Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men

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Contents

Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men
Date
  • November 2, 2011 (Part 1)
  • December 7, 2011 (Part 2)
  • January 4, 2012 (Part 3)
  • February 1, 2012 (Part 4)
  • March 7, 2012 (Part 5)
  • April 4, 2012 (Part 6)
No. of issues6
Main characters
Publisher Dynamite Entertainment
Creative team
Writers Garth Ennis [1]
ArtistsRuss Braun
Darick Robertson (cover art)
LetterersSimon Bowland
ColouristsTony Aviña [2]
Original publication
Published in The Boys
ISBN 978-1-7811-6476-1
Chronology
Preceded by The Big Ride (volume)
Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker (miniseries)
Followed by The Bloody Doors Off

Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men is a graphic novel written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Russ Braun that was released in six parts throughout 2011 and 2012 by Dynamite Entertainment as the penultimate volume of the American comic book series The Boys . Part 1, The House of Cards Comes Tumbling Down, was released November 2, 2011, Part 2, Interruptus, was released December 7, 2011, Part 3, Assassination Run, was released January 4, 2012, Part 4, A Lady of a Certain Age, was released February 1, 2012, Part 5, One, Two, Three, Four, United States Marine Corps, was released March 7, 2012, and Part 6, My Name––Is Michael Caine, was released April 4, 2012. [3]

As the Homelander finally enacts his coup against the Vought-American-controlled White House, the Boys prepare for one last terrible battle, as Frenchie and the Female are unleashed on Vought-American, and Mother's Milk, Wee Hughie, and the Guy From Vought come to realise a third party has been manipulating the Homelander and Billy Butcher against one another. Preceded by the story arc The Big Ride and the prequel miniseries Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker , it is followed by the story arc The Bloody Doors Off . [4] In 2022, elements of the volume were adapted to The Boys television episode "Glorious Five-Year Plan", [5] while the main events of the volume will be adapted as the series' 2024 fourth season. [6]

The series has received a positive critical reception. [7] [8] [9] [10]

Premise

Part One: The House of Cards Comes Tumbling Down

After Vic the Veep accidentally kills Dakota Bob with a pet wolverine, and Vought-American takes control of the White House, Billy Butcher prepares for war with the Homelander while the Homelander himself finally decides to turn against Vought. Meanwhile, M.M. begins to lose his mind over his ex-wife's treatment of their daughter. [7] [11]

Part Two: Interruptus

As the Seven begin to fall apart, Vought-American enlist Team Titanic, while the Boys find themselves going up against another group of Supes entirely. As Wee Hughie finds Annie's patience with him running thin, M.M. struggles to resolve his family crisis without alerting the rest of the team. [8] [12] [13]

Part Three: Assassination Run

As the regime of "President the Veep" takes power over Washington D.C., the Boys go on the offensive, and Hughie reveals that he was sexually assaulted by Black Noir during the events of Herogasm . As Butcher sends Frenchie and the Female to bring the fight to Vought-American, the Homelander begins to take control of the United States government. [9] [14]

Part Four: A Lady of a Certain Age

As Frenchie and the Female take on Team Titanic at Vought-American, they meet with the puzzled Vought Guy and realise they are being manipulated against one another and arrange a parley. After Annie and Maeve have a heart-to-heart, the latter is killed by the Homelander as he begins to enact his coup, as the mysterious third party sets the Butcher and the Homelander against one another. [10] [15]

Part Five: One, Two, Three, Four, United States Marine Corps

As Butcher proceeds to Washington D.C. to command the U.S. military against the Supe army, Mother's Milk and Hughie come to realise the truth about the true mastermind who has been setting the Boys and the Seven (and Butcher and the Homelander) against one another: Black Noir. [16] [17]

Part Six: My Name––Is Michael Caine.

Before Butcher and the Homelander can have their showdown, Black Noir reveals himself as the mastermind behind the torment of both: a secret clone of Homelander, he had been grown by Vought in order to kill and replace the Homelander in case he ever went rogue, only because he never did, Black Noir had begun impersonating the Homelander and committing numerous atrocities (including raping Butcher's wife) in his name, while gaslighting the Homelander into believing he had a split personality, with the ultimate goal of gaining clearance to kill him. Accepting the situation, Butcher and an enraged Homelander engage Black Noir in combat across the White House, with Black Noir quickly killing the Homelander but being wounded enough for Butcher to enact a killing blow. As the military wipe out the Homelander's army with anti-Compound V missiles provided to them by Butcher, Butcher executes Black Noir on the White House lawn before preparing to enact his final plan. [18] [19] [20] [21]

Reception

Issue #Publication dateCritic ratingCritic reviewsRef.
1November 20118.2/102 [22]
2December 20117.3/105 [23]
3January 20128.2/103 [24]
4August 20128.5/102 [25]
5March 20128.5/102 [26]
6April 20128.2/104 [27]
Overall8.1/1040 [28]

Collected editions

TitleMaterial collectedPublished dateISBN
The Boys: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men The Boys (vol. 12) #60–65June 6, 2012 [29] ISBN   1-60690-341-1
The Boys: Definitive Edition 6 The Boys #60–72 (Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men and The Bloody Doors Off ) [30] November 25, 2013 ISBN   1-60690-435-3

In other media

In 2022, the Homelander's and the Guy From Vought's "eighty over sixty" speech was adapted to the Amazon Prime Video television series third season episode "Glorious Five-Year Plan", with the characters respectively portrayed by Antony Starr and Giancarlo Esposito (as "Stan Edgar"), [5] [31] while the main events of the volume were adapted as the series' 2024 fourth season. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelander</span> Fictional comic book character

The Homelander is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in the comic book series The Boys and the media franchise of the same name, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. He is depicted as a psychopathic and sadistic narcissist who serves as the extremely powerful leader of The Seven—a group of corrupt and hedonistic superheroes grown and funded by Vought-American—and the archenemy of Billy Butcher. Beneath his public image as a noble and altruistic hero, the Homelander cares little about the well-being of those he professes to protect. Described as the living personification of how the world sees America, the character has received critical acclaim along with Starr's portrayal in the series. Homelander has also been compared to Superman and Captain America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Butcher</span> Fictional comic book character

William J. "Billy" Butcher is a fictional character and antihero appearing in the comic book series The Boys, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. He is the leader of The Boys, a group of CIA-sponsored black ops agents who observe, record and sometimes eliminate superheroes artificially created by the mega-conglomerate Vought. He is the Homelander's archenemy, whom he blames for the rape and death of his wife Becky, while also developing an intense hatred for all superhuman beings. Butcher also appears as one of the main protagonists in the Amazon Prime Video television adaptation of The Boys.

The Big Ride is a three-part graphic novel written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Russ Braun that was published by Dynamite Entertainment as the ninth volume of the American comic book series The Boys, consisting of the four-part story arcs Proper Preparation and Planning, released from November 3, 2010 to February 16, 2011, Barbary Coast, released from March 2 to June 1, 2011, and The Big Ride, released from July 6 to October 5, 2011, the latter from which the novel takes its title.

We Gotta Go Now is a graphic novel written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Darick Robertson and John Higgins that was released in eight parts throughout 2008 and 2009 by Dynamite Entertainment as the fourth volume of the American comic book series The Boys. Part 1, Silver Kincaid Killed Herself Yesterday Morning, was released October 1, 2008, Part 2, Why Pinto? Errf Why Not?, was released October 29, 2008, Part 3, It's Not Gonna Be An Orgy…!, was released December 3, 2008, Part 4, Do You Mind If We Dance With Your Dates?, was released January 7, 2009, Part 5, See If You Can Guess…What I Am Now., was released February 4, 2009, Part 6, Leaving! What A Good Idea!, was released March 4, 2009, Part 7, I'll Say You're Too Well To Attend…, was released April 1, 2009, and Part 8, Rodeo Fuck, was released May 6, 2009.

The Bloody Doors Off is a graphic novel written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Russ Braun that was released in seven parts throughout 2012 by Dynamite Entertainment as the final volume of the American comic book series The Boys. Part 1, I Cannot Let You Do This…!, was released May 2, Part 2, Splendiddio…, was released June 6, Part 3, Do You Know What I Hate?, was released July 4, Part 4, Whose Woods These Are I Think I Know, was released August 1, Part 5, The Name of the Game, was released September 5, Part 6, The Scores on the Doors, was released October 3, and Part 7, You Found Me, was released November 14.

Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker is a six-issue comic book limited series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Originally published as a spin-off of The Boys, set between issues #59 and #60, following villain protagonist Billy Butcher as he attends his father's funeral before thinking back on his origin story, serving in the Royal Marines, fighting in the Falklands War, meeting and then losing his wife Becky Saunders, and joining the CIA and in-turn the Supe-focused black ops group The Boys following her death. Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker was collected in trade paperback in March 2012 as the tenth volume of The Boys, as The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie January</span> Fictional comic book character

Rebecca Anne "Annie" Campbell, known by the superhero name Starlight, is a fictional superheroine in the comic book series The Boys, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. As Starlight, she is a member of the Seven, a group of superheroes funded by Vought-American, and the love interest of Hughie Campbell. Annie is a former member of the Young Americans group with the ability of flight and light manipulation. Throughout the series, she is portrayed as one of the only members of the Seven with selfless, benevolent motivations, but becomes disillusioned when she sees the dark secrets of Vought and the other members of the Seven. Eventually, the death and destruction she witnesses pushes her to quit her job at Vought and join the Boys alongside Hughie, where they both serve as the moral center of the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hughie Campbell</span> Fictional comic book character

Hugh "Wee Hughie" Campbell is a fictional character and the protagonist of the comic book series The Boys and its spin-offs Herogasm and Highland Laddie, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson and visually designed after Simon Pegg. He is a member of The Boys, a group of vigilantes led by Billy Butcher. After the accidental death of his girlfriend Robin at the hands of the so-called superhero A-Train, he joins the Boys to get vengeance on superheroes, who are artificially created by the mega-conglomerate Vought-American. Hughie appears in the Amazon Prime Video television adaptation of the series as one of the main protagonists, where he serves as the moral compass and voice of reason of the Boys.

The Guy From Vought, also known as the Vought Guy, is a fictional character in the comic book series The Boys and the resulting franchise, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, an executive officer of the defense contractor/pharmaceutical company Vought-American Consolidated (V.A.C.), a company which publicly owns the Seven, several smaller superhero teams, and their related franchises, and privately is responsible for the creation and distribution of the superpower-inducing Compound V. The most prominent normal human antagonist in the series, whom Homelander often unsuccessfully seeks to impress/cause to fear him, the Guy From Vought is an apparent high-functioning sociopath and practical embodiment of VA, working only in the corporate interest, including orchestrating/ordering: the near-coup of the Russian government, the massacre of the G-Men teams, Payback's ambush of the Boys, and the takeover of the White House via idiotic puppet ruler U.S. Vice President Vic the Veep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Noir</span> Fictional comic book character

Black Noir is the name of three characters from the comic book series The Boys, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, and the television series and franchise of the same name, developed by Eric Kripke. In both the comic and television series, Noir is a member of the hedonistic and reckless Vought-American superhero group the Seven and is depicted as a "silent ninja" type parody of Batman, Snake Eyes and Deathstroke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother's Milk (character)</span> Fictional comic book character from The Boys

Mother's Milk, or simply M.M., is a fictional character and antihero appearing in the comic book series The Boys, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Born Baron Wallis, he is a member of The Boys, a group of CIA-sponsored black ops agents led by Billy Butcher who observe, record, and sometimes liquidate "Supes" artificially created by the mega-conglomerate Vought.

"Cherry" is the second episode of the first season of the American superhero television series The Boys, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis. It is set in a universe where superpowered individuals, known as Supes, are portrayed as corrupt individuals instead of the heroes the general public believes they are. The episode was written by the series showrunner Eric Kripke and directed by Matt Shakman.

"Good for the Soul" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American superhero television series The Boys, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis. It is set in a universe where superpowered individuals, known as Supes, are portrayed as corrupt individuals instead of the heroes the general public believes they are. The episode was written by Anne Cofell Saunders and directed by Stefan Schwartz.

"The Innocents" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American superhero television series The Boys, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis, and named after its seventh volume. It is set in a universe where superpowered individuals, known as Supes, are portrayed as corrupt individuals instead of the heroes the general public believes they are. The episode was written by Rebecca Sonnenshine and directed by Jennifer Phang.

"You Found Me" is the eighth episode and season finale of the first season of the American superhero television series The Boys, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis. It is set in a universe where superpowered individuals, known as Supes, are portrayed as corrupt individuals instead of the heroes the general public believes they are. The episode was written by Anne Cofell Saunders and Rebecca Sonnenshine, and directed by the series showrunner Eric Kripke.

"The Big Ride" is the first episode of the second season and ninth episode overall of the American superhero television series The Boys, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis. It is set in a universe where superpowered individuals, known as Supes, are portrayed as corrupt individuals instead of the heroes the general public believes they are. The episode was written by the series showrunner Eric Kripke and directed by Phil Sgriccia.

"Nothing Like It in the World" is the fourth episode of the second season and twelfth episode overall of the American superhero television series The Boys, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis. It is set in a universe where superpowered individuals, known as Supes, are portrayed as corrupt individuals instead of the heroes the general public believes they are. The episode was written by Michael Saltzman and directed by Fred Troye.

"We Gotta Go Now" is the fifth episode of the second season and thirteenth episode overall of the American superhero television series The Boys, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis, and named after its fourth volume. It is set in a universe where superpowered individuals, known as Supes, are portrayed as corrupt individuals instead of the heroes the general public believes they are. The episode was written by Ellie Monahan and directed by Batan Silva.

Dear Becky is an eight-issue comic book limited series written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Russ Braun. Published as an extended epilogue to The Boys as a tie-in to the second season of its television adaptation, set twelve years following The Bloody Doors Off, and divided into the chapters Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and January, the series follows Wee Hughie as he builds up to finally marrying Annie January in his hometown of Auchterladle, Scotland, as he is mailed the diary of Billy Butcher, addressed to Becky and detailing Butcher's mindset over the years before he murdered the rest of the Boys and forced Hughie to kill him, Hughie reading through it while investigating who sent it to him. Published in 2020, Dear Becky was collected in trade paperback in February 2021 as The Boys: Dear Becky.

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  21. ↑ Kutsenok, Victor (April 5, 2012). "The Boys #65 Review". A Comic Book Blog. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  22. ↑ "The Boys #60 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. November 2, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  23. ↑ "The Boys #61 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. December 7, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
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  31. ↑ Stan Edgar Is Forced To Leave Vought | The Boys. Amazon Prime Video . March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023– via YouTube.
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