Prime Video’s 2-Part Superhero Series Is So Good, It Officially Went Beyond the Comics

Published Jul 26, 2026, 3:41 PM EDT Liam Gaughan is a film and TV writer at Collider. He has been writing film reviews and news coverage for ten years. Between relentlessly adding new titles to his watchlist and attending as many screenings as he can, Liam is always watching new movies and television shows. In addition to reviewing, writing, and commentating on both new and old releases, Liam has interviewed talent such as Mark Wahlberg, Jesse Plemons, Sam Mendes, Billy Eichner, Dylan O'Brien, Luke Wilson, and B.J. Novak. Liam aims to get his spec scripts produced and currently writes short films and stage plays. He lives in Allentown, PA. There have been valiant attempts to translate the characters from Marvel and DC comics to the small screen, but Prime Video has found success with telling darker, more intense superhero stories. The Boys is the flagship series that proved that compelling stories could still be told about the way that superheroes are perceived, particularly in an era where those in power are being called out for their misbehavior. The Boys started strong, but struggled to get ahead of the headlines and was ultimately weighed down by its source material; by comparison, Gen V is a superior adaptation because it was able to expand beyond Garth Ennis’ comics. Even though it has just as much body horror and superpowered action as The Boys, Gen V offers a coming-of-age story that also manages to be quite relatable. Although the notion of a superhero school is first introduced in “We Gotta Go Now,” a storyline in The Boys comics, Gen V introduces the campus of Godolkin University School of Crimefighting, in which individuals with powers are allowed to test their abilities and contend for a role within the Seven. Surprisingly, Gen V has a lot to say about the corporatization of education and the ties between major universities and powerful conglomerates; Vought International is a direct sponsor of Godolkin, which means that it has a say in what is taught and how history is written. Gen V released two seasons in between new installments of The Boys, but it feels like a more complete series now that both shows are concluded. ‘Gen V’ Expands the World Beyond ‘The Boys' The most notable idea of The Boys is that superheroes are essentially celebrities who are bought and paid for by corporations with government ties, meaning that their fandoms are being swayed for political causes. Gen V is an appropriate story for the era of superhero dominance because all the characters have some sort of power, meaning that they feel less unique. A common issue among young people is the feeling of hopelessness and inability to change world events, which is a prevailing idea throughout Gen V. There is obviously only a select number of students that can advance to a prominent placement within Vought, and it's made abundantly clear that those who don’t make it are expendable. Even though the violence and gore in Gen V is over-the-top, it’s nonetheless disturbing to see the dangerous circumstances that young people are under. What’s even more disturbing is that they are required to keep attending classes when life-and-death stakes exist, an idea that feels even more relevant for young people who grew up during the pandemic. Gen V strengthens The Boys because it takes place on the edges of the universe and can explore the effects of Vought's propaganda more naturally. Although there are various cameos from members of the Seven, Gen V tells a more focused story that doesn’t have to toggle between the government, the vigilantes, the superheroes, and the public. Godolkin itself is a microcosm of the world in which the characters watch their classmates get unwittingly radicalized and turned into soldiers. While it has a direct tie to The Boys (especially since several Gen V characters show up in the final season), there’s enough context about the worldbuilding that it doesn’t require the viewer to have caught up with both shows. There’s also an element of surprise that makes Gen V more exciting; there was so much speculation about how closely The Boys would follow the comic that the final season had to contend with different expectations, whereas Gen V had the freedom to chart out unwritten territory. ‘Gen V’ Deserved a Season 3 Gen V is not only a stylistic showcase that finds new and inventive ways to express superhero powers, but also features a great collection of performances, with Jaz Sinclair as Marie Moreau being a standout. Marie’s backstory is brutally explained in the pilot episode, signifying how the development of powers is intended to be a metaphor for the process of self-discovery that adolescents go through. While The Boys has some of the most memorable villains in television history, Gen V features an impressive rogue’s gallery that got a major expansion in the second season when Hamish Linklater joined the cast as Doug Brightball, the new dean of Godolkin. It’s terrifying for a villain to be so well-integrated into a position of influence, and Linklater does a great job of finding a balance between being charismatic and creepy. Gen V was sadly cancelled at the end of its second season, but the show offers a complete story that tracks its protagonists throughout their journey into becoming adults and stepping beyond campus life. Although it's interwoven into the ending of The Boys, Gen V is satisfying because it didn't have to fulfill the same plot expectations. There was certainly an opportunity to follow these characters in subsequent adventures beyond Godolkin, but there is something powerful about expressing the uncertainty of fate in such an honest way. Prime Video has multiple spin-offs of The Boys in the works, and there will likely be more stories in this universe told in the next several years. That said, Gen V isn’t just a spin-off, but a new perspective on the material that also feels like a maturation. Gen V Release Date 2023 - 2025-00-00