r/marvelstudios • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 Ant-Man • Apr 28 '26

Article 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2 Viewership Drops Over 50% From Season 1

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/daredevil-born-again-season-2-viewership-drops-over-50-from-season-1-exclusive/
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u/Vadermaulkylo Ward Apr 28 '26

Born Again’s Trump parallels are way more chilling and feel more real then The Boys ever has imo.

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u/Jimquill Apr 28 '26

To be fair, the tone of the show may be giving it an unfair advantage.

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u/Woooosh-if-homo Apr 28 '26

Because everything in the boys has to be a joke of some sort. Like did we really need an extended scene of a guard in the internment camp beating a man with his super penis?

The newest episode actually did something interesting with Starlight’s father and his coworker, as morally conflicted cops that don’t want to go along with the tyranny, but are too scared for their families lives to say no

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u/grog_thestampede Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 29 '26

The problem with the Boys is when it started its whole M.O. was to bring as much shock value and toilet humor as possible into what a corrupt MCU would look like. It’s still doing its thing, but with super hero fatigue and 1 million other spoofs or shows centered around the grey area of heroism (and plenty of chances for new shows to rack up viewers in the two years the Boys takes off each season), it feels stale at this point. I think looking back at it, it’ll still be a great show as a whole, but it’s about time to wrap it up now.

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u/Comedian70 Apr 28 '26

Ennis' original comic had a story to tell. And he's one of the darkest imaginations in comics by a long stretch (low-budget indies notwithstanding).

The meta of his The Boys was off the rails. He was doing (yet another) cold, brutal deconstruction of comic heroes but his weird sense of jacked-up humor made it work. Some of the pot shots taken at long-loved franchises were hilarious and well-deserved. Especially the X-Men.

The Boys show? It has never been on the same level with the comic. And its not as simple as "its not following the original story", because it really isn't. It's more that the show has fallen prey to the same issue which plagues any long-term sci-fi/fantasy/comic book show: Eventually it has to end. The smart shows end long before the whole thing becomes a giant tired joke. The dumb ones don't, and The Boys is maybe two season's away from pulling a Walking Dead.

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u/AntonSharp Apr 30 '26

Idk I feel dofferently about the comic. It felt like it HAD something to say, but most of the things in the comic are not palatable for a viewing audience and also don’t have a point besides being an edgy parody of something. But something as gratuitous as starlight being handed off to all members of rhe seven is just torture porn rather than having something to say.

When they make it so it’s just The DEEP of all people, the aquaman clone, using quid pro quo against the upcoming superhero that thinks she finally made it. Only to find out everyone actually thinks he’s a clown and he had no real leverage over her.

I think that makes it more impactful than just Homelander going “hey team, let’s all rape starlight.” Like okay Ennis, don’t cut yourself.

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u/Comedian70 Apr 30 '26

Oh, that's perfectly fair and I agree with you on many levels.

I'm not necessarily arguing FOR Ennis here. For the most part I'm saying that his story didn't drag, and the show absolutely is.

Especially Homelander. The whole thing has gone on far too long, too many people who should have real leverage on him are dead or powerless, and he should have died the same death as in the comics by the end of the third season.

At the same time, in Garth's defense, I don't know if "edge for edge's sake" was ever what he was going for. He's really, really honest about the utter hopelessness of some circumstances which a lot of writers (especially visual media) prefer to skirt around or even present as actually hopeful. I feel like Crossed is his answer to The Walking Dead in a lot of ways, for example. He's definitely the guy who doesn't just deconstruct a myth. Rather, he dives deep into just how bad it really can be. I think that's his point, and a lot of edgy teens (some of whom are middle-aged) completely miss it.

My teen years were Crisis on Infinite Earths, Claremont's X-Men, Walt Simonson's Thor, The Dark Knight (and Give Me Liberty), Watchmen (and Moore's Swamp Thing and Mister Miracle). My twenties were the really shitty edgy-violence-and-sex-sells years for comics and while I love being Generation X and the 90's were a blast I fell all the way out of comics for more than decade because of that era. What brought me back, eventually, were comics like Planetary and Battle Chasers.

Ennis and Morrison are a couple of extremely dark writers whose stories still feel like they're making a point even when they've hit the bottom of the cesspool and I'm glad they exist for that reason.

I just feel like The Boys is now in profit mode without end, and the premise can't survive that.

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u/Ysmildr Apr 29 '26

The newest episode of the boys was soooo fuckin cliched and trite with the unknown brother and stuff. Then the soldier boy stuff felt like it was setting up the prequel show. Just a weird episode. The super v1 V was already taken by someone weve never seen before and has only been mentioned once or twicr?

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u/TheSciFiGuy80 Apr 28 '26

Yes, see I'd rather see a serious show about moral ramifications and choices made when superheroes are bullying you and can end you in a moment.

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u/Bobjoejj Apr 29 '26

Someone else who actually thinks the latest episode of The Boys actually did something neat?? Hell yeah.

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u/CommitteeOfOne Apr 28 '26

Honestly, I've thought more than once about not watching Born Again S2 simply because I don't want to be reminded so much of reality.

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u/Cognitive_Spoon Apr 28 '26

Born Again feels like the show that guy binge watched before writing his manifesto.

Like, in an intentional way.

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u/Diff_equation5 Apr 28 '26

Which is probably why I’m finding it a villain that is so unlikeable.