(Scene begins with a smartwatch screen and a finger as it taps the screen, and the 1994 American Gladiators plays as the scene cuts to a hand as it taps an app on his phone, as it opens a portal.)
(It cuts to James and the characters he’s played until it cuts to his face and the credit of “James Faraci” is shown as it cuts to “The Last Of The Americans’” current iteration then slides away to different images of , Paulo Fonseca, Brenda Fonseca, Rebecca Yaun, Nick Yaun and the characters they’ve played until it cut to their faces. The credits of “Paulo and Brenda Fonseca, Rebecca and Nick Yaun” are shown then slides away to different images of Doug Yaun, Nick Lopez and Jessica Lopez-Barkl and Crosslyn Castillo and the characters they’ve played, until it cuts to their faces.)
(After that, the credits “Doug Yaun, Nick Lopez, Jessica Lopez-Barkl and Crosslyn Castillo” are shown, as it then slides away to different images of Andrew Beach Eric Kurtzke, Renee Miller and Olivia Horvath. Following this, the credits of “Andrew Beach, Eric Kurtzke, Renee Miller, Olivia Horvath” are shown as the 0:00-0:21 mark of the theme song plays.)
(Everything becomes a swirl of reds, whites, and blues, as the credits “Produced by First Choice Productions in association with Manic-Expression.com”; “Executive Producers: James Faraci, Paulo Fonseca, Brenda Fonseca, Rebecca Yaun, Nick Yaun, Eric Kurtzke, Renee Miller, Andrew Beach & Olivia Horvath”; “Editing by Eric Kurtzke and James Faraci”; “Written and “Directed by James Faraci” are shown, as the 0:21-0:26 mark of the theme song plays.)
(We then see an image of James as he jumps through the portal and lands with half of his team on his right. The other half on his left is on a black background. Finally, the title “THE LAST OF THE AMERICANS” is shown Lazer etched into Titanium as the last six seconds of the American Gladiators 1994 theme song plays.)
(The scene changes to James Faraci, The Last Of The Americans, in his office.)
TLOTA:
I’m James Faraci The Last Of The Americans, and the views that I’m about to express are that of my own and some of yours. A lot of people have been asking me what I have against the Amazon Prime series “The Boys” and one of its big characters, “Homelander.” Brace yourself for my thoughts on “Homelander” and the self proclaimed deconstruction known as “The Boys”
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Homelander, of course, has the same powerset as Superman, but uses those powers for selfish and evil purposes. The problem is, that’s not exactly an original concept. There have been villains with Superman’s powerset for years. The reason characters like General Zod exist is to contrast them with Superman, who uses his powers to help people. The lesson being that it’s not the powers that make one a hero, but what one DOES with whatever powers or abilities they may have.
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What sets Homelander apart from General Zod is that he is basically posing as a hero. The Vought Corporation which owns The Seven basically gives him and the others (most of whom are self-centered jerks who have little or no interest in saving people when the cameras aren’t rolling) the good publicity, fame, and merchandise tie-ins (as well as movies) to make them look like heroes. The initial wholesome backstory the Vought corporation presents is completely fake – Homelander was raised in a laboratory and treated as an experiment during his early years, which explains why he’s a psychological mess that only becomes more mentally unstable as the series progresses.
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Anyway, “The Boys” shows that if superpowers really existed, there would be plenty of people with powers who would be self-absorbed fame seekers.
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Other people have suggested that maybe Homelander losing his powers and being humiliated was punishment enough, but series creator Eric Kripke says otherwise.
As for Billy Butcher, I kind of see what happens with him after Homelander’s death as a reminder of the axiom “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster”. Hughie, who holds on to his humanity and decency, ends up being the one to stop him for those reasons.
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Personally, I don’t see “The Boys” as insulting the MCU or other superhero franchises, though it DOES parody them. Its harshest satire in that regard is aimed at the corporations who own those franchises. The fictional Vought Corporation is a stand-in for several corporations (Disney, WB, and so on) who don’t really care all that much about social justice or cultural sensitivity, but will pretend to for financial purposes. There’s also plenty of mockery about ‘superhero movie oversaturation’.
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I have no problem enjoying both the MCU and “The Boys”. Each is their own thing, and I think there’s room in the world for superhero movies and for satire and/or deconstruction. “The Boys” of course certainly isn’t to everyone’s tastes: the vulgarity and gore might get old for some after a while, and certainly not everyone will care for the selfish jerks that account for most of the ‘supes’ in the show. But I find it to be entertaining and enjoyable nonetheless.