Top 20 Times The Boys Parodied Pop Culture
#20: Voughtland
As soon as Kimiko and Frenchie walked into Vought’s sponsored amusement park, it was clear that it was meant to be a parody of Disneyland. The bright colors, smiling mascots, and castle are all great riffs on the real tourist attraction. Additionally, Frenchie points out the ridiculous ride wait times. But this sequence doesn’t just make fun of the park. The attractions dedicated to the Black hero A-Train and bisexual character Maeve are so over-the-top they come off as tone deaf. Nearly every frame of the Voughtland sequence takes at least one shot at an aspect of pop culture. And the way Frenchie calls attention to the unhealthy food at American theme parks was just icing on the cake of this delicious parody.
#19: A Brutal Old School Cartoon
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Serving as the opening for the spinoff series “The Boys: Diabolical, “Laser Baby’s Day Out” satirizes two major properties for the price of one. First, the animation style and lack of dialogue serve as great callbacks to older animated shorts. “Diabolical’s” episode copies the innocent aesthetic of classic cartoons and adds a ton of realistic violence. The plot of an infant crawling around the city and avoiding various dangers is also a direct parody of 1994 “Baby’s Day Out”. While the 90s movie has an abysmal 19% Rotten Tomatoes score, the Diabolical episode was well received for its animation quality, sense of humor, and genuinely heartwarming ending.
#18: Red Thunder’s Propaganda
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In a scene from the “Red Thunder” movie, Soldier Boy resists a Communist villain with a tough attitude and cheesy dialogue. The over-top-nature is a hilarious send up of propaganda heavy American 80s films. Outside of calling out a movie genre, the “Red Thunder” clip features a content warning right at the beginning. This message imitates the disclaimers added to older movies released on streaming that want to address problematic content. But unlike real life, “The Boys” doubles down on the outdated messages and just disowns Soldier Boy. It’s an incredibly clever dig on how movie companies can’t always address every issue. When all that commentary was combined with a brilliant performance with Jensen Ackles, we got a fantastic spoof.
#17: A Satire of Black Panther & Storm
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Nubian Prince was living happily as a hero with super strength who also pretended to be an African royal for media attention. His life changed when he met Nubia, a heroine who could wield electricity and had limited weather control. After the two fell for each other, they became…a very dysfunctional couple. This not-so-dyanmic duo was definitely made to poke fun at Black Panther and Storm. Not only do both couples have similar powersets, but the Marvel lovebirds had a few relationship problems. Black Panther and Storm officially broke off their marriage in the 2010s. That particular detail is likely why the Nubian family episode ended with the two being handed divorce papers.
#16: Turning A Parody Up to Eleven
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If we said that we were thinking of a fictional girl with psychic powers, a shaved head, and a scary stare, who would you think we’re talking about? For anyone who said Eleven from “Stranger Things”, sorry, but you don’t get the prize today. We were actually talking about Cindy from “The Boys”. While the main heroes are infiltrating a facility full of supes, they accidentally let this young woman loose. Cindy has powerful telekinetic abilities that she isn’t afraid to use in brutal ways against anyone she sees as an enemy. And just one of her grim looks can send fully grown adults running. Hopefully, she can put her murderous tendencies aside and mellow out like the waffle-loving Eleven did.
#15: When Kimiko Got Rhythm
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While Kimiko is in the hospital recovering from a mission gone south, she and Frenchie watch the movie “Girl Crazy”. The film inspires a daydream where the duo sing “I Got Rhythm” in front of dancing doctors and patients. Throughout the song, the cast turned standard medical items into hilarious props. It’s made even more impressive by the fact that Karen Fukuhara, who plays Kimiko, provided vocals for this track. The world of “The Boys” doesn’t always look so bright and happy. But no matter what happens next for Kimiko, this funny musical number will always put a smile on our faces.
#14: Twisted X-Men
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Marvel’s Professor Xavier became famous for leading a school where gifted and often outcast youngsters could hone their powers and become heroes. “The Boys: Diabolical” naturally flipped that concept on its head. In one episode, we learn that a group of kids with bad powers were left at a “school for the gifted child”. The young people lived rough lives until they discovered they were forced to get their horrible abilities against their will. This shocking revelation led them to get revenge against their parents.While most of the episode is funny, the show never loses sight of how tragic the lives of the young people are. Although it’s an X-men parody, this “Diabolical” story honestly wouldn’t feel out of place in a Marvel Comic.
#13: Vought Plus
Since it seems like every channel has a streaming service these days, it was only fair that “The Boys” got in on the action. Their Vought plus network promises to give fans a combination of news, sports coverage, entertainment news and so much more. The fake streaming service commercial also pays homage to a few of the characters that died during the course of the show. This advertisement is done so well that someone unfamiliar with “The Boys” could mistake it for a real streaming service. Unfortunately, the commercial didn’t tell us how to access this new world of content. But if it ever becomes available, be ready for a supe to come after you if you dare to share your password.
#12: Social Media Obsession
The diabolical “Boyd in 3D” episode completely called out society’s relationship with online appearances. After an average joe becomes disillusioned with his life, he takes an experimental super cream to become handsome and jacked. After this new version of Boyd gains the confidence to date his neighbor, he starts posting every detail of their relationship online. The two become a huge sensation after both of them start taking the cream. Before long, they became so obsessed with looking good on social media that every other aspect of their life implodes. Despite taking place in a fictional world, this hard hitting parody feels uncomfortably close to life.
#11: Seven On 7 News
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News personality Cameron Coleman is always down to defend the bad behavior of Vought and its twisted supes. That fact alone makes him a great counterpart of the Spider-man hating journalist J Jonah Jameson. Beyond that comparison, Coleman parodies a wide range of subjects on his Seven on & 7 news show. One short sees the fictional newsman imitate Bill O Reilly by having a behind the scenes meltdown. Coleman’s news program also promotes parodies of real programs. At certain points, he even has to stop to advertise products or companies. If you want a humorous riff on news shows, Colman’s got you covered.
#10: American Hero
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In the universe of “The Boys”, Vought decides the best way to get new members for the Seven is by searching for them with a competition show. The reality tv program “American Hero” becomes both a pivotal part of the plot and a great parody all in one. This supe show uses the same dramatic camera angles and mansions audiences are likely to see on staples like “the Bachelor.” When the participants aren’t on camera, they acknowledge how fake some aspects of their reality show really are. And the finale of the program features shocking last minute twists that were actually heavily planned. “American Hero” perfectly skewers the imagery and production secrets people expect from reality tv.
#9: A-Train Gets Blindsided
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Near the end of season 3, A-Train learns he’ll be getting a film that will tell an over-dramatized and not entirely true version of his life story. The fact that his story centers on an inspiring White person helping a young African-American athlete is a direct shot at the real plot of “The Blind Side”. What makes this reference more clever is what happened behind the scenes of the actual film. Although “The Blind Side” was sold as a close adaptation of Michael Oher’s life, the actual athlete said certain aspects of the film were heavily exaggerated. It seems like both the real and fake versions of Hollywood aren’t afraid to mess around with a biopic’s truth.
#8: Chimps Don’t Cry
Former heroine Crimson Countess was more concerned about the welfare of chimps than the lives of human beings during her time on the show. In an attempt to raise awareness for the primates, she releases the song “Chimps Don’t Cry”. The show’s glimpse at an accompanying video shows images of sad animals throughout. But the full version’s over-the-top visuals and lack of subtlety in the lyrics make it impossible to take it seriously. Ultimately, it’s a near perfect recreation of the long-running animal rights ads that feature singer Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel”. Although the real commercials are often made fun of for being too sad, they have actually helped raise millions of dollars. We hope Crimson Countess did the same with this hilariously dramatic video.
#7: The Mesmerizer
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The concept of a mind-reading kid solving crimes actually sounds like a great premise for a show. When this idea was brought to life on “The Boys”, the creators couldn’t resist poking fun at classic programs too. The blue and red font used for “The Mesmerizer” title mimics graphics used for shows in the “Law and Order” franchise. Additionally, the young lead character Mesmer plays is named Lt. Howser. That means he shares a last name with a teenage prodigy from a classic medical drama. As icing on the cake, both “Doogie Howser” and Mesmer are played by actors who were huge child stars. The amount of surface level and meta jokes underneath the Mesmerizer turned it into a brilliant and layered satire.
#6: The Deep’s Lifetime Movie
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After The Deep publicly breaks ties with a shady organization, his story is brought to life with the hilariously over-the-top “Not Without My Dolphin” movie. The end result looks like a parody of a film you’d find on the Lifetime network. Over the years, this channel has been known for turning recent headlines into extremely dramatic movies. The Deep’s trailer tries to mimic the quick editing and dramatic text seen in Lifetime trailers. And since the real network is geared towards women, the “Not Without My Dolphin” goes overboard to appeal to the same demographic. But given “The Deep’s” shady past with his female fans, we think we’ll skip his made-for-tv movie.
#5: A Graphic Recreation of an “Ant-Man” Theory
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Before “Avengers: Endgame” was released in theaters, fans came up with a gross idea for how Ant-Man could defeat the big bad Thanos. Let’s just say it involved the shrinking hero using his powers to get…up close and personal with a certain part of the Mad titan. Although this widespread fan theory never came true, “The Boys” wasn’t afraid to go there. The show introduced a hero named Termite who once freely used his shrinking abilities for very adult acts. But he gets in major trouble after he accidentally causes someone’s death when he goes from small to big too soon. After seeing the gory results we can’t show a frame of here, we’re glad Ant-Man never got that close to Thanos.
#4: Vought Imagines a Great Parody
When Soldier Boy’s explosion makes both famous people and citizens uneasy, The Deep swims in with a YouTube video. He tries to reassure everyone by singing a cover of Imagine with a bunch of celebrity friends. The vertical video format and cameos made it a biting send-up of Gal Gadot’s “Imagine video. Although she and her fellow celebs had good intentions when they released it in the turbulent 2020, it was heavily criticized. Many people didn’t buy that celebrities with huge fortunes and homes could really relate to the struggles the average person was having. Even Gal Gadot herself later said the video was “in poor taste.”. Ironically, The Deep’s incredible parody may have actually been better received than the original “Imagine” project.
#3: The Girls Get It Done Campaign
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A scene where many of Marvel’s major heroines teamed up in “Endgame” divided viewers. While some saw it as an epic scene, others thought the moment and dialogue felt a little forced. The writers for “The Boys” let everyone know they had a negative view of the scene by satirizing the “Endgame” moment almost word for word. But the show didn’t stop there. When the extremely dangerous Stormfront attacks innocents, Starlight, Maeve and Kimiko team up to stop her. Since all three heroines had their own legitimate issues with the big bad, their alliance felt organic and earned. It’s amazing that the writers managed to make fun of a Marvel scene before playing it straight.
#2: A-Train’s Soft Drink Ad
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Pepsi found itself in the middle of a PR disaster after releasing an infamous ad with Kendall Jenner. During the commercial, she stops modeling to join in on a random protest that stops short of a bunch of riot police. Jenner decides to break the tension between officers and the crowd with a can of Pepsi. Years after this ad was pulled because of a ton of negative backlash, “The Boys” took the commercial concept and ran with it. A-Train stands in for Jenner as he attends a protest and brokers peace with his branded drink. It’s remarkable that the show hardly had to change a single scene for this parody to be just as ridiculous as the original ad.
#1: Dawn of the Seven
Throughout season 2, members of the Seven make time to shoot a big superhero team-up movie. While the title’s a direct shot at the name of a certain 2016 DC movie, the ruined city set and dialogue seem to satirize the plot of 2012’s “Avengers”. The “Dawn of the Seven” also took aim at the popular #ReleasetheSnydercut campaign in season 3. In both the real world and fictional universe of “The Boys”, social media helped get troubled superhero movies released. Additionally, “Dawn of the Seven” accidentally parodied “Dr. Strange 2” by also having a surprise cameo from Charlize Theron. The fictional movie’s timely satire and longtime presence in the plot made it one of the show’s best pop culture parodies.
