Billy Butcher

William Butcher, better known as Billy Butcher or simply Butcher, is one of the two protagonists (alongside Hughie Campbell) of the Amazon series The Boys, the titular protagonist of Butcher: A Short Film, and a minor character in the spin-off series Gen V.

He is the leader of the eponymous team of vigilantes who are bent on taking down Vought and the Seven by whatever means necessary. A former member of the British special forces turned vigilante; Billy Butcher is as charming as he is cunning. He's a force of nature, who can talk almost anyone into anything, either through a smile or brute force – or sometimes both. He's consumed by one mission in life: to destroy superheroes. But this personal vendetta is driven by his hatred for one Supe in particular: Homelander. Butcher is determined to get revenge on Homelander, no matter the cost, and he won't let anyone, or anything stand in his way.

Following the revelation that Becca was alive, Butcher compromised the security of the Boys to rescue Becca and her son, Ryan. Butcher was devastated after Becca was accidentally mortally wounded by Ryan in an attempt to save her from Stormfront. Becca's final request was to keep Ryan safe from Homelander, to which Butcher begrudgingly agreed. Butcher became more aggressive after Becca's death, pushing everyone away, including Ryan. Butcher crossed a line he never imagined he would when he took Temp V, a variant of Compound V that gives you superpowers for 24 hours, so he could take the fight directly to Homelander and Vought. But doing so came with a devastating cost: he now has less than a year to live.

In the season 4 finale, after Ryan accidentally kills Grace Mallory without evident remorse, Butcher has given in to his darker side, betraying The Boys, killing Victoria Neuman and taking the virus, planning to carry out his darker side's plan of committing supe genocide; which includes killing Ryan.

He is portrayed by New Zealand actor Karl Urban as an adult, and by Luca Villacis as a teenager. Born in 1975 in the United Kingdom, William Butcher is the first child of Connie Butcher and Sam Butcher. After some time, his younger brother Lenny Butcher was born.

Due to his father's abusive behavior, both Lenny and Butcher grew up to be dysfunctional individuals. As the older brother, Billy did his best to protect his younger brother from their abusive father. However, as time went on, Butcher started to develop some of his father's aggressive traits. He eventually ended up beating up the headmaster at his school and a pupil who broke Lenny's nose. Instead of reprimanding his son, Sam rewarded Billy for his violent behavior by giving him alcohol.

Afraid of abusing his younger brother, Butcher eventually ran away from home to join the British Royal Marines and later the SAS. While he promised to come back, he was unable to secure leave, and Lenny was driven to suicide by Sam's abuse.

At another point he met and became friends with Joe Kessler. While much of their adventures are unknown, the two had been a part of a mission to capture, interrogate, torture and/or "de-radicalize" a couple of ISIL suspects. Then in Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan. Joe was killed from an unknown mission, from which Billy had (willingly or accidentally) left him behind to die.

Life in America

At some point after, Butcher immigrated to America and met Susan Raynor who he was romantically involved with, but it didn't work out. At some point after that he met Rebecca Saunders whom he fell in love with and married. In 2011, Rebecca would be invited to a Christmas party at Vought Tower, due to being the Senior Director of Digital Marketing at Vought International and would bring Butcher with her. At the party, Butcher would meet Homelander.

A few days after the party, Becca met with Homelander in a private room where he raped her. After that, Becca would go to Vought to figure out how to deal with the fact that she became pregnant with Homelander's child. Vought agreed to help her under the condition that she would disappear and would be presumed dead.

The contract stated that she was not allowed to tell the truth to anyone, even her husband. While Billy could tell that something was wrong with her, he was not able to make her tell him what was wrong. After her disappearance, Billy believed that she killed herself.

Joining The Boys

Butcher would eventually be contacted by Grace Mallory. Grace would show him a video of his wife entering a room with Homelander and later leaving the room distressed. Realizing that his wife was raped by Homelander (and that he is responsible for her apparent murder or suicide), Billy would agree to join Grace's team to get revenge on Homelander and Vought.

Career in the CIA

During his time in the CIA and with The Boys, Butcher would work alongside Frenchie and M.M to fight against Vought's "heroes". He would also get the help of The Legend in many of their cases, however after the Electroshock incident, The Legend would hold a grudge against Butcher for being partially responsible for his lost leg at the hands of Electroshock.

Disbandment of The Boys

One night, The Boys attended a meeting with Lamplighter, where they blackmailed the hero. To prevent his reputation from being ruined, Lamplighter was coerced into becoming a spy for The Boys. Furious, Lamplighter would go on to burn and kill Grace's grandchildren. After this incident, Grace would retire and disband The Boys. Butcher would continue his war against Vought alone and would break many laws in the process.

The Boys: Season One

Reuniting The Boys

Butcher's initial goal is to gather up The Boys and go after Vought International — most specifically, take down Homelander, whom he is under the impression killed his wife. In The Name of the Game, Butcher approaches Hughie Campbell after the death of his girlfriend Robin Ward at the hands of A-Train. Billy asks for his help in securing a bug in the Seven Tower, to which he obliges.

After Translucent finds the bug and attacks Hughie, Butcher saves Hughie and kidnaps Translucent. With nowhere to go, he seeks out the help of old friend Frenchie. Frenchie is at first angry that Butcher has come to him, however the two reconcile and end up figuring a way to kill Translucent; Hughie is the one who ends up pulling the trigger, however.

Shortly after Translucent's death, Butcher approaches another old friend, Mother's Milk, asking him to join The Boys again. Mother's Milk initially refuses, however is convinced by Billy to come back. Not long after, in The Female of the Species, The Boys find Kimiko Miyashiro in a basement, having been the subject of Compound V injections for a while. She is ultimately accepted into The Boys despite Butcher believing her to be initially dangerous.

Hate for Homelander

Billy's hate for Supes has been fueled by his personal hate for Homelander, leader of The Seven, following the alleged death of his wife Becca Butcher. Shortly after his wife's disappearance, Grace Mallory approached Butcher, showing him CCTV footage of his wife and Homelander together at Seven Tower. Billy believed that Homelander was the reason she disappeared, presuming that he killed her, fueling a personal vendetta that would last the next eight years.

Butcher tracks down his former leader Grace asks for her help. Grace leads Butcher to Madelyn Stillwell and believes Homelander cares for her. Butcher kidnaps Stillwell and bounds her with explosives. Homelander arrives to confront Butcher and to his shock, murders Stillwell in front of him. Regardless, Butcher detonates the explosives but he's saved by Homelander.

Unbeknownst to Billy, Becca had been placed into witness protection by Vought International having been pregnant and given birth to Homelander's child — a child with enhanced abilities, including Homelander's heat vision. In You Found Me, Homelander takes Butcher to see Becca for the first time since her disappearance.

Butcher: A Short Film

Sometime after his confrontation, Billy awakens to find himself on the road outside a restaurant. He enters the restaurant and hurriedly scribbles as much information as he can remember about Becca's house on a restaurant placemat. The live newscast on the tv awakens him to the reality that he is now believed to be the killer of Madelyn Stillwell, with a nationwide manhunt ongoing for him. Seeing that the waitress recognizes him from the TV, he hurriedly leaves the restaurant and breaks into a vehicle. After driving for some time, he arrives at the house of Jock, a former squad-mate from Butcher's time in the Corps of the British Royal Marines. After a brief greeting, the two drink and reminisce about good times. Billy shows a photo of his wife to Jock and requests help to gather intel from former intelligence contacts such as Higgins and Ezquerra. After a brief disagreement, Jock promises to do so. Later, Billy discovers Jock informing the authorities about his whereabouts. Billy confronts Jock, who reveals that he believes Billy killed Stillwell and probably intends to kill his wife too. Billy denies it but Jock cites his background as sufficient proof. Billy then attacks Jock and the two get into a struggling match which ends with Billy strangling Jock to death. As sirens approach, Billy pours gas over Jock's body and lights his body aflame, leaving it to burn as he drives away. Later, his phone begins to buzz with a call from Frenchie.[1]

The Boys: Season Two

Warm Welcome

After going MIA, Butcher finally makes his way back to the Boys hideout. Hughie confronts him, enraged that Butcher abandoned them to die in pursuit of his vendetta against Homelander. But Butcher overlooks his anger and states regardless of how they all feel, The Boys need him as their leader. Butcher appears in Proper Preparation and Planning at Rayner's funeral, there he meets with Grace to try and get information about Becca. Grace denies his advances and threatens to turn him in for the murder of Madelyn Stillwell, however Butcher counters the threat by offering to help her figure out who killed Rayner. Once again, Grace reluctantly comes out of retirement to assist him. The Boys track the Supe-terrorist down to a costume shop where they figure out the terrorist is revealed to be Kimiko's brother. Butcher ignores the revelations and attempts to shoot the terrorist, but Hughie intervenes, the terrorist turns around, incapacitates The Boys, and runs off with his sister. When the Boys recover, Butcher is the only one willing to peruse the two, while everyone else tries reason why he is so persistent to chase after them. Butcher reveals to them, that his wife Becca is still alive and is living in a secret gated community raising Homelander's son, and the terrorist is Butcher's "key" to finding Becca. After Kimiko apprehends her brother, Kenji, The Boys arrive and capture the terrorist. Butcher then punches Hughie in the jaw, warning him not to get in the way between him and Becca ever again, otherwise he'll kill him.

Easier Said Than Done

In Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men, Butcher steals a yacht and makes a deal with Mallory to transport Kenji to a rendezvous point, in return, Grace will give Butcher Becca's location. As the Boys transport Kenji, tension is still raw between Butcher and Hughie as Hughie punches Butcher for hitting him last time. Furthermore, when The Boys watch a news article about Compound V being exposed to the public, all the members except Butcher enthusiastically congratulate Hughie. Butcher then sternly reminds them all that their work is not done, and they must keep their eyes on the ball because "shit can go sideways just like that." Butcher's predictions come true, when The Boys are intercepted by a police helicopter telling them they're under arrest for stealing the yacht. Butcher attempts to reason with the helicopter, however Kenji breaks free from his restraints and attempts to attack Butcher and M.M. However, Kenji is shoved by Kimiko and instead hits the helicopter with his telekinetic attack. With the helicopter down, Butcher reasons that they have to move quickly or else more will come. Hughie is reluctant, saying that the police officers could still be alive, and they need to check the wreckage, but Butcher reasons the men are already dead, and they will be too if they don't keep moving. Things only escalate when the yacht is attacked by The Deep, forcing The Boys to transport Kenji using a spare speedboat on the back. While racing to the shoreline, their path is blocked by a whale, so Butcher rams through it. Determined to stay moving, Butcher commands The Boys to improvise and escape through a nearby Storm drain. Hughie however is hesitant and in shock, but eventually follows behind. The Seven arrive, Homelander and Starlight corner Hughie. Butcher then distracts Homelander long enough for Kenji to round the corner and neutralize Homelander by burying him in rubble. The Boys fail to recover Kenji and transport him, as Kenji is killed by Stormfront.

Bittersweet Reunions

Butcher meets Grace at a memorial shrine for the 59 apartment tenants who were killed by Stormfront. She explains to Butcher that she has a reoccurring dream: She is on a stage at Carnegie Hall and everyone whoever got killed by a Supe is in the audience just staring at her. Butcher then apologizes for hitting a dead end on the investigation of Susan Rayner's death, but Grace only denies it that sorry isn't enough. Grace then gives Butcher information on an eyewitness who knows about Liberty and tells him to give it to Mother's Milk. Grace stops Butcher and also gives him Becca's location. Confused, Butcher asks why to give it to him if he failed to deliver the terrorist. Mallory apologizes to Butcher, that she's sorry for being the reason Butcher stopped searching for Becca by replacing it with a vendetta against Homelander. Furthermore, Grace expresses that she would like to have "one less audience member staring at her".

Butcher uses the information given to him to find the facility Becca is living in. Butcher climbs the fence and finds Becca. The two have sex and catch up on being separated for the last 8 years. Butcher reasons they have to escape and can uses a garbage truck for them to escape. When the day comes, Becca is reluctant to leave. She reasons that no matter what happens, Butcher will find some way to get rid of Ryan, "It won't be obvious, and it won't be right way", but he'll find a way. Butcher tries to convince her he wants to help raise Ryan, but Becca explains she already knows Butcher's true nature, that he was already broken before she ever entered his life. Becca's assumptions come to light, when Butcher admits to calling Ryan a supe-freak and that they should just hand him over to Vought so the two of them can escape and live in hiding. Becca refuses, stating she needs to be there for Ryan, otherwise Vought will only recreate Homelander. Butcher tries to plead with her, but Becca just gets into her car. Butcher attempts to stop her, but she activates an alarm and warns him to leave because every guard will arrive at his location in 60 seconds. Butcher leaves the compound disappointed at what his wife has become.

Unlikely Ally

After Starlight gets her tracker chip removed, she is taken to The Boy's hideout, there she meets up with Butcher. Annie is still mad at Butcher for shooting her with a 50. caliber round, while Butcher just dismisses her anger and focuses on the information at hand. The Boys investigate The Sage Grove Center. Butcher, Hughie and Starlight wait outside the facility to provide an escape for Frenchie, Mother's Milk, and Kimiko while they infiltrate the facility. Starlight makes an entrance while Butcher aims his rifle at her head, debating whether or not to shoot. He ultimately decides not to. When Starlight returns and offers Butcher a hand down, he refuses it. Infuriated by Butcher's distant attitude and repeated rude behavior, Annie confronts Butcher to the dismay of Hughie. She then incites the argument further by comparing Butcher to Homelander. Before the argument can finish, they're interrupted by the arrival of Stormfront. Once Stormfront leaves, they order the other members to retreat. Unbeknownst to them, the other members have already been noticed, and a breakout has commenced which leads to the patients escaping. One of the escaping patients meets Butcher and Starlight and begs them not to hurt him. The two try to calm the man, but he releases an EMP shockwave knocking them both back and sending the van with Hughie inside, flipping. Butcher kills the patient, and the two rush to check on Hughie. Hughie seems fine until they notice him bleeding out from a piece of shrapnel in his stomach. Concerned for Hughie, Billy and Annie leave the facility to seek medical help for Hughie, leaving the others to fend for themselves.

Annie hitchhikes to stop a car and begs the driver to help them. The driver notices Butcher's gun and in turn, pulls out a gun and threatens all of them believing they're trying to rob him. Annie draws energy from the man's car and kills him with a blast of energy. They leave the man's body and drive off. Annie confesses that she has become desensitized to civilians getting hurt, earning Butcher's silent respect. The two successfully take Hughie to a hospital and watch over him. The two then bond over how much they know about Hughie, with them both thinking he's too good for them.

You Found Me

Butcher is called by one of the gang members, who informs him they have a visitor. Butcher goes up top to see that Becca has tracked him down. Billy embraces her and she tells him to help her because Homelander took Ryan. Billy and The Boys then plan out how they're going to take down each member of The Seven, should all of them arrive. However, behind The Boys and Becca's back, Butcher arranges a secret meeting with Stan Edgar.

The Enemy of my Enemy

Butcher meets with Stan Edgar in a restaurant to discuss about Ryan. Butcher is first patted down and assured that there are snipers trained on him. Edgar offers him desserts but Butcher demands to get straight to business. Edgar then asks what he knows about Ryan. Butcher explains that he knows Ryan is Vought's contingency plan in case Homelander steps out of line and that "plan" will fail if Ryan bonds with Homelander. Butcher then offers his assistance in solving that problem.

Edgar asks why Butcher would think he would willfully betray his "friend". Butcher says he knows Edgar is ruthless because he knows Vought turns someone like Stormfront into one of America's most beloved Superheroes. Edgar justifies his actions as business progress because Stormfront helped improve their stock prices after Compound V was revealed to the FDA and later to the public. Butcher then reminds Edgar that Stormfront should bother him, since he is a black man and Stormfront is a virulent racist and a literal Nazi; Edgar flatly admits that she does concern him, but says that she's still a useful tool, and that her ability to stoke fear is creating conditions ideal for his company's interests. Butcher then challenges Edgar by asking him how he could control Stormfront, however Edgar denies it.

Butcher then offers to get Ryan away from Homelander, then he'll call Vought and have them secure Ryan, in return, Vought will do a better job of hiding him. Edgar agrees and promises to relocate Becca and Ryan to a safe place, but Butcher refuses, saying Becca stays with him. Edgar explains Ryan needs his mother, to which Butcher callously tells Edgar to find a new one. Edgar then asks about if and when Becca tries to find her son. Butcher tells him to say to her that it is the only way to keep Ryan safe from Homelander. Butcher holds out his hand and makes a deal, for Vought to tell him where they are and that he'll secure the boy. Edgar agrees and shakes his hand.

Rescuing Ryan

The moment Homelander leaves the cabin to follow Frenchie's distraction, Billy and Becca move into secure Ryan. They take him and escort him back to the hanger The Boys are hiding at. Billy then changes the plan and orders M.M to escort Becca and Ryan out of the fight before it happens. Becca refuses, asking him why the plan has to change. Billy reveals that he secretly made a deal with Stan Edgar to give up Ryan, and in exchange, him and Becca could live together again. Becca agrees and reluctantly leaves with M.M, however their car is intercepted by the arrival of Stormfront. Billy rushes to the car and helps them out. Billy orders M.M to stay behind with the rest of The Boys and distract Stormfront while he secretly escorts Becca and Ryan.

Stormfront tracks them down in the middle of the forest and tries to call Ryan over to her. Billy moves to attack her, but she effortlessly hurls him into a tree with a plasma bolt. She then moves to take Ryan from Becca, but Becca suddenly stabs her in the left eye. In a shriek of agony, Stormfront pulls out the knife, then seizes Becca by the neck and begins to asphyxiate her. Billy recovers and attempts to stop Stormfront by shooting her then striking her with a wrecking bar, but his efforts are completely ineffectual. Ryan, who has been desperately pleading for Stormfront to stop hurting his mother, suddenly becomes enraged and activates his heat vision for the first time. When Butcher recovers from the attack, a severely burned Stormfront, her face scarred and disfigured and three of her limbs reduced to charred stumps, deliriously speaking in German to her long-dead husband. Over Ryan's tearful apologies, he then sees a mortally-wounded Becca. Butcher rushes to Becca and holds down her neck wound, calling out for help but to no avail. Aware that she's dying, Becca extracts a promise from him to reassure Ryan that this was not his fault and saying that he is good and to promise to keep Ryan safe before she finally succumbs to her injury. Billy is distraught and then fastens a malevolent glare at Ryan, picking up the wrecking bar, apparently intent on killing Ryan. When Homelander arrives to take Ryan, Butcher has a change of heart and refuses to hand over the boy, fully intent on keeping his promise to his wife. When Homelander calls Ryan to him, Ryan instead goes to Butcher. Homelander then advances on Butcher, intent on killing him, but is prevented by the sudden appearance of Queen Maeve, who threatens to expose Homelander's abandonment of the doomed Flight 37. Butcher keeps Ryan in his protection and gives him his St. Christopher medallion that Becca gave him a long time ago and says his mom will keep him safe ends up giving him to Grace Mallory and the CIA, who will keep him somewhere safe.

The Boys: Season Three

Payback

Butcher still works with Hughie on missions to regulate Supes. He finds Hughie in the bathroom and tells him to give him and The Boys the green light on a mission they’ve been working on. Hughie gives the OK as long as no torture or things getting set on fire happens.

Butcher goes to track down a Supe, called Termite, at a party. Butcher watches from a hidden camera as Kimiko and Frenchie enter a party. The Supe accidentally kills someone, so Frenchie, Kimiko, and Butcher go in to catch him. Butcher manages to catch him in a bag of cocaine to bring back to the Bureau. Butcher debates crushing Termite to death but remembers Hughie's orders and refrains from doing so.

Later, Butcher goes to visit Ryan, who is staying in a protected home with Grace Mallory. They play Connect Four and talk about Ryan’s mom, Becca Butcher. Butcher is now keeping tabs on Ryan, to keep his promise to Becca.

Maeve visits Butcher and hands over a file about Soldier Boy to him. She explains that Soldier Boy was killed by a secret weapon, one that might even be able to kill Homelander. She tells him that Payback, the super team he used to be a part of, might know what really happened to Soldier Boy. She hands over 3 capsules of V-24 to make Butcher a Supe for 24 hours.

The Only Man in the Sky

Butcher starts his plan to find out what happened to Soldier Boy. He tries to recruit MM to rejoin The Boys and get his vengeance, but MM doesn't give in.

Butcher tracks down a former member of Payback, Gunpowder, who is one of the speakers at a gun show. Butcher complements his gun line and then asks him about his Payback days, as Soldier Boy’s sidekick. Butcher confronts him about being abused by Soldier Boy, but Gunpowder assures him he was a great man and those were only rumors. Butcher pulls out an official complaint made by Gunpowder that would prove the abuse rumors. Butcher tells him he’ll keep the complaint a secret if Gunpowder tells him how Soldier Boy really died. Gunpowder again denies the abuse complaint, and he walks away, but not before threatening to kill Butcher. In the parking lot, Gunpowder shoots at Butcher, and Butcher narrowly avoids the bullet. After a short gunfight, Butcher gets hit in the leg and grazed on his cheek, but he manages to get away alive by shooting at cars and using their alarms to mask his escape.

Butcher goes to confront Gunpowder later on about why he’s protecting Soldier Boy. Gunpowder shoots Butcher three times and drops him to the ground. Butcher gets back up, seemingly unharmed, thanks to taking V-24. Butcher breaks Gunpowder’s gun and knocks him to the ground. Gunpowder admits that Soldier Boy used to haze him and that he didn’t die in an accident. Gunpowder tells him he doesn’t know what actually killed him, but they were in Nicaragua in 1984 and that he didn’t see shit- he was just a kid. He tells Butcher that they were working with the CIA and that Grace Mallory was his case officer. Gunpowder pleads for mercy but Butcher refuses to spare the supe. Butcher repeatedly beats Gunpowder while the latter loses consciousness until Butcher's laser-vision bisect Gunpowder's head.

Barbary Coast

Butcher throws up from a post V-24 hangover. He goes with The Boys to visit Ryan, who needs to be relocated now that Stan Edgar might know his location. While he's there, Butcher confronts Grace about working with Soldier Boy in Nicaragua. She tells him Nicaragua is ancient history, but Butcher keeps pressing until she finally tells him what went down there.

Butcher continues to struggle with the aftereffects of the V-24, some of which (like the laser eyes) is still in his system. Ryan asks him if he’s sick and offers him a saltine cracker. Ryan notices that his heart is racing and his blood smells funny. Butcher tells Ryan he can’t see him again because it’s not safe. Ryan grabs him and won’t let him go. Butcher tells him he hasn’t forgotten about what Ryan did to his Becca. Ryan tears up and runs off, saying “I hate you” to Butcher.

Glorious Five Year Plan

Butcher and The Boys fly to Russia to track down the superweapon. They cut out the electricity at a military plant. The Boys enter and have to fight off security guards and a Supe-hampster. They run out of ammunition, so Butcher uses his temporary Supe powers to fight back. He opens up a secure chamber, thinking it holds the superweapon, but instead he releases Soldier Boy- who is still alive.

The Last Time to Look on This World of Lies

Maeve brings Butcher more V-24 doses and asks what he’s going to do with them. Butcher offers Maeve a drink and she tells him she’s been sober for 4 months. She ends up drinking with him. Butcher tells Maeve that every single last one of them has got to go, referring to Supes. She agrees and they start to have hot rough sex.

Butcher, MM, and Hughie go to visit The Legend to find out where Soldier Boy is. With Legend's help, they track him to Crimson Countess' house. Butcher roofies MM so he gets knocked out so that Butcher and Hughie can make a deal with Soldier Boy instead of capture/kill him. They want to use him to kill Homelander.

Herogasm

Hughie and Butcher give Soldier Boy food, alcohol and Benzedrine. Butcher makes a pact with Soldier Boy - if he can provide him with the location of the remaining Payback team members, as well as help him settle in this new era, Soldier Boy will agree to help him take down Homelander.

At the T&T Twins' house, Butcher fights Homelander with Soldier Boy and Hughie. Homelander is surprised to see that Butcher has powers now (from the V-24). At the end of the fight, the trio manage to pin Homelander down, but he escapes just as Soldier Boy charges his energy blast. On his way out with them he sees M.M and Starlight.

Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed

Butcher, Hughie, and Soldier Boy go to track Mindstorm. Soldier Boy advises them to close their eyes if Mindstorm makes eye contact. Butcher admits he keeps feeding Soldier Boy weed to keep him chilled out from his PTSD, so he stops blowing up people. He and Hughie both shoot up temp-V.

On their search for Mindstorm, Soldier Boy hits a trap that triggers an explosion. Mindstorm makes eye contact with Butcher. Butcher passes out, trapped in an eternal nightmare according to Soldier Boy. Hughie tries to wake him up but can’t - Mindstorm is the only one who can snap him out of it. They leave him.

In his nightmare, Billy’s dad beats him up while continuously asking “where is he?” After his dad leaves, Billy tells Lenny it’s okay to come out. In another one of Butcher’s memories, he gets caught selling marijuana at school. He beats up his headmaster in response. He accidentally hits his brother but apologies. Billy’s father commends his violence.

Hughie teleports Mindstorm to Butcher’s body to help save him. He offers to teleport him far away if he just helps Butcher. In Butcher’s mind, Lenny begs him not to leave him alone with their father. Lenny tells Butcher he can’t take it anymore and he kills himself. Butcher wakes up from the nightmare.

Starlight calls Butcher and tells him the temp-V is going to kill the two of them. She tells him 3-5 doses kills you and that he needs to tell Hughie. Butcher hangs up on her and considers telling Hughie. Instead, Butcher tells him they have to swing by the office to get some more and rallies Hughie behind the plan to take down Homelander.

The Instant White-Hot Wild

Secretly, Butcher has a change of heart and remembers what Lenny told him. Butcher meets Hughie in a gas station restroom and remarks that Hughie resembles his little brother. While Hughie processes the comment, Butcher knocks him out with a punch and leaves Hughie behind. Butcher and Soldier Boy then continue driving back to New York, with the latter asking Butcher to wake him up when they arrive.

Maeve and the rest of The Boys show up at Butcher’s in New York, demanding to know where Soldier Boy is. Maeve throws away the dose of Novichok and tells them that Homelander needs to die no matter what. Butcher orders the group into the safe while he and Soldier Boy head to Vought.

Butcher, Soldier Boy, and Maeve go find Homelander. Homelander tells them that he killed Noir. He tells Soldier Boy he just wants to talk. Homelander tells Soldier Boy he is his son, his blood. He brings out Ryan and introduces Soldier Boy to his grandson. Soldier Boy tells him he wishes he raised him so that he could be better. He grabs Soldier Boy by the throat. Ryan lasers down Soldier Boy with his eyes but gets knocked over. Homelander tries to help him. Soldier Boy looks like he’s going to hurt Ryan so Butcher fights him, so he backs off, explaining that Ryan is his wife’s son.

A doctor later tells Butcher he has 12-18 months to live after the effects from temp-V. Butcher leaves the hospital, smoking, and shows up to reunite with The Boys. Shortly after, Butcher and The Boys watch a news report of Victoria Neuman running for Vice President of the US and he states that she has got to go. Billy is an incorrigible individual with clear goals and an unrelenting determination to achieve them. Prior to his wife Becca's disappearance, Billy had a more caring and jovial side - though she was aware of his capacity for violence and admitted that he had always been one bad day away from pounding someone to death in a parking lot. He isn't the type to beat around the bush- he is bold and direct, not afraid to do what it takes to avenge his wife. He is also fearless; he has stood up to Homelander on multiple accounts, despite the fact that he could snap him like a toothpick. He is also fully willing to sacrifice himself to save others (mainly Becca or a member of The Boys). He had a close relationship with Lenny, his younger brother, often protecting him from their abusive father. Lenny's suicide had a great impact on him and still hurts Butcher, feeling deep remorse and blames himself for not standing up against their father.

The darker, more violent nature within him comes from his father, and the abuse he inflicted on him as a child trying to make him tough. However, while he uses it daily to get the job done, Butcher does hate that he is anything like his father.

Butcher holds a great hatred towards Supes, this hatred started after he learned Homelander raped Becca. He believes they are all the same and that, therefore, capable of doing unethical acts seeing normal people as "collateral damage", so they are all the enemy at his eyes. When it comes to dealing with Supes, Butcher is completely ruthless and shows no mercy, being able to go as far as kidnapping, holding as hostage or even murdering them in cold blood.

Although Butcher is closed off emotionally, he does show some emotion to his teammates. He holds Mallory in high respect and considers MM a close friend, listening to him and even willing to put him in charge of watching out for Becca, the one thing that was most precious to him. He is also friends with Frenchie. Billy has a genuine connection to Hughie who reminds him of his brother Lenny and acts as a conscience. Although he hates the fact that Kimiko and Starlight are Supes, and has tried to kill both of them, he eventually warms somewhat to having them as teammates, although more so Kimiko due to the other members of The Boys standing by her. But despite being reluctant at first, he seems to consider Kimiko part of the team, unlike Starlight, who he still has negative feelings towards, as seen in "Department of Dirty Tricks".

He has mixed feelings towards kids. Becca states that he never wanted to have kids with her not because he hates them but because he's afraid that he'll pass on his trauma to them. After he uses the baby Supe with laser eyes to kill the guards, he shows a tiny bit of positivity though it was mostly out of usefulness, and he proceeded to slightly playfully threaten him. When he met M.M's daughter, Janine he was really cheerful and said that she could call him "Uncle Billy" showing that he sees her in a familial way. He showed this a bit more the next time he saw her where he got her a set of Seven tower and while he and M.M were talking, and he swore he apologized. His most prominent relationship with a child is with Ryan. Initially he doesn't care about Ryan, saying he's a "Supe freak" to Becca. When he, Becca and the rest of The Boys went to go get Ryan back from Homelander and Stormfront he initially was going to sell them out and made a deal with Stan Edgar to have them separated. But after making Becca a promise and swearing on his brother Lenny's soul and after seeing them together he couldn't go through with it. After Becca's death he promises to keep Ryan safe. Though when she succumbs to her injury it seems that he is going to attack the boy but when Homelander arrives, he protects the boy. When they're waiting for Mallory, this goes to the point that Billy gives Ryan his St. Christopher medallion that Becca gave him telling him that his mom will keep him safe. Over the next year their relationship grew a lot. They would face-time sometimes. They would hug sometimes and joke with each other. It grew so much that Grace Mallory thought he might get out as M.M did and doing all that he has been doing for Ryan makes him better than his father ever was. Even M.M himself was impressed with the warmth he showed the boy, commenting that he didn't know he had it in him.

Butcher is attached to his dog Terror who he talks about with nice and loving words. It seems Butcher doesn't feel much for his extended family on Becca's side. When Butcher is finally reunited with Becca, he is unable to accept her son, due to his connection to Homelander and the fact that he's a Supe. His repulsion drives him to make a deal with Edgar to separate the two permanently so Billy can have Becca back. He learns to see Ryan as more than just the son of his enemy after seeing how much he means to Becca. He warns them of his double cross and tells them to leave, although Becca refuses. Butcher tells her he couldn't help her raise her son, knowing that he's too much like his father, and would never want to be like that to Ryan or pass his trauma on to him. When Ryan accidentally kills Becca, she makes Butcher promise to protect him with her dying breath. However, Butcher is full of anger and pain and contemplates killing Ryan (which undoubtedly would have gone horribly, due to Ryan's immense durability and powers, which would either result in Ryan quickly flying away or attacking and killing Butcher unintentionally out of adrenaline). Upon the arrival of Homelander, his desire to honor his wife's dying wish overrides his anger at Ryan and protects the boy.

Wallpapersden An alternative poster for The Boys Season 3 showing Butcher in a superhuman state. In season 3, Butcher seems to have calmed down, and he joined the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs under Hughie's supervision. He even agrees to follow Hughie's orders of not killing Termite, and Butcher kept Termite alive despite his own personal desires. He cares for Ryan, occasionally visits him to maintain contact with the boy. However, Butcher still loathes Supes and will opportunistically unleash his anger against them. Like Homelander, Butcher is willing to destroy everything and everyone as a means to stop being manipulated. Butcher hopes to someday finish his mutually hateful vendetta with Homelander and has grown willing do anything to achieve it, even if that means now doing hypocritically immoral and unethical actions like consuming V24. The Season 3 poster even teased Billy Butcher with laser eyes.

Even as a child, Butcher had violent tendencies, as he beat up the boy who broke Lenny's nose,[2] and Becca also pointed out that he was always only one bad day away from pounding someone to death in a parking lot.[3] He even beat up his headmaster when he insinuated the possibility of becoming just like his father, something that enraged him.

Learning that he is going to die within a few months as a consequence of consuming V24, has made Butcher change and for the better. He has shown a more vulnerable and empathic side. He wishes to reconcile with Ryan after he deliberately hurt and pushed him away from him. Butcher is terrified of dying without doing nothing valuable, something to be remembered, and realizes the mistakes he's made for past few years and that he's messed up everything and everyone. Despite this, he still has something to fight for and keep moving, to get Ryan safe and protect him of Homelander. He asks Mother's Milk, almost begging him, to help him to do that final request. He also confronts Hughie for making a deal with A-Train to get Compound V in order to save his father. He later empathizes with a rabbit that was injected with V24 and releases it from its cage.

His attempts to be more honest are repeatedly criticized by his old associate, Joe Kessler. Kessler reminds Butcher about the ruthless and pragmatic man he used to be, and he believes Butcher has allowed his morals to blind him. Kessler brings out Butcher's darker side by suggesting drastic measures and encouraging him to be deceitful. Such as ordering Butcher to kidnap Ryan and congratulating him for taking Dr. Shah hostage in order to recreate the virus. The revelation that Kessler is one of Butcher's hallucinations and is a byproduct of the V-d up brain tumor shows that Billy's darker side has not faded but has in fact become stronger and even if he is unwilling to admit it himself, Butcher's desire for the genocide of Supes is only growing. With this revelation, Butcher strives to undermine Kessler by continuing to be honest with the Boys and trying to convince Ryan.

However, in the season 4 finale, after Ryan kills Mallory, Butcher finally gives in to his darker side and effectively steals the virus from The Boys and betrays them. Now, with his plan to use the virus to create a supe genocide, Butcher has returned to his old ruthless and uncompromising ways, determined to wipe out all the supes in the world, which will include himself now that he is a supe too. But Butcher’s hatred for supes has gotten so extreme, that he no longer cares if he lives or dies, as long as they all go down with him.

Powers and Abilities Powers Under Compound V

“ Unless of course you've got a big, old, fat V-d up brain tumor, you c*nt - which is why you are seeing me in the first place. I killed Ezekiel for you. I am inside of you. I am you. Which is why when I tell you you wanna do this, I am literally telling you that you fucking wanna do this. ―Joe Kessler to Billy Butcher[src] ” Sentient Tumor: Butcher injected himself with Compound V in an effort to stave off his own death four months prior to the events of Season 4, but the V inadvertently applied itself to his tumor (gained from repeated V24 use) instead of him, resulting in it gaining sentience. This caused Butcher's brain to which the tumor was attached to undergo a strange transformation, bringing out both his dark side which appeared as Joe Kessler, and his good side appearing as his deceased wife Becca in the form of hallucinations. While Becca encouraged Billy to act morally such as by winning over Ryan with love and patience and to not give up when fighting Ezekiel, Kessler encouraged Billy to embrace his dark temptations like capturing Ryan by drugging him or killing him if he can't be controlled and unleashing the virus on all supes. As a result of this battle in his brain between the antipodal sides of his personality, Butcher was unable to control his powers until the season finale, where he fully succumbs to his dark side and unifies with Kessler. Tendril Manifestation: NeumanFate1 Butcher killing Victoria Neuman Butcher releases tendrils out of his chest which are powerful enough to rip apart humans as well as Supes, but he wasn't able to consciously control his powers until after Ryan killed Grace Mallory, and he subsequently gave in to Kessler's demands. Furthermore, due to the tumor's sentient and parasitic nature, it is able to act on its own to save its host such as when Ezekiel tried to strangle Butcher to death, prompting it to violently tear Ezekiel's body to shreds. When in control of the tumor, Butcher used his tendrils to devastating effect, easily ripping the otherwise invulnerable supe Victoria Neuman in half, and incapacitating her daughter Zoe with a single strike, despite Zoe being a Supe who was capable of overpowering Kimiko and tearing her arm off. Whilst attacking Neuman and her daughter, Butcher's tendrils held both Kimiko and Starlight at bay by blocking their path, as both realized that attacking him would be suicidal given how easily he killed Neuman. With ease, he lifts Victoria into the air and ripped her in half, despite Neuman's immense durability, as she was unharmed by acid attacks, bullets and Homelander's heat vision (although it's likely that Homelander wasn't using his beams at full intensity). To neutralize Victoria’s powers, Butcher strategically employs three tendrils: one grips her eyes to prevent her from using her abilities, while the other two restrain her torso and legs. Notably, Victoria’s body may have offered some resistance, as Butcher required three tendrils to sever her in half. Superhuman Strength: The tendrils have immense superhuman strength, given that they were able to rip apart Victoria Neuman, who was stated to be invulnerable by The Boys. Superhuman Durability: While Butcher is in control of his tumor he is bulletproof as shown when a Secret Service member shot him and the bullet didn't go past his skin. In addition, Neuman doesn't pop Butcher's head, possibly because she did not have Butcher's head in her eyesight. Regenerative Healing Factor: After Butcher accepts his dark side, he appears a lot healthier than he was before. His symptoms and deathly complexion disappear too. It can be assumed that his death has been postponed indefinitely. In addition, Butcher's flesh reknits when the tumor's tentacles retract inside him. Superhuman Hearing (Tentative): In spite of Butcher’s newfound powers coming from his now sentient brain tumor, it can be assumed he still possesses superhuman hearing like all Supes do; allowing him to hear certain frequencies humans cannot hear. Powers Under V24

“ For once, I leveled the fucking playing field. ―Billy Butcher to Mother's Milk[src] ” ButcherHeatVision3x06 Heat Vision: Under the influence of V24, Butcher possessed the ability to generate a concentrated beam of golden-colored heat from his eyes. These powerful beams could effortlessly slice through Gunpowder and his car. Furthermore, Butcher's heat vision proved potent enough to knock Homelander to the ground and even block the latter's own heat vision, though with noticeable strain from Butcher that was not shared by Homelander. Furthermore, Butcher's heat vision was also able to leave a wound on Soldier Boy's face using a continuous beam. Superhuman Strength: Butcher possesses immense superhuman strength whilst under the influence of V24. He crushed Gunpowder's pistol in his hand and sent him flying with a single punch before beating him to death,[4] effortlessly crushed a man's neck with one hand[5] and repelled Ryan's own superhuman strength.[6] He is strong enough to deal significant blows to Homelander and Soldier Boy, he can also restrain Homelander with the help of Soldier Boy and Hughie (who was also using V24).[7] After superheating Soldier Boy's shield, Butcher punched it into pieces.[8] Superhuman Durability: After taking V24, Butcher becomes amazingly durable and can take an extreme amount of punishment without suffering any physical injuries. He took no damage after being punched in the torso by Gunpowder,[4] he is bulletproof, coming out unharmed after being sprayed with bullets by a group of Russian soldiers,[5] and he was unfazed when Homelander blasted him with his heat vision and was barely hurt when the two of them engaged in a brutal fight, only suffering a small cut on his left cheek. Mother's Milk also broke a wooden bat against his body.[7] When fighting Soldier Boy, Billy was able to withstand his blows, though he was shown to take more damage than Soldier Boy did.[8] Superhuman Reflexes: Under the influence of V24, Butcher's reaction speeds are increased to inhuman levels. He was able to dodge some of Homelander's attacks during their fight at Herogasm.[7] Superhuman Hearing: Under the influence of V24, Butcher possessed superhuman hearing, allowing him to hear better than humans. Like all Supes, he could hear higher frequencies that humans couldn't.[9] Abilities

“ Maybe I pushed you a bit hard. But look at you. You afraid of anything? No. Are you the strongest bastard you know? Yeah. Tougher than I ever was. ―Sam Butcher to Billy Butcher[src] ” Peak Human Condition: As a former member of the Royal Marines, SAS,[10] and having been trained by Colonel Grace Mallory,[11] Butcher is in peak physical condition and is stronger than the average human. With his physical abilities combined with his combat training, Butcher can compete with and even sometimes defeat supes with enhanced physical abilities and other superpowers. Peak Human Strength: He is very strong, enough to contend with Translucent,[12] destroy Becca's headstone with a sledgehammer,[13] bash Mesmer's skull in with a bathroom sink,[14] strangle Jock to death,[1] and deck Hughie with a single punch hard enough to draw blood.[15] He also threatened to break Hughie's legs, a feat that is very capable off, considering his previous feats.[16] Even when he was young, Butcher was already very strong, being capable of beating up a teacher and a kid who broke his younger brother's nose. Despite being weakened by his tumour and cancer, Butcher's strength is still formidable as he was able to stomp a Temp V enhanced rabbit to death with only a couple of stomps. Peak Human Durability: Butcher is very resilient, as he could take hits from Translucent,[12] stand up after getting knocked down by an EMP blast capable of sending a van tumbling,[17] being electrocuted by Stormfront's plasma bolts[18] and survive having a building dropped on him by Kenji. Butcher was also able to withstand being punched several times by MM after antagonising him, despite putting in no effort to block the punches at all, only suffering minor damage and later walking it off. Peak Human Reflexes: Butcher has very good reflexes, he was able to catch Termite in a plastic bag, despite the Supe being smaller than a thumb and being mid-jump towards Frenchie's mouth.[19] He also managed to avoid some of Gunpowder's shots, however he was also hit by some of the bullets during the fight, meaning that he can't dodge bullets on a consistent basis.[4] “ I'm not a murderer." "That's all right. I am. ―Hughie Campbell and Billy Butcher[src] ” Master Combatant: Butcher has received training from both the British Armed Forces and the CIA in hand-to-hand combat.[10] His fighting style is a mix of boxing, as seen against Translucent[12] and Mesmer,[14] as well as other close-quarters techniques. He also probably knows Goshinkwai, since it is the fighting style used by modern SAS members. By combining his fighting skills with his superior physical abilities, Bucher can defeat most ordinary humans in unarmed combat, including Jock (a fellow SAS veteran), and even compete with superheroes.[15][2] Besides his combat skills, Butcher is also capable of coming up with strategies to gain an advantage in battle, this was better showcased when he spit his own blood on Translucent so that he could see the invisible hero, which allowed him to fight back more effectively.[12] On V24, he was able to dominate Gunpowder in a duel, beating him to death[4] and he even fought well against Homelander, overwhelming him with the help of Soldier Boy and Hughie (who was also on V24).[7] He was also able to hold his own against Soldier Boy, one of the most powerful Supes in the world and a master combatant himself, in a one on one fight, though he was eventually overwhelmed. “ Look, Butcher's the guy you want in a shooting war. No question. But we're in peacetime. ―Victoria Neuman to Hughie Campbell[src] ” Expert Marksman: As a former member of the British military,[10] Butcher is a highly accurate marksman. He can wield a great variety of firearms with high efficiency, from pistols to sniper rifles while suffering from little to no recoil. With his marksmanship skills, Butcher has managed to shoot Starlight twice in the chest from a distance with his sniper rifle,[14] nearly shot Kenji with his rifle if not for Hughie's intervention[15] and quickly gun down a Supe with his pistol.[17] At Fort Bragg, he taught Becca to be a better marksman than himself, meaning that he skilled enough to teach others.[18] Besides that, Butcher is also very good at using non-conventional long-range weapons, being capable of killing armed guards by using a baby supe's laser vision[13] and intercept Homelander's heat vision with his own heat vision.[7] He is also skilled in throwing darts.[19] “ All right, listen, I have worked for the Feds. I've worked for loads of people. I'm what you might call an independent contractor. You got a problem, you call me, I solve the problem. ―Billy Butcher to Hughie Campbell[src] ” Gifted Intelligence: Butcher is very intelligent, being potentially smarter than Stan Edgar, The Seven and the all the other members of The Boys.[20] He hid Translucent's remains in a box composed of zinc, the only material Homelander cannot see through.[16] His intelligence extends itself to his skills in leadership, deception and manipulation. After he woke up in Fort Wayne, he was smart enough to write down details of Becca's house for later investigation.[15] He is very observant, as he saw Black Noir hiding on a rooftop in his side-view mirror, and he also got Stan Edgar to call off the assassin from hunting him by threatening to expose Ryan Butcher's existence, which would cause Homelander's reputation to suffer.[2] He also easily deduced that Homelander and Stormfront were in a relationship[17] and knew that the cover story for Soldier Boy's alleged death was fake, and he is familiar with torture methods.[19] Master Tactician: Butcher is an expert battle strategist, being able to think of strategies on the spot, such as when he spit his blood on Translucent to see him in a fight[12] and used a baby supe to cut through multiple armed guards.[13] united The Boys and inspired them to achieve their goals of eliminating The Seven. He would often put an end to the bickering between Frenchie and Mother's Milk. Even after he disappeared at the hands of Homelander, Frenchie brought him back to continue leading the Boys, as he viewed him as "a real captain." He also compared Butcher to Hannibal, Lee Marvin, and Brian Epstein.[21] Butcher can also be deceptive and manipulative, as he was able to make a criminal think he was a police officer to gain entry into a club,[12] he involved Frenchie by having Translucent see his face,[22] and he convinced Mother's Milk to return to The Boys by lying about his association with Frenchie.[16] Butcher notably harnessed Hughie's desire for vengeance against A-Train and the Supes,[12] which was one of the reasons that lead to Hughie killing Translucent.[22] He was able to identify a federal black ops unit's van in disguise and he guilt-tripped Hughie when he wanted to go after Stillwell while the latter wanted to split off to go help Frenchie and Mother's Milk.[11] He anticipated that Stan Edgar had multiple snipers ready to take him out, and spearheaded the mission to rescue Ryan.[18] Expert Thief: Butcher is very good at stealing while evading the law, managing to steal a boat, My Big Wet Dream, the ownership papers of said boat[23] and Grace Mallory's ledger.[6] He easily pickpocketed a nurse's ID badge at Mercer Hospital to infiltrate a supe nursery.[13] Butcher knows how to hotwire cars[1] and also presumably knows lock picking, since he is able to break into peoples' houses without making a scene.[22][11] Skilled Pilot: Besides his skill at driving cars, Butcher also knows how to pilot a speedboat. He killed Lucy, a whale, by driving it into her side.[23] Skilled Physician: While not as skilled as M.M, Butcher also knows how to treat wounds. He was able to treat a bullet wound in his leg that he gained from a confrontation with Gunpowder