Warning: potential spoilers for The Boys television series and comic series below.
Long before The Boys or The Seven ever formed, Vought-American's first attempt to assemble a group of Supes together was during World War II. However, while the megacorporation probably thought throwing masked heroes into the warzone was a great idea, it ultimately went catastrophically wrong for everyone involved.
In The Boys #53 - by Garth Ennis, Simon Bowland, John McCrea, Keith Burns, Tony Avino, and Darick Robertson - Greg Mallory tells Hughie about how the team was initially formed and why he walked away from The Boys. In a series of flashbacks, Mallory's experiences on the frontline of battle are shown. He's approached by a Senator from Connecticut and a Vought-American representative who tells him they're paying him a visit on the president's orders.
The Senator and Vought-American rep tell Mallory that they've got something new to show him that will revolutionize the way the war is fought. That's when they reveal that they've been developing super soldiers of their own. They take him aside and show him a room full of masked heroes. Mallory is perplexed, while the new recruits are ready to fight.
Mallory reluctantly meets the group of heroes who call themselves "The Avenging Squad," which includes clear Marvel and DC parodies such as Soldier Boy (Captain America), Eagle the Archer (Hawkeye), Manbot (Vision), and Laddio (Robin/Bucky Barnes). The squad shows their value early, as they help flip over a lost tank, however, when the battle begins, things start to get violent. It turns out Eagle the Archer, who can fly, was spotted on his way down to the base and German soldiers have located the Americans and the Supes. They brutally kill all of the Supes and a majority of the U.S. soldiers. Mallory even finds Soldier Boy ripped in half and dying from his gruesome wounds.
The Supes' version of the Avengers failed their mission. Ironically, the inexperienced heroes being dispatched by the government and Vought-American are what ultimately drives Mallory to create The Boys as a task force against the superpowered heroes. Without Vought-American trying (and failing) to use Supes as soldiers without much experience, it's doubtful The Boys ever form. It's an interesting piece of lore and one that would be fascinating to see show up on The Boys Amazon series - especially with Soldier Boy's pending arrival. It's one of the more harrowing storylines in a very silly comic, so it could have some really dramatic gravitas in the show.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/36i01aR
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