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Above all else, The Boys was notorious for its graphic and violent content. Across 5 seasons, Amazon Prime delivered one of the most shocking TV shows ever put to screen, with many moments making even gritty, visceral series such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Hannibal seem tame by comparison.
Few characters embodied that chaotic spirit more than Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). Introduced in The Boys season 3, America’s first official Supe instantly became a fan favorite thanks to Ackles' magnetic performance and the character's complete embrace of excess. Unlike Homelander (Antony Starr), whose cruelty often served an agenda, Soldier Boy seemed to indulge in superpowered hedonism and sadism simply because he enjoyed it. He viewed his immense power as a license to indulge every selfish impulse imaginable, and viewers couldn’t get enough.
As dark as The Boys became, however, Jensen Ackles' next superhero outing, Vought Rising, may go even further. Set in the 1950s, Vought Rising is a The Boys prequel that will explore the early days of Vought and the formative years of Soldier Boy and Stormfront (Aya Cash). By taking audiences back to a much less regulated and far more dangerous era of Vought’s history, the new series has the potential to make even The Boys' most disturbing moments feel like easy viewing.
Vought Rising Will Let Soldier Boy Off His Chain
The history of Soldier Boy was framed as semi-legendary in the world of The Boys. Through flashbacks and conversations with heroes from previous generations, it was made clear that the exploits of Vought's earliest Supes were far darker than anything in the modern era. The present-day version of Soldier Boy may have been ultraviolent and deeply unpleasant, but there is also a sense that age and experience have made him more controlled than he once was.
Featuring the younger Soldier Boy immediately gives Vought Rising the potential to kick the violence and brutality of the franchise up a notch. The Boys repeatedly hinted that younger versions of Vought's heroes operated with almost complete impunity. In the present day, where smartphones and online outrage are the norm, Vought goes to extraordinary lengths to protect its heroes from scandal. In the 1950s, however, those concerns were far less important. If heroes like The Deep and Homelander represent Supes being kept on a leash by Vought, the unrestrained heroes like young Soldier Boy are bound to be much worse.
Interestingly, Jensen Ackles has revealed that Soldier Boy will start Vought Rising as being vulnerable and far more idealistic than his modern counterpart (via Yahoo). This creates an interesting possibility. Rather than presenting Soldier Boy as a fully formed sociopath from the outset, Vought Rising appears to be charting his gradual moral collapse. Watching that downfall unfold could prove even darker than anything The Boys attempted. Seeing violence is one thing, but watching a fundamentally decent person willingly descend into hedonism and cruelty is something else entirely.
Soldier Boy Isn't The Only Reason Vought Rising Will Be Brutal Than The Boys
As exciting as it is to see a younger and more unpredictable Soldier Boy, he is not the only reason Vought Rising could eclipse The Boys in terms of darkness. The show's 1950’s setting comes with the potential for higher levels of brutality. The post-war era was already a dangerous and uncertain time, and introducing superpowered individuals into that world creates the perfect conditions for an especially violent story.
Modern Supes in The Boys are constantly aware of public perception. Even Homelander frequently adjusts his behavior based on public opinion and Vought's carefully managed image. The heroes of the 1950s had no such concerns. Without social media or a relentless news cycle, there were far fewer consequences for terrible behavior. The same applies to Vought itself. In The Boys, Vought is a PR-obsessed entertainment empire. The early incarnation of the company, on the other hand, was a research and defense contractor, with little reason to worry about maintaining a spotless public image.
That shift in the status quo of the setting opens the door for Vought Rising to become considerably darker than anything in The Boys. Supes operating with virtually no oversight is a terrifying concept, especially when the series has already established that many of Vought's earliest heroes were deeply psychologically flawed.
Since Soldier Boy was also not the first Supe (just the first government-sanctioned one), Vought Rising has an opportunity to introduce the heroes who shaped his worldview and taught him what it meant to wield extraordinary power. If they were even more morally bankrupt than Soldier Boy himself, Vought Rising could reveal that the darkness at the heart of Vought and Supe society in the time of The Boys is actually an improvement on what came before.
