Prime Video’s The Boys took the superhero genre and turned it upside down on its head with its irreverent humor involving drugged-up and sadistic “superheroes” and plenty of raunchy and bloody scenes. From manslaughter and murder to deviant acts, the premier superhero team, The Seven, is guilty of it all. The tradition continues with Gen V, a spinoff series following students of Godolkin University, a school for supes to become the best, with one getting the chance to be accepted in The Seven. I had the chance to check out the first six episodes, and Gen V is hilarious and gross with a dash of Scooby-Doo and X-Men set in the unrestrained world of The Boys.

Gen V opens up with a bloody scene of a young Marie Moreau, who discovers she has the power to manipulate… yes, blood. It evokes the X-Men scene where Rogue had her first kiss and discovered her powers for the first time. As for Marie, her menstrual bleeding turns into a dagger, accidentally cutting her mother’s throat as she walks into the bathroom. Her father checks up on the two and is horrified, causing Marie to freak out and explode both her mom and dad into an even bloodier mess. This opening is a perfect way to let viewers know that they’re in for one crazy and horrifying ride.

The series follows young adult superheroes, aka Supes, at a university, so viewers can expect sex, drugs and partying. Since it’s set in the world of The Boys, there are deaths, body parts exploding including a penis, and lots of crude humor. Like Black Noir seeing animated characters in season 3 of The Boys, a character in Gen V sees puppets, and it’s adorable yet bloody.

Jaz Sinclair is the lead as the young adult Marie, someone who wants to escape her past with ambitions to become the top student at Godolkin University. As the outcast turned popular student, she is at ease with the transformation. She befriends the other top students along with her roommate, Lizze Broadway as Emma Meyer, a sweet yet horny supe who can shrink down to size. Together, they navigate a world that can be harsh as they struggle with identity and acceptance. When a student is taken away by security in a really violent altercation, it kickstarts an investigation that will lead Marie and her classmates down a dark and sinister plot at Godolkin University.

Marie gets in quick with the popular crowd as she’s invited by Andre Anderson (Chance Perdomo), a charming but mischievous supe with the power to control metal. Patrick Schwarzenegger is Golden Boy, the number one student with the power of pyrokinesis; Maddie Phillips is Cate Dunlap, a mind empath who will protect her friends; and London Thor and Derek Luh as Jordan Li, a gender-shifter who feels slighted by the school.

Gen V is a captivating spinoff that’s worthy of the world of The Boys with a unique cast of characters and an intriguing murder mystery.

Rating: 4.5/5 Atoms

The first three episodes of Gen V premieres on Amazon Prime Video on September 29, 2023. New episodes airs weekly until November 3, 2023.