The Boys Effortlessly Ended Marvel Supremacy in 2022
The Boys' triumph proves that audiences have been craving good R-rated superhero projects for a long time.
The latest Nielsen report, which takes into account the number of minutes a streaming network show was watched, came up with a surprising result this year. In 2022, The Boys outperformed any other superhero series, including all Marvel Studio projects.
The Amazon Prime superhero show became the 11th most-watched original streaming program with 10.6 billion minutes.
Disney+ 's Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, released last year, couldn't repeat the success of WandaVision in 2021 and didn't even make it into the top 15. Fans think that this disappointing result is just another proof that Phase 4 of the MCU has failed.
The talk of Marvel's sacrificing quality for quantity has been going around various fan forums for some time now. Many fans are worried that Marvel has peaked with Endgame and will never make anything as good again.
Of course, these opinions come with lower ratings and less time spent watching the MCU projects. But according to fans, this has nothing to do with a decline in interest in the superhero genre. Audiences just want a fresh take on it.
"I love the superhero genre and would like to see more stuff that isn't either MCU cookie cutter films or DC releasing another embarrassment," one viewer commented on Reddit echoing the sentiments of others.
And this is where The Boys comes in. Based on the comic book series of the same name, the show has given audiences what they were looking for, a good R-rated superhero project that comments on social issues rather than describing some fictional global threat that noble and well-behaved superheroes must prevent.
The Boys focuses on the world Supes live in, and the consequences of giving average people superpowers that could corrupt and seduce them. Aside from being a parody of most popular superhero projects, it also reflects the audience's growing distrust of corporations, media, and government, making criticism of the system a product like anything else. The show speaks to audiences on multiple levels, hiding its postmodernist stance under the simple and entertaining language of dark comedy.
So coming out at the right time really contributed to the success of The Boys. It also helps that the show is... you know, good.