As it turned out, The Boys changed the idea of ​​superheroes not only among fans of the genre, but also among its actors. Although he has been involved in the production since taking the role, Tomer Capon admitted that reading The Boys graphic novel series changed his perception of superheroes forever.
Capon, who plays “The Frenchman,” said he used to be a fan of superheroes. However, after reading the graphic novel and taking part in the show, he admitted that everything he used to think about superheroes was turned upside down.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Capon reflected on how he initially perceived superheroes.
I think it ruined the whole perception of superheroes for me. I used to think spandex-wearing men with special powers were cool. But this show just erased that.
Capon later spoke about how much more popular superheroes were in the film industry before the show first aired in 2019, and how much has changed three years later.
When I see superheroes on screen, I don’t buy into it anymore. Over the past 10 years, everyone has been addicted to superheroes, trying to escape from reality. And then I read The Boys and thought, “They took a genre and fucking flipped it.” They said, “Let’s see how superheroes behave in front of the mirror when they finish their day. What are they really doing when they take off their spandex?”
Capon’s story is exactly what the show does to its audience. The reason people watch this show is because the superhero genre has become formulaic. It can be fun to see a good guy defeat a bad guy with new superpowers that audiences haven’t seen before, but if the story follows the same beats as previous films in the same genre, it will lose its flavor. Turning superheroes into villains isn’t something audiences are used to, but it’s something that really makes you wonder what would happen if these superheroes actually existed.
