The Name of the Game (The Boys episode)

"The Name of the Game" is the series premiere of the American superhero television series The Boys, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis. It is set in a universe where superpowered individuals (known as "Supes") are portrayed as corrupt individuals instead of the heroes the general public believes them to be. The episode was written by showrunner Eric Kripke and directed by Dan Trachtenberg.

The episode follows Hughie Campbell as he is recruited by Billy Butcher to a group of vigilantes known as The Boys, after his girlfriend, Robin Ward, is accidentally killed by the superhero A-Train. Hughie discovers the hidden truth about superheroes and Vought, the company that promotes and manages them. He and Butcher later come into conflict with Translucent, a Supe and member of Vought's premier superhero team, The Seven. Meanwhile, Annie January, after joining The Seven as the superhero Starlight, struggles both to confront the truth about the heroes she once admired and to adapt to her new reality in the wake of sexual assault.

"The Name of the Game" was released on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video on July 26, 2019. The episode received critical acclaim, with praise for its visual style, direction, performances, black humor and faithfulness to the source material. It received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.