The Boys: Herogasm - All You Need To Know About Season 3's Superhero Party

Summary Herogasm episode of The Boys season 3 differs greatly from the comics due to major storyline and character changes.

Amazon kept core themes but made Herogasm unique for the show, turning it into a pivotal and well-adapted episode.

Despite creative content warnings, Herogasm stayed true to The Boys tone, featuring dramatic plot moments and thoughtful adaptation.

One of the most anticipated — and controversial — episodes of The Boys season 3 came when it adapted Herogasm, a spin-off of The Boys comics about an annual superhero orgy. Herogasm is an infamous miniseries from Garth Ennis's comic books, mainly because of how much more adult it is than the already-mature comics. The "Herogasm" episode finally came in The Boys season 3, episode 6, and — surprisingly — the difficulties in adapting Herogasm didn't lie in how to present the incredibly adult subject, but in how to adapt the storyline to fit the different fictional world of Amazon's adaptation.

Herogasm was the first The Boys miniseries and spin-off, and it proved to be controversial, even by the standards of The Boys comics. It contained obvious parodies of many popular superheroes engaging in practices that were kinky at best and illegal at worst. In addition, The Boys: Herogasm added context to the role The Seven played in 9-11. Readers of Garth Ennis's books knew Herogasm's storyline would end up heavily altered for The Boys season 3, and sure enough, the "Herogasm" episode was incredibly different from the comic series that inspired it in many ways.

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What Is Herogasm?

Herogasm Was An Annual Orgy Hosted For Supes By Vought

The Boys Herogasm episode is based on an event of the same name from the comics. They're similar in that both are superhero orgies, but the still incredibly graphic on-page Herogasm is a little different from the show's take. In The Boys comics, Herogasm is an annual festival in which most of Vought-American's superheroes meet secretly at a remote tropical resort for a company-sponsored orgy.

Virtually anything goes and all manner of amusement, both legal and illegal, is made available for Vought's supes.

For one weekend, virtually anything goes and all manner of amusement, both legal and illegal, is made available for Voughts supes. Various sex workers being paid $100,000 each to make themselves available for anything and everything. What made the spectacle of Herogasm more disturbing was that it was always covered up by a public announcement that all the heroes were joining forces to face some fake crisis that required all of them to work together.

After spending several days generally debasing themselves as they saw fit, the Supes returned home to a hero's welcome with the world none the wiser as to what they were doing in private. The Herogasm comic, of course, showed readers everything in almost full detail, highlighting the depravity of superheroes in the world of The Boys.

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What The Boys Changed About The Herogasm Plot From The Comics

The Show Kept The Core Concept Of Herogasm But Scrapped Many Key Details

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The orgy in The Boys Herogasm episode in season 3 isn't the same as the Herogasm comic miniseries, mainly because The Boys comic and TV show universes are vastly different. The show was always going to show Herogasm differently. The most glaring difference for fans of both versions of The Boys is the lack of Vought's history or involvement in the show's superhero orgy. Herogasm is a Vought-sponsored event in The Boys and Herogasm comic series. In The Boys season 3, Vought has nothing to do with Herogasm.

In The Boys TV show, Herogasm is a yearly event Soldier Boy started in the 1950s. The annual Herogasm is a private function held at the house of the TNT Twins - middle-aged members of Soldier Boy's former team. The premise of the show's Herogasm has changed, and so too has the orgy's purpose in the narrative. In The Boys comic, Herogasm is used to weave exposition of events from before the series' first issue. There is also an incredibly shocking moment between Black Noir and Hughie that didn't make it into the show.

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In season 3 of The Boys, Herogasm is the first on-screen showdown between Homelander and Soldier Boy — something the show had built toward since the end of its second season. This was completely different from their comic book Herogasm encounter, which is more sexual. The show's Herogasm event also provides the backdrop for a pivotal moment: Butcher revealing his Compound-V-given laser eyes and super-strength to a shocked Homelander.

It's also where A-Train finally manages to apologize sincerely for the death of Hughie's girlfriend but then almost dies of a heart attack after dragging racist cop-vigilante Blue Hawk across miles of road at full speed. All in all, Herogasm is a different orgy in the show, presented with a different purpose. Aside from the exposition of plot points regarding "Vic the Veep," Herogasm in Garth Ennis' comic books showcased the depravity of the participating supers, and of course, generated some more controversy.

The widely-anticipated Herogasm episode wasn't as controversial as its comic-book counterpart

The Boys series on Amazon Prime uses Herogasm for the same reasons, but it's also the staging area for some of the show's most pivotal plot moments. While the widely-anticipated Herogasm episode wasn't as controversial as its comic-book counterpart due to many of these changes, it did keep its essence — it's weird, extreme, and the epitome of NSFW moments

Related The Boys: How Love Sausage Was Changed From The Comics (& Why) Love Sausage is a fan favorite supporting character in the original comic of The Boys, but the Amazon TV series made the character MUCH grosser.

The Boys' Creative Herogasm Warning Might Have Been Overplayed

Nothing In The Herogasm Felt Out Of Place For The Show's Tone

Amazon Studios put out a content warning trailer before the Herogasm episode of The Boys, with an additional disclaimer directly after the Prime Video vanity card during the episode. While the tone of both warnings was tongue-in-cheek, playing up to the controversy and hype surrounding the long-awaited on-screen Herogasm, it may have inadvertently overset expectations.

The Boys is already an extreme show. The previous episode had an elongated sequence where a naked Seth Rogen participated in masturbatory webcam exploits with the Crimson Countess, and nothing beyond Rogen's actual penis was left to the imagination. Season 3's first episode included a moment where shrinking hero Termite returns to full size while still inside a man's urethra. There has yet to be an episode of The Boys missing at least one scene that is disturbing one way or another.

Several of the moments in Herogasm deliberately broke taboos.

For a show like The Boys to preface an episode with not one, but two, content warnings, there was intense speculation about just what the on-screen Herogasm would entail. The Herogasm spin-off miniseries of The Boys comic pushed ideas of taste and acceptability to their limits. Several of the moments in Herogasm deliberately broke taboos, and not all the acts portrayed in the pages were consenting.

The Boys on Amazon Prime previously hadn't shied away from that particular aspect of the source material, either. Fans familiar with both the show and the comics were quick to warn those unfamiliar with Ennis and Robertson's work to be prepared. However, when the episode aired, many felt the warnings had overplayed what the episode contained. The content warning trailer didn't lie. Herogasm in The Boys season 3 delivered everything viewers were warned to expect by Amazon Studios.

The Herogasm episode had excessive bodily fluids, full-frontal nudity, explicit sexual content, and quite possibly the largest penis ever rendered in CGI.

The Herogasm episode had excessive bodily fluids, full-frontal nudity, explicit sexual content, and quite possibly the largest penis ever rendered in CGI. However, nothing in Herogasm felt worthy of a content warning when compared to The Boy's other episodes, especially since The Boys is a streaming exclusive, so the chances of channel-hoppers inadvertently stumbling across it and complaining to the FCC are nil.

As outrageous as they were, all the acts shown in Herogasm were between consenting adults, and it's not the first time The Boys has featured an uncompromising view of superheroic group depravity. Taking into account the already-adult tone of the show as well as the extremity of events in the Herogasm comic source material, the content warning felt a little unnecessary and even misleading post-viewing.

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Why The Boys' Comic Version Of Herogasm Was So Controversial

The On-Page Version Of The Boys Is Almost Always Darker Than The Show

Even with the standards of streaming television, it would have been difficult to justify going as far as the comics.

The Herogasm episode of The Boys has been discussed online since it was first announced Amazon would be adapting the comics into a show. As the name eloquently alludes to, there is a healthy dose of shocking material in The Boys: Herogasm. It's perhaps most known for the controversial scene in which Soldier Boy sleeps with Homelander, hoping that it will earn him a place in The Seven. That's far from the only event in Herogasm that was one of the first talking points among fans.

Most of the miniseries expanded on plot elements that occurred in the background of The Boys, or were referenced but took place off-panel. An example is a four-way with Fantastico, a parody of the Fantastic Four. A-Train thought it was a ménage à trois between the male members before he realized Invisi-Lass was in the middle. Some of the panels of the comic come close to being pornographic. Even with the standards of streaming television, it would have been difficult to justify going as far as the comics.

Herogasm featured a shocking scene involving Black Noir and Hughie Campbell. Hughie is discovered by Black Noir, who then sexually assaults Hughie with his thumb while calling him a "good soldier." This scene was barely accepted by many comic fans, and many felt it was too far even for The Boys. This, like many other non-consensual moments, didn't make it into the show. The Boys series has shown rape, but it's never played for cheap shock.

When The Boys: Herogasm was released in 2009, less than a decade after 9/11, this arc caused quite a stir.

It would be impossible to handle it respectfully against the backdrop of Herogasm, where the viewer's attention will be on either Love Sausage's prehensile genitalia or The Deep's intimate moment with an octopus. Herogasm was also controversial because of stories centered on 9/11. In the comic timeline, The Seven made a botched attempt to stop one of the hijacked planes. It crashes into the Brooklyn Bridge, leaving over 1,000 dead.

The Boys infiltrate Herogasm to question a Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President Victor Neuman. They discover that Vought-American had "Vic The Veep" as a sleeper agent, using him to neutralize the President during the 9/11 attacks. With the President temporarily out of action, Neuman gave the order for NORAD to stand down. The Seven then attempted to neutralize the last plane approaching New York City, despite fighter jets ready to shoot the plane down, a task which they failed.

If The Seven had been successful and landed the plane safely, Vought-American could have changed laws prohibiting superhuman militarization, allowing them to create super soldiers and make a fortune in defense contracts. When The Boys: Herogasm was released in 2009, less than a decade after 9/11, this arc caused quite a stir. Whether it still would if included in a 2022 TV series is unknown, as in the show's continuity the September 11th attacks never occurred.

Related Wow, The Boys' Herogasm Wasn't Nearly As Bad As We Thought It'd Be The Boys season 3, episode 6 finally did Herogasm in live-action, but the grotesque event from the comic was not nearly as bad as it could have been.

Why Herogasm Worked So Well In The Show

Amazon Kept The Core Themes And Turned Herogasm Into Something Unique

Despite Herogasm traumatizing the crew of The Boys and the possible overreach of the creative content warning, the episode defied all expectations and was adapted seamlessly into The Boys TV canon. It seemed like there was little reason to include Herogasm material beyond pushing the envelope to see if season 3 could get away with outrageous sexual content matching the violence seen in the first two seasons. However, the Herogasm episode turned out to be one of the best of season 3.

It was also a pivotal moment for multiple story arcs critical to The Boys Amazon Prime series. Like much of its source material, The Boys looked to the pages of Herogasm for inspiration rather than a direct script. The episode feels spiritually faithful to the miniseries, keeping its core outrageous essence, but it uses these thematic building blocks to create a Herogasm that's more than a CGI-penis-filled shock fest.

Having Herogasm at their house when Soldier Boy shows up was a masterful way to adapt the concept into The Boys without derailing the plot.

There's a reason Hughie, Butcher, Mother's Milk, and Starlight (after a confrontation with Victoria Neuman) find themselves at the TNT Twins' isolated home. A major story beat for seasons 2 and 3 of The Boys was the return of Soldier Boy. He is hell-bent on eradicating his former teammates, including the twins. Having Herogasm at their house when Soldier Boy shows up was a masterful way to adapt the concept into The Boys without derailing the plot.

It gave instant justification for A-Train, The Deep, and Blue Hawk being present for Soldier-Boy's explosive showdown with Homelander. From a narrative perspective, getting an ensemble roster of characters in the same place and time for key events is tricky. With Herogasm, The Boys found a platform for one of its most dramatic episode climaxes yet, cohesively bringing together several previously isolated story threads for a conclusion almost as shocking as Love Sausage answering the door.

Herogasm Is Possibly The Boys' Best Episode

The Amazon Prime Video Series Has Yet To Top Herogasm

The Boys take on Herogasm caused quite a stir, both before and after it aired. However, looking back, it remains quite possibly the best episode of The Boys so far. This isn't just because of the controversial or sexual elements, either. Season 3 is widely regarded as one of the best seasons of The Boys so far, and this is because the wider arc that it was building to in the finale was incredibly engaging and well-paced. The showrunners made a smart decision by having Herogasm as the episode where many of these threads first became entwined, with incredible results.

Aside from all the Supe orgy strangeness, "Herogasm" was the episode of the boys that finally saw Soldier Boy and Homelander come face-to-face for the first time. Viewers had been highly anticipating this moment ever since Soldier Boy's introduction to the show, and having it happen at Herogasm was unexpected — though it only served to make the episode that much more memorable.

What's more, "Herogasm" happened during Butcher's Temp V storyline, meaning that he had powers of his own. This meant viewers were treated to a showdown between not only Homeland and Soldier Boy, but Butcher too. The moment was completely unexpected given how the promo for the episode had been entirely focused on the adult content of the Herogasm orgy, but it was executed so well that it became the highlight of the episode.

The showdown between some of the most powerful characters in The Boys wasn't the only thing worth noting in Herogasm, either. A subplot in season 3 was the rivalry between A Train and the racist Supe, Blue Hawk. Blue Hawk was present at Herogasm, as was A Train. A Train took the opportunity to get revenge on Blue Hawk once and for all, which he did by running at full super-speed while dragging his foe's face across the asphalt all the way. This was an incredibly gory yet satisfying moment, topped off by A Train having a heart attack afterward, with his fate left uncertain until the next episode.

All in all, almost no episode of The Boys has managed to be as action packed as "Herogasm", even when the adult content seen in the orgy itself aren't taken into the equation. As for these moments, they also serve to make the episode near-perfect, as the unrestrained debauchery on display more-or-less captures everything that makes the Supes in The Boys such an intriguing spin on Superheroes.