Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 4, episode 4, “Wisdom of the Ages.”
Summary
The Boysseason 4,episode 4 features a twist that all but confirms Butcher is a Supe— a development that would give the show a much-needed way around his looming death. Butcher is dealing with a brain tumor inThe Boysseason 4, and it’s causing him tosee visions of Beccain the early episodes. It’s also placing a time limit on his chance to save Ryan, asThe Boysseason 3’s endingreveals he has a year or so to live. This complicates things for the character, though the series might use Compound V to avoid his early end.
When Hughie steals Compound V for his father inThe Boysseason 4, episode 4, Butcher admits to taking some after his diagnosis. He insists that it didn’t have the desired effect on him or his shortened lifespan; in fact, he believes it may have sped up “the big day.” However,the earlier events of “Wisdom of the Ages” suggest otherwise. While this installment doesn’t confirm that Butcher is a Supe, there is one scene that teases such a twist. There’s definitely more going on with Butcher than meets the eye, and episode 4 could hold clues about what it is.
All 11 New Supes In The Boys Season 4 & Their Powers Explained
The Boys season 4 raises the tensions between non-Supes and Supes, and it introduces several of the latter in its new episodes. Who are they?
When Butcher Took Compound V In The Boys
He Tells Hughie He Stole Some From Frenchie
The Boysshows Hughie and Butcher taking Temp V in season 3 — the very substance that lands the latter in his current predicament — but it never shows Butcher taking Compound V. He tells Hughie that he did though, not long after his season 3 prognosis. Apparently,Butcher stole some of the real drug from Frenchie’s desk, hoping that it could cure his cancer. Given his continued symptoms, he doesn’t believe his attempt was successful. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s correct.
Compound V can have detrimental effects on adults who take it, which could explain Butcher’s continued — and even worsening — symptoms. Given his use of Temp V and cancer, it would likely be difficult to tell whether his physical ailments stem from one or the other. But whatever’s happening with Butcher’s health,his near-death experience inThe Boysseason 4, episode 4 hints that he does, in fact, have powers. Without any, he likely wouldn’t survive the events of “Wisdom of the Ages.”
Ezekiel’s Death All But Confirms Butcher Is A Supe In The Boys Season 4
There’s No Other Way He Could Defeat The Supe The Way He Does
Although Butcher doesn’t believe Compound V gave him powers,his confrontation with Ezekiel inThe Boysseason 4, episode 4 suggests otherwise. The Boys team has a run-in with Ezekiel while Frenchie searches Firecracker’s trailer. For those who don’t recall Ezekiel fromThe Boysseason 1, his primary ability is elasticity. It gives him the ability to extend his limbs, and combined with his strength, it can be a deadly power. It nearly kills Butcher when he comes to Frenchie’s rescue, but Karl Urban’s character somehow survives his fight with the Supe.
There’s no way an ordinary human could have killed a Supe so brutally, but Butcher manages it.
Butcher doesn’t just survive, either. As he’s being choked to death by one of Ezekiel’s extended limbs, Butcher sees Becca. She tells him to fight, and then he blacks out as there’s a splattering sound. When Butcher wakes up, his eyes land on a shocking scene: Ezekiel torn to pieces, with his blood coating Firecracker’s trailer.There’s no way an ordinary human could have killed a Supe so brutally, but Butcher manages it. This all but confirms that he’s a Supe, with his Compound V tease at the end of the episode providing further evidence.
What’s Going On With That Thing Inside Butcher’s Body?
It Looks Like More Than His Veins Bulging
In addition to Butcher seemingly developing super strength during his episode 4 fight,The Boysseason 4 alludes to changes in his body in another way. In theopening episodes ofThe Boysseason 4,it seems as though Butcher’s veins are bulging, which might be expected with his tumor. However, the latest episode offers a closer look at what’s happening — and it appears as though something is slithering through his veins instead. It’s a disturbing revelation, but it could be related to him taking Compound V. After his fight with Ezekiel, it might be another clue that he’s a Supe.
Butcher Being A Supe Means His Illness Might Be Cured In The Boys Season 4
This Would Make Sense Given The Boys Season 5’s Confirmation
If Butcher is actually a Supe inThe Boysseason 4, it means there’s hope that his illness will be cured in future episodes of the show. This would make sense, asThe Boysis confirmed for a fifth and final season. It just wouldn’t be right to have a character as important as Butcher absent from the series' last hurrah. It also seems likely that the Amazon show will save Butcher and Homelander’s inevitable showdown forThe Boysseason 5.That means Butcher needs to survive the current outing somehow, and Compound V gives him — and the writers — an out.
If Butcher is actually a Supe inThe Boysseason 4, it means there’s hope that his illness will be cured in future episodes of the show.
Although Butcher is showing symptoms of cancer inThe Boysseason 4,these could very well be the result of his Compound V use. Having Butcher heal himself with Compound V would be an interesting parallel to Hughie’s storyline. Hughie considers curing his father with the drug, highlighting that this is possible. Knowing it can have this effect makes it all the more likelyThe Boyswill use it to keep Butcher around. As this stage, that would be the more surprising turn of events.
How Butcher Being A Supe Changes His The Boys Comic Story
It Raises Questions About His Amazon Ending
Butcher does take Compound V inThe Boyscomics, but that storyline has more in common with his and Hughie’s Temp V use in season 3 than his season 4 arc. The duo doesn’t take Temp V in the source material, and thus, Butcher’s powers aren’t acquired as a means of survival. Of course,there’s a lot about Butcher’s comic arc that is changed for the Amazon show. He’s more driven by desperation in the Amazon adaptation, and his inability to recognize his own powers could prove a liability infuture episodes ofThe Boys.
At the end ofThe Boyscomics, Butcher attempts to commit genocide against Supes using a special type of Compound V. This would likely be replaced by Vought’s virus inThe Boysseason 4. Butcher doesn’t care that he’s also a Supe in the comics, so this development may not affect his decision in the show. However, Amazon’s take on Butcher is quite different from Garth Ennis' character. As such, he may not go in this direction at all. PerhapsThe Boyswill surprise viewers with his direction, especially now that he’s probably a Supe.
The Boys
Cast
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
