The Boys Has Finally Addressed Its Connection to a Major Animated Franchise

The Boys doesn’t try to hide its inspirations. Homelander, the franchise’s strongest Supe, is clearly a pastiche of Superman, wearing a red and blue costume and having the majority of the DC icon’s powers. The Seven also features its own version of Wonder Woman, Queen Maeve, who doesn’t have connections to the Greek gods but wears a tiara and hits harder than most. Not every homage in The Boys is obvious, though, especially as the franchise continues to expand. Gen V, for example, is about a school full of Supes, and not every powerset on campus can be found in a Marvel or DC comic book.

It turns out that the Prime Video franchise is broadening its horizons, looking beyond just superhero media for ideas. In fact, after a couple of years of speculation, Gen V is finally confirming that one of its most important Supes has more in common with a popular animated character than any comic book figure.

Gen V‘s Marie Moreau Gets Her Superhero Name in Season 2

Fitting back in at Godolkin University is proving challenging for Marie Moreau, Jordan Li, and Emma Meyer. The new dead, Cipher, is pushing them hard, wanting them to learn how to control their powers. Jordan even finally gets the number one spot in the rankings they’ve been after for years. However, instead of soaking up all the glory, they use their platform to expose the school and talk about Andre’s death. Cipher’s team quickly does some damage control, making it seem like Jordan is the problem, which causes the entire school to turn against them. The next step in the grand plan is for Jordan to fight another Supe, Marie, in front of the whole school.

While Cipher is pitching the idea to his two favorite students, a Vought marketing agent joins them and reveals a poster that refers to Jordan as “the Gender Bender” and Marie as “the Blood Bender.” While both nicknames are crude representations of the Supes’ abilities, Marie’s at least has a long and rich history, being part of arguably the most critically acclaimed animated show of the last 20 years.

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Blood Benders Aren’t a New Concept

Controlling blood is nasty work, even in the world of The Boys. When Marie’s powers manifest, she can’t control them and ends up killing her parents. The world blames her for the tragedy and forces her to live at the Red River Institute with the rest of the orphaned Supes. Another character who knows a thing or two about losing family and messing with blood is Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. An evil waterbender named Hama teaches her how to manipulate the blood in another person, and despite it being frowned upon, she uses the power when she gives in to her rage.

Bloodbenders return in The Legend of Korra and aren’t any better the second time around. Amon and Tarrlok terrorize the titular character for the entirety of Season 1, pushing her to the edge and nearly removing her bending for good. Fortunately, Korra overcomes her obstacles and saves her friends. Marie will have to dig as deep as Korra if she wants any chance of making it out of Gen V Season 2 because Cipher is gunning for her, making her use her abilities on Jordan and other living creatures. But the only way to win might be to use fire against fire, and that could mean going down a dark path.

Gen V Season 2 is streaming on Prime Video.

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