Updated Saturday 10 May, 2008 12:19 PM | Headlines | Discussion Forum | International Edition
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Updated Saturday 10 May, 2008 12:19 PM | Headlines | Discussion Forum | International Edition |
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The Boys: Glorious Five Year Plan (The Boys 11-14)
The Boys travel to Moscow, where the local supes are falling foul of a mysterious and violent enemy. An old ally awaits our heroes in the former Soviet Union- and with the brutal Russian mafia involved, they'll need all the help they can get, in "Glorious Five Year Plan". A curious premise of most superhero comics is that they don’t always take into account the international situation. A world that has a Superman may never have to fear Adolf Hitler – DC had to come up with some mystical BS surrounding the Spear of Destiny to somehow account for how WW2 followed OTL – but superheroes seem to be only American. The handful of superheroes that are not – Captain Britain, for example – seem just as concentrated on their own home countries. The Boys avoids much of this confusion by having ‘supes’ emerging in the years following WW2, apparently as a result of a Nazi-designed compound that alters body chemistry in a semi-random way. Regardless, there is still an international logic to the world…and in Glorious Five Year Plan, the Boys are sent to Russia. Russia itself is a darker place in the Boysverse. (Not unlike Manhattan, when the famous bridge has been knocked down by terrorists instead of the Twin Towers and the US is fighting in Pakistan.) The Kremlin’s grip is failing and organised crime, backed by evil forces from overseas, is plotting a takeover bid for Russia. A Supe – identified by Butcher as a villain rather than a hero – has died in mysterious circumstances, drawing the Boys into the plot, aided by a former Russian superhero, Vas, aka Love Sausage. Vas himself must have been a delight to draw, although he is often a stereotyped Russian. His costume – "the forks, the forks" – must be seen to be believed. But never mind that. The interesting aspect about this issue is that it gives a chance for the other members of the Boys to play a role, mainly the Frenchman. In Issue #3, Butcher defines him simply as muscle, but in Issue #11, the Frenchman shows a remarkable capability for forensic work, along with sneaking up on people. The Female seems to spend half of the arc just sitting, or in one case assisting the Frenchman, leaving most of the work in the hands of Butcher and Wee Hughie. Although Hughie has a lot to learn still, it’s clear that he is pulling his weight as a member of the Boys.
And Butcher. We knew he was a ruthless SOB beforehand, but now we see, maybe, just how far he is prepared to go to destroy the enemy. One downside of this arc is that Butcher seems to know what is going on too quickly, jumping to the (correct) conclusion and then effortlessly dismantling the enemy’s plans, rather than having to struggle to win. One wonders if there will be repercussions from his actions, or if some of the hints for the future will actually come to pass… The artwork, I’m sorry to say, is actually a tad below the high standards of the previous issues. Butcher is normally very well drawn, but this time his face seems bland and inexpressive; Vas, by contrast, is drawn very well indeed. The image of the massed Russian supervillains made me smile; I haven’t seen something as striking as that since the first issues of The Authority. Less good, I’m afraid, is the visual humour; the image of Monkey’s little…hobby, or Nina’s, or even Vas’s costume, caused me to feel rather unwell. There has always been an element of earthly humour in the boys, from Starlight’s…introduction to the Seven, to Tek Knight’s problem, but I am starting to wonder if perhaps they’re reaching a limit. But, on the whole, Glorious Five Year Plan hangs together fairly well. And I can’t wait for Issue #15
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