The Boysis one of the most thoughtful comic book adaptations of the modern era. It doesn’t seem that way, and the show frequently goes out of its way to hurt its own reputation, but the high points are higher than most. A creator has to understand a cultural movement in order to properly satirize it. It seems likeThe Boysexhibits that mastery with a wide variety of compelling worst-case scenarios among superheroes. Billy Butcher isn’t a superhero, but he is a great example of a familiar archetype.
It’s hard to knowwhetherThe Boyswould be as popular as it is without the surrounding superhero ecosystem. The show dropped into a period of unprecedented media dominance. The genre has always been popular and iconic, but it is the most central force in blockbuster cinema. That level of ubiquity leaves audiences desperate for something different, but it also creates a huge target for satire or parody. Like a lot of popular satire,The Boysuses the tropes while poking fun at them.
What is an anti-hero?
The anti-hero archetype is extraordinarily varied. In simple terms, an anti-hero is like a hero, but without some key aspect of the usual protagonist. They might do the right thing for the wrong reasons, pursue a personal code instead of any traditional morality, or use objectionable methods to achieve admirable goals. Classical examples date back to ancient Greek and Indian tales likeThe IlliadorThe Mahabhrarata. Lord Byron popularized the idea of the Byronic hero, most ofwhom are known for their moody personalitiesand haunted pasts. A critical element of the anti-hero is social commentary. Most anti-heroic characters exist to say something about the world around them, often by juxtaposing their journey with that of a typical hero. The modern age of television gives viewers endless anti-heroes in the “difficult men” model. The fact that Walter White, Tony Soprano, and Dexter Morgan still fit the bill should demonstrate the endless variety within the term.
In superhero media, the anti-hero can often be a bit more simplistic. It usually boils down to a single decision. Superheroes use violence to defeat supervillains, wielding their advanced abilities to guarantee the safety of others. Anti-heroes do the same, but they usually kill their opponents. The question of whether asuperhero can kill a villainkeeps most comic book characters awake at night. Comics can often excuse any level of violence, so long as the recipient survives their punishment. Conversely, any character that chooses to execute their targets considers anything less an insufficient level of dedication to the cause. This isn’t the most nuanced dichotomy, but it is the most accurate way to determine who is who. The ubiquity of superhero media unfortunately pushes this narrow interpretation of anti-heroism to the front of pop culture. Batman never kills, but Red Hood guns down every criminal he sees. That’s a succinct definition, but it isn’t an interesting one.
Who inspired Billy Butcher inThe Boys?
Just as Homelander is a take on Superman, Billy Butcher is aclear riff on The Punisher. Frank Castle is a notable example of an anti-hero in superhero comics. Writer Garth Ennis, who went on to createThe Boys, hates superheroes and loves the Punisher. Frank Castle is a former soldier who becomes an armed vigilante after the loss of his family. He commits himself to killing criminals, considering anything less than a violent death a half-measure. Tons of Punisher stories place him against another hero to lean heavily on the juxtaposition between killers and non-killers. Frank is a controversial figure in the Marvel universe, and his presence brings several social issues to the forefront. Butcher takes a lot from the Punisher,butThe Boysshow gives him a second point of inspiration.
The Boyson Amazon Prime grants Butchera new suite of superpowersin the season four finale. He has a lot of notable things in common with Marvel’s Venom. He gains a very similar set of black tendrils and a matching split personality to argue with. Like Eddy Brock, Butcher’s new powers come after a terminal cancer diagnosis and the loss of almost everyone he cares about. It pushes him away from his loved ones, but it also grants him the ability to pursue his goals. He becomes a lethal defender, at least from his own perspective. Butcher likes to think he’s the guy who can do the right thing, even if no one else wants to. That belief becomes dangerous when it blends with Butcher’s obsessive hatred of superheroes. He’s a combination of the twocharacters that combines their traitsinto something slightly more nuanced.
How is Billy Butcher a better anti-hero?
Billy Butcher isn’t just a hero with a bad attitude or the only guy willing to kill his foes. He’s a negative influence on the overall completion of his goals. His mission doesn’t align with that of his allies, pushing him away from the other protagonists. There aren’t really any heroes inThe Boys. The best people in the plot tend to be government agents pursuing a violent solution to a potentially apocalyptic problem.Mother’s Milk is about as closeas characters get to decency, and he still shoots people for a living. Like some versions of the Punisher, Bucher cares more about the elimination of his targets than about the potential harm those targets could do. Even if he could create peace by leaving his foes alive, he compulsively guns them down. He isn’t the villain, and he’s still ultimately working to prevent the worst-case scenario, but Billy Butcher isn’t a hero. He follows his own code, pursues his own goals, and uses methods that alienate and infuriate his would-be cohorts. Butcher stands out as an anti-hero because he’sactually willing to stand in the wayof the correct path to guarantee his own revenge. That’s what helps him stand out. Even as he ruins everything, he leaves his former friends with a line like this:
Oh, by the way. You’re all f**king welcome.
Butcher is far from a perfect character, but he stands out in a sea of less interesting anti-heroes. Far too many examples simply do the same heroic routine with an added bad attitude.An anti-hero shouldn’t fitso neatly alongside their heroic counterparts. At their core, an anti-hero provides a commentary on the hero by demonstrating what they could be without some of their key aspects. At the end ofThe Boysseason four, Butcher is the perfect anti-hero. Unfortunately, he’s in the perfect environment to do his grim work.
