A violent satire of the superhero genre, The Boys arrived in late July to thunderous praise from both critics and fans alike. People couldn't get enough of Billy Butcher, Homelander and the seriously messed-up characters that populate this off-kilter comic universe.
However, as good as the show is (and it's really good) there were a few plot holes that left viewers mildly confused. Some come across as mild errors that are easy to ignore, while others seem like plot threads that could be expanded upon in later seasons. Here are 10 Plot Holes from The Boys that still haven't been resolved.
10 Why Didn't Billy Break His Hand When Fighting Translucent?
Translucent, the pervy supe with the power of invisibility, is one of the first superheroes to bite it in The Boys, after Frenchie and the crew plant an explosive somewhere the sun doesn't shine. The issue is that Translucent's skin has the durability of diamonds, making him nigh-impossible to kill. This feature does bring into question how Butcher was able to fight him off hand to hand in the previous episode.
If his skin has the strength of diamonds, then every bone in Butcher's hand should have shattered after he throws the first punch, but the antihero stands toe to toe with the supe for a good long while before Hughie knocks him out by electrocuting him. As it is, it seems that this was a straightforward lapse in the logic of the show. But still, watching Karl Urban fight an invisible superhero is so entertaining we're willing to let it slide.
9 How Was Homelander Able To Get Becca Pregnant?
Compound V, the super serum administered to children in the womb to give them superpowers, supposedly has a few side effects, one being infertility. With this in mind, the last-second twist at the end of Season One, that Billy Butcher's wife Becca is alive and raising a child with Homelander, is especially jarring, mostly because Homelander shouldn't be able to have any children.
Is there something about Homelander that we aren't aware of, or is this a case of the show ignoring its own mythology? Due to the sheer magnitude of this twist, one that completely alters how we look at Butcher, one would assume that this is part of a larger plot, and not necessarily a plot hole. But who knows? Maybe the producers just forgot.
8 Translucent's Explosive Exit
Being that Translucent has diamond-strength skin and the explosion that ultimately kills the supe was internal, he should not have been blown to pieces. Instead, the explosion should have been contained within his body, his organs liquefying, but his exterior remaining intact. It even would have made the scene more visually interesting, as Translucents organs and insides would have come spilling out any and all orifices, as opposed to him just blowing up. But hey, a giant gory explosion works too.
7 A-Train Doesn't Remember Hughie
Now this one has a bit more weight in the overall plot, as the scene reaffirms to Hughie that the supes need to be taken down and illustrates just how detached the superheroes are from general empathy and the plights of the people they save. But come on, there is no way that A-Train wouldn't remember Hughie. He saw the man only a few days earlier to apologize for the murder of Hughie's girlfriend, Robin.
Seeing as A-Train has only been shown running through one person, you'd think he'd remember the incident. Unless this is a much more frequent occurrence in A-Train's life than the show portrayed it, this is one scene that just comes across as unbelievable, despite its importance to the narrative and to Hughies character.
6 The Nanny-Cam
A-Train, after killing Popclaw, watches some old footage of the two making love that he captured on a discreetly placed Nanny Cam in her apartment. However, the cam also caught Hughie and Butcher masquerading as AV repairmen to gain access to her apartment, which leads A-Train to finally get on the trail of The Boys.
However, there's no way he would actually see the footage in the way he does, as it cuts from the lovemaking to the masquerade almost instantaneously. Unless A-Train turned the camera off and on again, or someone edited the footage together, the camera would not have displayed those moments in that way. It would be forgivable, but seeing as it's a major plot point of Season One, it's harder to ignore.
5 Why Does Billy Call Homelander A "Saint?"
During one of his initial conversations with Hughie about the secretly dubious lives of superheroes, Billy reveals a truckload of exposition regarding the misdeeds of the powered folk. However, there's one strange and notable omission on his list of gripes about superheroes. For some reason, Butcher describes Homelander as a "Saint," making it seem to Hughie and the audience that he's the only supe who's not morally bankrupt. The audience later finds out that Homelander did unspeakable things to Billy's wife Becca (or so Billy says) and those incidents were what started Billy's hatred of superpowered people. So why didn't he tell Hughie how evil Homelander actually is? Why keep that from a potential ally?
4 Why Didn't Translucent Tell The Seven About Hughie?
You'd think having a team of superpowered friends would call for a little (pardon the pun) transparency. But for some odd reason, that's never really acknowledged, Translucent decides to investigate Hughie alone after he witnesses him bugging the command center of The Seven. Sure, Translucent might have figured that a meek boy like Hughie wouldn't be a huge threat, and might be something he could take on alone, but it's that exact thinking that lands him firmly in the lap of Billy Butcher and leads him to his bloody demise. He could've told Black Noir, The Deep, or even Homelander, but nope. Has he not heard of the buddy system?
3 Why Don't The Boys Use Compound V?
This is the point where the list will start to get really nit-picky, mostly because the show is just so tightly written that plot holes are basically nonexistent. Alas, there is one issue that stands out, especially in the later episodes of the season.
Why exactly didn't any of the Boys use Compound V? Obviously, it's a huge responsibility giving yourself superpowers, and The Boys don't exactly look kindly upon powered people, but you've got to assume that at least one of the group would bite the bullet and try to level the playing field. Maybe that's a plotline for Season 2?
2 What's Up With Hughie's Shirts?
While Hughie professes in Episode One that his favorite musicians are the likes of James Taylor and Billy Joel, he tends to wear shirts for bands such as The Ramones, Nirvana, and Van Halen. He still sports shirts for his favorites, but his wardrobe seems to be a collection of hard rock and punk band shirts. His actual taste in music constantly clashes with his garb, but can we really complain? Just look at his fantastic collection of concert tees! The sheer aesthetic value forgives the lack of consistency.
1 And Lastly...How Have The Boys Lasted This Long?
The Seven have a speedster, a ninja, and indestructible invisible man and the equivalent of Wonder Woman and Superman gunning, yet the Boys have managed to go toe-to-toe with them and come out alive. How? We have no idea. Coincidence, luck, whatever you want to call it, The Boys have constantly escaped the clutches of the supes through increasingly impossible means. But honestly? That's why we love them. They're a ragtag group of messed up individuals who don't win because they're bigger or stronger or smarter...in fact, they don't even win! But their willingness to stand up to corrupt superheroes and the crazy means of escaping their clutches provide constant entertainment throughout the show. We're looking forward to many more adventures with this rambunctious crew of idiotic brutes.