Why Is ‘Gen V’ Pinning Its Worst Storylines on Their Leading Character?

Amazon Prime Video’s original series The Boys is no stranger to blood, violence, and everything in between. The series is a dark take on the superhero genre as it showcases a world where superheroes exist and save people, but some are horrible narcissists who truly don’t care about humanity. These heroes are also propped up by a billion-dollar corporation that will do everything in its power to keep their images clean.

So, when watching the first episode of Gen V, The Boys’ spin-off series, it wasn’t shocking to see a horrific murder scene just a few minutes into the story. However, it was who the murder was centered on and the events afterward that definitely made me raise my eyebrow a bit.

Gen V takes place in The Boys universe and follows the super-powered students of Godolkin University, a university founded by Vought International that’s dedicated to teaching young supes how to be heroes. The series’ main character is Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), a young black woman with the power to bend blood to her will.

When we first meet Marie, she’s a normal pre-teen experiencing her period for the very first time. It’s here that both the audience and Marie learn that she has powers as her blood levitates in the air, rightfully frightening her. However, she has zero time to process this development as her fear and inability to control her powers causes the blood to lash out and kill not just her mother, but her father as well, leaving her and her younger sister orphans.

Now, you can call me a snowflake but it left me with a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth. The story of Marie overall is interesting, don’t get me wrong, but to have one of the few prominent Black characters in this universe murder two people within ten minutes is definitely a statement. 

But, we move on.

Marie is accepted to GodU on a scholarship and quickly meets and befriends the popularly ranked superheroes in her class. While out partying with the cool kids, Marie saves a woman from bleeding out after Andre, one of the top three-ranked students, accidentally slices her neck using his powers. Though the public sees her as a hero, Marie is quickly expelled from school as the school wants to protect the upperclassmen’s reputation, which is double messed up as, if she left GodU, she would end up in a dreary facility for super-powered adults as she has now aged out of the foster system.

And once again, dear reader, I had to ask myself: Why? Why is all of this tragedy being placed at the feet of a young Black woman? Why is she a murderer, a scapegoat, collateral damage? This isn’t even the first time a Black woman was used in this manner when it comes to this universe as The Boys begins with a Black woman being senselessly murdered by a super speedster. 

While Gen V is incredibly interesting so far as it’s showcased a ton of one-of-a-kind powers and explores the idea of gender fluidity within the superhero community, it’s a bit hard to swallow that all of the most horrific storylines (so far) are being put on the shoulders of a Black woman. This may be fiction, but the pattern of Black suffering in the media is a longstanding one and sometimes I just wish to watch something that doesn’t engage in that phenomenon.

I really hope Gen V allows Marie to experience more than just pain and suffering as the season progresses and, with five more episodes left, my hopes are still high.

(feature image: Amazon Prime Video)