The Stealthy Butcher Kill We Could See In The Boys Season 3
The Boys is as gruesome as it gets — in both the Amazon Prime Video series and the comics upon which the show is based. However, not all of the kills featured in The Boys are blood-in-your-face explosions and dismembered limbs. Sometimes, they're a little more subtle. As we head into The Boys season 3 and more comic book moments are brought to life on the small screen, chances are good that we may see Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) pull off a stealthy move to end the life of the homophobic Swingwing.
At the end of season 2, Butcher is far behind the kill count of his comic counterpart. In the comics, Butcher becomes an expert at Supe-killing, but so far in the series, the Boys have only killed Translucent (Alex Hassell). However, next season should provide an opportunity for them to get a little more blood on their hands, as there's a strong chance we'll be meeting the Supes that makeup the team Payback, given that the season 3 premiere episode is entitled "Payback."
Payback is full of colorful characters like Soldier Boy — who's confirmed to be in season 3, and will be played by Supernatural's Jensen Ackles – and Tek Knight, whom fans hope will appear in the show. If we do get to see Tek Knight, a deviant character inspired by both Batman and Iron Man, it's likely we'll see his ex-sidekick Swingwing as well. If you couldn't guess by the name, Swingwing is based off Batman's ex-sidekick Nightwing. Technically, Swingwing doesn't have any powers other than his jetpack, so he'll probably make for a much easier kill than, say, the nearly invincible Homelander (Antony Starr). In the comics, this allows Butcher to take out Swingwing with more subtlety than he normally shows.
Always check your jetpacks before flying away
In the comics, the Boys conflict with the Nightwing knock-off appears in issues 9 and 10, when they investigate the murder of a gay man. Their case takes them to Tek Knight and Swingwing, who haven't been on good terms with each other since they had an awkward ménage à trois. Swingwing tells Hughie and Butcher that he threw the man off a roof. Swingwing had encouraged the young man to confess his feelings to the object of his affection, but was deeply taken aback when it was revealed that Swingwing was the one he was in love with. To the public, Swingwing was pro-LGBT+, but he was secretly very homophobic and thus mercilessly killed the man.
In the moment, Swingwing made an agreement with Butcher to be better, but Butcher secretly sabotaged his jetpack. He flew away with a false sense of security before crashing down to his death, much like his victim had.
Now, the series has changed several things from its source material, including most of Stormfront's story, so we can only speculate about how Soldier Boy, the other members of Payback, and possibly Swingwing will come into the story. But hey, if The Boys want to take out more dubious "heroes," Swingwing may be the lowest-hanging fruit.