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Gore in superhero movies and television is nigh inescapable these days. Prime Video\u2019s The Boys <\/em>has undoubtedly been a trendsetter since its 2019 premiere, followed by other recent examples like James Gunn\u2019s The Suicide Squad <\/em>and Peacemaker<\/em>, the animated series Invincible<\/em>, and Sam Raimi\u2019s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, <\/em>each offering their own version of blood and guts in a superhero story.<\/p>\n

The third season of The Boys<\/em>, which premiered with its first three episodes on Prime Video Friday, takes this to new heights with an extended and extremely X-rated gag featuring an Ant-Man-type character named Termite.<\/p>\n

[Ed. note:<\/strong> This piece contains spoilers for The Boys <\/em>season 3 episode 1.]<\/p>\n

In the first episode of the new season, Frenchie (Tomer Kapon) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) are hunting down a superhero named Termite. He is able to shrink down to a miniscule size, much like Marvel\u2019s Ant-Man.<\/p>\n

When we meet Termite, he is the life of the party \u2014 the guests are all watching him simulate sex with a doll in a dollhouse. Soon after, he retreats to a private room with a romantic partner. The pair snort lines of cocaine together, and then, on request, Termite shrinks down and jumps into his romantic partner\u2019s penis, like a spelunker walking into a gigantic phallic cave. When inside, he touches the walls of this \u201ccave\u201d playfully, to stimulate his partner. <\/p>\n

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Unfortunately, Termite (who, it must be repeated, has been doing a ton<\/em> of cocaine) sneezes while inside the penis, accidentally reverting to human size and exploding his partner\u2019s bottom half in the process. In a show with plenty of \u201cThey did what<\/em>?!?!\u201d gags, it is a standout in the department of sex and guts.<\/p>\n

How much of an inspiration for the gag was the MCU\u2019s Ant-Man? A lot<\/em>, including the well-established \u201cbutthole theory\u201d about Ant-Man fighting Thanos. After talking through which superheroes they had not yet parodied, the show\u2019s writers room settled on Ant-Man.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time there was that meme of like, why doesn\u2019t Ant-Man just go up Thanos\u2019 butt and blow him up, right?\u201d showrunner Eric Kripke told Polygon. \u201cAnd so we said, Well, let\u2019s give the audience that, because we can give them the thing that they want<\/em>. But Marvel can\u2019t, just simply can\u2019t, give them.<\/em> And then hilariously, one of the writers […] raises their hand and says, Did we do a butt explosion in season 1?<\/em> And it\u2019s true, we did. And so, you know, once you take the butt off the table, there\u2019s really only so many orifices, you know, a guy can go in.\u201d<\/p>\n

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