Warning: this article contains full spoilers for the first three episodes of The Boys: Season 3! If you haven't already, be sure to check out IGN's review of the three-episode season premiere.
The Boys: Season 3 has introduced several major new characters to this twisted superhero universe, but one could argue that the show's most important new addition isn't a person; it's an object. The first three episodes reveal that Vought America has developed a new experimental drug called V24 that can give anyone superpowers for 24 hours.
We've already seen the deadly consequences of that drug in those three episodes, with Billy Butcher going on a superhuman rampage and battling the physical side effects. In more ways than one, the series seems to be putting Billy and his team on a path that more closely mirrors the original comic book series. Let's take a closer look at what exactly V24 is, why it makes sense to put a superhuman Billy Butcher in play and why Billy (probably) isn't the only character gaining powers this season.
The Boys universe is unusual in that pretty much every superhero and villain has powers that stem from the same source - Compound V. This Nazi-designed wonder drug can transform ordinary humans into unstoppable powerhouses. There's just one catch - Compound V usually only works on children. By the time those children have endured a decade or more of being prodded in a lab and molded into walking, talking brands by the most powerful corporation on the planet, they've almost surely grown up to become self-absorbed sociopaths.
Homelander himself is a worst-case scenario. Compound V has transformed him into a godlike being who can decimate entire cities in the blink of an eye. Keeping Homelander happy and out of trouble requires a full-time staff and a very delicate hand. And whereas the comics revealed Vought has a secret failsafe against Homelander in the form of Black Noir, Season 3's Iran-Contra flashback has finally confirmed this isn't the case in the TV series.
V24 is essentially Vought's solution to these problems. It's a drug that can be used on willing adults rather than unsuspecting children. It only lasts for 24 hours per dose, meaning the company won't be left with any superhuman liabilities that can't be controlled. And perhaps most importantly for the power-hungry Stan Edgar, it's a perpetual source of massive revenue for Vought. It's one thing to license superheroes to the military. It's another to offer them an incredibly effective but very expensive super-drug.
There's already some evidence to suggest V24 doesn't work exactly as intended. It's certainly effective, based on Billy Butcher's first exposure to the drug. One injection granted him super-strength and heat vision, more than enough to make quick work of Gunpowder. We don't know if V24 bestows the same powers to every person or if the effects are completely random (as is the case with Compound V). However, Billy's heat vision could be a clue V24 is derived from Homelander's DNA.
Effective though it is, these episodes show us that it has some significant side effects. Billy is experiencing some pretty gnarly withdrawal symptoms, and the heat vision power seems to be lingering well after the 24-hour period has expired. And this is after just one dose. Billy has two more hidden away, which raises the question of just what state his body will be in by the time he's run through his third vial.
"Billy is experiencing some pretty gnarly withdrawal symptoms, and the heat vision power seems to be lingering well after the 24-hour period has expired."
Most disturbingly of all, V24 clearly has significant psychological effects. Billy was already a profoundly damaged person, but V24 accentuates his worst traits. The man who managed to restrain himself from killing Termite in Episode 1 happily murders the helpless Gunpowder in Episode 2. And now Billy has pushed away Ryan, severing his last link to his ex-wife.
All of this suggests Billy is careening down a self-destructive path that puts him more in line with the comic book incarnation of the character. Fans of the comic will know that Billy is anything but the hero of this story, and is instead a prime example of how a person can become every bit as twisted and evil as the monsters they hunt. There's still hope for the TV version of Billy Butcher for now, but things aren't looking great at the moment.
Perhaps the single biggest difference between the TV series and the original comics is that the latter depicts every member of Billy's team as having superpowers. In the TV series, only Kimiko has thus far been given a permanent power boost courtesy of Compound V.
V24 may be the show's way of shifting closer to the source material and leveling the playing field between The Boys and The Seven. This drug may not be enough to allow Billy to take on the almighty Homelander in a one-on-one brawl, but it could certainly allow for some brutal fight scenes against relatively weaker heroes like A-Train or The Deep.
It's also worth remembering that Episode 3 ends with Billy projectile-vomiting all over Hughie's face. We still don't know what exactly V24 is doing to Billy's body chemistry, but it's enough to wonder if this disgusting moment of bonding will lead to Hughie gaining powers of his own. Perhaps even permanently?
That would be an interesting spin on the comics, where Hughie is forcibly injected with Compound V by Billy on his first mission.
The introduction of V24 could very easily lead to a scenario where the number of superhumans in this world balloons almost overnight. If the drug's effects aren't as temporary as believed, then all it takes is a few more leaks for things to get really chaotic. Past seasons have already established that other corporations and rogue nations are attempting to create their own superhumans. V24 could do the job for them.
Up till now, Vought has managed to maintain a stranglehold on the superhero market. What few supervillains do exist in this world are generally created to help the PR machine and give teams like The Seven some easy wins. But what if V24 allows for the rise of a new generation of supes who aren't simply serving the company's bottom line? Homelander is bad enough, but what if Vought is creating a much larger problem with their latest invention?
For more on The Boys, see what Season 3's new changes mean for Homelander and learn why Amazon wants to "slowly" establish a Boys cinematic universe.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Continue reading...
The Boys: Season 3 has introduced several major new characters to this twisted superhero universe, but one could argue that the show's most important new addition isn't a person; it's an object. The first three episodes reveal that Vought America has developed a new experimental drug called V24 that can give anyone superpowers for 24 hours.
We've already seen the deadly consequences of that drug in those three episodes, with Billy Butcher going on a superhuman rampage and battling the physical side effects. In more ways than one, the series seems to be putting Billy and his team on a path that more closely mirrors the original comic book series. Let's take a closer look at what exactly V24 is, why it makes sense to put a superhuman Billy Butcher in play and why Billy (probably) isn't the only character gaining powers this season.
Why V24 Is Different From Compound V
The Boys universe is unusual in that pretty much every superhero and villain has powers that stem from the same source - Compound V. This Nazi-designed wonder drug can transform ordinary humans into unstoppable powerhouses. There's just one catch - Compound V usually only works on children. By the time those children have endured a decade or more of being prodded in a lab and molded into walking, talking brands by the most powerful corporation on the planet, they've almost surely grown up to become self-absorbed sociopaths.
Homelander himself is a worst-case scenario. Compound V has transformed him into a godlike being who can decimate entire cities in the blink of an eye. Keeping Homelander happy and out of trouble requires a full-time staff and a very delicate hand. And whereas the comics revealed Vought has a secret failsafe against Homelander in the form of Black Noir, Season 3's Iran-Contra flashback has finally confirmed this isn't the case in the TV series.
V24 is essentially Vought's solution to these problems. It's a drug that can be used on willing adults rather than unsuspecting children. It only lasts for 24 hours per dose, meaning the company won't be left with any superhuman liabilities that can't be controlled. And perhaps most importantly for the power-hungry Stan Edgar, it's a perpetual source of massive revenue for Vought. It's one thing to license superheroes to the military. It's another to offer them an incredibly effective but very expensive super-drug.
Billy Butcher's Exposure to V24
There's already some evidence to suggest V24 doesn't work exactly as intended. It's certainly effective, based on Billy Butcher's first exposure to the drug. One injection granted him super-strength and heat vision, more than enough to make quick work of Gunpowder. We don't know if V24 bestows the same powers to every person or if the effects are completely random (as is the case with Compound V). However, Billy's heat vision could be a clue V24 is derived from Homelander's DNA.
Effective though it is, these episodes show us that it has some significant side effects. Billy is experiencing some pretty gnarly withdrawal symptoms, and the heat vision power seems to be lingering well after the 24-hour period has expired. And this is after just one dose. Billy has two more hidden away, which raises the question of just what state his body will be in by the time he's run through his third vial.
"Billy is experiencing some pretty gnarly withdrawal symptoms, and the heat vision power seems to be lingering well after the 24-hour period has expired."
Most disturbingly of all, V24 clearly has significant psychological effects. Billy was already a profoundly damaged person, but V24 accentuates his worst traits. The man who managed to restrain himself from killing Termite in Episode 1 happily murders the helpless Gunpowder in Episode 2. And now Billy has pushed away Ryan, severing his last link to his ex-wife.
All of this suggests Billy is careening down a self-destructive path that puts him more in line with the comic book incarnation of the character. Fans of the comic will know that Billy is anything but the hero of this story, and is instead a prime example of how a person can become every bit as twisted and evil as the monsters they hunt. There's still hope for the TV version of Billy Butcher for now, but things aren't looking great at the moment.
Will the Other Boys Take V24?
Perhaps the single biggest difference between the TV series and the original comics is that the latter depicts every member of Billy's team as having superpowers. In the TV series, only Kimiko has thus far been given a permanent power boost courtesy of Compound V.
V24 may be the show's way of shifting closer to the source material and leveling the playing field between The Boys and The Seven. This drug may not be enough to allow Billy to take on the almighty Homelander in a one-on-one brawl, but it could certainly allow for some brutal fight scenes against relatively weaker heroes like A-Train or The Deep.
It's also worth remembering that Episode 3 ends with Billy projectile-vomiting all over Hughie's face. We still don't know what exactly V24 is doing to Billy's body chemistry, but it's enough to wonder if this disgusting moment of bonding will lead to Hughie gaining powers of his own. Perhaps even permanently?
That would be an interesting spin on the comics, where Hughie is forcibly injected with Compound V by Billy on his first mission.
The introduction of V24 could very easily lead to a scenario where the number of superhumans in this world balloons almost overnight. If the drug's effects aren't as temporary as believed, then all it takes is a few more leaks for things to get really chaotic. Past seasons have already established that other corporations and rogue nations are attempting to create their own superhumans. V24 could do the job for them.
Up till now, Vought has managed to maintain a stranglehold on the superhero market. What few supervillains do exist in this world are generally created to help the PR machine and give teams like The Seven some easy wins. But what if V24 allows for the rise of a new generation of supes who aren't simply serving the company's bottom line? Homelander is bad enough, but what if Vought is creating a much larger problem with their latest invention?
For more on The Boys, see what Season 3's new changes mean for Homelander and learn why Amazon wants to "slowly" establish a Boys cinematic universe.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Continue reading...