The Amazon Prime series The Boys has garnered a loyal following after two seasons with leading man Karl Urban being a major driving factor. Urban plays the foul-mouthed, hyperviolent vigilante Billy Butcher who wages his own war against superheroes. Even though Butcher seems to lack all human emotion, he does stand up for his team and cares for the people alongside him.
This runs in contrast with his comic book persona. In the comics, Butcher again has a penchant for violence and profanities but his activities eventually take a negative turn with his rage leading to some extreme decisions. To add more context, a few spoilers from The Boys comics and the prequel comic Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker will be discussed below.
Served In The Falklands War
As revealed in Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker, Billy got his first taste of killing during the Falklands War of 1982. He had enlisted as a Royal Marine and found all of his platoon's peers dead at the hands of Argentine troops. Hellbent on seeking revenge and surviving in the ensuing chaos, Billy slew them all with his gun and lance.
It's revealed that Billy decided to the Marines to control his homicidal tendencies towards his abusive father. His maternal grandfather's military experience also served as an inspiration.
Once Hunted Down A Daredevil-Like Supe
Greg Mallory, the original leader of The Boys in the comics, turned Billy Butcher into a killing machine as he tracked down many corrupt Supes and then ordered Butcher to handle the gory work. One of his targets turns out to be a Supe who's very much like the Marvel hero Daredevil. Just like the latter, this character is also marketed as a blind superhuman even though he's just pretending to be blind.
As he pleads for his life, Butcher ironically says, 'I thought you was meant to be the bloke without fear?' This is a clear reference to 'The Man Without Fear,' a Daredevil miniseries and a sobriquet often attached to the character.
Similarities With The Punisher
The Boys creators Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson both had worked on significant Marvel storylines, significantly dealing with The Punisher. While both haven't explicitly stated the inspiration that Punisher/Frank Castle had on Billy Butcher, the resemblances between the two are quite uncanny, more so with the comic-book version of Butcher who grows more sadistic with time.
Ennis started his run on the Marvel vigilante with the one-shot Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe, the plot of which involves Frank Castle targeting all major superheroes of the Marvel pantheon as his family dies because of a war between the X-Men and the Avengers. The cover of Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker #4 also has a subtle nod to Castle's skull symbol as it appears on a erby's sleeveless jacket.
Gains Superhuman Abilities
Despite his hatred for superhumans and Compound V, Billy Butcher himself gains superpowers in the comics. When Butcher initially recruited Mother's Milk, Frenchie, and The Female, he enhanced each of their bodies (including his own) with doses of Compound V.
Hence, even though Butcher possessed brute strength and was an expert marksman, the Compound gave him superhuman strength and durability. This is most evident in situations of direct combat with Supes like Stormfront and Black Noir.
Blackmailed Homelander After Terror's Death
Despite Butcher's usual apathy, he's very attached to his pet dog Terror who unfortunately gets killed by Homelander. Eager to exact revenge, Butcher leaks photographs of Homelander engaging in acts of cannibalism and sexual abuse. This blackmailing attempt only backfires as it causes Homelander to lose his cool and lead a coup against the President.
As it is revealed towards the final issues, these images were actually that of Black Noir, who revealed his identity as a Homelander clone.
Killed Becca's Infant
As shown in the series, Butcher's wife Becca was sexually abused by Homelander and was later became pregnant with a 'Supe' child. Butcher is unaware of these incidents and it surprises him to wake up in the middle of a night to see a 'superpowered fetus' attacking him by shooting laser rays out of his eyes.
Butcher ends up brutally crushing the newly-born creature to death only to find a bleeding Becca. It turns out that the sudden and unexpected childbirth was too much for her body to handle leading up to her demise. Reading her personal diary gives him further clues of what exactly went down.
An Unruly Childhood At School
As Butcher's father was often foul-mouthed and violent towards his mother, he unconsciously inculcated a vulgar personality right from a young age. At the age of thirteen, he didn't shy away from using profanities at his teacher that eventually led to his expulsion. As time progressed, he even resorted to violently beat up classmates that bothered him.
His mother advised him to be more like his brother Lenny, which compels Billy to say that Lenny is a smart kid, and he's not. 'You're smart. You just don't try,' she remarked glumly.
Discharged From The Marines
After his time at the Falkland Islands, Billy Butcher was discharged from the Marines as he got into a barfight with his fellow Marines. When his seniors threatened him with a court-martial, he again showed his stubbornness unleashing his usual barrage of swear words.
Even as a civilian, he got into many a bar fight. It became such a habit to him that he started deriving pleasure out of the pain. In one particular instance, he was brutally beaten up by the bar's crowd to the extent of his whole face getting bruised. And yet Butcher laughed with no care.
Becky And Billy Met On A Subway Train
For Billy, the aforementioned bar fight was a blessing in disguise as it turned out to be the same night when he met his future wife Becky Saunders. As he was heading back home on a subway train, Becky giggled at his bruised appearance comparing him to a panda for his two black eyes.
For a change, readers find the usually-grumpy Billy to sport a genuine smile on his face. Taking the joke in good spirit, he replied, 'You got any bamboo?'
Billy Turns Into A Villain
Even though the fate of the Prime Video series is uncertain, it's highly unlikely for Karl Urban's Billy to go down the same path as the comics. After killing Homelander in the comics, Billy devises a plan to kill each and every person dosed with Compound V (even if they are innocent). While this plan is a practical solution to wipe out the possibilities of any Supe, it's still genocide and the other of the team try stopping him but to no avail.
Garth Ennis' story culminates with Billy Butcher turning into a bloodthirsty villain, a testament to how his troubled personal history eventually caught upon him. Towards the very end, he's exhausted with this cycle of violence and incites Hughie to kill him.
