In this day and age, it seems like superheroes are everywhere. While it is awesome to see such love being given to comic book stories, this has unfortunately led to a flood of formulaic storytelling as heroes repeatedly triumph over lackluster villains. No superhero movie or TV show has done more to break this mold than Amazon Prime's The Boys.
Based on the hit comic series from writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, this series compares superheroes to corporate celebrities, with their public personas and daring stunts just being part of plans to make a profit with carefully marked media attention. With that in mind, here are the main characters on The Boys, ranked by their intelligence.
Updated on January 30th, 2021 by Scoot Allan: Amazon Prime Video's hit series The Boys has created a dedicated fan base over two seasons as Billy Butcher's team of operatives make it their business to become a thorn in the sides of Vought and their corporate heroes in The Seven. Unfortunately, the second season introduced a number of characters that are not just powerful but also incredibly brilliant in various ways that range from genetics to politics who are sure to make things even more difficult for The Boys as the show continues to adapt storylines from the fan-favorite Dynamite comic series.
The Deep
The Deep is basically an Aquaman knockoff with more insecurities. There are some things he really cares about, like environmentalism, his reputation, and the occasional romance with a friendly porpoise. Despite being part of the Seven - the world's elite superhero team - he's not exactly a deep thinker.
He acts at the moment on pure impulse, driven by ego and libido. Even when he does the right thing, he can't imagine what the consequences of his actions will be. But he rarely does the right thing. Either way, he all too often finds himself in hot water for his thoughtless behavior.
A-Train
A-Train is the first member of the Seven that audiences get to meet in the show. The speedster debuted in the pilot when he ran straight through Hughie's girlfriend while he's holding her hands, her body exploding in a gory mess of blood and viscera. Then A-Train looks back and dismissively tells Hughie he's in too much of a hurry to stop.
Like so many superheroes, A-Train is ruled by his arrogance. He thinks of little beyond his role as the fastest man alive and feeding his addiction. That said, he demonstrates a tactical cunning that the Deep lacks.
Homelander
As the most powerful superhero on the planet, Homelander commands the Seven as their leader. He is also the exact sort of person who should not have that sort of power. He is narcissistic, insecure, volatile, easily manipulated, shortsighted, and has absolutely no empathy for other people.
The American flag cape he wears just reinforces the heavy-handed metaphor that he embodies the abusive misuse of force by the United States as a global superpower. For all his faults, Homelander is capable of learning. He demonstrates an awareness of the ways others are manipulating him and adapts his behavior accordingly.
Stormfront
Homefront's place with The Seven and among the American public was challenged with the addition of Stormfront (Aya Cash) to the team following The Deep's departure, and she quickly demonstrated her own talents in public speaking by winning over the crowds and her teammates like Starlight.
It was ultimately revealed that Stormfront was the first Supe transformed by Compound V and had years of experience under her cape, though her antiquated racist beliefs and genocidal goals narrow her mind and detract from her intelligence.
Alastair Adana
The second season introduced the Church of the Collective, a powerful and influential religious organization that seeks out disgraced superheroes like The Deep and Eagle the Archer who have hit rock bottom to indoctrinate them to their cause.
The Church of the Collective is led by Alastair Adana (Goran Visnjic), who developed a strong network of supes and celebrities and politicians that and increased his influence and set him up as a very powerful player. Unfortunately, he became too big of a threat and was executed by Victoria Neuman after trying to earn tax-exempt status for the Church.
Mother's Milk
Of the Boys - that is, the team Billy Butcher put together to take down superheroes -Mother's Milk is perhaps the most ethical and friendly of the whole group. Well, there's Hughie, but by the end of season one, even Hughie's got a lot of blood on his hands.
M.M. (as he likes to be called) has a family and a good job. He is strategically gifted enough to take on the Seven without having any powers. But he also allows Butcher to pull him back in, costing him everything he cares about. Not a smart move.
Frenchie
For fans of the comics, seeing the TV version of Frenchie as a semi-sane half-functioning adult was a bit of a shock. Frenchie is nuts. He's a gun-obsessed paranoid murder-happy psychopath - and that's his sane TV version. The comic book original is the sort of man to joust at his enemies from a bicycle with baguette spears.
To be clear, crazy and stupid are not the same. Frenchie is able to outsmart the Homelander and other of the Seven multiple times and even helps construct a method to kill Translucent, a superhero with indestructible skin.
Queen Maeve
For a long time, Queen Maeve was the only woman among the ranks of the Seven - a diversity hire just reinforcing that despite women making up more than half the planet, men seem to rule over every aspect of society.
Maeve is a tragic character, a former idealist beaten down by the abuses of the patriarchy, and by being subjected to the affections of a man like Homelander, who refuses to take no for an answer. Her intelligence is revealed in her ability to succeed going while surrounded on all sides but hostile rivals and yet keep herself looking fine in the public spotlight.
Madelyn Stillwell
There is a myth that successful business professionals must be smarter than the average person when in truth many are just greedy, corrupt, or lucky. As one of the most important people at Vought (the corporation that manages and markets superheroes), Madelyn Stillwell is definitely corrupt, greedy, and lucky. She's also brilliant.
She has an understanding of how to use media to impact sales figures and public opinion that is frankly mind-boggling, but it is her ability to manipulate superheroes into obeying her when they could easily crush her to death that makes her so exceptional, which was tragically cut short by Homelander.
Starlight
Starlight is the newest member of the Seven. She's a Midwestern girl who genuinely believes in community, helping others, and doing the right thing. When her dreams come true and she is made a member of the Seven, she quickly learns just how corrupt, cruel, and petty the group are - their heroics focused on marketability rather than actually doing good.
Part of why Starlight is so amazing is that she sees how awful things are and learns, but doesn't suddenly become jaded and dark. She maintains her virtues. She questions the important things in her life but maintains true to her core beliefs about right and wrong. It's easy to grow cynical, but it takes both emotional intelligence and critical thinking to reevaluate the world and adapt without losing oneself.
