Low Key

"Game of Thrones" decapitated fairy tale and fantasy tropes by giving us deeply flawed knights, kings and queens. Amazon's new "The Boys" similarly demystifies superheroes, as we discuss on the latest "Low Key" podcast.Every week on "Low Key," Aaron Lanton, Keith Dennie and Tim Molloy look at pop culture subtleties and what they mean. "The Boys," Eric Kripke's adaptation of Gareth Ennis' comic book about the antiheroes who try to rein in corrupt superheroes, is full of nuance -- as well as very unsubtle sex and violence. "The Boys" works if you love superhero movies, but might work even better if you're totally sick of them. If you're one of those people who thinks DC and Marvel movies are crowding out movies for grown-ups, you'll probably appreciate the "Boys" POV that superheroes are mass-marketed profit generators, not uber-beings who deserve our adoration."The Boys" is pretty gruesome and cynical in places, but that feels like a direct responser to the occasional slickness of past superhero stories.