Parents' Guide to Gen V

Just as breezy, ultra-violent, and sharp as its predecessor The Boys, this Superhero University series is plenty of briskly paced good fun. Set in the same universe as The Boys, Gen V presents a world in which babies were given the unearthly power-granting elixir Compound V, made by Boys' evil corporation Vought, by their parents. Said powers are delightfully varied: some budding superheroes can run fast or turn themselves invisible, and others have more unusual powers, like Marie's ability to wield her own blood like a weapon, or control its flow in others. Marie's college dorm roommate Emma (Lizze Broadway) can change her size (but she has to make herself vomit to shrink).

The scenes in which Emma vomits and shrinks are a potent and rather unnerving visual reference to eating disorders, and the rest of the script teems with coming of age references: a social media following is crucial for a young superhero hoping to score a rare city-protection contract; Marie gains her powers just as she hits puberty; one character's power is the ability to change sex at will. Naturally, the plotline will involve tangles with Vought and characters learning to wield the powers they've been (chemically) granted. It's more than enough to keep you interested until the next season of The Boys is available.