‘Gen V’ proves that spinoff shows to large superhero franchises can work.
It’s been two years now since the announcement that Prime Video’s massively popular The Boys series would be expanding into spinoff territory. Gen V, a series set in the same world as Vought, focuses on a group of university students who compete against each other to become members of the Homelander-led team, The Seven.
At the very least, these students can still come out of the university with opportunities that still set them to enter the industry better known as show business. Supernatural creator Eric Kripke returns to lead Gen V, after running the last three seasons of The Boys, and it’s proven in the first episode of this new spinoff alone that he still has plenty of ideas up his sleeve… a lot of ideas, and some of them are gross… but amazing.
Potential But Minor Spoiler Warning
Gen V starts on a typical Kripke-style note as the lead character Marie Moreau, played by Jaeda LeBlanc during the opening of the first episode and then by Jaz Sinclair later on, accidentally kills both of her parents whilst discovering she has superhuman abilities. The way Marie kills her parents is probably one of the most original creations to ever come out of a superhero origin story, it’s also enough to make a weak-stomached viewer run to the toilet, but it’s perfect.
Although most of the characters in this spinoff don’t originally hail from the comics, it’s clear that a lot of thought went into each new addition to this universe, especially with the main university students that the series revolves around. Similar to how this franchise’s superpowered characters often parody other comic characters such as from Marvel and DC, their powers also represent their own personalities and struggles, something that this spinoff really hones in on.
The plot of the series is as interesting as ever, something that shouldn’t come as any surprise to fans of Kripke’s work, a man who is famous for running one of the longest and most successful TV shows in history, the aforementioned Supernatural that stars fellow Gen V stars Jensen Ackles, Alexander Calvert, Maddie Phillips, among others. That’s right, just in case you didn’t hear, Soldier Boy has a small scene in Gen V (spoiler: but it isn’t in the first three episodes).
It’s fair to say that spinoffs to huge franchises such as The Boys could simply “cop out” and use constant references, cameos, and more from its predecessor to gain a small win from its audience. Although this spinoff features all of those things, it also stands on its own legs just fine and doesn’t rely on anything other than its own amazing storyline and performances to bring a fantastic addition to this universe.
Jaz Sinclair, London Thor, Derek Luh, and Lizze Broadway shine brightest in this series – alongside fellow stars Patrick Schwarzenegger, Maddie Phillips, and Chance Perdomo, among others who help bring this new spinoff to life.
Final Thoughts
Although some spinoffs sail in the opposite direction of their predecessors, Gen V stays true to The Boys but is also extremely connected to its universe with its characters and plot all being directly tied to the events of the overall franchise. Each episode leaves you wanting more, but if you don’t have the power of time travel, then you will have to wait weekly for each episode to drop on Prime Video.
Gen V pulls out all the stops and doesn’t hold back in terms of what makes this franchise loved by millions worldwide, the gore is at an all-time high and it features some of the best characters seen yet in this universe.
It wouldn’t be a lie to say that Gen V is the best TV show of 2023 so far, it has a little something for everyone to take from, tackles subject matter in ways that were clearly thought out properly, and executes every scene perfectly with its brilliant performances, editing, direction, and meta-commentary. What Gen V proves most is that spinoff shows to superhero franchises can be done, as long as they are done right.
