The Boys is a really good example
It's clever, it's got some of the aspects I liked about the Watchmen. I also liked the use of sci fi / fantasy to comment on contemporary politics. I liked it for what it was. 7 out of 10
But I just don't like the "The Boys" as much I like the original Star Wars trilogy. To me Butcher is yet another variation on the Dirty Harry archetype. People who like this archetype see it as more complex and real to life and see Skywalker in his white outfit and blue light sabre as overly cartoonish.
To me both seem equally cartoonish: "Oh, look yet another dark hero. Let me guess the writer is going to establish the dark hero cred with a torture scene" Did you ever watch the TV series Arrow? I thought the first few seasons did "gritty hero" right but later ones just returned to the Dirty Harry archetype and ruined the show.
I still watch the Dirty Harry variation #483 shows and I really like the deconstructing the archetype shows like the Watchmen and Game of Thrones but I want Faerun and the Star Wars universe to be about light triumphing over darkness. As anyone who has tried experimenting with cocktails knows -- sometimes mixing two great flavors together produces an undrinkable mush.
