There are tons of memorable and complex characters inThe Boysbut few are as complex asBilly Butcher. While Billy is mostly driven by rage throughout Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic, no one could really see just how far that rage would take him. This leads to one of the most heartbreaking moments in the comic, when Butcher kills one of his best friends.
The big crux and driving force ofThe Boysstory is the titular boys trying to hunt down and kill the Seven, with Homelander at the very top of that list. This is primarily driven by Billy Butcher’s hatred of Supes, and his special hatred of Homelander.Butcher will stop at nothing to kill Homelander, butafter Homelander is finally dead, Butcher’s sense of vengeance isn’t quenched, which leads him to do the unthinkable.
Everyone expects Butcher to relax, to just let go of his hatred after Homelander is killed, but that was never the plan. After Homelander is dead, Butcher goes on a rampage against his former team members, which results in a heartbreaking confrontation.
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Instead of being happy that Homelander is finally dead, Butcher instead turns his attention to every other Supe on Earth. Butcher has a plan to kill every Supe, but his first order of business is to kill his friends. Because the majority of his friends, like Mother’s Milk, the Female, and Frenchie, all have Compound-V inside of them, they have to be killed in Butcher’s genocide as well.Wanting to spare them that misery, and seeing how far he’s fallen, Butcher thinks it’s best to just kill them quickly and painlessly.
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This doesn’t really work out. Butcher isn’t able to catch Mother’s Milk by surprise, as he’s already figured out what Butcher is up to. This leads to a full-blown fight between the two, with Mother’s Milk demanding to know what’s wrong with Butcher and why he’s doing this. It’s here that Butcher makes the heartbreaking confession that defines his character.He admits that Mother’s Milk is the best mate he could ever ask for, but someone like Butcher doesn’t have mates.With that, he quickly shoves a grenade in Mother’s Milk’s face, fatally injuring him.
A Happy Ending Was Never In The Cards For Billy
The death of his wife, Becca, was one of the worst things to ever happen to Butcher. He outright admits that without her, he is just an animal looking for a fight, for a place to die. Butcher served in the Falklands War, and he’s someone whoneedsa war. It was only through Becca that he felt he could be someone else, that he might actually be a good man. When he lost her, he decided to start one final war, against all Supes on Earth. This meant he didn’t need friends, he needed soldiers, and that’s exactly what he recruited. While the rest of the Boys grow into a family, Butcher is always on the outside.
Butcher has a history of disassociating during his greatest moments of violence. This is especially shown during his murder of Jack from Jupiter inThe Boys#59.
Butcher had a difficult childhood,growing up under a brutally abusive fatherand having to go through the death of his younger brother. This caused Butcher to harden his heart, which was only further compounded by his time in the military.Butcher knows how to kill someone, and he can do it regardless of what his personal feelings towards them are. During their fight, Butcher outright admits that Mother’s Milk is a good man, even a great man, and that Butcher doesn’t even deserve to know him, let alone call him a friend. However, that doesn’t stop him, either.
Butcher kills Mother’s Milk with the same detached attitude that he does with Jack from Jupiter. After Jack is suspected of killing Butcher’s dog, Butcher tracks him down, disables him, and begins stabbing him to death. The entire time, Jack is begging for his life, pleading his innocence, and Butcher simply ignores him. It’s not that Butcher doesn’t believe Jack or anything like that,but Butcher explains that he’s not even the one killing him.
As Butcher stabs Jack over and over, he continually repeats,“It’s not me, I’m not here.” This statement shows just how terrifyingly effective he is at disassociating on command. He even remarks that he’s not the one stabbing Jack, he’s simply watching it happen from somewhere else.This ability to completely disconnect himself from his emotions is the same trait that allows him to kill Mother’s Milk. Heknowswhat he’s doing is evil and wrong, but he can’t stop, because he’s not the one doing it.
Butcher Cements Himself As A Monster When He Kills Mother’s Milk
The Mission Always Comes First For Butcher
It’s a remarkably sad encounter. During the entire series, Butcher is mostly cold and stays away from the other members of the Boys.Butcher spends the most time with Hughie, and there’s no denying that he does respect and care for all of them, but he is careful to never gettooclose. There are also plenty of moments that showcase his willingness to manipulate and use them, despite his positive feelings towards them. For example, he manipulates the group into getting mad at Hughie, which ostracizes him from the group.
The only person who made Butcher feel like a man instead of a monster was Becca.
At his core, Butcher is a soldier, and he always has been. Once he sets his mind on a mission, he will accomplish it, and nothing will stop him. The only person who made Butcher feel like a man instead of a monster was Becca, who was so unfairly torn away from him.It’s because of this loss that Butcher simply returned to what he knew best: fighting wars. He’s perfectly capable of viewing the other people in his life as people, knowing that they’re good or bad, but he simply can’t stop himself from using them as soldiers to win the war he’s constantly fighting.
The Good Man Butcher Used To Be Died With Becca
Butcher’s War Against Supes Doesn’t Need To Keep Going
The big tragedy ofThe Boys’storyline is not just that Supes are almost always corrupt and awful people,it’s that just about anyone can be corrupted by their ideals. While Butcher may very well have started with the intent of only killing Homelander, over time, he creates this new war that can only be finished when every Supe on Earth is dead. There’s no reason to go that far. He could stop after Homelander’s death, butButcherwill never stop until the war is won, even if that means killing every other member ofThe Boys.
The Boys
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The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
