Summary
Vought Risingmarks another entry in the growing universe ofThe Boys, but two key aspects of the main show andGen Vwill be absent from the new prequel. One of thebiggestThe Boysreveals at SDCC 2024,Vought Risingwill be set during the 1950s and represents the fourth officialThe BoysspinoffafterThe Boys Presents: Diabolical,Gen V, andThe Boys: Mexico. While story details are minimal at the time of writing, Jensen Ackles and Aya Cash will reprise their roles as Soldier Boy and Stormfront, respectively.
As the franchise grows,The Boysbegins to resemble the very thing it mocks - a sprawling superhero universe churning out sequels upon spinoffs upon prequels. In order to avoid appearing hypocritical - if that ship hasn’t sailed already -Vought Risingmust justify its place within Amazon’s pantheon ofThe Boyscontent. Fortunately, two elements ofVought Rising’s core premise are already proving how the new spinoff will stand apart fromThe BoysandGen V.
Is The Boys' New Vought Prequel Based On The Comics?
The Boys' upcoming prequel show will show the earliest stages yet of Vought International’s history, but may not be as faithful to the comics.
Vought Won’t Be A Major International Company In The Vought Rising Spinoff
This Will Be A Very Different Kind Of Vought
An ever-present keystone in the premise ofThe Boys, and alsoGen V, is the omnipotence of Vought. Whether it be money, political influence, or public opinion, Vought exists as an all-powerful entity during the franchise’s present-day, riding out lawsuits and controversies with shocking ease.By the timeThe Boysseason 1 begins, Vought is firmly established as a global superpower, and through the efforts of Homelander and others, continues consolidating that position until Homelander becomes the de facto President of the United States duringThe Boysseason 4’s ending.
Whereas the present-day company eats scandal for breakfast inThe Boys, Vought will be earning its status inVought Rising.
WithVought Risingset during the 1950s, audiences can expect to see a more fragile, cautious Vought - a far cry from the global superpower that dominatesThe BoysandGen V. Vought American will still be somewhat powerful inVought Rising, of course - the fledgling company controls Compound V and has the means to create super-soldiers, after all. According toThe Boys' timeline, however,Vought will be around a decade old during the prequel, if not younger, so won’t have the same level of supe firepower, political connections, resources, global presence, or reputation.
Whereas the present-day company eats scandal for breakfast inThe Boys, Vought will be earning its status inVought Rising, trying to avoid rousing suspicion and controversy. Vought won’t have the ability to instantly quash negative press or cover up supes misbehaving, and the American public won’t have been indoctrinated into worshiping Vought by 70 years of PR campaigns and advertising. The notion seems ridiculous when looking atThe Boys, but Vought might actually be something of an underdog inVought Rising.
Vought Rising Won’t Have Social Media & Other Modern Elements From The Boys
The Power Of Social Media Won’t Exist
The BoysandGen Vare both written for the social media generation. Events that occur in both shows rapidly spread across the franchise’s fictional population, whether it be Starlight quitting the Seven in protest, Homelander lasering an innocent man, orthe Boys exposing the truth about Compound V. InVought Rising, media will be limited to newspapers, rudimentary broadcasts, and landline phone calls, and this one change completely upends the entire landscape of the story.
Vought Risingtakes place in an era where racial discrimination was far more rampant.
From Vought’s perspective, supes will have more leeway to commit crimes and act recklessly without the constant gaggle of smartphone cameras that follow their counterparts inThe BoysandGen V. Since the franchise began, Homelander has been compromised by incriminating videos, protest hashtags, and live TV, butVought Risingwill explore the depraved crimes supes commit when instant worldwide communication isn’t possible.
The Boys' Vought Prequel: 10 Things I Want To Happen In The New Spinoff
With Soldier Boy and Stormfront returning in a prequel series set in the 1950s, there are many possibilities for The Boys' newest spinoff.
In more bad news for ordinary people inThe Boys' 1950s timeline,Vought Rising’s low-tech premise will also prevent characters from using cellphones to call for help. There will be fewer weapons that can actually harm supes, and the good guys will need to work harder to dig up dirt on their super-powered enemies.Vought Risingwill expose just how heavily Butcher’s crew relies on modern technology- and how much harder the job would be without those conveniences.
Beyond technology, cultural differences also makeVought Risinginherently different.The BoysandGen Vboth feature discrimination as a prominent theme, and racism in particular sits at the story’s heart, whether via Stormfront’s ideology or Vought’s insulting attitude toward Black communities. That all sits against the backdrop of a modern world where racism is, broadly speaking, not socially acceptable, butVought Risingtakes place in an era where racial discrimination was far more rampant. Rather than the sly brand of prejudice Vought peddles inThe BoysandGen V, injustice will be far more overt and unapologetic inVought Rising.
The Problem With Vought Rising’s Prequel Premise
The Boys Can’t Repeat The Same Formula With Spinoff #3
Vought Risingwill fall victim to the same problem many prequels face: a pre-written ending. The new spinoff chronicles how Vought rose to prominence, but thanks toThe Boys, audiences will enter the new series fully aware of where that narrative road leads. The fates of Soldier Boy and Stormfront are both mapped out, while Vought’s future is guaranteed to be a bright and prosperous one, meaningany resistance the company faces duringVought Risingshall undoubtedly get quashed.
Deprived of the excitement an undetermined ending brings,Vought Risingmust work even harder to justify its existence and differentiate itself fromThe BoysandGen V. Taking place during an era where Vought wasn’t calling the shots certainly takes a big step in that direction, but the absence of modern technology and cultural values adds a second big stride. Rather than a disappointing case of repeating the same formula, therefore,Vought Risinghas the potential to beThe Boys' most unique and striking spinoff yet.
The Boys
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
