Iron Man Led Marvel Comics’ Version Of The Boys | Screen Rant
While The Boys is known for its violent and irreverent parodies of established superheroes, Marvel Comics had their own anti-supe squad which was led by Iron Man. In an alternate reality, the government is controlled by an evil corporation which distributes a drug that creates superheroes. Iron Man and some other Avengers heroes, have taken a stand against the company and they corrupted supes they’re creating, just like the ultra violent militant group in The Boys.
In What If…? #103 Bill Rosemann and Dan Fraga, Captain America is thawed out of the ice he was trapped in since the ‘40s only to find himself in a nightmarish future controlled by the evil Roxxon Corporation. The difference between this universe and the main Marvel Comics timeline is that Dr. Erskine, the scientist who created the super soldier serum, wasn’t assassinated and continued to manufacture doses of the serum. In the future, Roxxon takes control over the mass production of super soldier serum and makes it available to anyone who can afford it. Not only is Roxxon mass producing super soldiers across the nation, it also has its own team of super powered individuals known as the All Americans.
With Roxxon using the super soldier serum to both make an exorbitant amount of money and to create their own superhero team, Iron Man decided to take a stand against the evil company. Tony Stark joined forces with a number of Avengers including Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Luke Cage, with the recent addition of Captain America, to take down the All Americans and put an end to Roxxon’s villainous reign. The similarities between this version of the Marvel Universe and The Boys are striking to say the least. Iron Man is exactly like Billy Butcher in this scenario with the All Americans as the Seven and Roxxon as Vought. Like Vought, Roxxon mass produced a formula that creates superheroes and did so to both make money and make their own supes that they control completely. Just as the Boys were the answer to the Vought problem in their world, this version of the Avengers formed only to take down Roxxon.
Not only are the wide-stroke plot points similar between these two comic worlds, but Iron Man even uses tactics that Butcher himself has used in The Boys. Just as Butcher used Queen Maeve to spy on the Seven from the inside, Iron Man used Ant Man to spy on the All Americans and feed information back to the Avengers. While Butcher hates supes with all his heart, he isn’t above working with them for the greater good of his mission, and Iron Man feels the same way.
While Iron Man’s version of the Boys isn’t nearly as brutal or profane as Butcher’s, their respective missions are exactly the same. Both teams are stuck in a world run by an uncaring company that creates immoral superheroes, and they both have taken a stand against the widespread corruption. Iron Man led Marvel Comics’ version of the Boys, one that was way less violent but just as effective.