Butcher appears to be a twisted version of Marvel’s Mr. Fantastic in the most recent episode of The Boys. Butcher has singled out a number of the Boys’ superheroes, who are obviously parodies of Marvel and DC characters.
While the previous superheroes on The Boys were based on other Marvel characters (Popclaw in season 1 is a take on Marvel’s X-23, Eagle the Archer is a version of Hawkeye, and Crimson Countess is a riff on Scarlet Witch), Soldier Boy in season 3 was a direct analogue to Marvel’s Captain America.The Boys’ episode from this week puts Butcher in direct conflict with another parody character, which has a terrible outcome.Below are some spoilers for The Boys!
Firecracker and Vought aggressively agitate Starlight in the most recent episode of The Boys by erecting a stage and TV set directly outside of Starlight House headquarters. Although a lot of contentious things are spoken, our discussion will focus on what goes on behind the scenes. In order to break into Firecracker’s trailer, which is parked nearby, Butcher sends Frenchie on an errand. He initially just finds a handgun-shaped bag that is bejeweled, but he also finds a tablet that makes him react verbally (though its contents are never shown).
However, Ezekiel—a Christian supreme that was last shown in the first season of the TV show—finds out about Frenchie very soon. With the exact same body-morphing abilities as Mr. Fantastic from Marvel, Ezekiel stretches out his arms to grab Frenchie and flings him around like a rag doll before throwing him out the window of Firecracker’s trailer. After receiving word of the impending trouble via his communications, Butcher heads over to confront Ezekiel and teaches us a valuable lesson about dealing with someone who has stretchy powers. freezing his arm with a fire extinguisher, then breaking it off and smashing it with his trademark crowbar.
Ezekiel puts Butcher in danger by starting to choke him with his other arm. Then, before passing out, Butcher has a hallucination of Becca telling him he can’t give up. When Butcher awakens, the trailer is drenched in blood, and he has no idea how he 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed Ezekiel—his face is mashed into the floor, and there’s gore all over the place. Ezekiel—whatever happened to him? And what’s happening to Butcher? Though it’s early to tell, it seems like the intricacies of his Compound V usage are having some unfavorable repercussions, making him much more lethal than before.
