If The Boys has a flaw, it’s the franchise’s much-celebrated violence and gore. Because the show prides itself on the sort of hyperrealism that is generally avoided in superhero flicks (how, after all, can Flash punch someone at super speed without dismembering them) a few characters meet a tremendously bloody end in every show. Obviously, some fans relish this. I find the gore self-indulgent and believe it distracts from the generally fantastic plotting that punctuates each season.

Robert Pattinson delivers a unique take on a Bruce Wayne/Batman that is consumed by his emotional trauma and is portrayed as an awkward and unstable man struggling to do his best against all odds. He’s obsessive, self-destructive, and looks like he never gets an ounce of sleep, but it all gives the character a realistic feel. The mystery at the core of the plot is very well done with the main villain, the Riddler, doing a great job of being a menacing enigma who taunts Batman at every turn.

Comic companies are trying to diversify their superhero ranks. There have been non-white characters, and even a few Muslim heros. Marvel Comics announced a new superhero comic book series featuring Kamala Khan: a Muslim, Pakistani 16-year-old who lives in New Jersey. She'll be taking on the name of Ms. Marvel, after the former Ms. Marvel, who is now going by Captain Marvel. "We've had many diverse characters at Marvel," said Sana Amanat. "But nobody at the forefront, on this scale."

West Bengal’s chief minister promised to turn Calcutta into London. But Joss Whedon in the Marvel comics saga, The Avengers, has gone backwards instead. Calcutta in the age of superheroes looks suspiciously like the one described in the City of Joy circa 1985 – cramped, squalid and leprous. Mark Ruffalo is Dr. Bruce Banner, keeping his inner Hulk under control by saving the eternally ill slum-dwellers of Calcutta.

O, gods of the box-office, why have you forsaken the female superhero lead? Superman, Batman, the Incredible Hulk and now Spiderman have been imagined and re-imagined.  This summer, second-tier comic book characters, Captain America, Thor and the Green Lantern, got their own movie with male leads. Yet, Wonder Woman and Batgirl are at home drinking tea with cotton balls between their toes watching Nights in Rodanthe for the 12^th time.