Summary
I am excited to see howThe Boys' universe will continue to expand with the live-action spinoff seriesVought Rising, which was announced atSan Diego Comic-Con. Taking place in the 1950s, the prequel will explore the origins of the Vought corporation and feature the familiar characters ofSoldier Boy and Stormfront, the latter of whom was known as Clara Vought at the time. The plot will revolve around a murder mystery related to the corporation’s rise to power, although further details are being kept under wraps.
With the animated anthology series,The Boys Presents: Diabolical,Gen Vseason 2, and the previously announcedThe Boys: Mexico,Vought Risingis not the firstBoys' spinoff series, but it will take place at the earliest point in the timeline. I am intrigued by the possibilities that this presents, as it not only allows for further exploration of older supes like Soldier Boy and Stormfront, but can show how Vought became so powerful in the first place, and how they first normalized supes. The period can also compellingly incorporate important historical events.
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.
10Frederick Vought’s Backstory
How The Inventor Of Compound V Rose To Power
Frederick Vought has been mentioned inThe Boysas the inventor of Compound V and the founder of the Vought corporation. Much of what is known about him is communicated through Stormfront inThe Boysseason 2, as she was married to him, and shared his ideology.Vought was a Nazi scientist who defected to the Alliesonce it became clear that Nazi Germany was going to lose World War II, but he never abandoned his twisted belief that a master race of superior beings should control the world.
Stormfront believed she could complete her husband’s dream by having Homelander lead an army of superhumans.
Vought Risingcan feature the villainous Vought while he is still aliveand reveal more about his backstory. A Nazi scientist developing a drug that gives the recipient superpowers, along with founding an American corporation, all while the public is ignorant of his Nazi ties, is a fascinating and disturbing story in its own right and is only one of numerous storylines thatVought Risingwill be balancing. The series can show his dynamic with Stormfront and how his bigotry unleashed consequences that would forever endanger the world.
9How Supes Were Perceived By The Public In The 1950s
Supes Were Relatively New At This Time
By the time ofThe Boys, supes are generally revered and viewed as benevolent fixtures in modern society. This was not always the case, though, asin the 1950s, Compound V was a relatively new invention, with Stormfront and Soldier Boy being among the first supes to exist. The public will not learn of Compound V, as that does not become public knowledge untilThe Boysseason 2, and supes are believed to be born with their superpowers.
Even without widespread knowledge of Compound V, I am still intrigued by how supes were perceived by the public in the 1950s. I imagine that there may not be the same level of trust and admiration as there is inThe Boys, as humans with superpowers will still be a new concept that the public is still getting used to and that they have to accept as part of their reality.Vought Risingcan show how supes were able to win over the public despite some initial mistrust and skepticism.
8The Korean War From Vought’s Perspective
Did Soldier Boy Fight in The Korean War?
Lasting from 1950-1953, the Korean War was one of the major conflicts of the 1950s. IfVought Risingtakes place during these years, it will likely incorporate the Korean War into the story, much like howThe Boysincorporates real-world events and topical issues. As Vought works to establish its brand in the United States of America and across the globe, the corporation will likely look for ways to use the Korean War in its favor.
There are numerous references inThe Boysof Soldier Boy having fought the Nazis during World War II, even though the Legend claims it was purely propaganda. Whether he actually fights in the Korean War or is merely used as wartime propaganda,the conflict is a way for Vought to expand Soldier Boy’s brand as an American soldier fighting for patriotic values. This can also help set the stage for Vought’s attempts to put supes into the U.S. military decades later.
7Vought And Supes Getting Involved With The Space Race
Vought Would Want To Be Part Of It
The 1950s saw the beginning of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, including the launch of the satellite known as Sputnik 1 into space. Following the triumph of successfully creating superhumans,I can see Vought’s greed and ambition likely drawing their attention to the space race, with the corporation determined to conquer the final frontier and to be the first to put their own man, ideally a supe, on the moon.
I would love to see Vought scrambling to try and make Soldier Boy or another one of their supes an astronaut. Part of why I want to see this is that it is one area where I know Vought is doomed to fail, as they are never shown to have any foothold in space by the time ofThe Boys, with the extent of their power being bound to Earth. WhileVought Risingwill be about the corporation’s successful rise to power, they need to have some failures along the way as well.
6The First Vought Studios Movie
Vought Begins Making Movies In The 1950s
In addition to Compound V and the supes it creates, Vought also becomes a leading source in entertainment. InThe Boys,Vought has its own cinematic universe(the VCU), comprised of an endless stream of films and television series meant to parody the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Each member of the Seven has their own fair share of projects, from solo ventures likeThe Deep: Rising TideandBlack Noir: Insurrectionto the highly publicizedDawn of the Seven.
Vought Risingcan show the release of the first Vought Studios movieand explore how the corporation founded by a former Nazi scientist became a thriving entertainment company. Snippets can be shown from the Academy Award-nominatedThe Soldier Boy Storyand the offensiveThe Curse of Fu Manchuthroughout the series. These movies will likely be part of Vought’s strategy to get the public to be more invested in supes, along with being able to push their political agenda.
5A Young Jonah Vogelbaum
He Can Already Be Working At Vought
The 1950s time period limits establishedThe Boyscharacterswho can appear, as most of them will not have been born yet. One exception to this is Jonah Vogelbaum, the Vought scientist who oversaw the training and development of a young Homelander. To be given oversight of such an important task that would determine Vought’s future,Vogelbaum will likely have been involved with the corporation since its earliest days, withVought Risingpotentially showing a young Vogelbaum gaining a reputation and working his way up through the company.
Much ofFrederick Vought’s backstory in the television series is similar to Vogelbaum’s backstory in the comics.It would be fitting to feature Vogelbaum and Vought together in the prequel series. Since Vogelbaum is shown to have some morality at the end of his life, realizing what he did with Homelander was wrong, and ultimately agreeing to testify in front of Congress, I would like to see that morality beaten out of him, possibly by Vought himself, inVought Rising.
4Mother’s Milk’s Father And Grandfather
They Would Be Great Cameos
None of the Boys are alive at the time ofVought Rising, but Mother’s Milk’s father and grandfather, who he has mentioned inThe Boys, would be alive. According toMother’s Milk’s backstory, his grandfather died when Soldier Boy hurled a car at the brownstone building where they were living. His father dedicated the rest of his life and his profession as a lawyer trying to hold Vought accountable for this tragedy, but he died at the age of 55, having worked himself to death in a fight he could not win.
I do not expect Mother’s Milk’s father and grandfather to be prominent characters inVought Rising, but I would enjoy seeing them, even as brief cameos. It was mentioned at San Diego Comic-Con that the prequel is not only set in the 1950s, but is set in New York City specifically, andwith Mother’s Milk’s family living in Harlem, his father and grandfather appearing would not be a stretch. Their appearances would be a great way to give a nod to the Boys, especially with Soldier Boy also being in the series.
3The First Herogasm
The Boys Already Set This Up
It is mentioned inThe Boysseason 3 that in 1952,when Stormfront was still known as Liberty, she and Soldier Boy founded the first Herogasm. Between the year, both these characters being inVought Rising, and the well-known connection to one ofThe Boys' best episodes, I would be shocked if this was not incorporated intoVought Rising. I am curious to see how Soldier Boy and Stormfront even started talking about this in the first place, as it is not exactly a natural conversation topic.
Seeingthe first Herogasmcan provide more weight behind Soldier Boy arriving at the event many decades later inThe Boysseason 3, where he hunts down former members of his Payback team, and has his first confrontation with Homelander, who he does not know at the time is his son. Given the connections that have already been cemented, not featuring the first Herogasm in the prequel series would feel like a missed opportunity. The creation of the annual event can also provide further insight into the relationship between Soldier Boy and Stormfront, as little about it is currently known.
Soldier Boy Has A Connection To This
The 1950s were largely defined by the spread of communism and the resistance against it. In the United States, this led to the McCarthy hearings and the Red Scare, in which the nation was gripped by fear of communism, and there were legal investigations into whether specific individuals were secretly engaged in communist activities. This has already been mentioned inThe Boys, with Soldier Boy having testified about not being a communist.
In addition to potentially seeing this testimony inVought Rising,I have no doubt that Vought will weaponize the fear and paranoia caused by the McCarthy hearings and the Red Scare, and the corporation will likely use this phenomenon as propaganda to prove why Soldier Boy and other supes are needed to combat communism. This could also explain why two of the prominent supes of the time, Soldier Boy and Liberty, are so blatantly patriotic. The Red Scare can help Vought develop a template for how to use fearmongering to their advantage.
Soldier Boy Explained: Backstory, Origin, Powers & Future In The Boys
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1Who Challenged Supes And Vought Before The Boys?
New Power And Authority Is Always Met With Resistance
Vought Risinghas to pivot Vought and supes into the powerful position they will hold for many decades to come, but they should still be faced with resistance. Without the Boys, someone or something else will need to challenge them, which will likely relate to the murder mystery that the series revolves around. I would like to see a group of individuals who see Vought and the supes for what they are, and who try to combat them nobly, only to fail.
This can prove thatplaying by the rules will never be enough to defeat Vought, the supes who work for them, and the culmination of what this looks like with Homelander in charge years later. They are too powerful, too corrupt, and too cutthroat to be taken down any other way.The Boys’Vought Risingprequel has the potential to explore the precursor to the Boys and explain how their failure made Vought and its supes overconfident that no one would ever be a viable challenge to their authority ever again.
The Boys
Cast
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.
