(people chanting)
(zooming sound)
(can opens)
- [Stephanie] Hello and welcome to another special episode
of Superhero Club, your go-to show
for all things comic book inspired on Amazon Prime video.
I'm your host Stephanie Williams.
Before we get too far in,
if you want more superhero content like this
don't forget to like this video
and subscribe to our channel.
Today we are highlighting the boy's character, A-Train,
a superhero, with great speed, but little responsibility.
- We gotta listen to each other
A-Train's Turbo Rush Energy Dream.
- [Stephanie] First we'll dive into his comic history
and then get into the A-Train we've gotten to know
in the last three seasons
of the Amazon Prime Video TV series adaption of The Boys.
All right, so let's get into A-Train's comic history.
A-Train made his debut in The Boys number one
in one of superhero comic's most shocking
character introductions.
He accidentally slams a villain into Hughie's girlfriend
while traveling at the speed of sound,
killing her instantly.
While he feels bad for a brief moment,
he then brushes it off as though it was just another day
that ended in -y.
It's all downhill running from that moment on,
for a guy who severely lacks empathy.
Before A-Train became a member of the Seven,
he was in a teenage based superhero group
called Teenage Kicks,
who also makes an appearance in the TV show.
His teammates included Pop Claw, Blarney Cock,
Gunpowder, Dogknott, Shoutout and Whack Job.
He was a great fit for a team who was a stark counterpart
to more conservative teams like the Young Americans.
Despite having little control over his abilities,
A-Train left Teenage Kicks to join the Seven
after the original speedster, Mr. Marathon,
was killed during the botch plane rescue attempt
during the 9/11 crisis.
Like in the show, in the comics, A-Train is pretty low
on the respect totem pole among the Seven members,
which is truly a difficult feat when there is someone
like HomeLander on the team.
And A-Train was under Homeland's thumb, too,
for a little while.
So you can imagine how stressful that was.
A-train did his best to make Starlight's life a living hell.
Once she became the newest member of the Seven,
he enjoyed humiliating her the most,
out of all of the Seven members.
He assaults Starlight more than once,
but the second time she fights back
and temporary blinds him in one eye, something he deserved.
And he actually got away pretty easy
in terms of what he tries to do to her.
When A-Train is finally kidnapped by Billy Butcher,
his true cowardice gives way.
Hughie is the one to end A-Train after Butcher plays audio
of A-Train, and the Seven's true reasons
for hiring Starlight and of course for killing Robin.
So big bad A-Train begs for his life, crying, snot,
throwing up, everything.
And of course he gets killed by Hughie, who again,
he had that coming since the first issue.
All right, now let's move on to the A-Train
we've learned about in the past three seasons
of the Amazon Prime TV series adaption.
The A-Train of the Boys adaption is still
a self-centered, fame-chasing,
girlfriend-killing member of the Seven,
but is also given the space to showcase
more nuance than its comics book iteration.
- How does this not all start with you, Hughie?
The only difference between you and me is
that I made a mistake.
The (beep) that you did was on purpose.
So who's worse?
- [Stephanie] Not much information is given
about a A-Train's life before joining the Seven.
We know that his real name is Reggie Franklin.
He was born in 1987 and that he grew up poor.
Like his comic iteration,
A-Train also started off as a member of Teenage Kicks.
It was during his time with the Teenage Kicks that he
entered a relationship with Pop Claw, who we meet
in season one.
But unfortunately, she does get killed by A-Train.
Just like in the comics,
A-Train also has a problem with compound V. He abuses it.
In the show, A-Train is high on compound V
when he runs into Hughie's girlfriend.
- I can't stop.
I can't stop, I can't stop, I can't stop.
I can't stop.
- [Stephanie] The reason why A-Train is using compound V is
his desire to stay the fastest man alive.
It's what drives him to seek it out.
Now, one could argue that is because he is so vain.
That is a reason, but also because
he grew up with just financial struggles and difficulties.
He has a fear of having to go back to that life
and being unable to provide and support for his family.
So while there isn't necessarily an excuse,
it does give some nuance and some reasoning as
to why he's willing to take the risk that he does
by taking Compound V.
And despite wanting to make sure
that he continues to kind of take care
of the people in his life, he does not listen
to them, at all, because his brother, Vot,
and even a few other folks try to warn him
of the dangers of taking compound V.
And eventually his usage is what brings him
to having a heart attack by the end of season one,
when he has that fight with Starlight and Hughie.
A-Train ends up losing his spot
on the Seven team, when he's kicked off by HomeLander.
He's having heart palpitations every time he speeds up,
and it is just causing a huge problem.
He's then recruited by the Deep to join
the Church of the Collective in hopes of
joining the Seven again.
By doing so, he becomes a member again
only after his replacement is killed by Victoria Newman,
during the events of the Courtroom Massacre in season two.
A-Train also helps The Boys
by giving them leaked info about Stormfront.
But that was moreso for personal reasons,
and not because he became a new person
during his time with the Church of the Collective.
The moment did show he did have room
for some redemption or more complicated times ahead of him.
Once A-Train is back with the Seven,
he tries rebranding himself
after the Dawn of the Seven movie premiere.
Like his comic book iteration,
season three showcases just how little respect his teammates
and Vot have for him.
- Just stay there and rest those useless (beep) legs.
- [Stephanie] To make matters worse,
he shows little to no backbone regarding his desire
to get back into Homelander's good graces by snitching
on Starlight about her plan to take HomeLander down,
even after she invites him.
He is desperate and it shows in almost all his actions
since the day he ran into Robin in the first episode
of season one.
A-Train tries to pitch a video game
about the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
So I would say that he is, he's at rock bottom.
A-Train changes his costume
but doesn't truly change much about himself.
Even in his attempt to get involved
with his community at the request of his brother.
And to speak up to HomeLander about Blue Hawk,
A-Train's selfishness and Huber's are what ultimately
get his brother severely injured.
It also makes him stay with the Seven,
even when he is presented with an out
by the end of season three.
Ugh, A-Train.
Hopefully season four.
Maybe he'll have a redemption, maybe he won't,
but he's gonna have to do something
'cause A-Train is moving real quick
to missing the next stop on life.
And that concludes this deep dive character session
on Superhero Club.
Thank you so much for watching.
Again, I'm your host, Stephanie Williams.
Don't forget to like and subscribe
for more episodes of Superhero Club.
Remember, you can check out all three seasons
of The Boys on Amazon Prime Video.