The Boyshas never been subtle. The first episode drowns the audience in blood, gore, and subverted expectations. It’s an excess-forward philosophy in which nothing is ever too much. While the main characters tend to feel three-dimensional, secondary and tertiary figures can be stand-ins for social ills. Season two gave the world a straightforward fascist in Stormfront. Season four introduces fans to a manic, unhinged, violent conspiracy theorist called Firecracker.
Some fans ofThe Boysbelieve that the showhas somehow changed targets. They perceived some sort ofSouth Park-style universal mockery targeted at all sides of the political and cultural aisles. Eagle-eyed viewers will discover a consistent political lean to the series. Nothing has meaningfully changed from a satirical perspective. It has, however, escalated the stakes of social commentary. Corporations continue to be the prime target, but the net has widened.The Boysdidn’t “get political.” It’s just more about politics now.
Who is Firecracker?
Firecracker, real name unknown at the moment, is a superhero, podcast host, public speaker, content creator, and social media influencer whorecently joined the Seven. She’s a rising star in the nascent “alt-supe” movement who makes her money selling absurd conspiracy theories to an angry audience. This side career brought her overwhelming popularity with a specific and wildly unpleasant demographic. Her podcast, “The Truthbomb with Firecracker,” is essentiallyThe Alex Jones Showfor superhero fanatics. She seems considerably less impressive as a hero than she does as a media personality. Her power involves generating small explosive sparks by snapping her fingers. These may escalate to more destructive detonations, but she also seems to rely heavily on the usual enhanced physical attributes offered to every user of Compound V. She also carries a Glock 17, though that’s likely a decoration to appeal to her base. She can fight Kimiko to a standstill, suggesting relatively even power levels. Asurprise strike from Butcher’scrowbar leaves her briefly unconscious, so it’s safe to assume that Firecracker isn’t very resilient.
Though she hasn’t revealed her real name, Firecracker briefly delved into her backstory. She’sposed as Starlight’s nemesis. Firecracker used to go by “Sparkler.” Like Annie January, she grew up as a devoted competitor in “Little Miss Hero” pageants. Young ladies with demanding parents and Compound V often used the pageant circuit as a stepping stone into the supe industry. Firecracker grew up poor, but she viewed her performances as a chance to escape her grim circumstances. Unfortunately, Firecracker had to quit the circuit after a 13-year-old Annie spread a disgusting rumor about a young Firecracker to defeat her. This led to a lifelong grudge, which Firecracker is still pursuing. On some level, Firecracker is a petulant child. She craves validation from Homelander and revenge against a childhood bully. The degree to which she believes the horrific lies she spouts is also questionable. When asked what she’s selling, she explains that the raving lunatics that pay her bills are happy to trade their hard-earned money for someone who can make them feel that their difficult lives have a purpose. She’s a petty, self-obsessed, hateful bigot who is happy to profit off of making things worse. She makes herway into the Sevenbecause Sister Sage thinks she has a use for her.
What is Firecracker based on?
From a power perspective, Firecracker is probably a parody oftheX-Men’s Jubilee. Like Jubilation Lee, Firecracker generates small, flashy explosions from her hand. The running joke about Jubilee was that her power was useless, potentially inspiring Firecracker’s less-than-impressive gimmick. Of course, Jubilee can split an atom and cause a resulting blast to rival the most powerful weapons on Earth, but that rarely comes up. Firecracker’s personality and role in politics are a mish-mash of political and media figures. She’s most directly adapted from conspiratorial politicians like Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Lauren Boebert. She’s also a media figure, taking notes from iconic nonsense merchants like Alex Jones. The show’s trailer teases Firecracker taking command of Cameron Coleman’s news show, mirroring the gradual mainstreaming process of niche figures that goes alongside America’s decline into fascism. The idea of entertainers creating the conditions that destroy democracy in favor of tyranny has always beencentral toThe Boys, and Firecracker fits perfectly into the mix.
Who plays Firecracker inThe Boys?
Valorie Curry portrays Firecracker inThe Boys. Gamers will recognize Curry as the voice actor and motion capture performer for KarainDetroit: Become Humanand the 2012 tech demo that originated the character. Curry also starred in TV series likeThe Following, House of Lies,andThe Tick. On the big screen, she appeared in the finalTwilightfilm and Adam Wingard’sBlair Witchremake. Speaking toDen of Geek, she explained her process in portraying Firecracker like this:
When I was building the character, I leaned more into her hurt and her past her backstory. It would be so easy for her to just disappear into parody. It was important to ground her so that the commentary and satire could still rise in contrast.
The Boysbrought Firecracker into its hilarious satire this season. She’s an insufferable character and a great addition to the series. Firecracker will be an instrumentalpart of Homelander’s gradualplan to take over the world. It’s not hard to imagine how her story will end, but the ride will likely be fun.
