Hughie (Jack Quaid) in the series finale of ‘The Boys’
Amazon
The series finale of The Boys ends on a surprisingly sunny note, with major changes to the source material.
While the climax of the series echoes the final scene of the original story, The Boys comics contain a shocking plot twist that the TV adaptation left out, altering the tone of the ending.
Here’s the big difference between The Boys comics and Amazon’s series finale, explained.
Warning—Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In ‘The Boys’ Series Finale?
The series finale delivers the final fight between Butcher (Karl Urban) and Homelander (Antony Starr).
After a climatic struggle, Homelander and Butcher are drained of their superpowers by a blast from Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), leaving the two on equal terms.
Butcher easily kills the groveling Homelander, having spent much of his life winning street fights.
In the wake of the victory, Butcher’s villain-arc suddenly erupts after the death of his dog and the rejection of his foster-son Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) pushing Butcher into another act of vengeful violence.
Butcher attempts to release a deadly virus that would wipe out every single superhero, but is stopped by Hughie (Jack Quaid), who has always acted as his moral compass.
Butcher is ready to pull the trigger and release the virus, but changes his mind after seeing Hughie’s stubborn innocence, reminding Butcher of his late, beloved brother.
Hughie doesn’t see Butcher’s hesitation and shoots him to stop the superhero genocide, Butcher bleeding out and praising his friend’s courage.
The series ends with Hughie settling down with Starlight (Erin Moriarty), rejecting an opportunity from Vought to police the remaining rogue superheroes.
Vought and the superhero problem remains, but Hughie has left it all behind, choosing a simple life behind the counter of a store.
It’s a happy ending to a bleak story, very different from The Boys comics.
How Does ‘The Boys’ Comic End?
The original comic by Garth Ennis contains a huge twist that recontextualizes the entire story.
Butcher is characterized as a ruthless sociopath, and Homelander the victim of a mind-bending conspiracy.
In the comics, Homelander is still an unrepentant villain, but he did not commit the terrible crimes that Butcher blames him for.
Black Noir (a character killed off in the series) is secretly a clone of Homelander in the comics, and he’s far more unhinged than the original model.
In the comics, Black Noir rapes and murders Butcher’s wife, taking photos of the grisly scene to frame Homelander for the crime, which pushes Butcher into a self-destructive journey of revenge.
Vought created Black Noir as a failsafe, as the megacorporation feared losing control of Homelander and knew that only a clone could match his power.
Black Noir ended up setting the bloody events of the story in motion, causing Homelander to lose his mind, as he couldn’t remember committing the terrible crimes seen in the photos.
Homelander is still a spin on “evil Superman,” but he spirals into madness because of Black Noir’s mind games, while Butcher goes down a path of depravity and violence in order to get his revenge.
The end of the comic sees Black Noir revealing the big twist before murdering Homelander, with Butcher killing the deranged clone, completing his revenge.
Butcher, who is a self-aware sadist in the comics, knows his late wife wouldn’t have wanted him to go down this road, but doubles down, planning to complete his mission by wiping out all superheroes with the killer virus.
Butcher even goes as far as to murder his team, killing Frenchie, Mother’s Milk and Kimiko when they try to stop him.
The only one left alive is Hughie, who is goaded into killing Butcher during their final confrontation, earning his respect.
Butcher dies satisfied, and the virus is never released.
The story ends with Hughie settling down with Starlight, like the show, but the comic sees Hughie continue to monitor the superhero population.
‘The Boys’ Comic Is Different From The Series Finale
The big plot twist in the comic reframes the protagonists as misguided puppets in Vought’s messy machinations.
Butcher’s brutal revenge is sparked by the actions of a deranged clone, who only exists to maintain Vought’s monopoly on power.
The megacorporation’s control-freakery and incompetence ignites a terrible cycle of vengeance, death and suffering.
Hughie’s commitment to his role after Homelander is defeated shows how important the job is—the comics portray rogue superheroes and Vought as a scourge that must be constantly kept in check.
Butcher even reflects on the fact that his thuggish, macho attitude is misguided, concluding that without the influence of women, men are prone to senseless acts of violence.
As Butcher says in the comic, “men are boys.”
In the Amazon series, Butcher dies a flawed hero, Vought is left to continue unchecked and Homelander is solely responsible for his crimes, fueled by hubris and narcissism.
It’s a different message from the original comic, and a surprisingly traditional ending for a series that set out to satirize the superhero genre.