Jesse Schedeen

The series continues to be both a love letter to a particular era of the X-Men franchise and a source of deep, enjoyable character drama that can appeal to Marvel fans of all stripes.

Season 9 is an improvement over the relatively weaker Season 8. Certainly, not every episode is a banger, but there are several here that rank among the show’s best.

It’s an approach that doesn’t necessarily do anything new with the character in the MCU (nor does it address any of the shortcomings of that approach), but it’s one that succeeds in stripping away the extraneous fluff of the Netflix series and just giving fans what they crave.

Fortunately, the first eight episodes of Season 1 are able to weave together an exciting narrative that places as much importance on the new supporting cast as it does Maul himself.

The plot is sluggish at best, with the early episodes restoring a more traditional status quo and later episodes taking their sweet time in building to a dramatic showdown. And along the way, not every character enjoys as much spotlight time as they deserve. Still, The Boys Season 5 is a lot of fun even when it proves less than laser-focused.

The series has its work cut out for it when it comes to establishing the new cast of characters alongside the old. But compared to the misguided mess that was Season 9, the revival is a welcome return to form for a fan-favorite series.

The series quickly establishes a winning balance of meta-humor and quiet character drama. And while that alone isn’t necessarily enough to justify a full miniseries, the final moments of this episode do manage to hint at a bigger picture to ease any concerns.

Perhaps Baran is portrayed in an overly antagonistic light early on, but the hope is that this will change as the season unfolds and the stakes at the hospital grow more urgent. All that really matters is that Episode 1 establishes a strong foundation on which the new season can easily build from hour to hour.

More than ever, the lesser episodes tend to blur together. But there are several real winners in Volume 3, from the long-awaited return of the Ronin in “The Duel: Payback” to the visually stunning “The Bird of Paradise” and the wild romp that is “BLACK.” Visions remains worth a watch, but try not to consume the season all at once.

The fun character dynamics and the fact that the series is far better than the regular MCU at building bonds among the various Phase 4 and 5 characters are enough to make Marvel Zombies worth watching. The series finally casts aside that formula in the finale, which delivers an epic showdown to rival the likes of Avengers: Endgame.