‘The Boys Presents: Diabolical’: All 8 ‘Fun-Size’ Episodes, Ranked
The Boys Presents: Diabolical debuted on Prime Video on March 4, offering an animated take on Supes and Vought International. From the masterminds behind The Boys, each of the eight “fun-size” installments boasts its own story and animation style. But of all The Boys Presents: Diabolical episodes, which stood out the most? Here’s our ranking.
8. ‘Boyd in 3D’ (Episode 4)
All eight episodes of The Boys Presents: Diabolical are entertaining and engaging, but “Boyd in 3D” felt like the weakest of the bunch. Penned by Eliot Glazer and directed by Naz Ghodrati-Azadi, this installment follows a young man named Boyd who agrees to test a serum that will reshape his looks.
A commentary on appearances and social media, “Boyd in 3D” shows the aftermath of that decision. Boyd eventually comes to the conclusion that the grass isn’t greener on this side of the fence, but the end of the episode reveals it’s too late. Everything has been happening in his mind — and the serum causes his head to explode.
The social commentary of this episode is top-notch, but it’s difficult to connect with Boyd in any meaningful way. Perhaps if his story was a bit longer, we could care about his growth. As it stands, he’s one of the least interesting additions to The Boys universe. This chapter does get points for that twist ending, though.
7. ‘Laser Baby’s Day Out’ (Episode 1)
Written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen and directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson and Derek Thompson, “Laser Baby’s Day Out” kicks off The Boys Presents: Diabolical. And it’s not half bad for the first episode of the spinoff series. However, it isn’t quite as gripping as what comes after.
Embracing an animation style reminiscent of Looney Tunes, this installment is entertaining, bloody, and even has an strong emotional core. It follows a Vought employee who’s come to care for a baby that can’t control her laser vision — so much so that he helps her escape execution at the hands of a Supe called Superbrain.
The connection between Simon and Laser Baby elevates this episode, but the lack of dialogue makes it hard to fully get into. It’s difficult to care about the characters when we know so little about them. And Superbrain sort of comes out of nowhere. With that in mind, this is another chapter that would have benefited from a bit more time and context.
6. ‘Nubian vs Nubian’ (Episode 6)
“Nubian vs Nubian” is an entertaining episode of The Boys Presents: Diabolical, and it introduces numerous characters we’d love to see make an appearance in The Boys. Written by Aisha Tyler and directed by Matthew Bordenave, this installment focuses on the divorce of two well-known Supes: a Nubian Prince and Nubia.
Their daughter Maya wants to stop them from splitting, so she enlists the help of the villain who got them together. A spoof on Marvel’s Wolverine, Groundhawk has hammers for hands (and was actually instructed by Vought to fight Maya’s parents years ago). He takes a beating to assist Maya with her plans, and it works — temporarily.
After a long night listening to her parents “reconnecting,” Maya learns rekindling a romance isn’t so simple. By the next morning, they’re fighting again. And she’s annoyed enough to pass the divorce papers.
It’s a hilariously accurate picture of such circumstances. And the episode’s relatable nature, combined with the action and characters, makes “Nubian vs Nubian” a compelling one. Unfortunately, some of its jokes do fall flat. And the characters could have used some more time to make us care.
5. ‘I’m Your Pusher’ (Episode 3)
Of all the episodes of The Boys Presents: Diabolical, the third one feels the most like the original series. That’s probably because it features quite a few characters from the main show. It opens with an animated Billy Butcher doing his usual: seeking vengeance against Supes who carelessly destroy ordinary lives.
This time, he’s got his eye on a hero named the Great Wide Wonder. He convinces a narcotics dealer to slip the Supe a substance that will kill him. And his revenge unfolds in glorious and chaotic fashion during a press conference with Homelander.
The bloody climax, back and forth between Butcher and Hughie, and brief appearance from Homelander will no doubt leave fans longing for The Boys Season 3. And of course, this chapter is based off of The Boys comics, giving fans of the source material even more reason to love it. They can thank writer Garth Ennis and director Giancarlo Volpe for that.
4. ‘John and Sun-Hee’ (Episode 7)
Episode 7 of The Boys Presents: Diabolical is tonally different than the rest of the installments, packing an emotional punch while tackling the subject of grief. “John and Sun-Hee” is written by Andy Samberg and directed by Steve Ahn. And the pair may leave viewers in tears before this 14-minute installment is through.
The story of a man trying to save his dying wife — and making things so much worse — this chapter gets viewers to care about the two central characters with impressive speed. Although it’s as bloody as all the other episodes, it lacks the comedy — and that’s okay.
Despite having a very different feel from the rest of Diabolical, “John and Sun-Hee” succeeds thanks to its heart. It’s a testament to the writing how much it makes you feel for these characters who have no connection to the main series and very little time to win us over.
3. ‘BFFs’ (Episode 5)
If you came to The Boys Presents: Diabolical looking to be surprised and grossed out, “BFFs” is the episode for you. Written by Awkwafina and directed by Madeleine Flores, this hilarious addition to the series is about a girl who befriends her poop.
After drinking Compound V, teenage outcast Sky finds herself facing a walking, talking bowel movement — one she becomes best friends with as the story continues. Eventually, she realizes she’s gained Supe powers from drinking the concoction. Weirdly enough, her power enables her to control poop.
Needless to say, this episode is both ridiculous and hilarious. And an appearance by The Deep underscores that point. In fact, his reaction to Sky’s power is enough to push this chapter up a few rungs on our list. The line “Rise up, my turd friends” doesn’t hurt either.
2. ‘One Plus One Equals Two’ (Episode 8)
The Boys Presents: Diabolical ends with an episode that’s bound to get fans pumped for The Boys Season 3 — if only because it focuses on Homelander.
Written by Simon Racioppa and directed by Jae Kim and Giancarlo Volpe, episode 8 takes viewers back to Homelander’s initial days at Vought. And his first mission with Black Noir goes about as horribly as you’d expect.
As always, Homelander’s attempt to rein in criminals ends in a completely avoidable mess. It’s bloody and uncomfortable and every bit what we’d expect from the character. It’s also interesting to see a time when he actually anticipated consequences.
It seems viewers have Black Noir to thank for Homelander remaining at Vought — and coming to realize there are no consequences in this job. By showing this background, “One Plus One Equals Two” adds context to the main story. It also impressively drops viewers right back into the world they love.
1. ‘An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents’ (Episode 2)
With animation inspired by Rick and Morty, episode 2 is The Boys Presents: Diabolical at its best. And is that any surprise? It’s got Parker Simmons in the director’s seat, with Justin Roiland and Ben Bayouth providing the script.
“An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents” is about… well, exactly what it sounds like. It follows a group of teens put into a home after manifesting less-than-ideal superpowers. The episode sees the gang seeking revenge on their parents after discovering they’re the reason they have these unfortunate powers.
And as gruesome as the premise is, it’s executed in shocking and hilarious fashion. On top of that, it addresses a very real side of The Boys world we never hear about: all the failed experiments with Compound V. We’d love to see more side stories that tie into the main one like this.
The Boys Presents: Diabolical is currently streaming on Prime Video.
