Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, Eric Kripke, creator of both The Boys and Supernatural. We can no longer ignore it, and you’ve got some ‘splaining to do.
The Winchesters and Vought Industries inhabit the same multiverse, no matter what happened in the final season of Supernatural (God (Rob Benedict) destroyed all of the alternate realities except for Sam and Dean’s). And, how do we know this, I hear you ask?
For one pure, unfettered reason: a paragon of light in a void of darkness.
Bobby Singer.
Time for some Bobby background!
In Supernatural, Bobby Singer is/was a hunter and father figure to the Winchester boys after their father’s demise. Like most hunters, he has a tragic backstory that ends in him killing his demon-possessed wife. He is a leader in his community, often helping out other folks and even acting as their cover when they give fake numbers out to authorities. Despite his kindness, he is often depicted as a curmudgeonly old man who takes no crap from nobody.
Bobby was killed by shape-shifting Leviathan in Season 7, but as we know with science fiction and fantasy, that’s never the end of the matter. He appears a few times as a ghost or a soul in heaven before ALTERNATE UNIVERSE BOBBY makes his way into the world. He’s not the same Bobby Singer, but it sets a precedent, right?
The Boys is a different story. Bob Singer, colloquially “Dakota Bob”, was the President-elect of the United States of freaking America. A former Secretary of Defense, he won the election on a ticket with diabolical head-exploding supe Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit). Initially, he had no idea she was a supe, but after learning of this, he tried to turn the tables, failing miserably.
He is duped into incriminating himself in the assassination of his sitting Vice President-elect and running-mate Neuman by a shapeshifter who had infiltrated his inner circle. Dakota Bob is removed from his presidency and arrested as a conspirator.
Are you feeling what I’m putting down yet?
Let’s get the superficial sh*t out of the way. Both characters are named Bobby Singer. Well, sort of. The Boys’ President-elect generally goes by Robert Singer, but his nickname is Dakota Bob. Bob is only a stone’s throw away from Bobby.
In terms of appearance, Supernatural’s Bobby is a little younger, but that’s because it was released before The Boys. If we assume time has continued from the end of the CW show, then it’s logical that Dakota Bob would be a little older and a little greyer.
Oh yeah, did I not mention they are both played by the same actor? Jim Beaver, who you may have seen in things like Deadwood and Harper’s Island. What? You don’t know Harper’s Island? You’re missing out. He plays this curmudgeonly Sheriff who is distrusting of everyone on the island but is pretty sus right up until the moment he bites the metaphorical bullet.
I digress.
We’ve already established that Robert Singer’s nickname is Dakota Bob. He is so named because his main residence is located in South Dakota. Guess where Bobby Singer lives? That’s right! Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Their houses couldn’t be more different, however. Bobby owns a scrapyard with a modest, cluttered house attached, but I couldn’t imagine Robert living in a house smaller than the McAllisters’ from Home Alone.
So here’s the crux of it. The smallest detail sealed this whole variant thing as opposed to a happy coincidence. It’s one simple word: idjit. That word unlocks so many Bobby Singer memories for me. Hell, there are even compilations on YouTube devoted to that word. And, in the same tonality, with the same disdain for this world, Dakota Bob says it too. When he’s hunkered down in the presidential bunker, being protected by MM, Hughie, Frenchie and Kimiko, he utters the sacred Singer insult. “Ya idjit.”
Need I go on?
But wait, there’s more! Their story arcs also converge!
Both Singers are well-respected leaders in their communities. You don’t get to be President-elect without at least some likeability and trustworthiness. The less we talk about politicians, the better, but within his circle of backstabbing, power-hungry assholes, he’s done enough to become head honcho. Although Bobby doesn’t have a title like First Minister of the Hunter’s Union, he commands respect like no other in the hunting family.
Robert Singer is willing to work with Starlight (Erin Moriarty) to take down Victoria Neuman and Homelander (Anthony Starr), even though he is staunchly anti-superhero. He makes the decision to work with people he doesn’t trust in order to achieve a common goal, seeing a difference between deplorable monsters and useful monsters. In Supernatural, although untrusting of these alliances, Bobby regularly works with werewolves, demons and Castiel (an angel) to rid the world of whatever the big bad of the season or episode is. Sympatico!
Finally, they are both taken down by a shapeshifting monster. Bobby is shot and killed by a Leviathan, technically a shapeshifter, but the process isn’t that easy to pull off. However, Dakota Bob is taken down in a less brutal way. He is unknowingly filmed by the shapeshifter conspiring to kill Neuman.
These similarities are eerie!
I know these shows were both created by Eric Kripke, who created the Bobby Singer character as a nod to his friend, producer, and director, Robert Singer. I also know Dakota Bob was an existing character from The Boys’ comic run who was originally not named Singer. And, yes, other actors from Supernatural, like Jensen Ackles and Rob Benedict, have cropped up in both series.
That doesn’t matter.
The similarities between these two versions of Singer are too glaringly obvious to ignore. They look alike, sound alike, act alike, and their stories cross over in weirdly specific ways. Is it too crazy to imagine in a world where there are superheroes and there aren’t demons and monsters, Sam and Dean’s Bobby couldn’t turn out this way?
No. Absolutely not. Bobby and Bob are the same person from different universes.
Just let me have this! Ya idjit.
