Guess this is kind of an odd thing to get triggered on, but adaptations like The Boys always seem off to me. I finally figured out why: They completely changed the roots of the thing. Take Wee Hughie, he was very much Irish American, with a heavy emphasis on the Irish part. This is Garth Ennis's signature stamp in all his works, being that he's Irish himself, and a naturalized American. For me, that Irish lens is part of the charm of his works.
There's none of that in the Amazon show. Every trace of Irish is just gone, either because the writers just don't understand Irish culture, or someone in the production chain didn't think that relatable to modern audiences.
It's a small thing, but for me it changes everything. And, to be blunt, it's also pretty heavily racist, in a world where everyone looks at cultural voices that are "trendy" or well lobbied for, and complain on every media outlet, yet things like this, no one gives a shit about because no one's complaining.
And I don't feel frothing at the mouth mad about it, either. I just think it's kind of a sad loss on works like this. I'm not a little bit Irish, but seeing the world through his eyes is just more interesting then looking at another stock "relatable" character who works at an electronic store..
Originally posted by cdtm
I stand by the spirit of my earlier rant, (Which was still technically related to culture, since Scotts and Irish do have a relationship) that taking the Scottish out of Wee Hughie fundamentally changed the story.
I agree with the sentiment that the immigrant take is important in Ennis work, but I haven't seen this show to see exactly how it detracts from the feeling the originals provoke.
Still, confusing the scottish and the irish 🙁
Spoiler:
I'm not gonna use spoiler tags cuz I think the show has been out long enough. Oh and this will spoil the comics too.I've come to accept that when a comic gets adapted to tv or a movie there is going to be changes. I can't say most of the changes really bother me, but one thing with Hughie did bug me. In the show he kills a supe, but it's different than how he kills one in the comics. In the comics he accidentally kills a supe because he had taken the same substance that gives supes their powers(you need a pure version of it for the powers to be permanent, which Hughie didn't have). So he had temporary increased strength and durability and he accidentally punches through a supe and kills him.
I think that adds some complexity to the situation and would be have been interesting to explore. He lost his gf to an out of control supe, but then he got to experience how easy it is to lose control and kill. Idk, that's just my main gripe as it could have been interesting.
Originally posted by Dr Will Hatch
I've been afraid to watch this because I'm a fan of Garth Ennis and didn't like what Preacher did with the source material. I've been hearing that The Boys is more faithful to the comics than that show was, but there's still a lot of bullshit in it.
It is faithful in the general plot. It's the small details it differs on. Different personalities, less humor or subtlety here and there, more "wokeness", in addition to outright alterations of characters that don't fit the Hollywood target audience.
Walking Dead did the same thing. (Carol becomes she-rambo, the priest becomes a LOT more pathetic and less sympathetic, the sadistic little boy becomes a sadistic little girl (Ironically, that one changed the least of all of them, in terms of characterization.)