‘The Boys’ Season 4 Finale Honors the Legacy of Larry Kripke
The Boys’ season 4 finale features a tribute after the mid-credits scene, which reads “For Larry Kripke,” raising curiosity among viewers about who Kripke is.
The explosive finale of The Boys raises the show’s stakes higher than they’ve been before as M. M. (Laz Alonso) and his team race against the clock to stop the supes from gaining control of America. In the episode, Homelander (Antony Starr) and his accomplices plan to assassinate the president of the United States on January 6 in order to instate Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) as their puppet president. It was a story that got so close to real-life events that the show had to issue a content warning to clarify it wasn’t inspired by the recent assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump.
However, one of the most intriguing elements was the tribute at the end. The Boys rarely includes tributes at the end of its credits and viewers likely noticed that Kripke shares a last name with showrunner Eric Kripke.
Who is Larry Kripke?
Kripke was not directly involved in the production of The Boys, but he is Eric’s late father. He passed away on February 13, 2024, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, leading Eric to dedicate The Boys season 4 finale to him. Unlike his son, Kripke wasn’t involved in the entertainment industry. He was an entrepreneur who founded Kripke Enterprises, Inc. (KEI). The business specializes in recycling nonferrous metals, while offering services like hedging, trucking, and storage.
Kripke began working in the metal brokerage industry in the 1960s at his father’s business, Sherwin Metals. He worked his way up to head of all non-ferrous operations after the company merged with Tuschman Steel. However, he eventually chose to start his own company, KEI, and brought his wife, Joanie Kripke, and oldest son, Matt Kripke, on board to help run the business. While he was described as an amazing boss who built his company “with loyalty, love and genuine concern for his employee,” another one of his greatest achievements in life was his family. At the time of his passing, Kripke and Joanie had been married for nearly 60 years, having first met when they were just 19 and 17. They shared three children, Matt, Eric, and Dana, and eight grandchildren.
In a statement to the Toledo Blade, Eric credited his father with his success in Hollywood. He was inspired by his father’s kindness to his employees and his ability to get along well with anyone. It is a trait that Eric found especially useful as a showrunner in the cutthroat entertainment industry. He stated, “Going out to Hollywood and being a writer, I can’t tell you what an advantage it was to be raised by a father who truly understood how to manage and get the best out of people. I’m a showrunner. People like to work with me. I don’t yell. I work with them and try to raise them.”
Kripke seems like a great man who prioritized his role as a husband and father and set such an excellent example as a boss that his methods proved effective across industries. It’s wonderful that Eric was able to celebrate his legacy with a nod to his father in The Boys.
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