So, If Asked Which Superhero Show Is The Best...

...my answer will probably surprise you.

Arrow?  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?  The Tick?  Wynonna Earp?

None of the above.

Like Arrow, it is based on a comic that comes from the DC Comics house, albeit from the sub imprint Wildstorm Comics.

Like Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. it focusses on a team of non-powered folks living in a world populated by gods who throw lightning, punch through walls and fly under their own power.

Like The Tick, it is produced by Amazon for their Prime Video service.

And like Wynonna Earp it is far more foul mouthed and against the superhero grain than you can imagine.

And it's probably less than 50/50 that you've ever heard of it.

If we're talking about live action (Young Justice is still the top animated show out there) superhero shows, hands down it's The Boys and if you value my opinion on these matters at all and have even a passing interest in superhero cinema, before you've finished reading this post you'll be multitasking a way to watch the 8 episodes of season 1 tonight.

Seriously.  Figure it out.  You won't be sorry.

The premise is simple.  The world is full of superheroes.  In a moment of horror, the main character, Huey, has the veil torn away and learns that the "supes" aren't as altruistic and lawfully good as they are portrayed.  Within a couple of acts he's hooked in with a small ragtag group of misfits led by Karl Urban's Butcher, all hell bent on exposing the "supes" for the asshole corporate shills they actually are.  What starts as Huey's tentative quest for revenge eventually starts to unravel a conspiracy that will shake this reality's foundations.  If the supes don't kill The Boys first... 

The Boys is a superhero show, it's a Davids and Goliaths story, it's a corporate/government/religious conspiracy show, it's a deconstruction of all of those and so much more.  Comic book tropes like heroes lifting 747s with their hands, firing high powered lasers from their eyes without collateral damage and many more get shredded.  There's even a love story that gets just as screwed up as one might reasonably expect under the circumstances.  And humour.  Lots of very, very funny shit happens along the way, most of which comes at the expense of superhero cliché.  It's been tried many times before but The Boys takes it to anther level.

To tell you much more would spoil the most impressive portrait of absolute power corrupting absolutely I've ever seen married to a great unlikely spy story.  It's gritty on the one hand, all corporate spit and polish on the other and spins beloved superheroes to bullies, hypocrites, rapists and murderers.  It is both shocking and glorious. 

The true "heroes" of the show are less than perfect and all their rough edges are fully exposed.  Huey suffers from PTSD, Butcher is a rage monster, Frenchie is a murdering idealist and MM is... actually, he's pretty cool.  They're very real, very raw and their pain and damage is on full display. 

I really want to avoid spoiling this for you.  Find the time, find a way, find The Boys.  You will thank me.

Oh and there's at least a season 2 on the horizon.  It's filming right now.  I can only hope The Boys can buck the current trend of lesser known superhero shows dying before they really get up to speed.