The Boys was taking a ‘shot’ at Avengers: Endgame in season two, says showrunner

Many fans saw the plot thread as a response to one scene in the mega Marvel movie: the moment in which the franchise’s female heroes (from Pepper Potts, to Valkyrie and Shuri) united to take down villain Thanos.

And now showrunner Eric Kripke has confirmed that he was indeed taking a "shot" at the "condescending" moment from Endgame.

"A lot of that came from our executive producer, Rebecca Sonneshine, who came in after the weekend Endgame opened," he explained to The Hollywood Reporter.

"She was just furious. I saw it, too, and I was like, 'That was the dumbest, most contrived—' And she’s like, 'Don’t get me started.'

"She found it condescending and I agreed. So that just created for us a target, a satirical target. When there’s something really ridiculous in either superhero or celebrity or Hollywood culture, we’ll immediately go after it. It’s an easy shot."

Despite poking fun at Marvel and superhero culture in general, though, Kripke confesses that he is actually a fan of much of the franchise's output, describing the filmmaking as "impeccable."

"I actually really enjoy the humorous tone that a lot of them are written in," he continued. "They’re snarky and fast and glib and I like that style."

He added that his issues didn't lie with the movies themselves, but rather that he was concerned by their ubiquity.

"I sort of believe it’s dangerous, not to overstate it or be overdramatic, but it’s a little dangerous to train an entire generation to wait for someone strong to come in and save you," he said.

"That’s I think how you end up with people like Trump and populists who say, 'I’m the only one who can come in, it’s going to be me.'

"And I think in the way that pop-culture conditions people subtly, I think it’s conditioning them the wrong way – because there’s just too much of it. So I think it’s nice to have a corrective, at least a small one in us, to say, 'They’re not coming to save you. Hold your family together and save yourselves.'"

For more on The Boys season three, read our guide to Soldier Boy, the new character played by Jensen Ackles.

The Boys season 2 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. If you’re looking for something else to watch, check out our TV Guide.