Vought-American/Comics

*For the Amazon version of Vought., see Vought International.*
   **Vought-American**, formerly known as **Vought American Consolidated** or **V.A.C.**, is a corporation that started as an arms company and was infamous for its inferior products, most notably supplying the US Navy with faulty planes towards the end of WWII such as the Vought Grizzly, and faulty rifles to the Army during the Vietnam War. They managed to re-brand themselves, however, when they created some of the world's first Supes using Compound V, thanks to the work of Jonah Vogelbaum.

Over the years, Vought has made a fortune selling superhero comics and merchandise, but their ultimate goal had always been to incorporate superheroes into the armed forces, something that a majority of politicians and government institutions opposed including the C.I.A. The Boys were specifically created to counter lobbying efforts from Vought and prevent them from ever getting a foothold in the military.

Following the superhuman assault on Washington, which led to the demise of the planet's superheroes, Vought-American underwent a rebranding, adopting the name **American Consolidated** with the hope that public attention would shift, allowing them to escape scrutiny. Nevertheless, the exposure of Compound V's shortcomings and the revelation of the genuine nature, including an eventual genocide, of the so-called 'heroes' once glorified by the company, severely weakened Vought American/American Consolidated. Despite these setbacks, Vought continues to exist but is still faced with the same problem they've always had; an inferior product.

## History

Since World War II, Vought-American has sought to incorporate superheroes into national defense. Its first product for the military was a fighter plane that was rushed into production to replace the P-51 Mustang; it was discovered that a fatal design flaw killed more Allied pilots than it did the enemy. Although the use of the atomic bomb removed the need for the plane, it revealed a tendency by Vought-American to release flawed products; its next major product was an assault rifle, but due to cutting costs on manufacturing, the rifles resulted in a massacre in Vietnam when they failed to protect the soldiers they were issued to (they proved to be more useful as posts to mount their heads).

With the debut of the Seven and the subsequent monopoly of superhumans, Vought-American is in a position to upend the traditional military-industrial complex making heroes into super-powered soldiers. Their current agreement with the American government is arranged so heroes will not possess any actual police powers or interfere with any government service. As a result, heroes are not given any police or rescue training, so they will not be seen as competition. This has created several problems from the beginning: heroes sent to support World War II troops are given no military training and cause the deaths of themselves and the soldiers they were sent to help when they inadvertently lead the enemy to the camp; heroes are unable to provide much help in an actual emergency and are relegated to minor support work that looks good on camera. The worst example is during 9/11. The Seven try to stop the terrorists on a passenger plane but do not understand the tactical or physical challenges involved in entering a plane during flight. They end up sending the fractured plane into the Brooklyn Bridge.

Unable to get the contracts by semi-legal means, they attempted the overthrow of the Russian government with a force of supervillains; manipulated reaction to 9/11; and intended to assassinate the President of the United States.

Vought-American controls both Victory Comics, which whitewashes the exploits of the real-life superheroes; and Red River, a private military company with covert agents in the Secret Service. At the meeting between the Boys and the Seven, Red River operatives used nerve gas on a Delta Force squad that had been assigned as backup. This allowed a naked Homelander to enter the scene and massacre the soldiers. The Boys later came across the grisly scene.

After the superhuman attack on Washington, Vought-American is the subject of a congressional hearing and has rebranded itself as **American Consolidated** in the correct belief that people will get distracted and forget who they are when the dust settles. The revelations of Compound V's ineffectiveness and the true nature (and eventual genocide) of the so-called 'heroes' the company was so proud of have effectively crippled Vought American/American Consolidated, leaving them with one last failed product as James Stillwell finally breaks under the pressure.

## Notable Staff

* Mr. Edgar
* James Stillwell
* Jessica Bradley
* Jonah Vogelbaum
* The Legend
* Brewster