Nothing and no one is safe from satirization on The Boys, but especially superheroes. Like, the whole point of the series is to make fun of superheroes. If that sounds incredibly obvious to have to spell out, well, some sensitive stans may need the reminder.
The effects of blindly devoted, toxic fandom is exactly something in The Boys’ purview, but for real-life blindly devoted toxic fans, the point seems to have sailed right over their heads. Case in point: Chase Crawford, who plays The Boys’ aquatic hero The Deep, told GQ that certain comic book fans aren’t pleased with the resemblance to another fictional character. He shared, “Occasionally on Instagram I’ll get a, ‘Fuck you, fish guy. You think it’s funny to make fun of Aquaman?’”
Yes, that is precisely (but not exclusively) what The Boys finds funny. In fact, it makes Crawford downright gleeful. When he gets that kind of negative feedback, he said, “I’m like, perfect. That’s exactly what I want.”
If you’re someone who feels protective of your favorite fictional characters (and hey, we’ve all been there), The Boys simply may not be for you. And it’s only going to get worse from here, as the third season will introduce an analog to a much-beloved Marvel hero. Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy is essentially a carbon copy of Captain America. The show even released a parody anti-drug ad that looks a whole lot like Cap’s PSAs from Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Evans probably isn’t as precious about the skewering as some of his stans might be–especially because he and Ackles have history. In the same GQ piece, the Supernatural alum revealed: “I’ve known Chris Evans for a million years, back when he and I were fighting for the same roles.” See, it’s one big, happy, spandex-wearing family amongst stars who’ve played superheroes. No need to slide into anyone’s DMs to defend their honor!