Now in its third season, Amazon's adaptation of The Boys is killing it. Viewers can't get enough of Garth Ennis' motley crew. Each member is as fascinating and lethal as the next, but Billy Butcher is probably the most intriguing of the team. While everyone else in the group harbors a personal grudge against Vought's superheroes, Billy seems to enjoy destroying them.

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Fans of the show can't help but wonder what drives a man to such extremes. While the show's first season gives viewers a glimpse into Butcher's past, show-only fans have merely a surface-level understanding of The Boy's leader.

The following describes violent scenes some may find disturbing and may contain spoilers for future episodes of The Boys, available now on Amazon Prime.

Updated June 23, 2022, by Anthony Jeanetta. The Boys TV show is one of Amazon Prime's most highly-regarded properties. This adaptation has made several changes from the comics, including one of its primary characters, Billy Butcher. There's more to the character than meets the eye, things the show has yet to tell the viewers.

13 Why Billy Is So Angry In The First Place

Karl Urban as William "Billy" Butcher in Prime Video's The Boys.

To fully understand Billy Butcher's drive in the series, it's essential to understand his roots. In the miniseries "Butcher, Baker, and the Candlemaker," readers learn Billy and his younger brother Lenny came from a broken home, and that their father regularly abused their mother. Butcher had wanted to kill his father, but Lenny insists he shouldn't.

As soon as he's able, Billy joins the Royal Marines and fights in the Falklands War, where he sees his entire platoon wiped out. Consequently, he becomes a miserable drunk for years. Things (temporarily) improve for Butcher when he meets Becky (called Becca in the show). As fans of the show or the comics know, this period of happiness doesn't last long.

12 His Relationship With His Wife

Billy and Becky Butcher sitting next to each other from The Boys.

The comic's version of Billy Butcher has a slightly different relationship with his wife than the depiction fans see in the Amazon series. A bruised Butcher first meets Becky on the subway. After sparking a conversation, the two grab a drink and continue their night. One thing leads to another, and eventually, they marry.

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Viewers of the show don't see any of this backstory for Billy and Becca Butcher's relationship. Additionally, the TV series implies Billy never stopped working for the CIA while married to Becca. This also differs from the comics, where Becky pulls Butcher away from the CIA for a peaceful life of domesticity.

11 Butcher Had To Battle A Monstrous "Baby"

Billy Butcher stares at Ryan after killing Becky from The Boys comic.

Fans of both the show and comics know Becca Butcher's son is responsible for her death. But the fashion of her death is drastically different in comics than in the TV series. In the comics, Billy wakes up to find Becca lying dead next to him. Butcher soon notices a super-powered fetus hovering over his wife's remains — implying a superhero impregnated his wife without his knowledge. Still in shock, Billy must move quickly to avoid the laser beams uncontrollably emitting from the baby's eyes.

In a panic, Butcher grabs a lampstand and bludgeons the powered infant to death. This experience leaves Billy traumatized, grief-stricken, and angry beyond belief. It's the straw that breaks the camel's back in Butcher's story and pushes him over the edge. Following this ghastly experience, Billy quickly accepts Mallory's offer to battle back against Vought and their supes.

10 He Has A Man-Eating Dog

Billy Butcher and his dog Terror from The Boys comic.

Between joining up with Mallory and recruiting Hughie to cause, Billy Butcher gets a dog. Billy bonds with this Bulldog named Terror and teaches him to do dreadful things to his foes on command. Additionally, Terror has a bit of Compound-V in him, making this intimidating pup more than a match for most of the superheroes The Boys encounter.

Billy sics Terror on his enemies whenever he feels it's necessary (which it usually isn't). In addition to his vicious attacks, Butcher trains Terror to commit violating assaults on his command. While such commands seem unlikely to make it to the Amazon series, hopefully, Terror shows up more in season 3. So far, fans of the show have only seen tiny glimpses in the first two seasons.

9 Billy Might Be A Cannibal

A picture of Billy Butcher covered in blood from The Boys comics.

Terror might have developed an appetite for human flesh because of his master's eating habits. When Butcher comes face-to-face with Jonah Vogelbaum, the creator of Compound-V, things get ugly fast. Billy takes Vogelbaum to task for creating a literal super-drug, then kills him.

Upon leaving Vogelbaum's house, Butcher spits a thick chunk of unidentifiable matter on the ground. This scene implies Billy Butcher bit or even ate a piece of Jonah during his assassination. Later in the comics, Billy swears he spat out jam — not human flesh. To this day, comics fans still debate what happened in the scene.

8 He Wants To Kill All Of Super Duper

Three members of Super Duper from The Boys comic.

Billy Butcher's most defining trait is his hatred for anyone with Compound-V flowing through them. This hatred extends to The Seven, Payback, and even himself. However, Butcher seems to make exceptions for a few, namely the rest of The Boys and Terror. After all, he's the one who rallied them to his cause in the first place.

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Billy shows no sympathy or mercy towards Super Duper — a team of low-level heroes who sincerely want to help others. When Klanker, a member of Super Duper, inadvertently offends Butcher, Billy prepares to kill Klanker and the rest of his team by proxy.

7 One Of His "Friends" Is A Superhero

Love Sausage fighting Homefront in The Boys #34

Both the TV and comics versions of Billy Butcher carry deep, unbridled hate for superheroes. However, in the comics, Billy has a few exceptions to this hatred. Butcher is friendly with Vasili Vorishikin, aka "Love Sausage," and ex-superhero readers first meet at his bar in Moscow in the "Glorious Five Year Plan" story arc.

Vasili is one of the few genuinely altruistic characters in the entire series and provides extensive assistance to The Boys during their Russian excursion. Despite Billy Butcher's relationship with Vasili and how much he helps the group, it doesn't stop Butcher from eventually turning on the ex-supe. Even after saving The Boys in a fight with Stormfront, Billy later attacks Vasili with a modified RPG.

6 Butcher Doesn't Expect To Survive His Mission

Billy Butcher

Karl Urban has done an excellent job depicting Billy Butcher as a man who's mean-spirited and somewhat untrustworthy. What may not be abundantly clear through this portrayal is the lengths Billy is willing to go for his cause. Butcher isn't fighting for "a better tomorrow" or "the fate of the world" — he's looking to end his miserable life with a bang.

As the series progresses, viewers will surely see more Billy Butcher's true intentions come to light. Characters like Hughie, Mother's Milk, and Frenchie have families they want to return to after fighting. Billy, on the other hand, cares only for his crusade. In his mind, halting the Seven's reign isn't just the endpoint; it's the whole game.

5 Billy Genuinely Cares For His Team

An image from The Boys.

Despite his self-destructive tendencies and overall callous demeanor, Billy Butcher deeply cares for his team. Butcher's actions speak louder than his brash words ever could. Billy commands his team with strategic precision at every turn because he wants them to survive his war, even if he doesn't.

Billy Butcher might act aloof and harshly criticize his teammates, but he always tries to do right by them. He's especially protective of Hughie, who Butcher views as a younger brother figure. Unlike in the TV show, comics Butcher doesn't have to threaten Hughie for him to join the group; he willingly enlists to fight alongside Billy.

4 He Manipulates Hughie

Hughie talking to Billy Butcher in The Boys

While he cares for Hughie, Billy Butcher has a deeper motivation in every interaction with him. Unknown to Hughie, Butcher is trying to turn him into his eventual successor. Whenever Billy challenges Hughie, he does so to see if Hughie will back down or stand his ground. Should Butcher send Hughie on a hazardous assignment, it's for the sake of hardening him in the fires of war.

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Billy Butcher even purposely withholds information from Hughie to see if the amateur detective can figure things out on his own. Like in the comics, this relationship will likely become much more toxic as the show continues. Hopefully, for Billy's sake, things will end differently for this pair in the TV series.

3 Billy Uses Compound-V

billy butcher the boys powers header

Fans who've kept up with The Boys TV show know Billy Butcher and Hughie begin to use Compound-V in season 3. This drug gives them the powers of superheroes, but only for a short time. These temporary powers also come at a severe price. Viewers see Billy and Hughie struggle with a massive hangover and withdrawal symptoms for days whenever they use the temporary Compound-V. This depiction differs significantly from Billy's Compound-V use in The Boys comics.

Billy Butcher and the rest of the crew use Compound-V in the comics but take the regular version. However, because they're adults and not children, the effects only last temporarily. Additionally, the powers Billy gains through his Compound-V usage in the TV series vary from those in the comics. Butcher's TV powers mimic all of Homelander's, including his laser vision. In the comics, Billy gains only super strength and durability. Perhaps show viewers will eventually see Billy upgrade to using the full version of Compound-V.

2 Butcher Doesn't Want His War To End

The Boys Billy Butcher has a cup of tea

The ending of Amazon's adaptation will all depend on Billy Butcher's character arc in the show and how it may or may not differ from the comics. In the comics, Billy continues his campaign against superheroes, even after the Seven are no more. Butcher targets anyone and everyone with a trace of Compound-V in them — including many of his old friends.

When the rest of the team protests against Billy Butcher's new mission, he ignores them. In Billy's mind, there's no such thing as a good supe. To Butcher, even superheroes whose actions suggest otherwise are just accidents waiting to happen. He intends to wage war for the rest of his days or — in classic The Boys fashion — meet an abrupt, brutal end.

1 Why Garth Ennis Created Him

Garth Ennis

The Boys wouldn't be possible if Garth Ennis wasn't so upset with the state of superheroes in the late-2000s. The Irish author was no stranger to creating controversy and challenging others' long-held beliefs — look at Preacher for proof. Still, Ennis didn't hate all superheroes; he loved Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Punisher.

It's this last hero who inspired Billy Butcher the most. Both men have similar backstories and use extremely violent methods against their enemies. However, whereas Gerry Conway creates The Punisher to highlight the flaws in the justice system and vigilantism, Ennis feels Butcher is largely a model hero. Billy kills villains rather than allowing them to live and cause more havoc. Plus, he constantly takes the government to task while working alongside them.

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