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Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of more mature, much darker comic books similar to The Boysthat may or may not touch the subject of superheroes. Some of these stories may come from DC Comics and Marvel themselves, while others come from other publishers.
Updated on October 30, 2022, by Rhenn Taguiam: With The Boys entering the fourth season after a climactic finish for Season 3, it seems Homelander’s complicated adventures with the Seven aren’t done yet, with Billy Butcher and the Boys stopping at nothing to stop the megalomaniac’s plans. Fans of The Boys were stunned at these developments. They couldn’t wait for Season 4 and may want to look into other comics with similar themes, with superheroes either taking a turn for the worse or being placed into extremely realistic situations. These include a hit DC-based fighting game, new takes on superheroes, and even super-powered individuals taking the good fight to the depths of hell.
15 Brat Pack (1990)
Fans of The Boys interested in reading a more gruesome take on superhero satire may want to give Brat Pack a shot. However, whereas The Boys uses a lot of shock value and gore to cement its appeal, Brat Pack emphasizes exploring various issues tied to the superhero genre, including violence, commercialism, fascist tendencies, and even sexuality. Part and parcel to the creation of Brat Pack was the poll sent to Batman fans that led to the death of Jason Todd, which is what the introduction of Brat Pack alluded to.
The plot begins when the villain Dr. Blasphemy calls a vote from the public for the public execution of the sidekicks of the Black October, a quartet of superheroes defending Slumburg, Pennsylvania. When the sidekicks are inevitably killed off, four (4) children take their place, with their respective mentors systematically breaking down each sidekick to completely do their bidding. Perhaps more interesting is that the five-issue miniseries has a different ending exclusive both to the trade paperback and Brat Pack 5, making both worth the read for interested fans.
14 Hellblazer (1988)
While John Constantine first appeared as a supernatural investigator in Swamp Thing, fanfare allowed him to gain his own series in 1988. Aptly named Hellblazer, John Constantine was introduced as a supernatural detective who did morally-questionable things for the greater good, often leaving a blaze of hell in his wake. While he did take measures to protect his friends and family from being targeted by his enemies, anyone who knows Constantine is almost inevitably put in harm’s way.
Fans of DC Universeworks who want to remain grounded in the setting while exploring a darker setting may appreciate Hellblazer. While still set in the same universe, barely any superheroes appear except for fringe characters dealing with the supernatural. In turn, John Constantine frequently encountered magician Zatanna, the supernatural Phantom Stranger, Dream of the Endless, and even Swamp Thing.
13 Preacher (1995)
It’s often known that Vertigo is the DC Comics imprint where the darker stories lie, and such is the case of Preacher. This 1995 story narrates the life of the preacher Jesse Custer, based in the small town of Annville in Texas. After an incident that forces him to be possessed by the supernatural creature Genesis, his church is flattened and his entire congregation is killed in the process. However, it’s soon discovered that Genesis is an offspring of an angel and a demon, potentially making it - and Jesse - perhaps the most powerful entity in the universe.
After learning that God abandoned Heaven after the birth of Genesis, Jesse left Annville to search for the entity literally. In turn, Jesse eventually encounters various organizations and entities with a vested interest in his capabilities, including the Grail which aims to protect the bloodline of Jesus, and even the literal Angel of Death.
12 Transmetropolitan (1997)
Not all gritty comics involve superheroes or extremely powerful beings in all-out battles, as Transmetropolitan gives people a taste of how Vertigo may handle a cyberpunk story. In it, retired gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem is forced to once more descend into the City to write his two overdue books and do coverages on various subjects, elaborating on the impact of two presidencies in the region, the so-called preceding “the Beast” and the current leader “the Smiler.”
What’s perhaps interesting about Transmetropolitan is how it tackles commentary on various subjects from the perspective of an equally-questionable protagonist. Spider himself is as sarcastic and broken as he is brilliant, and his wild approach to his subjects makes him unpredictably entertaining for readers.
11 Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013)
Perhaps the most known example of a “dark” take on superheroics, Injustice: Gods Among Us is definitely a worthy read for superhero fans interested in a different take on the most popular heroes of DC Comics. With Gods Among Us created specifically to tie into the NetherRealm game series, the comics begin with the Joker devising a plan to drive Superman to madness. He does so using fear toxin and stolen Kryptonite, tricking Superman into thinking he’s fighting Doomsday when in fact he was fighting an unconscious Lois. With Lois’s death triggering a bomb that destroyed Metropolis, the Joker succeeded in his mission. However, Superman retaliates by killing the Clown Prince of Crime.
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In his grief, Superman demands “all violence” worldwide to stop or he will personally do so. This resulted in a more draconian Justice League, eventually leading to a world government practically controlled by the League. This encounter resulted in Batman and Superman growing increasingly at odds, eventually leading to Batman creating the Insurgency composed of some powerful DC heroes to stop the Man of Steel.
10 Watchmen (1987)
Perhaps the reward for the most iconic comic to ever start the “subversive, gritty, and real” trend in comic book stories would be given to Alan Moore’s Watchmen. Home to memorable symbols such as the iconic smiley pin and the bluer-than-blue Doctor Manhattan, Watchmen is an alternate take to superheroics when principles go completely off the rails.
In the alternate history of Watchmen, the creation of Doctor Manhattan in the Manhattan Project created a divergence point in 1938, when the United States won the Vietnam War and President Nixon is still the President. However, things go awry when vigilantism outlawed the popular superheroes at the time, and the murder of the popular superhero The Comedian plunged the remainder of his retired comrades into a deep conspiracy that may change the world.
9 Invincible (2003)
Equally gritty like The Boys is Invincible, created by Robert Kirkman for Image Comics. The story is essentially a coming-of-age tale starring Mark Grayson, a seemingly ordinary teenager who discovers he’s a powerful Viltrumite, similar to his father Omni-Man who is the most powerful person on the planet.
However, things go awry as soon as Mark dons a costume and becomes Invincible, a superhero who strives to make his own name as well. After he discovers the dark nature of his origins, things escalate into an all-out conflict between father and son that makes Invincible a unique take on the Superman origin story.
8 Kick-Ass (2008)
It’s one thing to get superpowers to become a superhero, and another to just get up and do it - despite not having powers. And this is exactly what happens in Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Kick-Ass, where teenager Dave Lizewski embarks on a journey to be a crime-fighting superhero. His actions become publicized over the internet and inspire others to become superheroes, with his superhero identity becoming associated with other vigilantes.
While the story of Kick-Ass is relatively small-scale, it’s definitely a very real and very personal take on a superhero story. With its story inspired by Mark Millar and his friends’ childhood fantasies of just “becoming superheroes” as young teenagers, fans can definitely enjoy an alternate take on Batman’s vigilantism in this story.
7 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (1999)
Fans of both superheroes and extreme alternate history will appreciate the bonkers fiction in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which originally was seen as Alan Moore’s depiction of “Victorian England’s Justice League” but eventually became an ever-evolving story of a superhero team as they overcome the boundaries of time in tales that seem to merge multiple elements of fiction into a grand story.
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The story formally begins in 1898 when Campion Bond of British Intelligence recruits Mina Murray to assemble “a league of extraordinary individuals” to help defend the British Empire. This team eventually became the League and, across its many members, became a team dedicated to protecting both Britain and the world from various kinds of threats - be it from alternate histories, fictional villains, and even otherworldly threats from fantasy and sci-fi. A lot of characters in The League are based on figures from popular fiction, making it a must-read for fans of literature.
6 Kingdom Come (1996)
Fans of DC Comics looking for a The Boys counterpart among the DC Universe heroes might find something similar in Kingdom Come, courtesy of Mark Waid and Alex Ross under the “Elseworlds” imprint. In this alternate timeline, some superheroes eventually retreat to various ways of eternal “guardianship” of their domains, with the Flash endlessly running to help others, the Green Lantern surveying from above, and Batman operating drones to stop crime in Gotham.
Things go awry when a new generation of metahumans simply conduct wanton violence against each other. This prompts Superman to “reactivate” the Justice League and “imprison” violent metahumans. This approach prompts the creation of various other factions, such as Batman’s the Outsiders and Lex Luthor’s Mankind Liberation Front. Things get past the breaking point when all-out war happens across these factions, with the fate of younger metahumans hanging in the balance.
5 The Authority (1999)
The turn of the century was a perfect way to introduce The Authority of Warren Ellis, yet another DC Comics team but this time in the “Wildstorm” imprint. In their universe, the eponymous team The Authority constantly surveys the world and defends it from threats, all composed of members from the “Wildstorm” Stormwatch team. It’s headed particularly by Jenny Sparks, a reincarnating superhero that “dies and resurrects” every turn of the century.
Boasting a more grounded and personal story, The Authority is a more solemn yet equally-entertaining take on superheroics for fans who want a more mellow but worthwhile alternative to The Boys. Each of the team members has unique powers that Ellis actively explores, giving each of them opportunities to showcase the full extent of their abilities.
4 Supergods (2012)
When humanity manages to create superheroes, these heroes aren’t always going to be necessarily good - and Supergod pushes this to the extreme. Warren Ellis’s Supergod begins in medias res, where an old man seemingly documents the final months of Earth after the simultaneous discovery of superpowers has plunged the world into a catastrophic third world war.
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The comics depict various world powers being successful in conducting research on developing superpowers, be it through genetic experimentation, engineering, and tapping into forces unknown. Unfortunately, what resulted are beings too twisted in both ideology and abilities that their own creators couldn’t get to control them, leaving the fate of humanity to literal super gods.
3 Jupiter’s Legacy (2013)
It’s never easy to carry the family legacy, not when your parents are the world’s greatest superheroes. In Mark Millar’s Jupiter’s Legacy, siblings Chloe Sampson and Brandon Sampson exhibit opposing feelings with regard to following the legacy of The Utopian and Lady Liberty, their superhero parents, and members of The Seven, arguably the best heroes of the time.
When their familial misunderstanding evolves into a conflict of principles that extends to the rest of The Seven and the other children, things escalate to become a generational “war” that has more sinister undertakings. Personal agendas that explore both the darkest recesses and brightest corners of the human spirit prevail in Jupiter’s Legacy.
2 Superman: Red Son (2003)
What if Superman was raised in the Soviet Union? It’s Superman: Red Son, as published under DC Comics’ “Elseworlds” imprint, that tries to answer this question. This 2004 Eisner Award Nominee depicts a quick look at Superman’s comic book history had he been found and raised in the rising Soviet Union, with his actions affecting not just real political figures around him but the world at large.
While his civilian identity remains a state secret, a lot of Superman’s encounters in the comics involve alternate-reality versions of his supposed friends from the Justice League. These include a diplomatic Wonder Woman who falls in love with him, a “Superman 2” clone from the United States, and a vigilante Batman.
1 The Dark Knight Returns (1986)
If Watchmen marked a transition towards subversive superhero comics, it’s The Dark Knight Returns that showed readers the possibility of a much darker, much grittier take on light-hearted stories. It’s The Dark Knight Returns that proved it’s possible to make a darker Batman story, and it’s this comic book that helped Batman evolve into a more serious character. One could argue it’s The Dark Knight Returns that also inspired a lot of “alternate, darker” takes on superheroes in comics.
The story begins with a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne returning to fight crime, all the while facing conflict against not just the Gotham City local government but the entirety of the country. Marking Bruce Wayne’s return are older takes on villains such as the Joker, and even a fateful reunion with Superman - with their combat becoming a basis of multiple Batman versus Superman fights in other media.
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