“Isn’t Marjorie Taylor Greene creepy?”: The creator of “The Boys” has no intention of sugarcoating the inspirations for the fourth season’s characters | Web series

Eric Kripke’s deliberately considered and direct approach to many things in The Boys season 4 has deeply touched many fans who originally adored the superhero satire series. With a narrative that’s as loud and clear as ever, the Prime Video show is expected to run out of steam with its fifth and final season, as confirmed by The Boys helmer himself (or so he says, for now anyway).

But before that happens, it’s already paved a long way for fans, at least for those who have decided to stick around for more mind-blowing explosions in every way. Season 4 has driven a clear wedge between the Rotten Tomatoes scores given by critics and audiences. While the audience score is at an all-time low of all seasons at 49%, the critics’ Tomatometer is still climbing with a “Certified Fresh” 95%.

Kripke is aware that stretching the series beyond its original authentic elasticity would do more harm than good, so he’s pumping the brakes hard to prevent The Boys from “becoming what we’re parodying.” As for the series’ continuation, there’s no room for ambiguity, especially since the show’s main executive has left no stone unturned in vividly laying out his character inspirations and the themes of his creative critique.

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New characters from The Boys 4 and their very lifelike inspirations

The fourth season of The Boys not only opened the door for fan favorites like Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), Homelander (Antony Starr), Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), Hughie (Jack Quaid) and others, but also ushered in standout new additions including Joe Kessler (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Sister Sage (Susan Keyward) and Firecracker (Valorie Curry).

The “devilish” author, whose other notable works include the epic 15-season saga “Supernatural,” has taken his impressive political commentary to new levels this season, especially with characters like Sister Sage and Firecracker in the roster.

Speaking to Variety, he revealed how difficult it was to create a character who is essentially described as “the smartest person in man.” Despite the intellectual insights and burdens that Keyward’s sister Sage carries, she is also a character who is rendered invisible by everyone. Kripke accentuated his social commentary even further by making the character an African-American woman.

“Let’s make her an African-American woman that nobody listens to. And here she is, with the ability to save all of humanity, and everyone thinks she’s invisible,” Kripke said, describing Sage’s character design.

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On the contrary, Curry’s Firecracker embodies the essence of her character’s name in the most racist way possible. The creator of “The Boys” confirmed that his inspiration for this explosive personality was far-right U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. Explaining how the new character came about, Kripke revealed that he pondered the question, “Hey, isn’t Marjorie Taylor Greene scary?” and thus Firecracker’s personality was born.

“There was Trump, but now we have this Trump brood trying to outdo each other in how outrageous, sexualized, weaponized and slavish they can be,” Kripke noted. Drawing parallels between his show’s creative fictionality and reality, he positioned Starr’s Homelander as former U.S. President Donald Trump. He envisioned that “it wouldn’t just start and end with Homelander, but he would start creating these spores that these other characters would grow out of, and she’s a version of that.”

Describing her character in another interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kripke cited U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert as another inspiration. Plus, Kristi Noem somehow made it onto the list: “When we wrote her, we didn’t have Kristi Noem (the governor of South Dakota) in mind, but then she comes out shooting puppies, and then it’s like, ‘There’s Firecracker! She’s literally shooting puppies!'”

As for the show’s declining popularity among audiences as Kripke’s comments this season have become “too political” (as many on social media claimed), he bluntly said that viewers can decide whether or not they want to watch the show. Kripke went on to elaborate that the show basically mirrors the source material of the comic it’s based on, reminding in the interview that the “comic is really political too.” While the books attempt to fictionally reflect a past reality “about the George Bush era post-9/11,” the TV adaptation serves as an extended metaphor for the present reality, representing the “cross-section of celebrity and authoritarianism.” Kripke also didn’t forget to mention that her team first pitched before Trump was elected.

The Boys season 4, episode 4, “Wisdom of the Ages,” is scheduled to release on Thursday, June 20, 2024.