With the popularity of the genre, more superhero properties are cementing themselves as mainstays on television and streaming services. Amazon Prime Video’s hit show The Boys and its spin-off series Gen V put a shocking, irreverent, and R-rated twist on the genre.
By skewering superhero tropes and depicting a World where super-powered individuals have established themselves as global celebrities and are revered by the public, the series makes a piercing commentary. Willing to fight and take down the Supes is a small group of regular humans driven by rage and personal loss.
The Boys
- Release Date
- July 26, 2019
- Seasons
- 4
- Studio
- Amazon Studios
Gen V, which is set parallel to The Boys’ season three storyline, introduces the audience to a bunch of teenage supes attending Godulkin University, which is also run by the sinister and self-profiting Vought International. Like its predecessor, the series subverts expectations of what it means to come of age in a corrupt world.
In both the shows, there are supes with remarkably strange talents, like having a rat rail or producing acidic vomit. These unusual powers underscore the show’s satire of the superhero lifestyle and how it gets into their heads. Edgy and cynical, The Boys and Gen V offer an intimate look into the world of heroes. And along the way, they shock us with weird and absurd superpowers we never saw coming.
Gen V
- Release Date
- September 29, 2023
- Seasons
- 1
10 Elasticity – Ezekiel (The Boys)
The Mr. Fantastic of Religion
A Christian Supe, Ezekiel was not a member of The Seven, but he had an interesting appearance in the first season of The Boys. He is somewhat of a celebrity, like the rest of the superheroes. As a main organizer of Capes for Christ, he has influence over the public. Ezekiel possesses a seemingly straightforward power of elasticity. He can stretch, twist, and contort his limbs in seemingly impossible ways, taking bizarre shapes to deflect attacks or launch himself as one.
It goes without saying, the character is a parody of superheroes like DC’s’ Plastic Man and Marvel Comics’ Mr. Fantastic. Which is how Ezekiel’s elasticity offers a humorous twist on the classic superhero trope of strength. In the series, during a Christ for Capes meet-and-greet, he acts as a supportive antagonist Hughie is supposed to extort information from.
9 A Rat Tail – Harper (Gen V)
A Useless Superpower
A minor character in The Boys spin-off series, Harper is a student at the prestigious Godolkin University. She was injected with Compound V by her parents shortly after her birth, and the result gave her a useless superpower – a long, prehensile rat tail. A silly little appendage, the tail is not only weird, but it also opens doors for a bunch of visual gags in the series.
For instance, after Andre and Marie are hailed as the university’s strongest heroes, Harper and her friend Justine ask them if they could take a picture. But Marie is mid-conversation, so she walks off and Harper accidentally hits Justine with her tail. In another scene, Justine, who is also a social media influencer, is recording Harper playing with the tail, instructing her to act a certain way.
8 Love Sausage – Unnamed Patient at the Sage Grove Center (The Boys)
Where the Sausage Is Made
In the twisted carnival of gore that is The Boys, there is another character who defies all logic and decency. His name, as given by M.M. in an interesting turn of events, is Love Sausage. And just to be clear, it is not a euphemism for something else. It stands for an enormous retractable sex organ.
There is little information provided about Love Sausage’s origin, except the fact that he is a middle-aged Russian man who was locked up at Sage Grove Center along with many others. Apparently, under Stormfront and Stan Edgar’s supervision, the center was testing Compound V on test subjects in order to stabilize and control its effects.
He is first seen in the Sage Grove Center when Mother’s Milk, Frenchie and Kimiko infiltrate the institution and chaos erupts, leading some patients to escape and others to meet a gruesome death. Later, he appears in an episode titled ‘Herogasm,’ attending the door when M.M and Starlight show up.
7 Laser Baby – Random Baby (The Boys)
Starting Young
After learning the truth about Compound V shipments from Ezekiel, Butcher and M.M find themselves looking for clues at a local hospital when they stumble upon a room where newborn babies are hooked to intravenous lines, with Compound V being injected in their ways. The realization is vital to The Boys’ narrative because it’s when they realize that Supes aren’t born, they’re made.
Butcher, in his typical fashion, thinks the discovery is diabolical. And when they are ambushed by security guards for breaking into the hospital, he picks one of the ordinary looking babies, who unleashes laser beams from its eyes. Watching Butcher borrow the baby’s power is equal parts hilarious and badass. The animated spin-off, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, has an entire episode dedicated to Laser Baby.
6 Acidic Vomit – Test Patient Sage Grove Center (The Boys)
He’s Not Immune to His Own Power
Among the unfortunate test subjects at the Sage Grove Center in The Boys is another weirdly superpowered individual. Unnamed, they were shown to have acidic powers. Meaning they can spit out vomit that looks like something melting, and contains acidic subjects and can immediately injure an opponent upon contact.
Not only is the superpower strange and peculiar, but it also has a drawback. The patient himself is not immune to his own spit. In the same infiltration by Frenchie, M.M, and Kimiko, when the latter is fighting him off, the patient ends up burning parts of his face with his own acid spit.
5 Regrowing Limbs – Gecko (The Boys)
If You’re Into That Sort of Thing…
A minor character in season two of The Boys, Gecko (real name: Matthew Culbert) was friends with Starlight when they were kids. They attended Capes for Christ together and were in a play where Gecko played Jesus and Annie played Mary. In present day, Hughie and Annie are tracking him down when they see him check into a hotel room, lets a man chop his arm off in exchange for money. That’s when Gecko’s Supe power is revealed – regenerating limbs.
While the power itself isn’t all that creative or extraordinary, considering how several other Supes on the show have displayed the same ability, it is Gecko’s idea of turning it into a side hustle that’s disturbing and weird. Regardless, it works in Hughie and Annie’s favor because they use a recording to blackmail Gecko into stealing a sample of Compound V from Vought Tower, where he works in the R&D department.
4 Retractable Claws – Popclaw (The Boys)
Deadly… Wrists?
Popclaw was A-Train’s girlfriend in The Boys and a minor antagonist too. Despite being a former star whose meteoric rise led her to star in a bunch of movies, Popclaw took her fall from grace pretty hard, turned to drugs instead, and was often captured by the paparazzi drunk and partying – a reason A-Train kept her a secret.
Popclaw’s retractable claws allow her to extend claws from each of her wrists and use them as combat. While the unique and stylish ability was what got her attention as a teenager, she does nothing to hone her skills or evolve as a superhero. Which is why, when Butcher and Mother’s Milk break into her home, she can barely fight back.
3 Fish Gills – The Deep (The Boys)
A Weird Vulnerability
When fans first meet The Deep, he is a decent member of The Seven. Less destructive and unhinged than the others. But his true colors are revealed when he manipulates newcomer Starlight. Turns out, Deep is insecure of his position in The Seven and often uses cheap tricks and lies to assert himself.
An Aquaman rip-off, he possesses the qualities of an aquatic being – like he can breathe underwater, communicate with fishes, sharks, dolphins, and has superhuman swimming speed. It is not long before we discover a massive difference between Aquaman and the Deep. The former’s human anatomy is enhanced, while the latter has a set of gills to do it for him. Not only do the gills make him physically vulnerable, but they are also what make him self-conscious.
2 Fecal Manipulation – Sky (The Boys Presents: Diabolical)
This Power Stinks!
In The Boys Presents: Diabolical, an adult animated spin-off of the iconic superhero franchise, we meet a bunch of new characters and get entangled in new conspiracies. One of them is Sky, a little girl who is new in town and an outcast. She is desperate to have friends to hang out with, so she steals a vial of Compound V from a low-level pot dealer.
However, Sky discovers that her powers allow her to control beings made out of her own excrement. With her ability to grant sentience to human waste, she creates a being and calls her Areola, her only true friend. In her debut episode, this unsung janitor of the superhero world confronts the Deep in a fight and makes him retreat. However unhygienic and weird, Sky’s powers are versatile enough.
1 Naked Teleportation – Hughie (The Boys)
Well… This Is Awkward
Throughout his run in The Boys, Hughie had no powers. Reluctant at first, Hughie realized that he wanted to do more and joined Butcher in his rampage to take down The Seven and Vought. It wasn’t until Season three that fans got to see him in a new light, one under the influence of V24 – a variant of Compound V that grants an individual superpowers for 24 hours.
Hughie’s superpowers were enhanced strength, durability, and speed, along with teleportation. But his powers only allowed organic matter to travel across space and time. Meaning, every time Hughie teleported, he left his clothes behind. Additionally, if anyone joined him along for the ride, they would end up naked as well. This led to some awkward situations, but Hughie did not seem to mind.
