The Seven is a dark parody of superhero teams from Marvel and DC properties such as The Avengers and Justice League. In general, the Seven is much weaker than both the Justice League and the Avengers, and the two organizations work independently of any governments or corporations.
They are a parody of the Justice League, the premier superhero team of the DC Comics universe. Their name is derived from "the Big Seven", an informal nick-name some DC fans call the Justice League by.
Starlight is a parody of early Supergirl. She can lift 1–2 tons, she can survive bullets but they hurt her, and she can emit blinding beams of light. She can also fly.
The character was designed as an evil version of Superman and Captain America in terms of powerset and costume. His cape pulled to the left resembles the first costume of Captain Marvel a.k.a. Shazam. Homelander's backstory in the original comics is similar to that in the television adaption of The Boys.
In both the comic and television series, Noir is a member of the hedonistic and reckless Vought-American superhero group the Seven and is depicted as a "silent ninja" type parody of Batman, Snake Eyes and Deathstroke.
A serum-enhanced super-soldier, originating in WWII, with a patriotic theme and a clean-cut, morally superior persona — it's pretty clear that Soldier Boy is an exaggerated parody of Captain America.
Billy Butcher was designed as a parody of Punisher, a character that series creator Garth Ennis had written for nine years, prior to creating The Boys. Both characters are family men who become violent, unhinged vigilantes who allow their constant thirst for revenge to take them over completely.
Lamplighter is a parody of Marvel's Pyro. Shawn Ashmore, the actor who plays Lamplighter in season 2, previously played Iceman in 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, making his appearance in The Boys a meta-joke, as his powers on The Boys are the opposite of his powers on X-Men.
Hughie is intentionally drawn to resemble the British actor and writer Simon Pegg. According to Robertson, he drew the character based on Pegg after seeing him in the sitcom Spaced, and thought that Pegg captured the balance of "innocence but tough determination" that Ennis wanted in the character.
While she doesn't possess any adamantium retractable claws, her feral nature, violent temper, and ability to survive fatal attacks are quite similar to that of Wolverine and X-23.
Trivia. Queen Maeve is a parody of Wonder Woman from DC Comics. Her design is also reminiscent of Barbie Dolls from the 21st Century. Queen Maeve's Amazon counterpart differs from her comics one only slightly but in many areas.
Vought Studios: Responsible for the production and release of superhero movies, such as Dawn of the Seven and Invisible Force. It is a parody of both Marvel Studios and DC Studios.
Fans of the original comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (spoiler warning) will know that Black Noir is actually a secret clone of Homelander, an insurance policy on the part of Vought to kill the crazed Superman if he ever slips out of their control.
Queen Medb is a historical royal figure and a goddess in Celtic folklore and legend in Ireland. Alternately known as Queen Maeve, Queen Mave, or Queen Meave, Medb and the Ulster Cycle of tales originate in early Irish history and culture.
Annie's Starlight appearance, especially her original costume, is based on DC heroines Mary Marvel, whereas her powers are based on Marvel's Dazzler, who also can generate light and use it as both heat and concussive force.
These dreams are suddenly dashed, however, when Starlight is sexually assaulted by the Deep, who extorts her into performing oral sex on him at Seven Tower during "The Name of the Game".
After some time, his younger brother Lenny Butcher was born. Due to his father's abusive behavior, both Lenny and Butcher grew up to be dysfunctional individuals.
Queen Maeve sacrifices herself for Starlight to escape Homelander's influence, while A-Train finally pays for killing Hughie's girlfriend. Starlight is one of the few characters who survives the entire series, alongside The Deep (while Homelander is killed off-panel by Black Noir).
The evil Supes' DNA was used to clone Homelander and even helped make Black Noir. However, the origin Homelander never wanted and kept hidden was borrowed by the "Children of Stormfront" and Vikor, The Boys' parody of Thor, who seems completely fine pretending to be connected to the Nazi Supe.
M.M., Billy Butcher, Frenchie, and Hughie might be the first four non-supes who come to mind, but one of The Boys' strengths is its ability to make even its minor non-supe characters fun to watch.
In reality, Stan Edgar had orchestrated the whole incident to get rid of Soldier Boy by allowing Payback to betray him as revenge for the physical and mental abuse he had inflicted upon them, with the intention of replacing him with Homelander.
The Boys actor Antony Starr draws the behavior of his series villain, Homelander, from two former United States presidents: Donald Trump and Barack Obama.
