Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Boys season 4, episode 8.
Summary
The Boysseason 4 turnsBilly Butcher into a Supe, andhis powers in the Amazon series remind me a lot of Netflix’s anti-superhero show. Subversive superhero shows have become increasingly popular in recent years, soThe Boysis just one example of a series that deconstructs the beloved genre. There are numerous superhero shows that pull apart common narratives and tropes, butThe Boysis one of the darkest examples. The Amazon series takes a pessimistic approach to the concept of superpowers, imagining how they would be used to serve sinister corporate and political agendas.
Needless to say, the superheroes inThe Boysare nothing like the ones we know from Marvel and DC, even if several of them are obvious parodies of characters from those franchises. Many ofThe Boys’Supes are villains, and even one of the heroes who becomes super-abled takes a dark turn in season 4.Butcher’s tumorous tentacles are fairly grotesque, and he uses them to sow chaos inThe Boys’season 4 finale. Butcher’s power adds toThe Boys’dark depiction of superheroes. It also feels reminiscent of another character’s ability — one from an entirely different anti-superhero show.
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?
Butcher’s Powers In The Boys Are A Lot Like Ben’s From The Umbrella Academy
Both Characters Have Tentacles That Emerge From Their Bodies
Butcher’s tentacles inThe Boysseason 4 remind me of Ben’s powers inThe Umbrella Academy.LikeThe Boys,the Netflix series takes a more realistic approach to the standard superhero narrative, showing how being raised with powers deeply traumatizes the Hargreeves siblings. Andone of the Hargreeves has a similar ability to Butcher’s. Ben’s powers see tentacles emerging from his body, and he’s able to use them offensively, just like Butcher does at theending ofThe Boysseason 4.
Ben’s powers see tentacles emerging from his body, and he’s able to use them offensively, just like Butcher does at the ending ofThe Boysseason 4.
Ben’s tentacles are slightly less disturbing inThe Umbrella Academy,likely because they’re not obtained from a cancerous drug like Temp V. In general,The Umbrella Academyis less dark and explicit than The Boys, but it does offer insight into what Butcher might be able to do. His ability seems to function similarly to Ben’s, and it’s interesting that two spiritually similar series have characters with nearly identical powers.
The Boys & The Umbrella Academy Were Both Spiritually Similar Shows
Both Series Deconstruct The Superhero Genre
The Umbrella Academymay not have the same dark tone and violent nature asThe Boys,but the two series feel spiritually similar to one another. Both streaming shows set out to deconstruct superhero narratives, exploring what these extraordinary beings would be like with real human shortcomings.The Umbrella AcademyandThe Boysrefuse to idealize superheroes, positing that they’d be just as flawed as everyone else — perhaps even more so. They also both debuted in 2019, so Butcher’s power is just the latest thingThe Boyshas in common with the Netflix series.
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.
