In a world where superheroes have become amoral celebrities that often embrace their darker sides to engage in destructive and selfish behavior, who can you turn to for help? The Boys of course! This CIA squad of vigilantes set out to keep these superheroes in check, using nothing more than blue collar grit and a willingness to remove these heroes permanently – if need be. 

Created by writer Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson the first Boys team made their debut appearance in The Boys #1 in 2006. This series, originally published by Wildstorm before moving to Dynamite Entertainment, ran for a total of 72 issues. The CIA black ops team was initially formed by Colonel Greg Mallory as a way to police, manage, and occasionally liquidate superheroes. Along with protecting normal humans from the actions of such selfish heroes. The team is made up of Billy Butcher, an Englishman whose wife was raped and murdered by a so-called superhero; Wee Hughie, a Scotsmen whose girlfriend was also killed by a superhero; Mother’s Milk an imposing African American man whose mother is turned into an enormous blob after exposure to the superhero chemical, Compound V; Female, a Japanese young woman raised as a research subject; as well as the Frenchman who is addicted to violence. 

Although the team was originally conceived to manage and contain superheroes that had gone awry, Butcher’s violent tendencies caused the team’s focus to one of direct confrontation. Between 1987 to 1995, 14 people were killed by the Boys, with “nearly three times that number” killed between 1995 and 2002. After a disastrous confrontation, that resulted in many civilian casualties, the first iteration of the Boys were decommissioned. Soon after the 2004 Presidential election, the unit was reformed and have carried on where they left off. All members have now been injected with Compound V, earning them enhanced strength and durability. In most cases, the Boys avoid killing if it will complicate matters.  

While this series ended in 2012, did you know the Boys are preparing to take the leap from page to screen? Amazon recently announced plans to co-produce an adaptation of The Boys alongside Sony Pictures Television Studios. Created and written by showrunner Eric Kripke (Supernatural), and directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, the series will be executive produced by Kripke, Goldberg, Rogen, Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz (Prison Break), Ori Marmur (Preacher), and Pavun Shetty (New Girl), as well as Point Grey Pictures’ James Weaver. 

So far, Jack Quaid (Hunger Games), Erin Moriarty (Jessica Jones), Antony Starr (American Gothic), Dominique McElligott (The Last Tycoon), Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl), Jessie T. Usher (Survivor’s Remorse), and Nathan Mitchell (iZombie) have joined the cast for the upcoming adaptation. 

The Boys will premiere on Amazon in 2019 with an eight-episode first season.