The Boys: 20 Biggest Differences from the Comics

Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the 20 biggest differences between The Boys comic and its tv adaptation. Beware of major spoilers for both ahead. What difference surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments.

#20: Maeve’s Sacrifice

At the end of season 3, Maeve was willing to do anything it took to kill her old enemy Homelander. Although she tried her best to win, she just barely managed to injure him. Maeve ended up abandoning her quest when an explosion threatened to kill all her friends. Without hesitation, she put her body on the line to save everyone. Maeve was willing to make a similar sacrifice in the comics. When Homelander tried to stop her from leaving with Starlight, the amazon themed heroine threw her companion to safety. Unfortunately, Maeve didn’t survive the ensuing battle with Homelander. That’s why fans were surprised to see the show deviate from the comic by having her survive after risking everything for her friends.

#19: Annie & Hughie’s Complex Relationship

After Hughie and Annie AKA Starlight both have terrible days, they end up sharing a park bench and some friendly conversation. Unfortunately, they don’t realize that their jobs make them enemies. During season one, Hughie realizes Annie is a superhero fairly quickly. While using her to get intel on other heroes, Hughie and Annie start dating. Their relationship temporarily ends when Annie finds out she’s being used. Hughie’s comic counterpart is much more oblivious. Although he dates Annie for months, he’s unaware she’s a superhero until she literally floats off the ground. They eventually get past this reveal and end up married in the end. Hopefully, the show will follow this path and let the cute duo tie the knot.

#18: Little Nina’s Journey

The tv version of this villainess originally wanted to get revenge against someone who crossed her. While it was clear Little Nina was sadistic, her ultimate goals are still a mystery. Her comic counterpart made her ambitious plans very clear. In the source material, Little Nina worked with Vought to create a small army of supes. She planned to have them cause chaos all over Russia before she stepped in with a secret weapon to kill them. Before executing her grand plan, Butcher took her out with a bomb planted in one of Little Nina’s…special toys. While the boys certainly have a grudge with her on the show, it’s unknown if they’ll use the same method to dispatch her.

#17: Kimiko’s Backstory

In the pages of the comics, the first female member of “The Boys” got her powers by accident. When she was a toddler, she accidently crawled into a bucket of compound v while her mother wasn’t paying attention. The nameless girl spent years being captured and chased until she met the Boys. When she was adapted for television, she was given the name Kimiko and had a much bigger backstory. She and her brother Kenji were forcibly drafted into an army when they were young. At some point, the army subjected the siblings to illegal experiments that gave them both superpowers. Changing Kimiko’s story so that she knowingly received abilities against her will made her origins darker than ever.

#16: Stillwell’s Storyline

Don't let the fancy clothes fool you. The executive that oversees the Seven is responsible for a LOT of bloodshed. In the comics, this role is occupied by James Stillwell. The man is so cold and dedicated to his job that he ordered the mass murder of an entire superhero team to avoid bad press. He's also formidable enough to stare down an angry Homelander and outlive nearly every member of the Seven. The show gender swapped the character and renamed her - something they also did with the Boys’ former leader Mallory. Although “Madelyn” Stillwell is just as ruthless as her comic counterpart, she also has a disturbing and intimate relationship with Homelander. That is, until Homelander catches her out in a lie, and kills her.

#15: Hughie's First Kill

Shortly after joining the boys, Hughie ends up killing someone for the first time. In the comic, this pivotal event occurs after the boys humiliate a superhero team called the Teenage Kix. When one of its members, Blarney Cock (yes, that’s his name), attacks Hughie, Hughie accidentally kills him in self-defense. His homicide in the show however is 100% intentional. After the boys capture the hero Translucent and insert explosives inside his… um, body [bottom], Translucent tries to escape. Hughie initially decides to let the hero go. But he ultimately decides that it’s time to get his hands dirty - and detonates the bomb. Hughie’s decisive action makes his first kill feel darker and more malicious than in the comic.

#14: Stormfront & Homelander’s Twisted Love Affair

Two of the most hateful supes in “The Boys” universe somehow managed to fall in love with each other. After getting off to a rocky start, Homelander and Stormfront bonded over their mutual feelings of superiority and lust for power. While he certainly didn’t love every aspect of her twisted personality, he was severely hurt when she was grievously injured. This plotline never played out in the source material. In the comics, it’s mentioned offhand that the male Stormfront dated Maeve for a brief time. That fact kept us from seeing Homelander maintain a real relationship until he appeared in live-action. Additionally, Stormfront’s death in the show eventually pushes Homelander to deliver a public rant that changes how everyone sees him.

#13: What Happens to Annie

Both adaptations of “The Boys” depict mature and disturbing events that highlight real social issues. One of the hardest scenes to endure is Annie’s assault. In the comic, Annie is assaulted by Homelander, Black Noir and A-Train, who corner her and threaten her with expulsion from the Seven. On the show, this role is taken over by the Deep. While the comic heroes are never directly punished for their crime, Deep faces heavy consequences on the show. After Annie exposes him on live TV, the Deep’s forced to make a public apology and is indefinitely suspended from the Seven. Overall, the show’s focus on Annie’s assault and its aftermath provided a better take on this difficult storyline.

#12: Hughie’s Appearance

If you picked up a “Boys” comic, you’d see that Hughie’s a dead ringer for the fantastic Simon Pegg. This version of the character is Scottish, sports a buzzcut and is shorter than his allies. The show’s take on Hughie is tall, American and has a full head of hair. In a brilliant bit of meta-casting, his father Hugh is played by the real Simon Pegg. While both versions of the character struggle with anxiety and morality, Hugh’s presence makes a big difference. Although he’s initially skeptical of his son’s capabilities, he worries about him and tries to show him love and support. It makes Hughie’s descent into darker territory feel all the more tragic.

#11: Lamplighter’s Final Fate

There’s no happy ending for this fiery supe in any medium. In the comics, Lamplighter burned innocent members of Agent Greg Mallory’s family to a crisp. The C.I.A. operative retaliated by killing the supe as soon as he got the chance. Unbeknownst to Mallory, Vought attempted to revive Lamplighter later. But their efforts failed and he essentially became a mindless zombie. On the show, Mallory spared Lamplighter after being convinced he could help expose how corrupt the superhero community was. He initially seemed prepared to testify in front of Congress. But before we could see how that plotline would unravel, Lamplighter brought his story to the end by taking his own life inside of his former superhero home.

#10: Hughie Tangoes with the Seven Right Away

Hughie knew the Seven as an untouchable team of superheroes. But when his girlfriend is carelessly killed by the hero A-Train, Hughie teams up with Billy Butcher and the Boys to take the heroes down. In the comics, Hughie helps dismantle less notable superhero teams before confronting the Seven. This gives him time to become a competent spy and legitimate threat. He has much less time to hone his espionage skills on the show. Within a few days of meeting Butcher, Hughie’s sent to bug the Seven’s headquarters. During the mission, Hughie’s cover is blown, and he’s nearly killed by Translucent. Perhaps he should’ve taken a cue from his comic counterpart and gained experience before taking on the world’s most powerful heroes.

#9: Butcher’s Team Isn’t Part of the CIA

In the first episode, Butcher introduces himself as an FBI agent. Although Hughie questions Butcher’s credentials, he still follows his new companion’s lead. But after the duo knocks Translucent unconscious, Butcher confesses that he’s not with the FBI. His lies are a hilarious twist on the comics. On the page, Butcher and the boys are licensed and funded by the CIA. Their government connection gives them access to passports, jets and a decent headquarters. The Boys have so much pull that they even get away with killing heroes on a public street. Although the tv version of the team eventually gets government support, they made it remarkably far with only a handful of connections and nearly empty pockets.

#8: A-Train & Hughie’s Strained Relationship

The Seven’s speediest superhero was quick to cover up that he was responsible for the innocent Robin’s death. Hughie reacts to this news very differently between mediums. In the comics, he learns about A-Train’s carelessness and his involvement in a vicious crime against Starlight. Both revelations push Hughie to kill A-Train on the spot. In the tv universe, the speedy hero has a heart attack while trying to injure Starlight. Instead of letting him die, Hughie starts to give him CPR. A-Train would later return the favor by giving his longtime enemy crucial dirt on Vought. While Hughie hasn’t tried to kill A-Train since, there’s still a chance their strained relationship will end violently.

#7: Neuman Is An Active Player

It initially seemed like Victoria Neuman was an ordinary politician who was genuinely interested in ending superhero corruption. But in a shocking twist, it was revealed that she was an assassin and the daughter of a high-ranking Vought executive. Shortly after the Boys learned about Neuman’s buried past, she began making moves to get into the White House. While her comic counterpart’s sworn into office as the Vice President, he didn’t have to work nearly as hard. The comic Neuman was a complete idiot who does whatever Vought wanted him to. He even stumbled his way upwards and became the President without any effort. If Victoria becomes the POTUS on the show, we have a feeling it’ll be completely intentional.

#6: Starlight Allies With The Boys

At a certain point in the comics, the brightest member of the Seven recognized that the supe community was heading in a very dark direction. Starlight decided to get far out of dodge before the entire world of capes and costumes came crashing down. But the live-action Annie January wasn’t content with a quiet existence. Although Starlight does attempt to leave her superhero career behind, she returned to the life to help expose the evils of her industry. By the time we reach season 3, she’s routinely providing insights and information that could help Hughie’s team. Starlight’s determined efforts and continued courage ended up earning her a spot on “The Boys”.

#5: Soldier Boy’s Presence

There isn’t a whole lot to be said about the comic versions of this Captain America parody. While the first two Soldier Boys died after making bad decisions, the third was killed after a fight with the boys. The single tv version of the character had a much greater impact on the overall story. On the show, Soldier Boy carelessly killed members of Mother Milk’s family. This incident inspired the grieving man to join the boys. Soldier Boy also gained the ability to generate radioactive blasts that can devastate cities and remove superpowers. But most significantly, it was revealed that the supe is Homelander’s father. The ramifications of that revelation alone led to major changes to the narrative.

#4: The Plane Incident

When Stillwell hears that terrorists have hijacked a plane, she sends Homelander and Maeve to save the passengers. But during the rescue mission, Homelander accidentally fries the controls. Unable to land the plane, the heroes abandon the mission and leave the passengers to die. As bad as that sounds, the comic’s version of events is even worse. In the comic, the plane is hijacked on . . . September 11th, 2001. After the Seven fail to save it, the plane crashes into the Brooklyn Bridge. By associating the incident with real historical events, it made for an even more horrifying and harrowing scene.

#3: Black Noir’s Identity

Viewers first got to peek under this mysterious supe’s mask in season 2. After that glimpse, it was later revealed that he was a man named Earving. He chose to wear the mask full time after his face was severely damaged and burned by Soldier Boy. In the comics, there was a much more shocking reason why he kept his face hidden. While Homelander was leading a coup., Black Noir revealed that he was a clone of the red, white and twisted supe. The masked villain was ordered to keep his true identity a secret. After exposing the truth, Black Noir ended up killing Homelander. In an ironic twist of fate, Homelander slayed the first Black Noir before any clones came out of the woodwork.

#2: The Boys & Superpowers

How does a ragtag group like the Boys stand a chance against superheroes? Easy! In the comic, they all have superpowers. Both Mother's Milk and The Female get their powers when they’re young. The rest of the team uses the drug Compound V to acquire super strength and increased durability. On the show, the team is much more vulnerable. For a large chunk of the series, Kimiko was the only one of the Boys who had enhanced abilities. The show briefly imitated the comics by allowing Hughie and Butcher to get temporary superpowers. But after it was revealed that the compound v was slowly killing them, they realized they couldn’t count on enhanced abilities forever.

#1: Becca Butcher’s Fate

Butcher's hatred of superheroes is tied to his wife Becca. In the comics, he awoke one night to find that she’d given birth to Homelander’s superpowered son. Unfortunately, neither Becca nor the child made it to the morning. His show counterpart seemed to more or less share this backstory…until the season one finale. In a shocking series of twists, it’s revealed that Becca is alive, in hiding, and raising Homelander’s son. Unfortunately, her son Ryan accidentally causes her death later on. But his continued survival still changes the direction of the entire series. Ryan can choose to stick by his father Homelander's side or rebel against his dad. Whatever decision he makes, it’s likely to shape the future of the tv world.