Stormfront (character)

The following is a list of fictional characters from the comic series '' The Boys'', created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, and subsequent media franchise developed by Eric Kripke, consisting of a live-action adaptation, the web series ''Seven on 7'', the animated anthology series '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'', and the upcoming live-action spin-off series ''Gen V''.

Overview

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Main cast

Recurring cast

The Boys

The Boys are a CIA black ops team, initially created by Col. Greg Mallory to observe, record and sometimes liquidate Supes created by the mega conglomerate Vought. Ostensibly assembled to help prevent / avenge the immoral and illegal actions of the largely out of control "supe" community, they also seek to ensure that Vought lacks the stability or the platform to push for use of superhumans in national defense. Over time the team's focus changed due to Butcher's increased inability from one of management / containment to the total elimination of all Supes. As Mallory notes in #55, 14 people were killed by the Boys from 1987 to 1995 and "nearly three times that number" between 1995 and 2002, when Butcher had gained more influence. This coincides with Mallory's belief in Issues #54–55 that in spite of the seductiveness of the concept of special forces teams, the application of them can often go wrong as they try to justify their budgets and create their private conflicts. As a result, Mallory feels that the original concept for the team has gone awry, and would never have created the unit as it currently stands.

The first iteration of the Boys was decommissioned after a disastrous confrontation with the Seven in 2001 that resulted in the deaths of Mallory's grandchildren. The unit was reformed a few years later – indicated in #1 to be soon after the 2004 Presidential election – and have carried on where they left off. Due to the fact that direct confrontation may be needed, all the members have enhanced strength and durability due to injections of Compound V, and all (with the exception of Hughie) show no restraint when on the attack – although they avoid killing when it complicates matters in most cases.

Though they are not as powerful as the corrupt superheroes they fight, they compensate with their blue-collar grit, their willingness to fight dirty, their access to high military grade weaponry and explosives, and their lack of fear to kill if they deem it necessary. Thanks to Butcher, Frenchman and Mother's Milk's military backgrounds, the Boys also gained elite military combat and weapons training to make them even deadlier than were before. They also became master hand-to-hand combat specialists thanks to Mother's Milk's background as a former boxer.

Billy Butcher

A native Englishman and the leader of the current incarnation of the Boys, William J. "Billy" Butcher, also known as "Billy the Butcher", is the second most prominent character in the series, aside from Wee Hughie. He was the first member of the team recruited by team founder, Greg Mallory, and served as the original group's second-in-command until its disbandment as the result of events depicted in #50. It was he that coined the team name "the Boys" because in the East End of London "the boys" were who one would send in to take care of troublemakers. At the beginning of the series, he works to reassemble the old team, with Hughie filling in for Mallory, whose leadership position Butcher takes for himself.

Physically large and incredibly violent, Butcher is more than happy to blackmail, brutalize, torture, and murder, if it will achieve his goals. He can also be very sociable and charismatic, to the same ends. Mother's Milk has stated that every word Butcher says is calculated to further his own goals; an example of this is making director Raynor believe that he is easily led by his desire for sex, while in reality this is just so she underestimates him. On another occasion, Butcher told Hughie one reason he recruited him was he'd "always wanted a little brother" (#6), keeping it quiet that he already had one (#55). He seems to get pleasure from killing superheroes; the slaughter of 150 East European/Russian supes in issue #14 left him humming ''Ode to Joy'' all day; in #33 he continued to attack Mind Droid and Soldier Boy when they were trying to flee; and in #43 he intended to brutalize the Super Duper team because of an unintended insult from a member of the team who suffered from Tourette's. #55 showed that he apparently got pleasure from brutally murdering Vogelbaum, possibly even ''eating'' part of him. Mallory has put this down to Butcher's ability to hate. Butcher revealed to Hughie that the "evidence" that he had eaten part of Vogelbaum wasn't gore, but jam.

As a boy growing up in London's East End, Butcher watched his father physically abuse his mother on a daily basis, developing an overwhelming hatred for the older Butcher and almost leading him to murder. His younger brother Lenny talked him down, but only because of the impact it would have on their mother. Butcher went on to serve in the Royal Marines and was wounded in the Falklands War. Following his deployment, Butcher became self-destructive, drinking excessively and assaulting friends and strangers for little reason (even being court-martialed at one point). This changed the day he met his future wife, Becky Saunders.Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker #3 (2011) Following that, there was no record of any assaults; Mallory believes Becky's presence had a calming effect on Butcher. Conversely, the cause of Butcher's campaign against superheroes stems from the rage he felt after the rape and death of his wife at the hands of a "supe". Following a strange period of emotional distance between the two of them, Butcher awoke to find his wife disemboweled on their bed, with her prematurely born, superpowered child floating above her; after it attacked Butcher with its heat vision, Butcher beat it to death with a lampstand. The loss of his wife shattered Butcher's tranquility and re-awakened his old demons. After being taken into custody, he reads Becky's diary (provided by Mallory) and discovers that his wife had apparently been raped by the world's premier superhero, the Homelander. After blinding a U.K. government official who threatened Butcher with incarceration if he did not go along with a cover story for Becky's death, Butcher was recruited to join Mallory in the enterprise that would later evolve into the Boys.

According to #50: At the time of the Boys' original disbanding, taking place some months after the events of 9/11, Butcher had stated that he had been working for Mallory for 15 years. This indicates that he began around 1986. Butcher and Mallory operated as a pair for several years, until an operation against a high-profile target (Web-Weaver, hinted at being the Boys' incarnation of Spider-Man), resulted in increased support in the team. In #55, Mallory tells Wee Hughie that Butcher recruited Mother's Milk, and subsequently the Frenchman and the Female (most likely for their willingness to commit violent acts). As time passed, Butcher slowly began to take control of the group, gradually increasing the level of violence the Boys used against Supes, often manipulating events until lethal force was the only option.

Butcher is now teetotal, preferring to drink Club Soda, and avoiding the unnecessarily self-destructive behavior of his youth (which had been fueled by alcohol). Butcher also seems happy to help out a friend in need, even if it means he takes a beating in the process, telling M.M. after one such beating "It only hurts when I laugh... Hahahahaha". At the same time, M.M. has noted that Butcher never brings this up, instead leaving it hanging over M.M.'s head (as motivation). He seems genuinely fond of Hughie, but at the same time he has deliberately put Hughie into situations where he would have to use violence or kill an opponent, and rarely keeps him in the loop or will engage in one-upsmanship with him. Later, Hughie figures out that it was meant to toughen him up in the face of what the Boys do, and the mental games are likely due to Billy's awareness of Hughie's intuition and skill as an amateur detective. While Butcher seems at times callous with how he deals with his team, openly referring to the Frenchman and the Female as insane, Butcher is willing to take on a job by himself rather than risk losing the team on an operation, as seen when he takes on Payback by himself to cover the team's escape and his unwillingness to allow anyone else to accompany him into the White House to confront Homelander.

A bulldog

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