Eric Kripke on How ‘The Boys’ Destroys “Toxic Masculinity” as a Concept: “To see what a woman’s point of view in this world is, this sort of toxic, macho world.”

The Boys is one of the most popular superhero series in the world, and its fourth season premiered on June 13, 2024, with the first three episodes. The season has been Certified Fresh so far, although the fan reactions are quite different for this season, which we have already reported on. The series has introduced many new concepts and novelties in this season, one of which is the increase in political messages in the story, which has not been welcomed by all fans. In a recent interview, showrunner Eric Kripke commented on one aspect of these political messages The Boys Season 4, and we will reveal what he said.
Kripke is known for reacting on social media from time to time, but he has also provided us with numerous background information in a series of recent interviews, so it’s always interesting to see and hear what he has to say about the show and this confirmation is certainly interesting.
In a talk he had with Variety, Kripke discussed numerous topics, among which was how the story actually tackled the topic of masculinity and women’s rights. Kripke believes that the series managed to destroy the concept of “toxic masculinity,” portraying it as something vile and unnecessary, especially in relation to the popular “bad fan” theory:
“The Boys” is a show that examines, and very much damns, toxic masculinity. There’s a theory of the “bad fan” — people who root for villains just because they like the bad things that they do. Do you ever think about The Boys’ fandom and wonder about the ratio of bad fans?
I have to believe that the “bad fans” are a very small minority. Because I don’t know how you root for Homelander. When the guy is slurping up breast milk, and being the weakest character in the show over and over and over again and being like — he’s not even particularly macho. He’s weird. He’s weird and thin-skinned, and I don’t know how you look at that guy and you’re like, “That’s my guy.”
The show’s not subtle. It wears its politics on its sleeve. And it’s funny to rip on the madness on the right, and we get some shots in on the left of all the performative wokeness and everything. So I’m hoping that that’s the vast majority?
Source: Variety
He also commented on how the series changed the perspective of the characters, i.e., how the female characters were put into the spotlight, which was not the situation in the comics:
The point of view in the “The Boys” comic books is pretty geared toward the male characters. And from the very beginning, the women on The Boys have been really full, in-depth characters. Was that something you came into the series saying you were going to?
Yeah, very much so. I mean, the comic is, as you say, very, very male oriented. And I mean, part of it just comes from the practical considerations of, hey, I want a really big tent, and I don’t want to do some edgelord thing. I don’t want to make edgelord material for incels, or whatever. I want something for everybody. And so I was like, we really need to muscle up the female characters.
It worked, and it gave us a fresher perspective to see what a woman’s point of view in this world is, this sort of toxic, macho world. So then we just kept doing more of it. Also, the pilot begins with a sexual assault.
That’s right.
And it’s handled a little glibly in the comic. And we always said, well, if we’re going to handle it, we have to really be responsible, and dive into it.
Source: Variety
What do you think of Kripke’s statements about Season 4 of The Boys, as well as the series in general? Is it too much, or is Kripke doing the right thing? Let us know in the comments below!