It has taken me way too long to watch Gen V, the spinoff series from The Boys. And if I’m being honest, I probably would have put this off longer if I knew they weren’t going to be a part of the most recent season of The Boys. There’s no real reason, I guess I just hadn’t been feeling like delving back into this world with completely new characters.
But just like The Boys, Gen V was a whole lot of morally questionable fun! We meet a bunch of young supes as they get accepted into God U. There’s Marie, who is able to manipulate blood, Andre, who can manipulate steel, Emma, who can make herself small or super large, Cate, who can control people’s minds by touch, and Jordan, a gender switching super strong and fast supe. There’s also Golden Boy and his brother, Sam, but they are more complexly involved in the whole story this first season.
Of course, just like all supes we’ve met, these ones, too, have some tragic backstories. Marie accidentally killed her parents when she had her first period. That’s when she first learned about her powers and could not control them. That event caused her to lose contact with her sister, so she’s rightfully guarded and keeps people at arms’ distance somewhat aggressively. The chain of events of the series starts off when Golden Boy disintegrates a professor and then explodes himself in the sky. Marie, a freshman, is instantly dubbed a hero, but the higher ups at God U are trying to hide the real reason behind Golden Boys’ antics.
Turns out there’s a secret underground chamber at God U referred to as “the woods” where mentally ill or incredibly dangerous supes are being held captive. One of those people is Sam, who Andre is made aware of just before Golden Boys’ demise. He makes it his mission to help release his best friend’s brother from that prison. Emma helps out in the initial plan and really connects with Sam. Though he suffers from schizophrenia, he really admires and likes Emma. He’s also been held captive from the rest of the world for so long that he seems to be easily swayed, both by external and internal forces.
The ultimate showdown involves a new virus created to kill supes, along with an “us vs. them” mentally that culminates in a brutal showdown. I don’t want to give any of the fun bits away, and the storylines are very complex, so you need to check this one out for yourselves. Especially if you’re invested in The Boys! And yes, there are a ton of really fun cameos, as well. Can’t wait to see what this world has in store!