While Amazon Prime Video’s adaptation of The Boys has reignited interest in superhero television—albeit through a darker, grittier lens—the popular franchise is nearing its end, with just one season remaining. Fortunately, there are several excellent comic book series that could serve as fitting successors to The Boys and its exploration of superheroism. One of the show’s most compelling elements is its subversive take on “supes,” and it will likely be succeeded by another series with a similarly sardonic perspective on superheroes. However, Prime Video doesn’t necessarily need a Boys clone or spin-off to keep its superhero-loving audience engaged.
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After six years, it’s time for a new direction. Building on the success of The Boys‘ unconventional superhero vibe requires exploring fresh paths, and adapting Astro City by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, and Alex Ross is an excellent way to do so. Like The Boys, Astro City offers a nuanced and detailed exploration of superheroes, delving deeper than a typical series. By pulling back the curtain, the series reveals the personal lives of heroes and villains, exposing their innermost hopes, fears, and desires, and showcasing how these characters evolve or are transformed by their experiences as heroes or villains.
Astro City Presents the Superhero Story from a Unique Perspective
While Astro City and The Boys share more than a few essential elements, it would be a mistake to confuse them as the same. The Boys explores a world where superheroes exist but are overwhelmingly narcissistic, antisocial, and controlled by greedy corporations. Astro City, on the other hand, appears to be the opposite at first glance. It asks: In a world where superheroes wield absolute power, why do they strive to be decent, honorable figures who embrace their roles as protectors of safety, security, and the rule of law?
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While readers couldn’t be blamed for pointing out that the “superheroes as true do-gooders” trope has long since lost its novelty, Astro City stands apart. As mentioned, the series takes a character-driven approach that allows readers—and potentially viewers, should a TV adaptation happen—to understand what goes on behind a superhero’s decisions. For example, the story explores the mindset of a hero who does everything possible to stop airplane hijackers, and then equally dedicates themselves to saving as many lives as they can when the plan goes sideways.
Astro City Would be the Perfect Starting Point After The Boys’ Conclusion
Like The Boys, Astro City offers an asymmetrical take on the superhero experience, but from the opposite perspective. Instead of superheroes taking the easy way out—like fleeing from a dire situation just because they can—in Astro City, they truly strive to save the day, no matter the difficulty. In The Boys, superhero action breeds debauchery, corruption, and an ironclad sense of entitlement, all of which fuel deep-seated guilt, self-loathing, and outright depravity. In Astro City, however, it sparks soul-searching, bitterness, and existential questions about worth—balanced by a prevailing sense of righteousness.
In the comic book series The Boys, the story concludes in a grim and traumatic fashion. There is no “happily ever after” for its characters; in fact, almost every “supe” ends up in a worse place than where they started. For fans burned out by the relentless superhero toxicity in The Boys, Astro City offers the perfect remedy. Instead of assuming that all superheroes are monsters exploiting society, it flips the script. Despite the fact that power often corrupts, Astro City explores the idea that some superheroes genuinely strive not to become monsters. The story serves as the ultimate subversion of The Boys’ subversive narrative.
Astro City keeps the superhero genre fresh, mature and layered—shifting the focus from rage to reflection, from cynicism to compassion, without sacrificing complexity. It’s not a reboot of hope—it’s a rebirth of what it means to be a true superhero. It’s this take that makes it a perfect follow up to Prime Video’s The Boys.
What do you think? Would you like to see Prime Video adapt Astro City or do you want more like The Boys? Let us know your thoughts or your choice for a comic book adaptation in the comment section!
