In this, the golden age of geekdom, Sounds Geek To Me is a column that seeks to discuss and dissect the latest from the various fandom universes, new and old. From Marvel to Middle Earth to The Matrix, sci-fi sensations to superheroes, galaxies far far away to wizarding worlds, the column aims to inform, opine and take fantasy storytelling far too seriously.
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For all us nerds who frequently find ourselves falling into one fandom universe or another, it has become increasingly clear that these days, animation is where it is at. Some of the richest, most mature geekdom storytelling has always existed in animation, and the last year alone has given us multiple new fantastical worlds and tentpole shows to get lost in [all, of course, adaptations of existing source material, comics, or otherwise].
Last year, Netflix birthed the impressive League Of Legends game-adaptation Arcane. There was also the mature, meaningful coming-of-age superhero series Invincible [on Amazon Prime Video], and the lovably irreverent, foul-mouthed fantasy fable of this year, The Legend Of Vox Machina [curiously also an Amazon Prime Video venture], to name but a few. The other recent trend in the spin-off animated anthology series is designed to extend, expand, or even reimagine an existing fan-favourite franchise universe.
Aside from the obvious benefit of allowing for limitless imagination, animation perfectly lends itself to delving deeper into these massive fandom-fuelled franchises.
When done right, the animated anthology allows us to both zoom in [look at specific, smaller stories] and zoom out, allowing a wider exploration of the far corners of these worlds in a way their live-action counterparts just haven't. Though only part anthology, perhaps the greatest example of this remains Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which, even before The Mandalorian, proved that the richest Star Wars storytelling of the last few years is on the small screen.
Speaking of a galaxy far far away, last year saw the release of the stellar Star Wars: Visions, on Disney+ Hotstar, which offered a series of new characters and self-contained stories within the Star Wars world, each with its own distinct, vibrant animation style. Visions achieved everything you would hope a series like it would and more, keeping to the spirit of Star Wars but taking bold leaps to reimagine its visual and storytelling style. The Star Wars universe’s very own Love, Death + Robots, if you will.
Visions was, in many ways, what the Marvel Cinematic Universe’ own animated anthology What If...?, attempted to be. The middling series, which devoted each of its nine episodes to a different alternate-reality scenario, lacked imagination in its choice of stories and their telling. A blurry blend of colourful action, What If...? played it safe, and, ironically, only really amplified the sameness of the MCU rather than delve into how different and diverse it could look and feel. Not exactly what you would hope for from a show that is literally about limitless mind-bending possibilities.
The latest animated anthology on the scene is The Boys Presents: Diabolical, an inspired expansion pack to the outlandishly entertaining and delightfully messed up world of The Boys. One of the best franchise-launching tentpole shows of the last few years, Amazon Prime Video’s flagship series is a haunting, hilarious, and heartbreaking achievement in superhero storytelling, and how it examines our obsession with them. Diabolical is every bit the triumph its live-action counterpart is, perfectly capturing the spirit of The Boys by telling eight new stories [each no more than 15 minutes] about the evils of Vought International, and the delectably depraved antics of superheroes behaving badly.
The first [and arguably the strongest] episode Laser Baby, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, both producers on The Boys, offers an adorably gory and huggably savage [there is a phrase I never thought I would say] take on Baby’s Day Out. A Looney Tunes-style comedy of terrors centered in much heart and humanity. But it is the second episode, An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents [actual title] that is quite easily my favourite.
The Rick and Morty-style short gives us a story about "a shit home for kids with shit power," those for whom being injected with Compound V did not lead to superpowers as much as they did random quirks and unfortunate deformities. The drop-dead hilarious opening voiceover introduces us to the tragic bunch, ranging from MoSlow [a kid forever stuck in slow motion], Boombo [he has got a Boombox for a face], and Booby-face [that one's fairly self-explanatory], and beyond. While I could have happily watched 17 hours of them introducing new D-grade superheroes, what I would not give to be in the room to watch writers Justin Roiland and Ben Bayouth discussing rejected reject-supes that did not make the final cut. Give me Lamp Shade Man and Coffee Breath and The Hibernator and The Podcaster and The Green Tea Dispenser and ForeverBeard and SmoothScalp.
Equally affecting was the seventh episode titled, John and Sun-Hee. A horror-esque tale bursting with heart, it follows a desperate elderly man who steals Compound V to save his cancer-stricken wife, and the, of course, horrid consequences that follow. Even the more conventional instalments, like I'm Your Pusher, featuring Billy Butcher taking down another Vought supe, or One Plus One Equals Two, about Homelander's tragic origins and the makings of a mass murderer, are never not outlandishly entertaining and hauntingly specific.
Animated anthologies, when done well, perfectly lend themselves to widening the possibility of great franchises. The greatest achievement of The Boys Presents: Diabolical is how much this sprawling story perfectly lends itself to animation. A world of super-people and grotesque, exaggerated yet matter-of-fact violence. A world where blowing a whale to smithereens or watching a genetically enhanced baby tearing through armed guards and spray-painting a footpath with a cocktail of their body parts, really is just another day in this dangerously, comically unhinged universe.
The Boys: Diabolical is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Suchin Mehrotra is a film journalist and movie junkie who sincerely believes movies can change the world. You can find him on Twitter at @suchin545.
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