1x01 Laser Baby's Day Out

[9.0/10] This was a fantastic tribute to the sort of cartoons I grew up with, along with an appropriately The Boys twist. The concept of riffing on the likes of Baby’s Day Out with a superhero wrinkle is inspired. The tale of Vaught goons trying to eliminate one of their pint-sized experiments, only for the laser-eyed baby to obliviously sneeze and cough and sneeze her way out of danger, while her nebbishy scientist caretaker bears the brunt of the peril, is a classic dynamic molded perfectly onto the contours of The Boys’ universe.

The gag work is outstanding. The animation is expressive and great. Even the gore, a trademark of the franchise, feels cartoony and enjoyable rather than disturbing, which is a fine line to walk. And for all the madcap chaos, it’s founded on the human connection between the scientist and the moppet, and a desire to care for a kiddo you’ve been expected to treat like a labrat. There’s catharsis in the scientist protecting his surrogate daughter and managing to keep her from harm.

All-in-all, this is a great demonstration of how other folks can have fun in The Boys’ sandbox, which feels true to the spirit of this world, while also putting something together that the Looney Tunes and Animaniacs faithful would be proud of.