When we last saw Billy Butcher at the end of The Boys Season 3, the doctor gave him 12 to18 months to live—the unfortunate side effect of mainlining radioactive Compound V24 into his veins.
But that seemed to suit Butcher just fine. This is a man who, true to his name, lives his life on a knife's edge. And when you look at the state of things, it's probably because he doesn't have much to live for. His son abandoned him for Homelander, because he couldn't put aside his grievances long enough to be a father figure. And this too will metastasize, like cancer, into something far worse.
This week, The Boys begins its fourth season. In addition to the first-rate writing, the stellar acting, and the what-the-hell's-going-to-happen-next excitement packed into every episode, we're also looking forward to the visuals—the pitch-black humor that the show mines out of horrific situations. When you see a person's head or torso explode in a new, exciting way, you don't know whether to puke or laugh.
Head explosions are best captured in motion. Here, in GiFs, are 12 insanely violent scenes from The Boys, which premieres its fourth season on Amazon Prime on Thursday, June 13.
A-Train Runs Through Robin
Season 1, Episode 1
In addition to being the inciting event for the next four seasons, Robin's death captures, on a thematic level, so many of The Boys' underlying concerns. We see the fragility of life. We see the gross lack of empathy that the powerful have for the little people around them. And we see how much can change in an instant—how little control we have over our lives, and what a vital role that luck plays in whether we live or die. Also, look at that spinal cord hanging midair. That used to be a walking, talking person.
Hughie Triggers the Translucent Ass Bomb
Season 1, Episode 2
In "The Killing Joke"—one of the most famous Batman stories written by Alan Moore—the Joker opines how most people are one bad day away from madness. Hughie did not start the day thinking that he could murder a person in cold blood. But, man, does he look resolved when he pushes that trigger, or what? Visually, I love that the blowback of gore is black goo. This is not cartoonish blood; this is viscera that drips off Hughie in thick clumps.
Popclaw Facesits A Man To Death
Season 1 Episode 3
Sexual consent is important, and it's vital to periodically check in; a person can withdraw consent at any time. Safe words are important for that reason, and in the absence of spoken words, non-verbal signals are important too—especially in relationships with power dynamics. And if Popclaw had bothered to check in, maybe she wouldn't have crushed a man's head between her thighs. The crushing happened in two steps—there's one shot where the integrity of the skull fails, and then another worse shot, where the brains come spilling out.
The Crash of Flight 37
Season 1, Episode 4
This was early enough in the show's run that we still didn't know the depths of Homelander's depravity. We knew he was selfish; he'd proven in the pilot that he was willing to kill innocent people if it benefitted him, just as he made sure to save innocent people because that would also benefit him. He did nothing out of the goodness of his heart.To him, it was all transactional. But even so, the Flight 37 sequence was shocking in its callousness. Because he couldn't save everyone, he decided not to save anyone.
Homelander Ends Blindspot's Career
Season 2 Episode 1
The underrated participant in this sequence is Ashley. She thinks she finally did something to make Homelander happy and pleased with her, and then less than ten seconds later, she's forced to hold her composure as Blindspot (a pisstake on Daredevil) writhes, bleeding and screaming, on the floor. It's frightening that no one can hold Homelander accountable; he's like Tommy Devito in Goodfellas. His colleagues have to laugh along with him and pray that when he does blow, they're nowhere in the vicinity.
The Boat Goes Through a Whale
Season 2 Episode 3
The editing of this scene is incredible; it frames the entire sequence as a glorified Jackass stunt. But the funniest thing about this scene is analyzing it in hindsight, because it makes zero sense, no matter how you slice it. What, exactly, did The Deep think was going to happen? What was the ideal outcome he had imagined in his head? Did he think that Butcher would slow down, or turn to avoid him, or even capsize the boat? Look, Butcher is a misanthrope who disregards everyone, and he makes no exception for the people he loves and cares about. So of course he gave zero shits about plowing through The Deep and killing his whale buddy.
Homelander Fantasizes About Mass Murder
Season 2 Episode 5
In hindsight, this was foreshadowing for the final episode of Season 3, where Homelander really does go off the rails and lasers a heckler's head off. This earlier sequence shows a Homelander that is slowly unraveling, and it's a reminder of how powerful and dangerous he is. If any other member of the Seven went rogue, the non-supes could take them down, albeit at a cost. But look at how easily those eye lasers cut through the crowds. What happens if Homelander attacks the White House? Or the Pentagon? What happens if he overthrows a foreign government? This is the guy you want on the inside pissing out, rather than on the outside pissing in.
Head Explosions in Congress
Season 2 Episode 7
This was the Red Wedding of The Boys—the ballsy, late-hour twist that clears half the pieces off the board and resolves every major conflict in a orgy of blood and guts. All pretense of civility vanishes at this moment.
The good guys were so close to a win. Here, in the witness box, was the scientist who created Homelander, ready to testify publicly about Compound V. And then, pop, pop, pop. That it happened so publicly, so brazenly out in the open, is a statement of power in and of itself. The method and the message are one and the same—that Supes are everywhere, and anyone who stands against them or their interests will be destroyed. One head is followed by another, and then another, until they're going off like red fireworks in every corner of the room. America, baby!
Termite Sneezes While Inside a Man's Ass, Accidentally Grows to Full Height
Season 3 Episode 1
AH-CHOO!
The Deep Eats Timothy
Season 3 Episode 3
The Deep is a sexual predator and a cowardly piece of shit. And yet, you feel a twinge of pity mixed with disgust when Homelander forces him to eat his Octopus friend Timothy. Octopi are actually some of the most intelligent creatures on Earth. And even though we can't understand Timothy—The Deep certainly does—we can see him struggle against the chopsticks; the visual artists did a fantastic job of animating the tentacles pushing back against his killer's mouth.
Herogasm Reaches Its Climax
Season 3 Episode 6
One thing I love about The Boys is its daring willingness to "go there." In the case of Herogasm, it's an annual sex orgy where every Supe lets his or her freak flag fly. It's a goldmine for off-color visual gags on one hand. But on the other hand, it's a dark commentary on the ways that sex workers are treated. In this universe, the non-Supe sex workers who attend Herogasm can end up hurt, injured, crippled, or worse. So when Soldier Boy blows it all up, reducing the TNT Twins and dozens of Supes to ash, it feels like chickens coming home to roost. Fuck around and find out, quite literally.
Homelander Headshots a Protester, For Real This Time
Season 3 Episode 8
Speaking strictly from a visual standpoint, this is one of the best headshots in a series full of them, because the head isn't completely obliterated—just the part that Homelander drills with his eye lasers. Thematically, however, this is a significant death because of its context. A Supe deliberately kills a civilian in full view of the public. And rather than screaming and fleeing in horror, the crowd applauds him. Even Homelander looks shocked, as though he just got away with murder. Which of course, he did.
