Warning: Spoilers ahead for Gen V.
Gen V has a hidden reference to a 43-year-old Stephen King story that makes one main character’s powers a lot darker. Serving as a spin-off to Amazon’s adaptation of The Boys‘ comics, Gen V drifts away from the source material by adding new characters and storylines to the mix. Despite this deviation, the show stays true to the franchise’s essence by not portraying super-powered individuals in a typical light and, instead, satirizing all the moral dilemmas and ethical conflicts they face. To reinstate these ideas and themes, Gen V also drops several easter eggs and references to the story arcs set by The Boys.
For instance, the spin-off series not only briefly hints that Homelander is facing legal charges for his public act of violence from The Boys season 3’s ending moments but also reveals how The Seven has two empty spots following Queen Maeve and Starlight’s season 3 departure. In all of these references, Gen V also surprisingly makes a subtle nod to a character from one of Stephen King’s books, which adds more narrative significance to the powers of one of its supes. This clever allusion to Stephen King’s work highlights how Gen V offers a rich tapestry of storytelling, making its character beats more impactful.
The Parallels Between Firestarter’s Andy & Gen V’s Cate Explained
Given how many fantastical characters have telepathic powers that allow them to manipulate others, it is not surprising that Gen V‘s Cate and Firestarter‘s Andy have similar mind-control abilities. However, Cate is similar to the Stephen King character because, like Andy, she calls her power “the push.” Like Andy’s “push” powers in Firestarter were “manufactured” through unethical experiments performed by a government agency called “The Shop” that injected him with a compound named “Lot Six,” Cate also acquired her powers through Vought International’s evil Compound V experiments.
Both characters also experience severe symptoms when they use their powers beyond a limit. While Firstarter’s Andy gets nosebleeds, Cate’s eyes turn red with blood clots. As Gen V establishes towards the end of episode 2, Cate suffers from brain damage if she does not use her abilities carefully. Although the Stephen King character does not wear gloves like Cate, his “pushing” power works best when he uses it on unsuspecting targets. As fascinating as these similarities between Cate and Andy’s powers may seem, they make Cate’s “push” powers in Gen V much darker.
Gen V’s Stephen King Reference Proves The Dark Reality Of Cate’s Powers
Gen V‘s references to Stephen King’s Firestarter prove that, like Andy, Cate will always carry the heavy burden of internal conflict concerning the ethics of controlling and manipulating others. Like Andy often regrets harming others with his “push” powers despite being well-intentioned, Cate will struggle to forgive herself for planting destructive thoughts in other people’s heads. And, similar to Andy, even if she tries using her powers for the betterment of society in Gen V, Vought International, like The Shop, will always try to weaponize her and misuse her “push” for their personal benefit.
