The Boys: Hughie's Powers Show The Horrors of Suddenly Becoming A Supe

Published May 27, 2022

Followed

Warning! Spoilers for The Boys comic book series below

In The Boys universe, the world is filled with Supes who gained their incredible powers from Compound V, but when Hughie was first given a temporary dose of the serum, he proved the dangers of suddenly becoming superpowered. In The Boys #6, Butcher gives Hughie a dose of Compound V, leading the often-scared member of the team to shockingly and accidentally kill a Supe, not realizing his incredible strength.

Almost every Supe in The Boys gained their powers from being injected with Compound V, a serum used by Vought-American to create and sell superpowered beings to the highest bidder. Homelander, Stormfront, Starlight, and many other Supes were given or created with Compound V, turning them into mega-powered beings. To fight back against the out-of-control Supes, The Boys used their own version of Compound V, granting them powers for 24 hours. But, when Butcher gave Hughie his first dose, it showed the dangers of simply anyone, including someone as harmless as him, gaining superpowers.

In The Boys #6 by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Tony Avina, and Greg Thompson, the Compound V-powered Boys face off against the Teenage Kix superteam. Hughie and the team gathered intel on the group to use as blackmail, but after discovering they were being watched, the immature group of heroes attacked. Butcher tells Hughie to deal with the Supe Blarney Cock, but after threatening The Boys' most wholesome member, he accidentally punches a hole through the man he was supposed to take down but not kill.

Hughie is stunned by his actions, as the Compound-V boosted his strength to such a high level that he didn't know he could kill Blarney Cock by trying to grab him. Hughie is horrified as Butcher reassures him "that it happens," and he "ain't used to..." being superpowered. Hughie's first kill ended up showing the real dangers of Compound V, as it makes the least-violent, With The Boys TV series about to explore the use of temporary Compound V, it will be fascinating to see if Hughie also loses control of his newfound powers should he be injected with the serum.

Being a Supe is obviously dangerous, but Hughie learned that even having powers for 24 hours is something nobody should want unless they have complete control of them. Giving an ordinary person powers is a bad idea, as even the last person you'd expect to kill a Supe accidentally did so after gaining incredible strength due to the Compound V. Hughie's first kill in The Boys showed Compound V makes anyone terrifying, even it's weakest characters.