While seeing a character get brutally offed in the world of "The Boys" isn't anything new, having it be an up-and-comer who is touted as Homelander 2.0 establishes just what kind of show we as an audience are walking into. "The Boys" has always been about a ragtag team rebelling against a supercharged system, whereas "Gen V" feels very much like a whydunit conspiracy theory tale set to unfurl. What makes it an even more compelling watch is that, with its top heroic contender already gone, anyone else could suffer a similar fate, no matter where they are in the school rankings.
One cue that "Gen V" seems to be taking from "The Boys" is to root for the underdog, powers or not. So far on the series, that's the Blood Queen herself, Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), who is quite literally taking over the school. But getting all this attention overnight could put her in even greater danger and just like so many others in this world of costumes and corruption, send her down a path that isn't that heroic after all. You know what they say: You either die a hero, or you live long enough to graduate as a villain.
