Is ‘Section 8’ DC's Answer To ‘The Boys’?
Image Source: DC Comics
Section Eight is a team of misfit superheroes from DC Comics. Their base is in the Cauldron section of Gotham City sewers. They first appeared in Hitman #18 in 1997 when Tommy Monaghan (aka the Hitman) got into trouble with some demons, and Sixpack gathered the members of Section Eight to help him out. Section Eight also appeared in Batman and Robin vol. 2 #27 from 2014 and had its own limited run called All-Star Section Eight in 2015 and 2016.
There are eight members of Section Eight. Sixpack, real name Sid Speck, is an alcoholic and the leader of Section Eight. His abilities are drunkenness and hitting people with broken bottles. It is suggested throughout the run that the team’s heroic exploits are nothing more than Sixpack’s drunken hallucinations. Bueno Excellente fights evil with “the power of perversion.” The Defenestrator carries around a window and forcefully throws criminals, and sometimes others, through the window.
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Dogwelder welds dead dogs onto criminals. Friendly Fire shoots energy bolts from his hands. The only problem is he usually hits his allies instead of his enemies. Jean de Baton-Baton defeats enemies with “the power of Frenchness.” Flemgem spews phlegm on his enemies, which blinds, suffocates, or disgusts them. Shakes both stutters and shakes and is a common target of Friendly Fire.
Section Eight’s biggest test came against the Many-Angled Ones, a group of demons terrorizing Gotham. Six of the eight members are killed in the battle. Only Bueno Excellente and Sixpack managed to survive. The Many-Angled Ones eventually promise to leave Gotham if Sixpack accompanies them and engages in a battle for his soul. Although Sid Speck is later seen attending AA meetings.
Image Source: Ranker
People are likely to notice similarities with the popular comics (and television show) The Boys. Both flip the standard comics narrative by making the Superheroes anything but heroes. In addition, the Boys are a CIA team that actively fights against the “supes,” while Section Eight is merely shunned by the real heroes. Garth Ennis co-created both Section Eight and The Boys. So, it’s not surprising that they are alike in tone and message, even though most details differ.
At first glance, it’s hard to say that Section Eight is DC’s answer to The Boys. First, it’s not because Section Eight predates The Boys. Second, DC owned The Boys for its first six issues before cancelling it. (It was subsequently picked up by Dynamite Entertainment.) However, it is possible that with the success of The Boys, DC wanted something comparable, and rather than start with something new, they revived a similar older property with Section Eight. Looked at from that perspective, the titular question can be answered in the affirmative.
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