The Boys: The Subtle Jab At Joss Whedon's Justice League You Likely Missed

Being that "The Boys" is largely about a world obsessed with superheroes, it's easier for the Amazon Prime series to cross-pollinate with our own reality than most other shows. In fact, some of the best and funniest moments in the popular series have lampooned real-life PR disasters, like Gal Gadot and company singing John Lennon's "Imagine" or Kendall Jenner's tone-deaf Pepsi ad.

Still, there are plenty of other references to real life on "The Boys" that are a little more inside baseball. For instance, in Season 2, Episode 5, "We Gotta Go Now," Homelander (Antony Starr) references a script revision by famed writer Joss Whedon for Vought Studios' "Dawn of the Seven" movie. "That Joss rewrite really sings," the sadistic hero says.

Though this is just a quick little line, it's actually loaded with subtext. Just for starters, though Whedon has since left Marvel, he is the writer and director behind the first two "Avengers" movies, meaning he has a strong reputation for writing successful superhero stories. The joke comes with another layer, however, since Whedon was famously asked to rewrite Zack Snyder's "Justice League," which resulted in some criticism.

All the same, there's also a very sensible and tangible reason why "The Boys" showrunner Eric Kripke wanted to name-drop Joss Whedon on his series. After all, Kripke's own long-running series, "Supernatural," is influenced by Whedon projects like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

In fact, Kripke went out of his way to let his admiration for Whedon's writing show when he spoke with Collider. "I have no particular opinion on any version of any cut of any superhero movie," he explained. "It's just more that Joss is the most well-known name of a guy who writes and rewrites superhero movies. And so, we tipped our hat to Joss Whedon. I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan. Buffy's one of the best shows ever made."

Whedon is known for writing strong, independent women into many of his projects. Furthermore, like many characters on "The Boys," Whedon was long heralded as a feminist before allegations arose that helped tear apart his long-standing reputation in the entertainment industry (via The Washington Post). When you consider these factors as well, this little line seemingly has even more to say about the universe of the show.