Billy Butcher’s death at the end of The Boys comic book series was done by one of the least likely suspects, Hughie, who murdered his former leader after being misled about the deaths of his own parents.

In The Boys #71, Butcher smiles disturbingly as Hughie stabs him in the chest, as the Supe-hunter turned villain had nothing left to live for and deceived his former protégé into 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing him. The shocking scene was a fitting conclusion for Butcher.

In The Boys comic book series, Billy Butcher leads the titular team as they hunt down Supes, specifically The Seven, who are posing as superpowered villains while the world believes they are heroic. Because of his wife’s attack and subsequent death at the hands of Homelander (later revealed to be Black Noir), Butcher set out to exact retribution by 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing as many Supes as possible. However, by the end of The Boys, Butcher had lost control and began murdering members of his own crew, prompting a last confrontation with Hughie in which he tricked him into 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing him.

Hughie is Tricked Into Killing Billy Butcher

The Boys #71 by Garth Ennis, Tony Avina, Russ Braun, Simon Bowland, and Darick Robertson

Butcher’s quest to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 every super-powered being on Earth ends with him losing control and shockingly 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing Mother’s Milk, Frenchie, and The Female. In the ensuing confrontation between Butcher and Hughie, the pair are seriously injured after falling off the Empire State Building. Talking about his late wife, Butcher shares details about his past and tells Hughie never to let go of Starlight, as he doesn’t know how much time he’ll have left with her.

However, as Hughie prepares to leave a severely injured Butcher to be apprehended, he informs him that he secretly murdered both of Hughie’s parents as vengeance. Hughie is shocked and outraged, so he stabs Billy Butcher in the chest, 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing him. Billy’s plan worked perfectly, as he didn’t actually 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 Hughie’s parents.

Butcher recruited Hughie with the sole purpose of stopping him.

Butcher’s final plan demonstrated his true role in the series.

Butcher ultimately opted to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 Hughie as a cruel method to demonstrate how much working with him and The Boys had transformed him. The fact that Butcher dies with a smile while lying about 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing Hughie’s parents demonstrates that he believed his purpose was complete. And that turning the most innocent member of The Boys into the man responsible for his death would be a final hurrah. Butcher had nothing left to live for, so he gave Hughie a final, traumatic experience he would never forget. It’s a truly horrible send-off for Butcher, demonstrating the power he wielded over Hughie to the end.

Butcher’s death featured him going out in a blaze of glory, wiping out The Boys, and having Hughie 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 him with a twisted lie. For the Supe-𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁er, he likely planned his own demise from the moment he added Hughie to his team. Butcher ended up being the series’ biggest villain, controlled his surroundings until the very end, and by choosing Hughie to end his life, it was one final twist of the metaphorical knife into the man whose life he forever changed in The Boys comic book series.

Hughie & Butcher’s Relationship Was A Complicated One

It’s Unlikely The TV Show Will Go Down This Same Path

As he explains in the comic, Butcher specifically brought Hughie into The Boys because Hughie reminded Butcher of his dead little brother. Butcher knew he didn’t have a conscience anymore (not with the death of Becca and his brother removing all bonds), so Hughie was brought in to prevent Butcher from going too far and destroying everything. Butcher’s plan would’ve 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed millions of innocent people, and yet in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to call the plan off due to his hatred of Supes.

It is highly doubtful that the Prime Video TV show will end its plot in the same way. In the comic series, Butcher’s entire motivation for 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing the other members of The Boys and initiating his global plot was to eliminate all Supes on the planet. However, the show has decided to keep members of The Boys alive, so Butcher has no incentive to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 them alongside the Supes.

Butcher has no cause to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 the Boys, thus he doesn’t need Hughie to stop him. While this was a terrific finale to the comic, viewers are unlikely to see Billy Butcher 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed by this unusual buddy in The Boys TV series.