The Boys Season 5 Drops The Ultimate X-Men: Days of Future Past Reference

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Warning: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for The Boys season 5, episode 1.

When it’s at its best, The Boys expertly mixes thrilling action and drama with genuinely funny comedy, making it one of the top superhero shows available. The show’s humor often cleverly satirizes popular culture and current events, and it frequently pokes fun at the superhero genre itself, often referencing Marvel and DC comics.

The show includes several superheroes who are funny parodies of popular characters. It also playfully pokes fun at the sprawling, often endless storylines of major superhero movie franchises – even though The Boys itself has become a successful series with its own related shows.

What really sets The Boys apart is its ability to poke fun at itself while also playfully criticizing and teasing its rivals for relying on common clichés. That said, the show isn’t above borrowing ideas from others in the same genre, and the start of season 5 continues that trend.

The biggest surprise in The Boys season 5 so far has been A-Train’s death, but he went out a hero, saving Hughie and MM from a dangerous situation. Fans might recognize the dramatic, slow-motion rescue scene as a clear reference to a similar moment in the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past.

A-Train, being the fastest member of The Boys, quickly moved to help MM and tackle Homelander, mirroring a similar rescue scene with Quicksilver in Days of Future Past. This suggests the moment was an homage, rather than a joke.

The Boys Season 5, Episode 1 Is Loving X-Men: Days Of Future Past

The premiere of The Boys season 5 included a clear tribute to X-Men: Days of Future Past, hinting that the film heavily inspired the show. The most noticeable reference is the scene with A-Train, where his use of slow motion is almost exactly the same as Quicksilver’s iconic sequence in the 2014 X-Men movie, even though the situations are different.

Both of these super-fast characters like to control situations involving their friends and foes, and they often add humor to the chaos. Quicksilver, in particular, is very casual about it – he effortlessly deflects bullets meant for his teammates, and playfully messes with enemies by stealing a hat or even causing someone to punch themselves, all while enjoying a quick bite to eat.

A-Train’s rescue is quick and more intense. While saving Hughie from Homelander’s laser, he briefly reacts with amusement to Butcher’s abilities – it’s the first time he’s witnessed them. He manages to disarm a guard and pull the pins from grenades, but not before getting slightly injured by the laser himself.

Even if all the similarities seem accidental, A-Train’s habit of putting on his glasses before helping people is strikingly similar to a moment with Quicksilver in Days of Future Past. This isn’t the only nod to the X-Men universe in the season 5 premiere—Homelander’s opening speech also contains a clear reference to the films.

So, in the latest episode of The Boys, the big bad guy casually drops that G-Men: Days Past from the Future made over two billion dollars! It’s a pretty clear dig at X-Men: Days of Future Past, you know? It’s funny because Days of Future Past did really well – around $746 million – but it’s nothing compared to the fake movie Vought cooked up in the show’s universe. It’s a great little detail that really highlights how powerful and influential Vought is.

With Sheline appearing as a clear parody of Catwoman in The Boys season 5, the show is once again playfully poking fun at other superhero universes. While Homelander’s speech was likely just a joke, A-Train’s heroic act was a direct nod to Days of Future Past, and surprisingly showed a moment of genuine respect.

Days Of Future Past Was Sony’s Last Great X-Men Movie

The X-Men movies have had their share of hits and misses, but Days of Future Past is widely considered the last truly excellent film in the series. The movie’s clever plot brought together actors from both older and newer films in a way that felt cohesive, and it offered strong versions of beloved characters.

Combining different time periods is always risky, but Days of Future Past became one of the most thrilling X-Men movies ever. The film successfully presented the Sentinels as a truly terrifying danger. It also introduced some memorable new characters and included inventive moments, like the now-famous Quicksilver scene.

Compared to earlier successes, Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix didn’t quite deliver, and felt like the end of a chapter for the X-Men films. Now that the X-Men are joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Doomsday, it remains to be seen if they can recapture the magic of Days of Future Past, which set a high bar for quality.

This feels like a fitting tribute for The Boys, as it’s a chance to remember a truly special series that gave us so many memorable scenes and characters. It’s a show that deserves renewed appreciation after all these years.

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2026-04-09 20:09