The ultra-violent superhero satire The Boys is known for its shocking visuals, blood-soaked violence, and a burning antipathy towards anything in a cape, but in-between the dark critiques of Marvel and DC's crime-fighters, there's a surprising emotional core that has a lot to say about love, grief, and masculinity. Each of the heroes of The Boys has suffered a terrible loss, channeling their experiences into keeping Supes under control, and foiling the ambitions of the Homelander and Vought-America. It's therefore not that surprising to learn that each member of Billy Butcher's team can be read as expressing a different aspect of the Five Stages of Grief.
