The Boys Season 3 Scene That Puts A Dark Spin On An Iconic Superman Moment

Based on the eponymous comic book from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson and developed for Amazon Prime Video by Erick Kripke, "The Boys" takes the well-worn conventions of contemporary superhero action-adventures and turns them upside down, then turns them inside out, pulls out their spines, removes their internal organs and stitches them back together again in random order, with alternately hilarious and disturbing results.

A certified winner for the streamer, Forbes calls "The Boys" Amazon's "first bonafide original megahit." In the wake of those white-hot ratings, the series has also generated the after-show "Prime Rewind: Inside 'The Boys'" and an adult animated spin-off, "The Boys Presents: Diabolical." Centered around a pantheon of variously empowered super-beings, "The Boys" posits a world where these god-like 'Supes come with some decidedly ungodly personality traits, from sexual perversions to sadistically homicidal tendencies. 

Arrayed against these anti-superheroes are, well, actual heroes, more-or-less normal human beings intent on exposing and ending the murderous corruption at the heart of the Vought mega-conglomerate that sponsors and profits from the 'Supes it ruthlessly controls. Perfectly comfortable with painting standard superhero motifs with a decidedly dark gloss, one scene in "The Boys" Season 3 recently took an iconic Superman moment and did just that.

Along with his super-human strength, Superman's inherent powers include bulletproof morality and empathy. Posting on the r/superman subreddit, user u/Thooorin kicked off a discussion about a comic book storyline featuring the Man of Steel rescuing a young girl on the verge of deliberately jumping to her death, writing, "Superman saves a suicidal girl (from All-Star Superman #10) — the essence of Superman, he reminds us that we're capable of more than we imagine."

Refracted through the intentionally-warped narrative lens of "The Boys," however, the second episode of Season 3 takes this uplifting moment and tears it right down to the ground. In the scene in question, the once top-dog 'Supe Homelander is sent to rescue a suicidal girl from jumping off a building. Instead, learning his severely battle-damaged ex-lover Stormfront has killed herself, he becomes enraged enough to urge, and finally insist, that the suicidal girl should go ahead and jump, or else be pushed. 

Posting about the scene on "The Boys" subreddit, user u/DoctorOfMathematics caught the reference, writing, "I think it's supposed to be like a counterpart to that scene from All Star Superman where Superman helps a suicidal girl," which prompted u/Ironlord789 to sum up a range of approving fan sentiments by concluding with a nod to the original comic book, writing, "I love how dark the scene was in both the comic and the show."

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.