How Does The Boys Comic End?
The adventures of Billy Butcher and his titular superteam will soon continue on the small screen when the much-anticipated Season 4 of "The Boys" arrives on Amazon's Prime Video. Having already earned a renewal for Season 5, there doesn't appear to be an endpoint in mind for the series. However, in the original comic book run of the same name, which had 72 issues published between 2006 and 2012 (plus various spin-off miniseries), there are definitive ends for Butcher, Homelander, and other fan-favorite characters that the show may look to for inspiration.
Technically, "The Boys" (created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson) has two endings. The original occurs in "The Boys" #72, which concludes with Hughie and Starlight getting a much deserved happy ending together after surviving the chaos of their respective teams. Vought-American, on the other hand, struggles to figure out what's next following the bloody demise of The Seven and having been exposed for creating Black Noir. Meanwhile, "The Boys: Dear Becky," an eight-issue spinoff following Hughie after his time with Butcher's crew is long over, ends with him and Starlight getting married.
While both conclusions might seem shockingly happy for such a dark story, everything leading to the end is uber-violent and extremely deadly for the majority of the main antiheroes and villains.
What happens to The Seven in The Boys?
The Seven is one of the most powerful and influential teams in "The Boys" universe, but when the comic comes to a close, the team has been wiped off the map.
Billy Butcher stabs Jack from Jupiter to death, believing he's behind killing his trusted dog, Terror. Mister Marathon dies after being accidentally decapitated during The Seven's attempt to stop a plane from crashing on 9/11. Hughie murders A-Train, finally getting his revenge on the supe for killing his girlfriend, Robin. Homelander kills Queen Maeve while she protects Starlight, brutally slaying his former partner as his madness increases. Homelander suffers one of the franchise's grizzliest deaths when Black Noir kills him after revealing his own secret identity as the patriotic supe's clone. In the end, Black Noir is left in pieces following his fight with Homelander, and Butcher gets to deliver the killing blow, using a crowbar to rip open Noir's head and destroy what's left of his brain.
Only three members of The Seven survive "The Boys'" finale. Lamplighter, who dies earlier in the series before being resurrected with no brain power, is revealed to be alive (but still essentially brain dead) and is found by the CIA. Another surprise survivor is The Deep, who joins Vought-American's failed attempt at recreating The Seven as a member of The True. Lastly, Starlight survives alongside Hughie and appears in the epilogue to the "Dear Becky" miniseries.
What happens to The Boys themselves?
The fate of the titular Boys crew is no better than that of The Seven, and it's largely thanks to Billy Butcher.
Late in the series, Butcher's plan to kill everyone exposed to Compound V with an explosive strain of the substance causes the team to further question his leadership as he spirals out of control. When Frenchy and the Female investigate his plans, he murders them in a fiery explosion. In response to Mother's Milk's opposition to the plan, Butcher puts a grenade in his mouth, seriously disfiguring M.M. before strangling him to death.
Butcher also tries to kill Hughie, an attempt that leads to the pair dramatically falling off the side of the Empire State Building. Hughie's leg is impaled on a fence, while Butcher breaks his neck. Once Hughie finds the strength to gather himself, he uses a sharp piece of the fence that was embedded in his leg to stab Butcher in the chest, putting an end to his madness.
Will "The Boys" live-action show follow the comic's ending for The Seven and Butcher's team? It's unclear right now, especially when you consider that the show has deviated significantly from the source material on several occasions. But whatever happens, it might be a good idea if the audience didn't get too attached to any of the show's main characters.