As far as spinoffs go, you could certainly do worse than The Boys Presents: Diabolical. A collection of eight animated shorts featuring A-grade voice actors and writers, it takes good advantage of the universe’s twisted, violent tone and tells a wide range of stories set within that environment. Not all of the shorts are hits, but most of them are memorable enough in the span of fifteen minutes or less to stay with you afterward.
These stories are not all canon, so they have the freedom to go crazy with their stories and characters. Fortunately, none of them are crass or shocking simply for the sake of being shocking.
Most of these stories are light-hearted affairs that also often contain a dizzying level of gore. Take The Boys creator Garth Ennis, for instance, whose short, The Pusher, uses his original comic versions of familiar characters and features a horrific accident that is milked for its maximum comedic potential. Or Justin Roiland’s short, complete with his signature Rick and Morty animation style, where superhumans with horrible powers and physical disfigurements seek out their parents and murder them.
There are also stories that are more sincere, such as Boyd in 3D, which is about a couple who get addicted to using the ultimate beauty cream and eventually turn into their worst selves, before a twist yanks the floor out from underneath the audience’s feet. Then there’s the poignant story of an elderly man stealing Compound V to save his wife’s life in John and Sun-Hee.
Familiar characters from the series are mostly in the background, but they do get involved significantly in two episodes. The first, BFFs, features the Deep hunting down a woman who accidentally created a sentient piece of poo after ingesting Compound V. The second, One Plus One Equals Two, centers around the Homelander during his public debut as he desperately tries to pass off as a simple, corn-bread eating All-American instead of the troubled sociopath he eventually turns out to be.
The Boys Presents: Diabolical isn’t always consistent due to the sheer number of creative voices involved, but it’s a pleasant diversion from the main story and opens the door for future zany spinoffs.
A Boys Cinematic Universe can easily veer off-course into try-hard territory, but thankfully, this show avoids that. Let’s hope future stories set in the world can do the same.