civil war if he wants, or he could just obliterate half the population in the blink of an eye if he so desires. At least this season is making it clear that he will die, eventually. Except, what if he does manage to turn Ryan into another Homelander? Then we’re back to square one and the horrors don’t stop.
The Boys, despite their initial reluctance to work with Billy Butcher and Mother’s Milk, have a crucial mission to determine the future of the country and possibly the world. They may finally realize that true heroism is not about killing or defeating villains but saving the innocent.
New episodes of The Boys season 4 drop on Thursdays on Prime Video.
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