The Boys: Butcher Just Killed the Vought Version of a Marvel Hero

The Boys has never shied away from the its supes being direct parodies of Marvel and DC heroes, and Butcher has brought the pain down on more than one of them. Soldier Boy in season 3 of The Boys was a direct analogue to Marvel’s Captain America, while previous supes in The Boys have been modeled by other Marvel characters (Popclaw in season 1 is a take on Marvel’s X-23, Eagle the Archer is a version of Hawkeye, and Crimson Countess is a riff on Scarlet Witch). This week’s episode of puts Butcher on a collision course with another parody character, and it ends badly. Spoilers follow for The Boys!

In the latest episode of The Boys, Firecracker and Vought actively antagonize Starlight by setting up a stage and TV set right outside her Starlight House headquarters. A lot of inflammatory things are said, but it’s what happens behind the scenes that we’re here to talk about. Butcher sends Frenchie on an errand, to break into Firecracker’s trailer, which is parked not too far away. At first he doesn’t find much, just a bedazzled purse in the shape of a handgun, though he does find a tablet that causes him to verbally react (its contents are never seen however).

Frenchie is quickly found out though by Ezekiel, a Christian supe last seen in season 1 of the TV Series. Ezekiel has the exact same body morphing powers as Marvel’s Mr. Fantastic, stretching his limbs out to grab Frenchie and throw him around like a ragdoll, eventually tossing him out the window of Firecracker’s trailer. Butcher hears the trouble brewing on his comms and makes his way to the spot where he confronts Ezekiel and gives us a clear lesson in taking down someone with elastic powers. Using a fire extinguisher to freeze his arm, which he then breaks off and shatters with his signature crowbar.

Ezekiel starts to choke out Butcher with his other arm however, which puts Butcher in a precarious situation. Butcher then hallucinates Becca telling him he doesn’t get to quit, only to pass out. When Butcher wakes up the trailer is caked in blood and he has no idea how he killed Ezekiel, but the man is definitely dead as Butcher sees his face stuck to the ground and goop covering every inch of the room. What happened to Ezekiel? And what’s going on with Butcher? We don’t know yet, but it seems like the complications from his Compound V usage are having some side effects that are making him even deadlier than before.

In The Boys season 4, Karl Urban stars once again as Billy Butcher, leader of The Boys, which also includes Jack Quaid as Hughie Campbell, Laz Alonso as M.M., Tomer Capone as Frenchie, and Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro. Some of the “supes” featured in the series include Antony Starr as Homelander, Jessie T. Usher as A-Train, and Chace Crawford as The Deep. Other stars of The Boys include Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett, CEO of Vought International, and Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman.  

The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.