The Female (The Boys 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 named Terror is his constant companion; this dog has been trained to have sex with anything at Butcher's command ("Terror...Fuck it."). Butcher is extremely protective of Terror, even going as far as threatening the Homelander with breaking a truce after the Homelander moves to attack Terror for urinating on his leg in #20. In that same story, Homelander questions Butcher's motivations, and although Butcher does not verbally respond, the Homelander examines Butcher's pulse and heartbeat and hypothesizes that the Boys' war against superheroes is all that Butcher has to live for, a war that he does not expect to survive. Similarly, Mallory sees that what he unintentionally gave Butcher upon his recruitment into the Boys was a never-ending war which would constantly allow him to exercise the violent part of his being.

At the final clash in Washington, Butcher learns that it was Black Noir who had killed his wife rather than the Homelander, and he finally gained his revenge. In issue #68, it was revealed that he'd secretly been making more of the modified Compound V from #11–14 (which can be triggered to kill superhumans) so that, if he survived, he could kill vast numbers of potential superhumans. The battle for Washington was won because Butcher had information about how to guide missiles towards the neurons in superhuman brains, that and the Compound V made Mother's Milk suspect that Butcher had faked Vogelbaum's death and was using him.

After Washington, revealing his plans to use his Compound V to kill all potential superhuman in an act of genocide, numbering billions of people. Butcher murders their ally Vas (Love Sausage) to cover up his plan, then murders the Legend to prevent any information from reaching Hughie. Butcher suddenly announces a three-month leave for the team, revealing his intention to make Hughie his second-in-command (as Hughie had once asked for, however Hughie admits to having forgotten asking about it), to damage intra-group communication. It also comes out that he killed Milk's ex-wife in front of his daughter in order to influence Milk to journey to Los Angeles to deal with her. After confirming with Milk that he would not be on board with Butcher's plan, Butcher apologises to Milk and kills him, before using an explosion to kill Frenchie and the Female.

Having discovered his plan, Butcher is later confronted by Hughie on top of the Empire State building, and after a brief fight, they both fall onto a lower platform, whereupon Butcher breaks his neck, becoming paralyzed from the neck down. After a brief conversation with Hughie wherein he acknowledges his past and admits to having killed Mother's Milk, Frenchie, and the Female, a police helicopter shows up. Knowing he will be locked away for life as an invalid, Butcher deceives Hughie into killing him by falsely claiming he had murdered Hughie's adoptive family. Hughie, in a fit of rage, rams a metal spike into Butcher's chest, killing him. True to character, Billy dies smiling.

Karl Urban portrays the character in the television series, while Jason Isaacs voices him in the animated series.

Hughie Campbell

Often called by his nickname "", Hughie first experiences the world of superhumans firsthand when his girlfriend Robin is accidentally killed by 'A-Train', during a fight in which the latter was subduing another "supe" while traveling faster than the speed of sound. The other supe was thrown at high speed into Robin, and both of them impacted a nearby brick wall, instantly killing Robin and leaving Hughie holding her now severed hands and forearms. Due to this experience, Butcher recruits him to take Mallory's vacated spot on the Boys, and would later inject him with Compound V, without Hughie's permission.

Hughie grew up in rural Scotland, an adopted child. He had a rather bizarre childhood, including a period of trauma from exposure to a giant tapeworm, the shock of being present when an airline pilot suddenly has a mental breakdown mid-flight, and a childhood friend nicknamed Det (Horace Bronson), with an unnaturally powerful stench. With his childhood friends, he played at being a boy detective; they had actually discovered a cigarette smuggling operation handled by a local pub owner. During a later outing, they threw stones at a dog, only for Hughie to get upset when one of his throws hit its mark, and out of guilt would spend the evening taking the injured dog back to its home. As an adult, he'd leave for Glasgow. His relationship with his parents and childhood friends has him being irritated by how they sometimes treat him, while outside viewers (Starlight/Annie and Mallory) have pointed out he's lucky to have them.

Despite his embarrassment at his childhood adventures, they reveal that he has a talent as a detective, using inductive and deductive reasoning to figure out things even Butcher confesses to missing. He picks up the task of surveillance quickly, and shows a talent for it. He is able to reason out the murder of a young gay man by Swingwing, as well as the motive behind it; he is able to sort out the motivations of a Russian gangster enough to track her flight, even if he is too late to catch her; and he is able to piece together Butcher's ultimate plan where the rest of The Boys were unaware such a plan existed.

Hughie is still an innocent to the Boys' world, and at times this has resulted in him becoming hesitant in his actions. Shortly after his first combat experience, which resulted in his accidental killing of Blarney Cock, he became extremely worried about repeating the action, which nearly resulted in the escape of Swingwing in a subsequent operation. He also would become gradually disgusted with Butcher's easy willingness to torture their enemies and the others' lack of caring about it. As the series progressed, and the bloodshed gradually increased, Hughie would also grow angry with Butcher's dismissal of the constant violence ("big boys' rules") used in their operations.

Despite his distaste with the antics he's observed while a member of the Boys, he has developed a pair of close relationships within the community. He has made friends with Russian hero Vas and, unknowingly, the super-heroine Starlight, the latter with whom he developed a romantic relationship. Despite an early embarrassing accident where he had oral sex with her when she was menstruating, their relationship deepened – causing Butcher to wonder, upon his discovery of the relationship, if Hughie was working for Vought-American. After becoming assured that he wasn't, Butcher would deliberately break the relationship up by setting Hughie up to see footage of Starlight's "induction" into the Seven. Unable to cope with the knowledge, he angrily laid into her and broke off the relationship, only to suffer guilt over his verbal abuse with her; the two reconciled and got back together. He finally comes clean to her in #55 about his work, and begs her to leave and hide so she's not killed when events eventually escalate to their conclusion.

Hughie is viewed as a genuinely decent guy by most people who know him, and he has several times risked himself to try to help people who were vulnerable or victimized: his rage over Swingwing callously killing a young man in #10, his attempts to save G-Wiz, and trying to fight the horrifically powerful Malchemical to defend Superduper in #43. Butcher was confused and irritated by the latter incidents, as he had advised him several times that the superhuman population largely does not care about normal people and are not worth his concern. The "Highland Laddie" miniseries had Hughie feeling discontent that, unlike Butcher, he isn't a hard man, but he seems incapable of being one. Annie would later tell him that he is just too nice because of his upbringing, but that this doesn't make him any less of a man.

In ''Herogasm'' #3, he was sexually assaulted by Black Noir. While he was left shocked and sickened over it, he did not say what happened to the other Boys until much later in time. Due to the fact the confession was timed right after their Flatiron office was attacked, it was largely met with indifference.

During the events of the attempted coup of the US Government by Homelander, Butcher captures A-Train with the hopes of getting Hughie to finally understand what it means to be one of the Boys. He makes Hughie listen to recorded conversations of them discussing Robin, hoping to convince him to murder A-Train. Hughie can not bring himself to kill the captured man, so Butcher starts playing further conversations of the Seven – a tactic Hughie sees through and refuses to be provoked by, demanding Butcher to stop. However, when the tape reaches the Seven's plan to hire Starlight so they can degrade her, Hughie finally snaps and kicks A-Train's head off.

In the aftermath of the fight with The Seven, Butcher tells The Boys that Hughie will be second in command, which infuriates his teammates, due to Butcher's revelation that Hughie sought out the position – a deliberate act by Butcher. Annie also leaves him, still unable to reconcile Hughie's job and his past attempts to conceal it. During the turmoil, during which the Boys are also disbanded, Hughie gets a text from Vas, but did not understand its meaning at first. After a visit to the Legend, during which he learns of Vas' death, he is given a clue by the Legend, who also advises him to see Kessler for help in remaining in the United States. The conversation with Kessler goes badly, in which Hughie's attempts to talk sensibly with the CIA man are rejected, and progress is only made after Hughie threatens him in a similar manner to Butcher. Hughie also decodes Vas' message as an email address, which results in an automatic reply containing evidence that Butcher has been obtaining modified Compound V that can be used to kill superhumans – and that he has killed Vas. It becomes clear that Butcher has been trying to get the team out of the way so he can carry out a mass murder of superhumans, even though the act will also likely kill those who only have trace amounts of V in their system – which, based on the accidental exposures of Compound V, would mean the deaths of hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people. Realizing that Billy needs to be stopped, Hughie prepares by going to Mother's Milk's home and drinking his mother's breast milk, allowing him to match the far stronger and older Billy. The two then engage each other, ultimately ending in Hughie's victory. The series then ends with Hughie and Starlight meeting again, having decided to give their relationship another shot.

In the epilogue series, ''Dear Becky'', Hughie receives a journal written by Billy a decade after the events of ''The Boys''. Despite his best attempts in hiding its existence, Annie, his fiancé, discovers it and makes him search for the sender. After meeting Monkey and Stillwell, the latter having gone insane over the past twelve years, he discovers the sender was none other than Susan Rayner, in an attempt to rile him up. However, Hughie came prepared with an audiotape of Susan committing war crimes in the 80s, prompting Susan to stand down. In the end, Hughie and Annie marry, and later that night, Hughie burns the journal and writes a letter dedicated to Billy's dead wife, Becky, before putting it in a bottle and throwing it into the ocean, finally putting the past behind him for good.

Hughie is intentionally drawn to resemble the British actor and writer Simon Pegg. According to Robertson, he drew the character based on Pegg after seeing him in the sitcom '' Spaced'', and thought that Pegg captured the balance of "innocence but tough determination" that Ennis wanted in the character. When asked about playing Hughie in a possible film adaptation of ''The Boys'', Pegg thought that he might be too old to play the role. In the television series, Pegg played the recurring part of Hughie's father.

Ennis has said that Hughie has a "total inability to learn from his mistakes and change his ways hichwill eventually stand him in good stead... No doubt Hughie's tendency to mope and turn inwards is a source of frustration to many readers, all used to comic heroes who learn from experience and develop into rounded characters ready to handle anything. In my experience this is like no one who's ever existed in real life; even the most capable people either maintain or eventually return to their essential flaws. I doubt any twenty-something lad unused to trauma and violence could simply absorb it straightaway, and if he did become hardened or inured it would be as a different, less sensitive person. In other words, Hughie's bizarre triumph is that he remains Hughie."

In the television series, Jack Quaid portrays the character, depicted as American instead of Scottish. In the animated series, Simon Pegg voices the character.

Mother's Milk

A large African-American man, Baron "" Wallis, or simply or "", first appears in issue #2. He is a highly patient and methodical man, taught by his father to check every possible angle and means of attack, and can be somewhat particular (getting annoyed whenever anyone doesn't put a drink coaster under their glasses). He is the only member on the team, aside from the retired Greg Mallory, who is an American citizen by birth. His nickname apparently came about because he is the "purest", i.e. most goodhearted, member of the team. In issue #35, M.M. reveals that he is the only member of the unit to have been exposed to Compound V since conception. His mother worked in a factory that had previously been a Vought-American lab, and hadn't been sanitized afterwards, leading to her being contaminated with Compound V. As a result, his brother Michael was born with severe mental disability and he himself was born needing regular doses of his mother's breast milk to survive. #17 hinted at this, and showed him throwing up and feeling disturbed by the constant need. At the same time, he finds the nourishment highly energizing and developing into a breast fetish, adding to his discomfort.

His father worked tirelessly to sue VA over his children's special needs and eventually succeeded, but the experience took a large mental and physical toll on him. M.M. was aware that Vought's lawyers were shrugging the loss off, but never told him. Michael died soon after, killed by the manifestation of his superpowers, and their father died from the stress of trying to sue VA over and over again; his mother was left broken and unwilling to fight anymore, and become morbidly obese; her own powers then expressed themselves thanks to her overwhelming despair, and she now lives in M.M.'s basement, completely unaware of her surroundings. To support his mother and his new wife and daughter, he joined the United States Army, volunteered for the Rangers, and became an army heavyweight boxer. In a championship match, M.M.'s powers suddenly manifested and he accidentally killed an opponent in the ring by punching his head off. He was released from the military and was recruited by Butcher and Mallory for the first incarnation of The Boys.

After Mother's Milk had been with The Boys for a year, Butcher accompanied him to rescue M.M.'s infant daughter Janine, whose mother, a drug addict, was incapable of raising her properly. The pair rescued Janine from her mother's then-residence, a drug house whose addicts smoked crack cut with Compound V; Butcher suffered a savage beating from the addicts in the process. M.M. was later present at the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge where he attempted to help a woman from a falling car; although he maintained his hold on her, she could not get free of her seat belt and was torn in half, dying in M.M.'s arms. The experience would haunt M.M., and serve as additional motivation for continuing the fight against Vought-American.

After the disbanding of the unit, M.M. would go on to perform community work and raise his increasingly rebellious daughter who is now a teenager (and as a result of V, matured early sexually – although she appears 16–17, she's only 12 chronologically); Janine shows M.M. great disrespect but regards Butcher with affection, calling him "Uncle Billy." M.M. has now returned to the team, where he acts as Butcher's second-in-command, possibly (in part) so that he can restrain Butcher from going off the rails in pursuit of their goals. He is one of the few people who receives any consistent level of civility (at least to his face) from the pathologically rude Butcher, who thinks very highly of him. He is also the only member of the Boys (other than Hughie, the new recruit) who thinks that at least a few superheroes might be acting out of genuine altruism (as mentioned in issue #6).

M.M. is the only member of the group that is still in contact with Mallory. He has a great deal of affection for Hughie, which is the principal reason why M.M. ended up at odds with Butcher after discovering that Butcher had been manipulating Hughie into dangerous situations and not informing the rest of the team (#43). This would result in M.M. putting Hughie in contact with Mallory after Hughie's sabbatical.

Later, Mother's Milk discovers that his ex-wife and daughter were in a pornographic movie together. He is furious at this revelation, and leaves to deal with this family issue. He told his mother about it, and it is implied she did not take the news well, as she is screaming, locked up in a basement. M.M. then gets a call from his daughter. She tells him that she was not in her right mind, and has run away from her mother. Mother's Milk attempts to get her location, but she states that she wants to be left alone, and when she's well, she will call him back to let him know. He tracks her down easily, and she reveals that Butcher murdered the producers and cast of the adult film, including brutally murdering Janine's mother in front of her. His final words, meant both as a warning and as a threat, were for Janine to leave M.M. alone.

Mother's Milk finished having a meeting with The Boys on stopping Butcher from using a weaponized version of the "V" compound on the rest of the supes and the innocents that were affected. Butcher walks in on Mother's Milk, questioning why he wasn't trying to fix his issues with his daughter, thinking that would get him out of the picture for good. MM questions if Butcher is really going through with the plan. Butcher responds with a yes and states that he did not think he was going to survive the fight with Homelander and Black Noir. Butcher offers him a chance to walk away, but instead they fight each other. Butcher reveals to him that he thought of killing his mother as well. Despite being enraged, Mother's Milk stated he never wanted it to go down like this. Butcher replies that he knows and that he was the best mate that he could ever know, and did not deserve to know him. Before Mother's Milk can land a decisive blow, Butcher pulls out a grenade and stuffs it into Mother's Milk's mouth as it explodes. Mother's Milk is in critical condition, and Butcher suffocates and kills him, while stating that he has no mates.

After Hughie realizes what Butcher is doing, he pays a visit to MM's mother after his death, discovering she has grown into an enormous blob; her breasts have elongated to tentacles (explaining why MM displays nausea when snakes are described by a nature show in an earlier issue) and she seems only able to say "MY BOY..." when she spots Hughie, apparently not realizing he is not her son. When she grabs him with one tentacle and presents another with a distended nipple at the end, Hughie consents to drink, possibly hoping the milk will strengthen him (he is unable to keep it down, however).

Laz Alonso portrays the character in the television series. This version's real name is . Elias Leon Leacock portrays young Marvin in the third season.

The Frenchman

First seen in issue #2, The Frenchman is one of the original Boys, and displays a penchant for extreme violence within a few frames of his first appearance. As his name suggests, he is French. His spoken French uses incorrect phrasing, though whether this is an intentional plot point is not yet known. He takes an immediate liking to "Petit Hughie." He and the Female are the 'muscles' of the team, and he is prone to violent outbursts (especially with any insults towards France and the French), although he can control them better than the Female. According to Mother's Milk, however, it is better for the rest of humanity in general if they are in the team rather than in the outside world.

Like Billy and Mother's Milk, the Frenchman possesses military experience, particularly holding knowledge in ballistics, to the extent that Butcher defers to him on that matter. The Frenchman also possesses an incredibly strong sense of smell. When his sense of smell is first shown in the Glorious 5 Year Plan arc, a confused Hughie asks why Terror isn't sniffing around. To which Butcher replies "Frenchie has the better nose for it." Implying that The Frenchman's sense of smell is greater than that of a dog.

The Frenchman appears to be quite shy and caring until someone provokes him, to which he will attack or even kill in a gruesome manner, for example, battering three American businessmen in a coffee shop for calling him a " Goddamn surrender monkey" and a " fucking cheese-eater." In #55, Mallory notes that cruelty to children makes Frenchie "livid," which renders him hard to control when such scenarios are encountered.

In #37, his possible origin story is told, though it is also possible they are but delusions. Returning home from military service, he is welcomed by the residents of his native Franglais (who curiously refer to him as Frenchie), but soon learns that his lover has taken off with his childhood rival, Pierre. Renouncing violence, he refuses to confront Pierre. Months later, at a local festival that featured the sport of jousting on bicycles with baguettes while screaming exaggerated Maurice Chevalier impression laughter, his father challenged Pierre to restore the family's honor. Pierre, fearing certain defeat, topples the challenger's bicycle with a stale croissant, killing him. Renouncing his newfound pacifism, the Frenchman exacts his revenge on Pierre and starts drifting from place to place, until he gets into a bar fight with an American and is seen in action by Billy, who promptly recruits him (remarking that he needs "a mad fucking cunt"). In the issue, nobody is sure how true most of this is. What is known is that Butcher had a folder on the Frenchman's membership in the French Foreign Legion; that, along with his characteristically British usage of the words "mum" and "wanker" and his hometown's name literally meaning "French-English," would suggest a British origin. The only reference to the truth of the Frenchman's tale is his vow to remain with The Boys "until the bitter end."

He seems to have a fondness for the Female, bonding with her with playing games (like reverse-strip poker, paintball, scrabble,The Boys #24 (2008) and snowball fights, which he always seems to lose) with her; this seems to have made progress, as he is the only one who can safely wake her. In #38, it was revealed he took on the task of 'humanizing' her, and was the first person to have actually treated her with kindness and civility. He also takes offense to when Butcher or Mallory refer to her as an it. In #16, he forced the New York Mafia to stop hiring the Female as a hitman. In an effort to stop the Female from killing for the mobs, he attempted to hold her back and was viewed as if she was about to attack; the Frenchman told her "I'd rather die than not be your friend, and if it has to be by your hand, so be it," to which the Female just sadly walked away.

In #63, he loses his right arm in battle. He survives due to Vought-American medical treatment. After the events in Washington, he appears to have taken to wearing a Napoleonic hat with his jacket.

In #69, while searching their HQ at the Flatiron Building, the Frenchman hears something odd, and finds a high-yield bomb (left by Butcher) with a few seconds left on the timer. Knowing there is no chance to escape, he turns and expresses his love for The Female "from the first." He and The Female are killed in the subsequent explosion.

In the television series, Tomer Kapon portrays The Frenchman / Frenchie. This version's real name is and was brought into Mallory's services after being caught for bank robbery and aggravated assault on a Supe via "weaponized xanax". He suffered abuse from his bipolar father, who once attempted to smother him with a Hello Kitty duvet, kidnapped him while evading the police, and being forced to kneel in broken glass, all of which Frenchie attributes to a pathological need to follow, regardless of who they are.

The Female (of the Species)

is one of the earliest members of the Boys and the only woman of the group. First appearance is issue #2. She is known for her animalistic brutality (which even visibly shocks, yet impresses Butcher), and suffers from selective mutism. When not working for the Boys, she used to do freelance work for the Mafia.

She is in the habit of "explosively eviscerating" her victims and it is implied in issue #3 that she may be triggered to do so merely by someone touching her, possibly as a result of past trauma (even Vas, one of the more powerful Soviet supers, made the mistake and lost two fingers). This does not appear to apply to the Frenchman. She is shown to have a tendency for ripping off people's faces. In issue #16, the Frenchman states that she 'does these things because hecannot not do them'. Issue #24 states that she has continued killing, despite The Frenchman forcing the mob to back off. Issue #38 shows that, as an infant, she found her way into a pail of discarded Compound V waste, slaughtering scientists in the building, and eventually getting captured, only to escape years later, when Butcher and the original team of Boys rescue her and Frenchie adopts her.

She is beaten into a coma by Stormfront in #31, but not before ripping out one of his eyes. She recovers in #34, much to Hughie's annoyance as she broke his arm when he reached for a bag of chocolate limes next to her bed. The Female also seems to be very fond of animals, as she freed Jamie the hamster out of his wrapping after he emerged from the Blarney Cock's anus and would subsequently take care of him during Hughie's hiatus from the team (resulting in him becoming morbidly obese), ostensibly as a deterrent to being subjected to the same treatment again. She had a particular bond with Terror, often shown tickling him or engaging of acts with play with him. She takes his death extremely hard, lying down next to Terror mournfully, after he is killed.

The Female occasionally shows signs of responding to the Frenchman's treatment with moments of genuine human reactions. She smiles when enjoying her favorite candy; she chooses to restrain her murderous urges rather than hurt the Frenchman; and she speaks for the first time in Issue #66, due to her amusement over Hughie stealing Doc Peculiar's file on Queen Maeve for the purpose of masturbating to the photos contained inside. She is shown to be laughing, and has even spoken for the first time with the word "Ha!"

During a meeting discussing how The Boys were going to stop Butcher, Hughie brings up the idea of including the Female, since she has not spoken for herself. The Frenchman disagrees, saying this would halt or even reverse her positive development and M.M. voices his opinion she deserves the opportunity to walk away more than anyone else. Hughie concurs, then tells the Female it is okay to stay behind. However, as the others start to walk out the door, she says to them "I hate mean people," the only time she has ever spoken a complete sentence. She then puts on her trench coat and walks with them. Hughie states that it is all four of them against Butcher.

In #69, she and The Frenchman are killed when Butcher bombs The Boys' headquarters, the Flatiron Building.

Karen Fukuhara portrays the Female in the live-action television series adaptation. This version's real name is . At a young age, she and her brother Kenji were captured by a liberation army, who killed their parents, and experimented on them. In the process, she gained super-strength and a healing factor that allows her to heal from fatal injuries, though she stopped speaking and learned sign language along with her brother to communicate with each other. After Kenji's death, she teaches it to Frenchie. During season three, she loses her powers after being injured by Soldier Boy, though she later regains them through Compound V.

Lieutenant Colonel Mallory

The original team leader of the Boys, only appeared in the comics via mention or as operating from the shadows, until he was formally introduced in issue #49.

An elderly man in his nineties (Compound V has slowed his aging), was an Ivy League graduate and a captain in World War II when his platoon was chosen as the test run for "supes" in combat. Due to the idiocy of Soldier Boy, a Waffen-SS platoon finds the camp when they spot the Avenging Squad's flying members who Soldier Boy had sent on an unauthorized reconnaissance flight (as part of the Battle of the Bulge) and Mallory was the only survivor, spending the rest of the war in a POW camp.

Issues #54 and #55 showed that he and his friend Rick Burnham joined the early CIA after the war, wanting to do something about Vought-American Consolidated and their superhumans – though everyone else in the group considered this bizarre. He spent years watching the company on his own initiative until he made contact with the Legend, who gave him the backstory on Compound V and Jonah Vogelbaum. Mallory set up Vogelbaum to be kidnapped by Vought's rival so he could kill the man, only to find himself unable to; instead, he brought him into the CIA – the scientist's knowledge causing Burnham, then-director, to recognize VA as a threat – and had him make V for them (while ensuring he'd deliberately make V expensive so the CIA couldn't create a superhuman program). Mallory was the first test subject for the new V.

Mallory had a team created to monitor, police, and liquidate "supes," but erred in hiring Butcher as his muscle; Butcher went on to hire the other members and slowly twist the team round to the way he wanted it. The two clashed on the issue of the Female, as he refused to simply treat her like a weapon as Butcher wanted (#38). Following the 9/11 attacks, he let himself be steered into blackmailing the Seven and this got his granddaughters murdered by the Lamplighter. Following the aftermath, the Lamplighter was given to Mallory to kill, as a peace gesture from the Seven; Butcher is left angry at him at the realization that the colonel never intended to let him kill Homelander. Afterward, Mallory went off to live in seclusion at Barbary Bay.

Following the Boys' reformation, Mallory was a background figure; it is revealed that Mother's Milk was secretly in contact with him. During the Highland Hughie miniseries, it is revealed that Mallory went undercover (pretending to be a sympathetic English gentlemen) to watch Hughie as a favor for Mother's Milk, and to secretly steer him into conflict with mobsters to test him. He reveals himself to Hughie by giving him a number to contact. #52–55 had Hughie visit him to get the backstory on the Boys and warnings about Butcher's nature; Hughie took this on board but accused Mallory of being a monster himself, one that wanted to justify all the blood he'd spilt and messes he made, and that Mallory's "old bastard war veteran" personality was an act. At the end of #55, Mallory's house is broken into by someone (implied to be Butcher) to kill him; Mallory's last words are, "So why don't you do me a favour and get it the Hell over with, mm?"

A female version of the character named appears in the live-action television series adaptation, portrayed by Laila Robins while Sarah Swire portrays a younger version in flashbacks to 1984.

The Legend

First appearance is issue #7. The Legend, also called "Old Legend", is an as-yet-unnamed elderly man who, while not an official member of the Boys, works as their informant.

He is a former comic editor and writer who worked for Vought-American's Victory Comics subsidiary, writing all the comics based on Vought's superheroes to "give people supes like they ''wanted'' supes to be". His work on superhero comics gives him incredible knowledge of them and Vought-American. He hates "that comic-book crap", though he lives under a comic store surrounded by his work.

The Legend has no family other than his two sons, both of whom are deceased. His elder son was killed in Vietnam as a result of faulty rifles produced by Vought-American (which ironically resemble the British Army's SA80 bullpup rifles). His son's death is the impetus for his association with Vought: to gather information in the hope he could one day assist in their destruction. It is also revealed in issue #54 that once Vought-American introduced the Homelander to the world in 1971, the Legend made a strategic move and got himself filmed at a memorial service for the air cav that his first son served in. Greg Mallory did not buy the fact that a Vought-American man felt guilty about what his company was doing. His second son is revealed in issue #22 to be the Teenage Kix member Blarney Cock, from whom he was estranged and was satisfied that Hughie killed him. He was produced by The Legend and Queen Maeve during a relationship that the two had together, which was confirmed in issue #57 when Hughie discover surveillance photos and transcripts of The Legend having sex with Queen Maeve.

Unlike other heroes, the Legend has shown a certain fondness for Queen Maeve, serving as her confidant at times, and showing an almost fatherly approach during her encounter with the Boys after 9/11 and on Doc Peculiar's transcripts. Butcher has accused The Legend of developing feelings for Queen Maeve, which could set up dire consequences for both The Boys and The Seven. In issue #67, after informing Hughie of the death of Vas, he is confronted by Butcher and dies when Butcher kicks him violently in the anus. Which is implied by the fact that the comic on the floor in front of him is called "Shitfoot".

Paul Reiser portrays the Legend in the live-action television series adaptation. This version is the former Vice President of Hero Management at Vought before he was ousted prior to the series by Madelyn Stillwell and Stan Edgar. Additionally, the Legend sports a prosthetic leg as a result of an incident that Butcher caused and claims to have been previously involved with several celebrities.

The Seven

The Seven are the world's premier superhero team, created by Vought-American through injecting perfected Compound V into the fetuses of women who "wouldn't be missed", resulting in superheroes significantly more powerful than any others. The Seven's members care little about their advertised ideals and are more concerned about merchandising rights. They have shown grave incompetence in the face of the serious crises they are supposedly meant to solve; during the September 11 attacks, their efforts to land one of the hijacked planes resulted in the death of one member and the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge, causing a significant public relations setback for both the team and VA.

To prevent mutually assured destruction, the team has a deal with the Boys that neither group will take action against the other, following an incident that saw Lamplighter kill Mallory's grandchildren and the Boys kill Lamplighter.

The Seven, as interpreted within the television series, are considered by some reviewers to be a parody analogous to DC's Justice League.

Darick Robertson acknowledged the parody, but made it clear that this is not the DC universe: "I didn't have any problem parodying them, because what I saw very clearly is how the Homelander isn't Superman, how Queen Maeve isn't Wonder Woman. What's really important to me is that anybody can put on a superhero costume, but that doesn't make you Superman."

The Homelander

The Homelander is a patriotic superhero who leads the Seven and is the most powerful superhuman created by Vought-American. The company's cover story for the Homelander is that he is an alien who landed in the United States as an infant, much like Superman. In reality, he was grown in a secret VA laboratory, the progeny of genetic material taken from Stormfront, who was injected with Compound V while still a member of the Hitler Youth. Homelander spent most of his young life chained down with a hydrogen bomb strapped to him in case he tried to escape. His mother was a mentally disabled woman who died giving birth to him.

Homelander remains under the financial thumb of VA since their money funds the Seven's hedonistic lifestyle. Homelander eventually tries to encourage the other superheroes to do what they want but stops out of fear when he realizes that the Guy From Vought is listening. Afterward, Homelander becomes increasingly resentful and rebellious toward the Guy From Vought and VA as a whole.

Until the events of the series' climax, it is implied that Homelander had raped Billy Butcher's wife. In Issue #40, the Boys receive a series of incriminating photos seemingly showing Homelander engaging in grisly acts of murder, cannibalism, and necrophilia against men, women, and children. The series eventually reveals that Homelander cannot remember either these incidents or the rape of Billy's wife and suggests that Homelander has dissociative identity disorder and may have sent the photographs to Billy himself. In private, Homelander shows signs of approaching a mental breakdown, talking to his own reflection in a mirror, and having bouts of nausea. He eventually decides that he is damned anyway for the acts depicted in the photos and decides to give in to any urge that crosses his mind.

From '' Herogasm'' onward, Homelander resolves to free himself and the superhero community from Vought-American's control. He leads the other superheroes in a '' coup d'etat'' against the United States, launching an attack on the White House and killing everyone inside, including the newly-inaugurated President Victor K. Neuman. During the subsequent confrontation between Homelander and Butcher, Black Noir arrives in the Oval Office and unmasks, revealing himself to be a clone of Homelander created to kill and replace him if he ever went rogue. Black Noir reveals that he committed the atrocities documented in the photos and had raped Becky to set Butcher and Homelander against one another so that Black Noir could embody his purpose. Outraged, Homelander attacks the even more powerful Black Noir, who proceeds to tear him apart. Before dying, Homelander manages to seriously injure his former teammate, whom Butcher later finishes off with a crowbar.

Ennis describes Homelander as "an almost entirely negative character. He is really just a series of unpleasant urges kept in check by his own intelligence, which is enough to understand that he can have anything he wants so long as he doesn't push his luck too far." Also, "It might help to think of the Homelander as having all the self-control of let's say a fourteen-year-old."

In the television adaptation, Antony Starr portrays Homelander, a composite character with the comic book version of Black Noir who, unlike in the comic book version, actually committed the acts he is accused of by Butcher. Starr additionally voices the comic book version of the Homelander in the animated series episode "I'm Your Pusher".

Black Noir

Black Noir is a long-time member of the Seven, almost always shown in silhouette with his face obscured. His powers include super strength and supposed skills as a pilot. He is stronger than even the Homelander; Mother's Milk states he can " ..bench a dozen Mack trucks". While initially an enigma, it is revealed at the climax of the series that Black Noir is actually a clone of the Homelander, developed by Vought-American as a contingency, in case the leader of the Seven became a liability.The Boys #65 (2012) Black Noir was ordered by VA to be close to the Homelander at all times and to assassinate him if the company deemed it necessary. This mission (which entails being in close proximity to his "enemy" for decades, yet forbidden to fulfill his designated goal) drives Black Noir completely insane, leading him to develop a sadistic streak just as disturbing as — if not more so than — the other members of the Seven. His apparent madness even impairs his locution and facial mobility, forcing him to babble and often repeat himself while constantly smiling from ear to ear.

During the confrontation between Billy Butcher and the Homelander in the Oval Office, Black Noir appears and reveals his face and origin to the stunned Butcher and Homelander. Black Noir explains that it was he who engaged in the atrocities portrayed in the photos sent to the Boys (as well as the rape and murder of Butcher's wife), framing the Homelander as a means of forcing VA into giving him a kill order, and subsequently setting up the Boys and the Seven against each other. Black Noir kills the Homelander in single combat, though he suffers severe injuries during the fight. As he exits the White House, the military opens fire on him, shredding his body to the point where he can no longer stand or move. These injuries weaken Black Noir enough that Butcher can crack open his skull with a crowbar and tear out a large chunk of his brain, finally killing him and avenging his wife.

In the live-action television adaptation, Black Noir is portrayed by Nathan Mitchell while Fritzey-Klevans Destine portrays the character in flashbacks. This version is an African American Supe named Earving who started his superhero career in 1984, but was left brain damaged, mute, and disfigured while partaking in a joint operation between superhero team Payback and the CIA to stop a communist government in Nicaragua. In the present, Noir serves as Stan Edgar's loyal enforcer, allowing him to direct his every action. Largely silent, Noir primarily communicates in a series of silent gestures and intimidating body language. Additionally, he seems to be averse to unnecessary violence, fully capable of great artistic exploits, possesses a healing factor, and is allergic to tree nuts.

In a prequel episode depicted in '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'' called "One Plus One Equals Two", Black Noir is revealed to have been the "Homelander before Homelander", who Madelyn Stillwell sought to supplant, describing Black Noir as being built to destroy Homelander. However, Noir helped cover for him following the then-18-year-old Homelander botching his first mission as a superhero.

Queen Maeve

Queen Maeve is a long-time member of the Seven; her powers include super-strength, flight, and invulnerability. It is suggested that Queen Maeve was more passionate about the Seven's mission than the other superheroes at one point, but found her spirit broken by the team's disastrous handling of the 9/11 attacks. It is also suggested that the 9/11 debacle is the source of her alcoholism.

She harbors a great hatred of the Homelander and the rest of the Seven, leading her to help the Boys in their surveillance efforts by planting cameras in the team's headquarters.

During the Homelander's attempted ''coup d'etat'' against the U.S. government, Starlight convinces Queen Maeve to leave the Seven with her. Homelander blocks them, intending to kill them for fun. Queen Maeve physically throws Starlight out of the Seven's headquarters and engages the Homelander in a futile battle. After her sword is revealed to be a metal prop, Queen Maeve is decapitated by the Homelander, who throws her head past Starlight during her escape.

In the live-action television adaptation, Dominique McElligott portrays Queen Maeve. She is named after the mythical Irish monarch Medb, and her representation within the series is considered by at least one reviewer of the series to be analogous to DC's Wonder Woman. This version's real name is Maggie Shaw, and is depicted as being bisexual. After joining the Seven, she was forced into a relationship with Homelander so the public believes the team are "perfect", though she eventually breaks up with him. She was also in a clandestine relationship with a woman named Elena, who broke up with Maeve as they were unable to go public due to Vought's micromanaging the Seven's lives. In season two, Maeve rekindles her relationship with Elena, but Homelander overhears a phone call between them and subsequently outs Maeve on live television. Following this, Maeve conspires with the Deep to obtain proof that Homelander deliberately abandoned a crashing airliner to cover for his mistake so she can blackmail him. When Elena finds out, she breaks up with Maeve. She then saves the Boys from Stormfront and blackmails Homelander into letting them live. Thereafter, she acts as an informant for Billy Butcher, providing him with V-24 - a variant of Compound V which grants superpowers for 24 hours - and information concerning a superweapon called "BCL-Red", which allegedly killed Soldier Boy, until she is captured by Homelander and Black Noir. When Homelander attempts to move her to avoid a search warrant, Maeve escapes and regroups with Annie and the Boys. However, Maeve disagrees with their initial plan to kill Homelander and leaves with Butcher and Soldier Boy to do so themselves. In the ensuing fight, Homelander gouges out Maeve's eye before she knocks Soldier Boy out of Vought Tower to stop him from killing the Boys with his powers, losing her own in the process. Following this, she goes into hiding to live with Elena, while the public (and Homelander) believes she had sacrificed herself.

McElligott additionally voices the comic book version of Maeve in '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'' episode "I'm Your Pusher".

A-Train

A-Train is a superhero with super-speed whose carelessness was responsible for the accidental death of Wee Hughie's girlfriend in the first issue. A-Train was formerly a member of the Teenage Kix, but was promoted to the Seven as a replacement to Mister Marathon. He is the most juvenile and crudest member of the Seven, being the one who most openly enjoys humiliating Starlight. A heavy drug user and bitter over Starlight, A-Train openly expresses a desire to assault her again.Herogasm #2 One such attempt results in him being temporarily blinded in one eye. In ''Herogasm'', he appears to be genuine friends with Jack from Jupiter, though this friendship ends during the events of "The Big Ride". His catchphrase is "Can't stop the A-Train--!"

In issue #61, he leaves The Seven's headquarters amid the imminent crisis saying "I am gonna check into the Mandarin, chill for a couple weeks." In #62-3, Butcher captures him and presents him to Wee Hughie with the intention of finally getting Hughie to kill him. Hughie has doubts, despite Butcher playing audio footage of A-Train and the Seven discussing Robin's death and laughing about it after being encouraged by his teammates to disregard the incident when he started to feel some small regret over it. As Hughie berates him for all the pain he caused him with Robin's death, A-Train begs for his life, crying that he doesn't want to die. Upon hearing the audio of the Seven's conversation of their decision to bring in Starlight and their intention to victimize her, Hughie finally murders A-Train by decapitating him with a kick to the head.

In the live-action television adaptation, Jessie T. Usher portrays A-Train. This version's real name is Reggie Franklin. As a member of the Seven, A-Train became addicted to Compound V out of desperation to maintain his status as the world's fastest man, notably during the "Race of the Century" against the similarly powered Shockwave. This leads to him accidentally killing Hughie's girlfriend Robin in the series premiere and later murdering his girlfriend Popclaw after learning the Boys blackmailed her. A-Train continues to abuse Compound V until he suffers a heart attack in the season one finale. In season two, he awakens from a coma, but is removed from the Seven due to his failing speed and replaced by Shockwave. Following this, the Deep recruits A-Train into the Church of the Collective, promising to help him rejoin the Seven. After learning that Stormfront is pressuring Edgar to reinstate the Deep into the Seven over him following Shockwave's death, A-Train obtains information on her Nazi past for Hughie and Annie, and is subsequently reinstated. In season three however, his excessive use of Compound V has left him unable to use his speed lest his heart gives out. In addition, he sports a new costume connected to his heritage despite not caring about it and kills Blue Hawk over the latter's use of excessive violence against several African-American individuals, including his brother Nathan, only to suffer heart failure and undergo a heart transplant from Blue Hawk. After Nathan, now permanently paralysed, confronts A-Train over Blue Hawk's murder, he disowns him and orders him to leave his house, saying that he wanted justice rather than vengeance and claiming that A-Train only cares about himself.

The Deep

A long-time member of the Seven, The Deep is marketed by Vought-American as the "King of the Seas" and claims he cannot remove his helmet due to an Atlantean curse. The Deep is actually a black man in a diving suit. Despite his marketing as "King of the Seas", The Deep does not appear to have any aquatic based powers, instead possessing superhuman strength, durability, and flight. The Deep is the most mature, civilized member of the team and often bears the brunt of other characters' contempt, disregard, and racism. Occasionally finding himself in embarrassing happenstance that steal his metaphorical thunder, such as arriving at the Boys' headquarters to confront them and Butcher slamming the door in his face after telling him to leave. Despite him being one of the more mature members of The Seven, he is not above lowering himself—as he, along with A-Train, Jack From Jupiter and Black Noir were intending to sexually assault Starlight. He is the only remaining "lab grown" (original) member of the Seven after the events in Washington after he declined to take part in Homelander's attempted ''coup d'etat'' against the U.S. government. He is seen in Issue #72, as a part of a new team of superheroes that American Consolidated is attempting to create, called 'True'. The Vought Guy identifies him immediately, as his new costume, which includes a large, cone-shaped hood resembling a Klan hood still incorporates his helmet's porthole.

In the television adaptation, Chace Crawford plays The Deep. This version's real name is Kevin Moskowitz, is white, and has actual fish-like traits that he is insecure about. When Starlight joins the Seven, the Deep pressures her to perform oral sex on him. When she can no longer keep her peace and discloses the incident to a live audience at a televised religious event, Vought forces him to publicly apologize for the sexual misconduct they covered up for him over the years and reassign him to Sandusky, Ohio, where he is raped by a fangirl via his gills. The following year, Church of the Collective members Eagle the Archer and Carol manipulate him into taking a hallucinogenic substance which causes him to believe that his gills (voiced by Patton Oswalt) are confronting him about the root of his sexual malfeasance, rooted in his ability to hear the suffering of all sentient ocean life as they are eaten by humans since a child, and the death of a dolphin he had been romantically involved with. Following this incident and his arranged marriage to Cassandra Schwartz, the Deep joins the Church of the Collective and convinces A-Train to do so as well. He also assists Maeve in securing proof that Homelander abandoned a crashing airliner in return for her vouching for his return to the Seven. However, his return is denied, and the Deep leaves the Church. A further year later, after the Deep manages to rebuild his reputation by writing an exposé about the Church, Homelander personally has him rejoin the Seven in order to spite Starlight after she is made co-captain of the Seven. Additionally, the Deep becomes the new head of Vought's Crime Analytics division and fires all but Anika for posting negative comments about Vought on social media. After the Deep engages in a sexual relationship with Ambrosias, an octopus he encountered at Herogasm, Cassandra leaves him after he suggests a threesome. Homelander later sends the Deep to kill Lamar Bishop so Victoria Neuman can become Robert Singer's presidential campaign running mate.

Crawford also voices The Deep in '' The Boys: Diabolical'' episode "BFFs".

Jack from Jupiter

Jack from Jupiter is a member of the Seven. A supposed extraterrestrial, his powers are flight and the ability to make himself invulnerable by speaking a secret word. A heavy drug user (going so far to inject himself with drugs cut with Queen Maeve's vaginal mucus), he is inclined to let things run their course in the Seven. Jack gets along quite well with A-Train, going so far as to take the junior member under his wing during Herogasm.

At times, Jack seems to act as the sole voice of reason in the group. In #49, he attempts to calm both Lamplighter during a meeting with the Boys and the Homelander shortly thereafter, when Lamplighter temporarily blinds the others and departs to trail Mallory; in #20, he tried to stop A-Train, who was angry about Starlight injuring him while repelling his rape attempt, from irritating the Homelander with complaints following a disastrous encounter with the Boys. Jack was highly critical of A-Train's attempt to rape her. This was not so much from any moral concerns, but rather from a prediction that she will be ejected from the Seven within a year in any case, darkly hinting that A-Train can do whatever he wants with her after that. Like The Deep, Jack is also irritated by his lower royalties compared to "the Big Three."

He is capable of flight, and is usually seen transporting non-flying members of the Seven during their official functions. His main power is his ability to generate a red-toned forcefield around his body for a limited time by uttering a secret word, which is eventually revealed to be "Carpo". It is said that Jack is virtually indestructible while his forcefield is active, with Butcher claiming that "you couldn't get an anti-tank round through his skin", once his word is said. The duration of his forcefield is unknown. Outside of this power, Jack is one of the weakest members of the Seven, due to his strength and durability being no different from an ordinary person.

During the September 11 attacks, Jack fled the scene with Mister Marathon upon realizing that Homelander's plan of action would worsen the situation. Jack's abrupt action led Black Noir, the Lamplighter, and the Deep to be injured, thus removing over half the Seven from the unfolding attacks within seconds. Jack flew back long enough to allow Mister Marathon to board a hijacked plane with Homelander and Queen Maeve before fleeing again.

Jack was dismissed from the Seven when Ms. Bradley of Vought-American publicly revealed that he had frequent relations with transsexual prostitutes, in an attempt to escalate hostilities between The Boys and The Seven. The revelation severely damaged his reputation and ostracized him from both the team and VA. Shortly afterwards, the Boys discovered Terror dead in their office. At Doc Peculiar's, Billy Butcher confronted Jack on the assumption that he had killed Terror. Jack attempted to use his invulnerability power, but was brutally murdered by Billy with a butcher knife while Butcher repeatedly asked him why he killed Terror.

Jack from Jupiter makes a minor appearance in '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'' episode "I'm Your Pusher", voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

The Lamplighter

A former member of the Seven, the Lamplighter was turned over by the Seven to the Boys, after the murders of Mallory's granddaughters, in order to end their initial conflict. He is reanimated after his death and is hidden from view deep under the Seven's headquarters; he constantly soils himself, and the Seven take turns cleaning out his cell. His public story states that he took a hiatus from the team, with him being broadcast on national television after his reanimation with the rest of his team. He was then kept in the storage space he now "lives" in, the Homelander having him there as an "example" to the rest of the team for what happens to those who underestimate "The Boys." He is replaced by Starlight.

Lamplighter's powers seem to mostly emanate from his torch-like device, which he can use to fly and emanate blinding light or destructive fires. He has greatly enhanced physical endurance, having survived being struck by the wing of a plane in mid-flight, although the collision's force did cave in his ribs and nearly punctured his lungs; after the incident, he required multiple medications to relieve the pain.

In issue #66, it is revealed in a conversation with the Vought Guy that the Lamplighter was found by the CIA after a search warrant was exercised on the Seven's former headquarters.

Lamplighter appears in season two of the television adaption, portrayed by Shawn Ashmore. This incarnation's powers are pyrokinetic in nature, though he requires a source of fire. In the pilot episode, it is stated that he had retired from the Seven. In reality, Vought assigned him to work in the Sage Grove psychiatric hospital, which they were using as an underground testing site for Compound V, so he could prevent leaks. When Frenchie, Mother's Milk, and Kimiko infiltrate the facility in an attempt to discover Stormfront's connection to it, they encounter Lamplighter and accidentally cause a riot in their ensuing fight. The Boys save Lamplighter, who in turn keeps Stormfront from discovering them when she arrives later. He also confesses to accidentally killing Colonel Mallory's grandchildren eight years prior in an attempt to stop her from blackmailing him and resented Frenchie for not stopping him as Frenchie was assigned to tail him. Lamplighter allows the Boys to take him hostage and spirit him out of the facility. When Colonel Mallory arrives, he encourages her to kill him, but Frenchie persuades her not to. Later on, Lamplighter testifies against Vought in Supreme Court. While watching porn with Hughie, they learn that Annie was captured by Vought and go to rescue her, but Lamplighter immolates himself while they are inside the building. Nevertheless, his suicide helps Annie escape from her Supe-proof cell.

Starlight

Starlight, a.k.a. Annie January, is the latest member of the Seven. Her known powers are flight and the ability to project blinding light, though she is also hinted to have super-hearing. Starlight was formerly a member of the Young Americans superhero organization, and a conservative Christian. Upon joining the Seven, she is shocked to discover the other members' true nature. On her first visit, the Homelander forces her to perform oral sex for him, A-Train, and Black Noir, or leave the group. Her costume is modified against her will to be more revealing, and she has often been tricked into humiliating situations. It was claimed by A-Train in issue #20 that the Seven hired her solely to amuse themselves by degrading her; Jack from Jupiter expects her to be replaced by a bigger-name hero within a year. During the "Cherry" story arc, she meets Hughie in New York on a bench in Central Park. Under her Annie identity, she begins a relationship with Hughie, neither knowing the other's true identity.

Starlight has frequently shown signs of changing, with aggressive outbursts, losing her faith, and using profanities and drinking alcohol. She shows some concern that she is becoming more like the rest of the Seven. Butcher has footage of her induction into the Seven, and in issue #39, he discovers Starlight and Hughie's relationship.

In #32, she violently rejects a new, even more revealing costume and makeover and a new, fictional origin of being a rape victim foisted on her by VA's marketing department. The Seven's attempt to change her mind almost results in a sexual assault led by Black Noir, with Starlight only being saved by Maeve's surprise intervention. She further defies both the team and VA by going back to her original outfit.

Annie has said she believes her relationship with Hughie is "more precious than gold", and she intends to quit the Seven and move out. Despite this, #39–43 shows that she is terrified he will reject her if he finds out what she did to get into the Seven. This proves to be true, as Hughie flees when she reveals her true identity in Issue #45.

Not wanting the truth to destroy their relationship, she follows Hughie back to Scotland during the "Highland Laddie" mini-series. She reveals her childhood to Hughie, and what it was like growing up with powers: blinding her parents at birth, being adopted by a foster couple who raised her to show her off at VA pageants, and having powers while being forbidden to actually help or rescue people.

In issue #52, Hughie suggests to her that the relationship will not work despite his warnings about certain individuals not being keen on supes. She then explains to Hughie that he is the nicest person she ever had in her life and doesn't want to give that up, requesting that since the relationship is on the rocks, can he still treat her decently. Hughie agrees.

In issue #55 after Hughie finishes his conversation with Mallory, he reveals to her that he has been working for the C.I.A. and wants her to leave the Seven and hide until the upcoming war between them and The Boys is at a conclusion. Hughie admits to her that he still loves her.

In issue #66, Annie leaves New York and Hughie behind due to the events following the attempted insurrection in Washington, as well as Hughie's continued discomfort around her. She returns in the final issue, with the characters once again together, having decided to give their relationship another shot now that the Boys and the Seven are gone.

In the epilogue series, ''Dear Becky'', which takes place a decade after the end of the series, Annie and Hughie get married and settle down in his hometown in Scotland.

Ennis has stated that the relationship was not originally planned: "Annie started out as a joke, and was actually going to degenerate further in terms of the shit she'd put up with, the degradations she'd suffer just to be in the world's premier super team. But I found myself writing Hughie moping in Central Park, and then to my great surprise I saw Annie coming walking down the path. That was when I realized I wanted to take her in a different direction, make her stronger and more rounded... I probably felt a bit guilty about Annie and ended up treating her a bit more responsibly as a result."

In the television series, Starlight is portrayed by Erin Moriarty. This version has an active relationship with her mother, who pushes her to join VA pageants and become a superhero. She is the newest member of the Seven, replacing the recently-retired Lamplighter. Maya Misaljevic portrays a younger version of the character in flashbacks.

Mister Marathon

Mister Marathon is a former member of the Seven. He was removed from the 9/11 crisis by Jack from Jupiter (who happened to be carrying him), but apparently insisted that Jack return to leave him there so he could help. When it seemed Homelander would abandon the rescue attempt, Marathon insisted that he continue (albeit by pointing out that Vought-American would surely fire them if they gave up, rather than by appealing to any moral sense). While carrying Marathon, Homelander tried to intercept the plane but instead crashed through and broke it in half, in the process killing Marathon.

Translucent

Translucent is a member of the Seven exclusive to the television series, portrayed by Alex Hassell. He possesses the ability to turn his skin into a carbon meta-material that bends light, granting him superhuman durability and invisibility. Unbeknownst to the public, he is a pervert who uses his powers to spy on women. After being captured by the Boys, Butcher and Frenchie interrogate him for information on A-Train, during which they deduce that his skin does not protect him from internal trauma and insert C-4 explosives into his rectum. Hughie later detonates them, killing Translucent. His remains are later found by Homelander, who in season two, holds a funeral for him, claiming that he died taking on El Diablo's cartel.

Stormfront

Stormfront is the most powerful member of Payback. His name and fictionalized backstory portrays him as a reincarnated Viking. His name also references the well known Neo-Nazi website of the same name. In reality, Stormfront originally came to the United States from Nazi Germany in 1938 with Jonah Vogelbaum as the only product of the Third Reich's V-Program. He was given a very powerful and unique version of Compound V as a member of the Hitler Youth. Vogelbaum saw Stormfront as a danger due to his deep belief in Nazi ideology, and recommended that Vought-American destroy him. Instead, VA used genetic material taken from Stormfront as the basis for the experiments that would create the Homelander and Black Noir.

Stormfront was shown to be an unrepentant racist and an enthusiastic supporter of Nazism. It was revealed that Stormfront destroyed the levees and caused widespread flooding in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, aiming to ethnically cleanse the city and to free up valuable real estate for VA. He treated his teammates in Payback with contempt, especially Soldier Boy. After slaughtering several Mafioso he sneered, "Italians. What the Fuhrer was thinking, I'll never know." He also referred to the Female as a "Mongrel" and "Untermensch" (subhuman).

Stormfront was one of the most powerful superhumans next to the Homelander and Black Noir. He possessed superhuman strength, durability, flight, and the ability to exhale what appeared to be lightning bolts from his mouth. This "lightning" was powerful enough to burn humans alive and blow up the Boys' van. He also aged much more slowly than a normal human; in his 70s, he retained the appearance and vitality of a man half his age. He was far stronger than any of the individual members of the Boys, and able to easily overpower them. The Female, Mother's Milk and Billy Butcher were able to injure him during single combat, but it took the combined efforts of Butcher, Frenchie, Mother's Milk and Vas (each vocalizing the efforts of the British, Free French, American and Soviet forces during World War II) to put him down, kicking and curb-stomping him to death.

A female interpretation of the character appears in the second season of the live-action television series adaptation, portrayed by Aya Cash. This version's real name is Klara Risinger who, despite her youthful looks and command of social media, was born in 1919. Additionally, she was Frederick Vought's first successful test subject for Compound V, supported Nazi Germany, and married Frederick before they moved to the United States to continue his work, where they gave birth to a daughter. In the 1970s, Risinger operated as the superhero Liberty before fading into obscurity after committing a racially-charged murder. In the present, following her daughter's death from old age, she resurfaces as Stormfront, joins the Seven, and enters a sexual relationship with Homelander following a difficult beginning. After Starlight and Hughie discover her origins from A-Train and leak it to the public, Stormfront attempts to take Homelander's son Ryan, only to lose an eye to the boy's mother Becca and her limbs to Ryan himself before being incarcerated in an undisclosed location. A year later, she has continued her relationship with Homelander from her hospital bed until she realizes his goals do not align with hers and her dreams will go unfulfilled. On Homelander's birthday, she commits suicide, which contributes to his deteriorating mental state.

Recurring characters

United States government

The Legend has stated that every United States government since Gerald Ford's administration (along with two-thirds of Congress) have been owned to some extent by the military-industrial complex, who are desperate to keep Vought-American's superhumans out of national defense contracts for fear of being unable to compete. This makes the government extremely willing to back the Boys, and the team was originally authorized under President Bush and continued under President Clinton.

Ever since the 9/11 attacks, the government has been in a state of internal conflict, with the President watching for any treacherous move by the vice-president and both of them trying to have their agents on each other's security details.

In contrast to the real world, the events of 9/11 saw the World Trade Center saved but the Brooklyn Bridge destroyed and America invaded Pakistan in response, with Afghanistan being severely hit by "collateral damage" (deliberately). The public is unaware that the Bridge wasn't the intended target of Al Qaeda. #51 reveals that America is, officially, assisting the Pakistani government – and secretly "pay ngthem to let us invade", both with money and by deliberately removing "undesirables" (claiming they're enemy combatants) and taking them to a prison camp in Anchorage, Alaska. Special forces are heavily used in Pakistan (and causing civilian deaths) and a large number of soldiers have been crippled by IEDs.

Real-life political figures have also been included in the comic: Senator Prescott Bush is a Vought-American man in 1944, but unlike in real life he ends up killed by a German attack in the Battle of the Bulge (#52-3); Bobby Kennedy spearheaded an investigation into VA after the disastrous Ia Drang massacre in Vietnam; VA felt the first President Bush would be their man in government, but Mallory states in ''Butcher, Baker'' #6 that Bush was actually lying and planned to keep them at arm's length; Bush and Clinton both oversaw The Boys; and in #62, Butcher advises Rayner talks to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in the event he assassinates Newman, and in #66 Pelosi is the Acting-President until after the 2008 election.

Kessler

Kessler is a CIA analyst whom Butcher uses to acquire information: he is referred to by the Boys (primarily Billy) as "Monkey". The origin of the nickname is revealed that, upon escorting Butcher to Doc Peculiar's house of prostitution, he was promptly raped by green monkeys in both ears. Upon his return to the whorehouse, Butcher discovers, with some amusement, that Peculiar had immortalized the event in the form of a statue of Kessler and the monkeys in the act.

Kessler has a fetish for female paraplegics and an inability to have an erection unassisted; he claims this is the result of the numerous times Butcher has kneed him in the groin when prompting him for information or punishing him.

Upon the news that Raynor intends to seek public office, she names Kessler to be her successor as the Director of the CIA. He attempted to use this knowledge as a way of making life difficult for the Boys, but he lost his composure during a fundraiser dinner upon seeing a paraplegic former athlete in #51; he took her up to a private room under false pretenses and attempted to sexually assault her with a dildo. She knocked him cold and was about to report him when Butcher stepped in. Kessler awoke to find himself bound spread-eagled on his belly on the bed with a dildo in his anus, as Butcher regaled him with the story he told to keep the athlete from reporting him, then blackmailed him into backing down from his harassment. He subsequently had Terror anally rape him to further humiliate him.

Susan L. Rayner

Susan L. Rayner is the director of the CIA. During the 1980s, she was a field officer in Afghanistan. She despises Butcher and vice versa, though is sexually involved with him. She's done many immoral things but considers they were for the greater good.

She attempted to use Silver Kincaid as a mole within the G-Men, but withheld this information from the Boys when sending them in to investigate the team. Butcher threatened to kill her and her family if she ever put the team in danger like that again but later claimed this was an empty threat – as he was manipulating her in this second encounter, that may have been a lie.

She decided to get out and quit the CIA to run for the US Senate, leaving Kessler as her replacement to get back at Butcher. In #51, Butcher met with her to give her information that could allow guided missiles to track supes, telling her to pass this on to the Air Force.

In #62, following the death of Dakota Bob, Rayner finds herself frozen out of the new government by Vic's Vought-American "attack bitch": the CIA is de facto neutralized and she's informed that she'll likely lose her job. She warns Butcher and also tells him she gave his file to NORAD; she also admits to feeling frightened, "the ground disappeared beneath my feet", by the fact she finds herself colluding with the Joint Chiefs to commit high treason, and is terrified when Butcher implies he may assassinate Vic.

After #66, she has moved on from the CIA but has instructed Kessler to disband the Boys. She did not approve Kessler's nomination to become the full-time CIA director. Kessler would have his revenge, as later during a political rally, he embarrassed Rayner using audio taken from one of her many sexual encounters with Butcher, as well as chartering a small plane with the banner "Rayner is a whore" conducting a fly by.

Jennifer Esposito portrays the character in the television series, with her surname spelled Raynor. In a departure from the comics, Raynor is assassinated by Congresswoman Victoria K. "Vic" Neuman during the second season after the former deduced the latter's plans for a " coup".

President Robert "Dakota Bob" Shaefer

Robert "" Shaefer is the Republican President of the United States, Shaefer is responsible for signing off on an order for the CIA to monitor all superheroes – an order that ultimately results in the reformation of the Boys. He has a hatred of superheroes due to the threat they pose to the world. Issue #20 states he is a former Halliburton executive, and "cold and hard as the Badlands themselves". Shaefer and Vic the Veep highlight that ''The Boys'' isn't about good versus evil so much as competence versus incompetence. Ennis said the character "was supposed to be the smart neocon – the guy who would quite happily sell off every public service he could, but who believed in very strong national security. Who would start a war, but the right war – going for the real home of the insurgency (this would of course create all manner of new problems, but that would be his starting point)."

Shaefer was the Vice President under George H. W. Bush after a scandal took out the previous choice (implied to be Dan Quayle). He ran for office after Bill Clinton. Despite his loathing of "Vic the Veep", he was forced by the Republican Party to take him as vice president.

He is said in ''Herogasm'' to have ordered the invasion of Pakistan instead of Afghanistan (which the CIA had asked for) after 9/11, and gave many private defense and reconstruction contracts to Halliburton and other companies, as well as having "sold off" most of the federal government. #51 reveals he has done highly immoral things to get the US into Pakistan. Mallory says in #55, as does VA in ''Herogasm'', that he is in the pocket of multiple corporate interests. He is unpopular by the time of the series for his policies and war record, but appears respected by Butcher because of his ironclad willingness to stick to his principles.

Dakota Bob almost averts the bulk of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by paying attention to intelligence warnings, putting NORAD on high alert and response teams at US airports, and having two of the hijacked planes immediately shot down and the third boarded at the airport. The fourth gets through after Vic incapacitates Shaefer and takes control, ordering NORAD to stand down, with the intent of allowing the Seven to intercept the fourth plane. This plan backfires disastrously; the Seven have no plan and no training (a result of VA withholding police and emergency training to avoid antagonizing normal police/fire/rescue organizations) and they cause the plane to crash into the Brooklyn Bridge instead. Shaefer is unable to prove that Vought-American are up to something, but keeps a close watch on Vought infiltration of the Secret Service; officially, the fourth plane was also shot down but too late.

Despite all of the scheming and counter-scheming between the White House and Vought-American, Dakota Bob is killed in issue #60 by an angry wolverine. The Vought Guy, while acknowledging that the turn of events is for the best, is left irritated and slightly disappointed that an expensive, and intricately planned paramilitary operation was pre-empted in such a way.

In the live-action television series adaptation, Jim Beaver portrays U.S. Secretary of Defense and Democrat Robert "Dakota Bob" Singer, with his surname changed to be a deliberate reference to Beaver's character Bobby Singer from The CW television series ''Supernatural''. In the third season, Singer campaigns to become President with Victoria Neuman as his running mate following the assassination of her predecessor Lamar Bishop.

Victor K. "Vic the Veep" Neuman

"" is the neoconservative Vice President of the United States under "Dakota Bob" Shaefer. It has been implied that he is mentally handicapped, and that his family are all Vought-American people; he himself was said in #6 to have been a former CEO for Vought-American. He appears to be only clever enough to be politically useful, learning his speeches phonetically and unable to perform everyday tasks without assistance. He is commonly recognized by his large underbite and his constant blank facial expression. Ennis has said "Vic the Veep was meant to be the most grotesque parody of Bush, Jr. imaginable".

Vic and his backers are suspected of trying to ensure the President would be in Florida during 9/11, leaving Vic in charge and able to have the Seven liberate the hijacked planes; when this failed, Dakota Bob is knocked unconscious with a fire extinguisher, he then orders the USAF to leave the last hijacked plane, leading to the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge when the Seven failed. Nobody saw the assault, but Vic's Secret Service detail are suspected, having been infiltrated by Red River. Vought intends to assassinate the President as, knowing Vic would never win in an election, this is the only way for Vic to become president and thus bring in superhuman defense contracts. The President takes great care in selecting Vic's security detail, ensuring as few Red River agents are on it as possible.

Thanks to Dakota Bob's accidental death after Vic released a wolverine (thinking it was his dog), Vic becomes President in #60. His Secret Service detail is replaced with Red River operatives and a Vought-American executive directs him in making policies, such as the de facto shutdown of all CIA operations and the makeup of his new Cabinet. Butcher openly refers to assassinating him in #62, but this is preempted when Homelander convinces most of the superheroes to launch a coup that they think is in the name of Vic and VA. Vic is murdered prior to issue #65 by Homelander, who has decapitated him.

A female version of the character named Victoria K. "Vic" Neuman is introduced in the second season of the live-action television series adaptation, portrayed by Claudia Doumit while Elisa Paszt portrays her in flashbacks. This version is initially described as a "young wunderkind congresswoman" inspired by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Publicly, she is a smart, charismatic, dedicated politician apparently looking to bring accountability against Vought. However, she is secretly a telekinetic Supe working as an assassin to pave the way for her presidential campaign. In season three, she establishes the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs and works closely with Hughie Campbell to control opposition and minimize damage to Vought by allowing the arrests of lower-tier Supes for comparatively minor offenses. After being confronted by a man named Tony, who refers to her as Nadia, she kills him with her powers, unaware that Hughie followed them and witnessed the act. Hughie later traces the origins of "Vicky" to the Red River adoption facility for children with superhuman abilities, and learns that she is Stan Edgar's secret adopted daughter. She then betrays Edgar and launches an investigation against him, forcing him to step down from Vought, in exchange for Compound V from Homelander to give her daughter, then forming an alliance with Homelander and giving him Ryan’s address, in exchange for killing Robert Singer's running mate Lamar Bishop to insert herself as Vice President.

Vought-American

Formerly Vought American Consolidated (V.A.C.), Vought-American is the series' main antagonist. It is a large defense contractor which owns the Seven, several smaller superhero teams, and their related franchises, and a fictionalised parody of the real-life Vought aircraft company, imagining an alternate history to reality in which they had pivoted to focus on developing superheroes.

Since World War II, Vought-American has sought to incorporate superheroes into national defense. Its first product for the military was a fighter plane that was rushed into production to replace the P-51 Mustang; it was discovered that a fatal design flaw killed more Allied pilots than it did the enemy. Although the use of the atom bomb removed the need for the plane, it revealed a tendency by Vought-American to release flawed products; its next major product was an assault rifle, but due to cutting costs on the manufacturing, the rifles resulted in a massacre in Vietnam when they failed to protect the soldiers they were issued to (they proved to be more useful as posts to mount their heads).

With the debut of the Seven and the subsequent monopoly of superhumans, VA is in a position to upend the traditional military-industrial complex making heroes into super-powered soldiers. Their current agreement with the American government is arranged so heroes will not possess any actual police powers or interfere with any government service. As a result, heroes are not given any police or rescue training, so they will not be seen as competition. This has created a number of problems from the beginning: heroes sent to support World War II troops are given no military training and cause the deaths of themselves and the soldiers they were sent to help when they inadvertently lead the enemy to the camp; heroes are unable to provide much help in an actual emergency and are relegated to minor support work that looks good on camera. The worst example is during 9/11. The Seven try to stop the terrorists on a passenger plane, but do not understand the tactical or physical challenges involved in entering a plane during flight. They end up sending the fractured plane into the Brooklyn Bridge.

Unable to get the contracts by semi-legal means, they've attempted the overthrow of the Russian government with a force of supervillains; manipulating reaction to 9/11; and intend to assassinate the President of the United States.

VA controls both Victory Comics, which whitewashes the exploits of the real-life superheroes; and Red River, a private military company with covert agents in the Secret Service. At the meeting between the Boys and the Seven, Red River operatives used nerve gas on a Delta Force squad that had been assigned as backup. This allowed a naked Homelander to enter the scene and massacre the soldiers. The Boys later came across the grisly scene.

After the superhuman attack on Washington, Vought-American is the subject of a congressional hearing, and has rebranded itself as American Consolidated in the correct belief that people will get distracted and forget who they are when the dust settles. The revelations of Compound V's ineffectiveness and the true nature (and eventual genocide) of the so-called 'heroes' the company was so proud of have effectively crippled Vought American/American Consolidated, leaving them with one last failed product as the Vought Guy finally breaks under the pressure.

In the live-action television series, Vought-American was founded by German scientist and first CEO, Frederick Vought, who created Compound V for the Nazis before defecting to the Allies. Sometime after the Cold War, Vought was rebranded as Vought International. Additionally, Vought International is described as primarily being a pharmaceutical company and defense contractor as opposed to a "superhero company" as Homelander had believed, with significant film, television, and music production branches, streaming services, non-profit organizations, food chains, and the Voughtland amusement park franchise all serving to market the Seven, among other superhero teams.

Vought Guy

The Guy From Vought, also known as Mr. Vought-America(n) or simply the Vought Guy, is Vought-American's major presence in the series, regularly sitting in on the Seven's meetings. His name, , while first mentioned in #29, is not confirmed until #63. He is the most prominent normal human antagonist, orchestrating the near-coup of the Russian government, ordering and overseeing the massacre of the G-Teams, ordering Payback to ambush the Boys, and involved in the planned takeover of the White House.

The Vought Guy is a high-functioning sociopath and is practically the embodiment of VA, aiming to make a profit at the expense of others, suffering no remorse for any action. He is highly methodical and considers nothing is unimportant during planning. He also freely admits in #40 that Vought-American are gambling that Homelander will be controllable until they've won, and if he's not they can only "try not to be there at the time". Two major developments occur by sheer accident: the death of VA's CEO by a heart attack in #34, and the President being killed by a rabid animal in #60. When the latter happens, the Vought Guy said he felt "cheated".

''Herogasm'' #4 mentions he had come up under Vought's recently deceased CEO Mr. Edgar, and #29 has Vought minutes from 1989 mentioning Stillwell as a "keen" young man working in then-executive Edgar's office.

His calm exterior is in contrast to the superhero teams he oversees: he never shows any concern in the Seven's meetings or around the Homelander, despite their powers, nor around Russian mob boss Little Nina. He is also utterly ruthless: after ordering the slaughter of every member of the G-Men to prevent the truth of Godolkin's activities getting out (which he'd previously covered up), he then arranges for Pre-Wiz, the children Godolkin was training and sexually abusing, to be kidnapped, locked into a large crate and finally dropped from an aircraft over the sea.The Boys #30 Epilogue Each of these acts are carried out by different groups of Red River operatives, as he thought that even Red River personnel might find the outright murder of children to be too much. Jack from Jupiter considers the Vought Guy to be worse than the Seven, and has said he used to have nightmares about the sort of things the executive might have had done; Homelander has shown signs of wanting to kill him, but always stops himself and seemed genuinely scared of him (or the true power he wields) in ''Herogasm'' #5.

In #34, the CEO of Vought-American (Mr. Edgar) dies, and it seemed possible that the Vought Guy would take his place. Instead, by #39, the Vought Guy allows another generic executive to become CEO, acting as a puppet in order to maintain his independence and influence affairs behind the scenes, indicating that he has been the true head of Vought for years. The Vought Guy also takes on Jess Bradley as a protégé and confidant. By #61, he seems to have an unguarded moment and admits he feels he can relax around her.

During Homelander's attempted '' coup d'etat'' against the United States government, the Vought Guy becomes aware that the superhero had tricked the Boys and VA into a conflict. The Vought Guy offers medical care to a wounded Frenchman and tries to make a deal with Billy Butcher, finally formally introducing himself as "James Stillwell" and asking the Boys to take a backseat role while they tried to clean up their "own shit"; Butcher refuses. After watching the events of Butcher's informational leak onto the World Wide Web, he is confronted by Homelander, who wishes to kill him. The Vought Guy keeps calm in front of the insane superhuman, to the point that Homelander declares he may have finally met a real superhuman. The Vought Guy states he was never impressed by Homelander, and regards Homelander's actions and use of his abilities to be unoriginal and unimpressive. After expressing a wish to commit suicide to spare himself Homelander's histrionics, Homelander tells him to keep watching and leaves.

In #66, he believes the company can survive the superhuman attack on Washington as they were genuinely uninvolved, growing superhumans as weapons "is disturbing but not yet illegal", and most of the other revelations about them can be shrugged off; he cites WikiLeaks, saying the general public reaction to such things is to say "the world works the way I always suspected". However, he knows they could not survive the revelation that they had tried to kill the President. When the Boys release everything they have on VA and the superheroes, the Vought Guy uses Jess Bradley as a scapegoat; his plan all along was to blame everything on her.

He meets with Hughie, who reveals the existence of the V-bombs and threatens to use them if VA approaches any country in the world about weaponizing superheroes. The Vought Guy meets with his subordinates before seeing the newest superhero team, wearing all-white costumes (some with white-pointed hoods) and going by the name of TRUE. The Vought Guy seems to realize that Compound V cannot supersede human nature (he notes the erection of one member of the new team, the telltale signs of drug withdrawal in another), laments that Compound V is a "bad product" and appears to start suffering a nervous breakdown in the final issue.

The Vought Guy is last seen in the epilogue series, ''Dear Becky'', wandering around a pineapple plantation, quoting Milton Friedman and repeatedly muttering about good products and bad products, having lost his mind.

The Vought Guy was adapted as two separate characters in the live-action television series adaptation:

* The first adaptation, a female version of the character named Madelyn Stillwell appears in the first season in a main capacity, portrayed by Elisabeth Shue. In the series, Madelyn is shown to be a single mother to her infant son Teddy, the Senior Vice President of Hero Management at Vought, and in a relationship with Homelander. By the season one finale, Madelyn is murdered by Homelander for keeping secrets from him, with Butcher being accused due to his use of an explosive device in a failed attempt to kill Homelander. As of season two, Ashley Barrett goes on to replace Madelyn while Teddy survived, having developed the power to teleport, after he was found seventeen miles away from the blast site. In season three, Teddy has become a toddler and taken in by the Vought-controlled Red River orphanage. In a prequel episode depicted in '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'', Madelyn is revealed to have been sexually manipulating Homelander since he was a teenager.
* The second adaptation, a more comic-book-accurate (albeit black) version of the character named Stanford "Stan" Edgar (after , the unseen CEO of Vought-American later mentioned to have died of a heart attack in issue #34 of the comic series), is primarily portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito in a guest role in the first season finale and a recurring role in the second and third seasons, while Justiin Davis portrays him in flashbacks to 1984 in the third season. Originally intending to have Madelyn Stillwell succeed him, after learning of her death, he rehires Ashley Barrett to take her place and recruits Stormfront to take Translucent's place in the Seven. He later removes Stormfront from the Seven after her Nazi past is leaked to the public. In season three, Edgar is revealed to be the adoptive father of Victoria Neuman amidst attempts to bring Vought back to being a pharmaceutical company. After Victoria exposes some of his illegal activities, Edgar privately expresses admiration for her actions while publicly taking a temporary leave of absence despite knowing Homelander put her up to it, calling him "bad product". Esposito also voices Stan Edgar in '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'' episode "One Plus One Equals Two".

Jess Bradley

Jessica A. "Jess" Bradley is a senior VA officer, introduced in #39 as an intelligent career-climber who was attempting to get in with the Vought Guy. In #40, she was taken on as his confidant and protégé, and he told her that her work had gotten her noticed years ago – he was merely waiting for her to speak to him. Their relationship soon becomes a strong one, with her appearing to develop feelings for him and the Vought Guy marking her out as vital to VA's future; in #61, she admits she feels safe around him and he admits he can relax around her.

She is more worried about the seedier, more uncontrollable aspects of the superheroes than the Vought Guy is, and is visibly sickened by the photographs of the Homelander's rampage. She is the first of Vought's executives to express that more concern should be shown for the victims of the superheroes actions, in particular after reviewing Hughie's file. In #48, Bradley was present for Black Noir's disastrous attempt at flying a plane and the murder of his flight instructor; she was left covered in the dead man's blood, and had to struggle to keep calm afterwards, telling herself "he's he Vought Guy'sstrong so you're strong". This led to her pointing out to the Vought Guy that Black Noir can not ever be taught to fly and it was wasting money to keep trying; he was convinced and cancelled any further training, but it appears Bradley was the first senior VA worker to raise this as an issue.

After the Homelander's coup is crushed, Bradley appears before Congress, and spends a great deal of time with the Vought Guy. She would subsequently be betrayed by him when, during his appearance before Congress as "whistleblower J. Stillwell", the Vought Guy shifts the blame for the disaster from Vought-American onto Bradley. The Vought Guy had realized long ago that a disaster was looming with its superheroes, and had promoted Bradley to a leadership position specifically so that he could scapegoat her when that happened, portraying her as a rogue element who could be held culpable for all the company's misdeeds. The realization of his complete betrayal causes Bradley to have a breakdown in her hotel room, tearing out her hair while screaming.

In the television series, Ashley J. Barrett is Vought International's new publicist and Director of Talent Relations, portrayed by Colby Minifie. While she is initially fired by Madelyn Stillwell in the first season following Starlight publicly commenting on her sexual assault by the Deep, Homelander has her rehired in the second season as the new Senior Vice President of Hero Management so he can use her to spy on Stan Edgar. In the third season following Edgar's leave of absence, Barrett takes his place as the CEO of Vought while continuing to serve under Homelander and develops a form of paraphilia. Throughout the second and third seasons, she slowly loses her hair, a symptom of fear-induced stress, which eventually culminates in tearing out a majority of it and wearing a wig.

Minifie also voices Ashley Barrett in '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'' episode "Boyd in 3D".

Brewster

Brewster became the new CEO in #39, though primarily as the Vought Guy's scapegoat. In #49, the Vought Guy tells Bradley to "blind rewsterwith science" and keep him out of the loop.

Jonah Vogelbaum

Jonah Vogelbaum is a Jewish scientist at Vought-American who was responsible for creating Compound V for the Nazis until he took it and his only-living test subject Stormfront to the United States. It is here where he started to work for Vought-American and using Compound V to create superheroes. Greg Mallory later had Jonah work with the C.I.A. and inject members of the Boys with Compound V as well. When Mallory ordered Billy Butcher to eliminate Jonah, Billy spared him instead and had him work on a way to exterminate anyone with Compound V in them. Once this was done, Billy killed Jonah so that his work can be undone.

In the television series, Jonah Vogelbaum is portrayed by John Doman. This version is the CSO of Vought International and Homelander's creator. Sometime after he retired, Vogelbaum is visited by Homelander, who demands the truth about Becca Butcher and the latter's baby. Vogelbaum apologizes for his actions, though Homelander thinks otherwise. When Homelander confronts Billy Butcher and Madelyn Stillwell, he claims to have returned to Vogelbaum and "squeezed the truth" out of him. Homelander later claims that Vogelbaum was paralyzed in an accident. Butcher eventually manages to find Vogelbaum and brings him to a congressional hearing against Vought, but the latter is among those assassinated by Congresswoman Victoria K. "Vic" Neuman.

The comic book version of Vogelbaum and creator of Compound V is additionally adapted as German scientist and first CEO of Vought International, , the husband of Stormfront.

Seth Reed

Seth Reed is a public relations writer at Vought International, exclusive to the television series, portrayed by Malcolm Barrett. Following a date with the Supe Ice Princess, he was accidentally frozen, lost his penis, and joined a support group for individuals who were harmed by Supes.

Evan Lambert

Evan Lambert is a public relations writer who works with Seth Reed at Vought International, exclusive to the television series, portrayed by David Reale.

Courtenay

Courtenay is a production assistant at Vought International, exclusive to the television series, portrayed by Jackie Tohn.

Anika

Anika is a member of Vought International's Crime Analytics, exclusive to the television series, portrayed by Ana Sani.

Also Ashley

"Also Ashley" is the assistant of Ashley Barrett who is also named Ashley and a member of Vought exclusive to the live-action TV series adaptation, portrayed by Sabrina Saudin.

Bill Marsh

Bill Marsh is a member of Vought International's board of directors who is exclusive to the live-action TV series adaption, portrayed by Doug Macleod, who is credited as "Board Member #1".

Pat Willis

Pat Willis is a member of Vought International's board of directors who is exclusive to the live-action TV series adaption, portrayed by Glenn McDonald who is credited as "Board Member #2".

Maureen

Maureen is a member of Vought International's board of directors who is exclusive to the live-action TV series adaption, portrayed by Vania Giusto who is credited as "Board Member #3".

Simon

Simon is a lab scientist at Vought International exclusive to the animated series, with vocal effects provided by Ben Schwartz. He trains a "Laser Baby" to control her powers in the hopes that she will be adopted. Upon learning she was going to be euthanized for failing all of her tests, he escapes with the baby so he can adopt her himself.

Superbrain

Superbrain is the head of Vought International's Vought-doption Center and a Supe with an enlarged head and psychic powers who appears exclusively in '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'', voiced by Fred Tatasciore. After learning Vought scientist, Simon, snuck out "Laser Baby", Superbrain tries to kill him, only to be killed by Laser Baby.

Vik and Erin

and are celebrity Vought scientists who develop an experimental Compound-V infused facial cream, Envision, in '' The Boys Presents: Diabolical'' episode " Boyd in 3D", voiced by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon respectively. Intending for their cream to allow users to reshape their bodies into their ideal selves as a part of Stan Edgar's plan to move Vought away from Supes and back to being pharmaceutical and military focused, Vik and Erin hire Boyd Doone as a product tester. While Doone's head explodes after he applies too much cream, Vik and Erin continue their work.

Vik also appears in the live-action TV series adaptation episode "Herogasm", with Nanjiani reprising his role. Among other celebrities, he joins the Seven in a parody of Gal Gadot's cover of " Imagine".

Other superheroes

In the universe of ''The Boys'', superheroes (also known as "Supes") get their powers from the drug Compound V, which was first created by Nazi scientists in the 1930s and which has since entered the gene pool due to VA complacency on numerous occasions. The defense contractor Vought-American has close ties to most of the superheroes, directly owns several of them, and is responsible for the creation of the original Seven; they also created and own Young Americans, Teenage Kix, Payback, and the G-Men.

The vast majority of superheroes in the series are narcissistic, hedonistic, and psychopathic, committing numerous crimes against civilians and each other out of a belief that their social privilege status allows them to do whatever they want. Most of the heroes shown in the series are also utterly incompetent, as they were not trained in counter-terrorism, Urban warfare tactics, police procedure, or rescue operations so as to avoid the wrath of the police and military whom they would effectively replace. The Seven are especially notorious, and use Vought-American's money to fund a lavish and amoral lifestyle. However, the superheroes are careful not to offend VA lest they lose their cash flow.

Young Americans

One of the two major teenage superhero teams, the Young Americans are clean-cut and patriotic; they have ties to the Young Republicans, Christian youth groups (including one known as Capes for Christ), and other conservative organizations. Like so many things in the Boys stories, the Young Americans' squeaky-clean pious appearance is mostly for show, although they kept their more questionable habits secret from Starlight and the public. When she left the team to join the Seven they apparently "relaxed" a little. Aside from Starlight, the Young Americans has at least four members:

Drummer Boy

Drummer Boy is identified as the leader in #6. Conservative Christian. Was involved with Starlight. Was caught by Starlight having sex with Holy Mary.

In the television series, Drummer Boy is portrayed by Miles Gaston Villanueva with Luca Oriel portraying him as a teenager. This version, also known as Alex, is a former pop star and Starlight's childhood friend and ex-boyfriend who rebranded himself to Supersonic. After being mentioned in season one, he debuts in season three as a contestant on the reality show ''American Hero''. While competing for a spot on the Seven, he displays an amicable rapport with Starlight. After winning, she tries to convince him to decline due to Homelander's unstable nature, but Alex refuses in order to protect her. He briefly joins the Seven and takes part in Starlight's plot to stand up to Homelander, but is killed off-screen by him after A-Train sells him out to Homelander as a traitor. His death is later covered up and spun as a drug overdose.

The Standard

The Standard is a member of the Young Americans. Red, blue and yellow costume, has the power of flight. Elected as the original leader of the Young Americans.The Boys – Highland Laddie #4 (2010)

General Issue

General Issue, known simply as the General, is a Supe who normally wore camouflage pants and a white tank top with a Vietnam War era green army jacket.

Holy Mary

Holy Mary dresses in a nun's habit and fishnet stockings. She is caught by Starlight sleeping with Drummer Boy.

Fantastico

Fantastico are a group of four heroes that appear on the cover of Herogasm #3. The Doofer, Reacher Dick, Invisi-Lass, are part of the group.Herogasm #3 A fourth character with fire based powers is not named.

The Doofer

The Doofer resembles a humanoid assembly of bricks who appears to suffer a fatal drug overdose during Herogasm. He is thrown from the rooftop by Butcher to create a distraction.

Teenage Kix

The other major teenage group, Teenage Kix has a more rebellious, Generation Y image. A-Train is a former member of the group. On reforming the Boys, Butcher planned his first operation against them. The team frequently goes to brothels to "celebrate" after a victory. The group is defeated by the Boys in issue #6, with Wee Hughie accidentally killing Blarney Cock.

Big Game

Big Game is the leader of the group. It is implied by Butcher that it is he that is able to keep the rest of the group in line. He is shown to be bisexual, as he has sex with not just women, but also fellow team members Shout Out and DogKnott. He is one of the only leaders of the various teams that does show any semblance of how to properly use their abilities from a tactical standpoint, though this is promptly negated by the Boys in their only encounter.

DogKnott

DogKnott has a werewolf-like appearance, but he wears clothes to cover up his self shame. He has razor sharp claws, and can jump up to 20 feet.

Popclaw

Popclaw has retractable claws, which she uses to practice self mutilation. It is revealed in issue #9 that she had her claws coated in metal.

In the television adaptation, Popclaw is portrayed Brittany Allen. This version, aka Charlotte, is the girlfriend of A-Train who shares his addiction to Compound V and was once a celebrity movie star whose career was ruined by the paparazzi, leading to her getting work in D-List movies. After she accidentally kills her landlord, the Boys blackmail her into spying on the Seven for them, leading to A-Train murdering her on Homelander's orders.

Blarney Cock

Blarney Cock is Irish and extremely racist. Along with his best friend Whack Job, he steals painkillers from a children's hospital to support their drug habits. In issue #6 he is accidentally killed by Wee Hughie, after which it is discovered that he has a taped-up hamster inserted in his anus. He is given a hero's funeral. After returning from the dead, his sole focus is to get his hamster back; Wee Hughie is ordered to kill him a second time by The Legend, after which The Legend reveals that Blarney Cock is his son. Hughie cremates his corpse in an oil drum after killing him the second time.

In issue #54 it is revealed that Blarney Cock is the son of Queen Maeve and The Legend. Butcher learns from Doc Peculiar's files that Blarney was shipped off to Ireland after Maeve gave birth to him and adopted by a local family, indicating that he had no clue of his true parentage, with Butcher stating he was "farmed out to some kid's home in Paddy land."

Whack Job

Whack Job is a Mohawk-wearing member of Teenage Kix who can conjure electricity. He dresses in punk attire. He and Blarney Cock have been best friends for years, and it is indicated that if either was kicked off the team, the other would follow. He reacted badly to Blarney's death, appearing to sink into a deep depression. He was the only member of the team happy to have Blarney back after he rose from the dead. He was present at Herogasm along with the rest of the superhero community.

Gunpowder

Gunpowder is a member of Teenage Kix who brings a valuable NRA sponsorship into the fold. Gunpowder has the ability to breathe fire.

In the television series, Gunpowder is portrayed by Sean Patrick Flanery in the present and Gattlin Griffith in flashbacks. This version is a member of Payback and the former sidekick of the abusive Soldier Boy who possesses several firearms and expert marksmanship instead of the comics incarnation's fire breath. Butcher finds and interrogates Gunpowder for Soldier Boy's whereabouts, but the latter drives him off. After taking V24 to temporarily grant himself superpowers, Butcher successfully overpowers and interrogates Gunpowder, who reveals everything he knows before Butcher kills him with his newfound super-strength and laser vision.

Shout Out

Shout-Out is African-American and thought publicly to be gay. He does not get along with Blarney Cock, as the two constantly shoot racial slurs at each other. Due to the Boys, he resigns from the team after announcing his homosexuality, but he does show up to fight the Boys after Homelander reveals the perpetrators. During the fight, he has both of his thumbs ripped off by Butcher. Shout Out has the power of flight and electrical abilities.

Mesmer

Mesmer, a.k.a. Charles, is a member of Teenage Kix exclusive to the live-action television series, portrayed by Haley Joel Osment. He possesses the ability to read people's thoughts through physical contact. As a child actor, he played the lead (a fictionalized version of himself) in the police procedural drama ''The Mesmerizer''. Having fallen from grace after allegedly using his power for insider trading, his main source of income is his attendances and autograph signings at superhero conventions. Mother's Milk and Frenchie request his assistance, in exchange for visits with his estranged daughter, in uncovering Kimiko's background and learn about Vought's plan to create superpowered terrorists. Afterward, Mesmer betrays the Boys to Homelander in order to restore his standing as a superhero. Butcher, in retaliation tracks Mesmer down and kills him.

Payback

Payback is a successor to the group "The Avenging Squad", which was created back in the 1940s, intended for use against Nazi Germany – but failed disastrously, and were wiped out swiftly in the Battle of the Bulge. In 1950, Vought created a second version called "Crimefighters Incorporated" and used them as stepping stones for future superheroes like the Homelander.

Loosely based on the Avengers, it is stated in ''Herogasm'' #2 that every member has tried to join the Seven.

Despite the presence of some powerful superhumans, a direct encounter with The Boys resulted in the team's destruction. Garth Ennis stated this was "because they don't know what they're doing with the (considerable) resources they command".

Soldier Boy

Soldier Boy is Payback's "elected" leader who yearns to join the Seven. As a parody analogous to Marvel Comic's Captain America, he maintains a patriotic and innocent approach to his role, not realizing the depravity around him (never resorting to foul language or joining his team during the "Herogasm" Orgies). He mistakenly interprets sex with Homelander as a test for him to join the Seven. He is in the habit of reciting the names of states while engaged in battle. It is claimed he fought in World War II, though Butcher claims otherwise and refers to this story as an insult to the people who really did.

His nose is bitten off by Butcher in issue #32. He is captured alive but badly beaten by Butcher in issue #33, and is tortured for information in #34. At the beginning of issue #39, the cover of a newspaper shows there is a funeral being held for Soldier Boy.

It is later revealed that "Soldier Boy" was a legacy title. Two earlier Soldier Boys have existed, both the leaders of their team. The original's decision to send the flyers of the Avenging Squad (a prototype for Payback) to scout for Germans – without authorization or awareness of military tactics – led the Waffen-SS to a US Army camp, causing a massacre of both the Avenging Squad and the American soldiers they were supposed to assist at the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. He was mortally wounded by the attack and killed by Mallory, with the second serving to impersonate them in the aftermath of the war for the making of propaganda films from 1950 onward.

Soldier Boy, also known as Ben, appears in the third season of the live-action television series adaptation, portrayed by Jensen Ackles. After being mentioned in season two as an early test subject for Compound V during WWII, Soldier Boy appears in flashbacks to 1984 depicted in season three, during which he led Payback in a joint mission with the CIA to stop communists in Nicaragua, but was sold out by his teammates on Vought's behalf, reportedly killed by a Russian superweapon, and his body was taken by the Russians, who experimented on him and granted him the ability to emit radioactive energy blasts capable of negating other Supes' powers. In the present, seeking information on his apparent death, the Boys travel to Russia, where they find Soldier Boy in a secret laboratory and inadvertently awaken him. Following this, Soldier Boy joins forces with Butcher and Hughie to seek revenge on his former teammates, learning he is Homelander's biological father in the process.

Tek Knight

Tek Knight is one of the founding members of Payback. Prior to his association with Payback, he previously led a group known as the Maverikz (who in turn were savagely beaten by The Boys in issue #31). The current Tek Knight is actually the third person to hold the identity. Two prior incarnations of Tek Knight, originally called Steel Knight, were introduced in Issues 52 to 54, as well as prior versions of sidekick Laddio. Mallory says they revamped his "franchise" later. Issue #9 gives his name as Robert Vernon.

Tek Knight is a vastly different hero from his predecessors, which were portrayed as super strong heroes with a helm and a jet pack. Having not received a dose of Compound V, Tek Knight instead has a technologically advanced suit, with which he operates. The abilities of the suit are not fully described. Despite possessing the ability to fly, Tek Knight also makes use of several vehicles and operates out of a cave based headquarters.

Tek Knight is one of the few heroes that is shown to have a boy sidekick, named Laddio. The current Laddio is actually the third to hold the name, as the first was killed during the Battle of the Bulge and the second would go on to pursue a solo career as the hero Swingwing. Tek Knight also is shown to have an associate called the Talon, who switches back and forth between ally and adversary.

Tek Knight was one of the few heroes to never engage the Boys' attention, as he never did anything depraved or morally wrong like many other "Heroes". Butcher describes him as boring, and seemed to be a genuinely nice person, though highly homophobic. Soldier Boy states in ''Herogasm'' that he was one of the only members in Payback to be nice to him.

Tek Knight's career would end after a murder of a young gay man that was being investigated by the Boys coincided with the growth of a brain tumor "the size of a fist", which caused an overpowering desire to have sex with anything. This would cause him to dismiss Laddio; upon realizing his compulsion was causing him to consider sex with his young ward, he immediately acted to remove the temptation and avoid any chance of his acting on it. Though he was cleared of having anything to do with the murder by Butcher and company, his butler would later release details about Tek Knight's sexual compulsions, leaving him being dubbed in the press as the "Homo Hero" and would be dismissed from Payback. He would die shortly afterward, when a wheelbarrow full of bricks landed on his head while he was saving a mother and child from being crushed by it. In his head, Tek Knight died a hero, as he hallucinated himself saving the world by having sex with a meteorite.

Swatto

Swatto is a member of Payback who can fly with a pair of retractable insect wings. He cannot speak, only capable of "buzzing", though Mind Droid is able to translate for him. Butcher kills Swatto with a pickaxe in issue #33. His predecessors in 1944 and 1950 were called "The Buzzer".

In the television series, Swatto is portrayed by Joel Labelle. This version is shown to be perfectly capable of speech. During flashbacks to 1984 depicted in season three, he joined Payback on a mission to Nicaragua, but was killed by Nicaraguan and Russian soldiers.

Mind Droid

Mind Droid is a member of Payback. Described as a "Telepathic Android", although he reveals in issue #33 that he is in fact human. He possesses mild telepathy, and is able to fly with the use of a jetpack. First victim of Tek Knight's sexual disorder. Apparently involved in an open relationship with Crimson Countess. Is decapitated by Butcher in issue #33. In 1944 and 1950, this character's predecessor was called Manbot.

In the live-action television series adaptation, Mind Droid's name is changed to Mindstorm and is portrayed by Ryan Blakely. This version does not pass himself off as an android, and has more advanced telepathic abilities. Mindstorm is capable of reading the thoughts of everyone within a three-mile radius of himself, he can trap people in their own minds, forcing them to relive their own nightmares until they die of dehydration, and he is also capable of mind control. Following a failed mission in Nicaragua and selling out his leader Soldier Boy to the Russians in 1984, Mindstorm became a recluse in the present due to his powers. While being hunted by Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie, Mindstorm uses his powers on Butcher. Hughie, having become disillusioned with Soldier Boy due to his fabricated origin story, begs Mindstorm to free Butcher, promising to teleport him to safety in exchange. However, Soldier Boy kills Mindstorm after the latter reveals Homelander is Soldier Boy's biological son.

Crimson Countess

Crimson Countess is a member of Payback who possesses heat-related powers. She is involved with Mind Droid and it is hinted at that she is having an affair with Stormfront. Butcher breaks her neck for attacking his dog Terror in issue #32. She is the third individual to hold the title of Crimson Countess, with the first having been killed in the Second World War at the Battle of the Bulge with the rest of her Avenging Squad in 1944, and the second serving to impersonate them in the aftermath of the war for the making of propaganda films from 1950 onward.

In the live-action television series adaptation, Crimson Countess is portrayed by Laurie Holden. This version utilizes deadly fireballs, and requires her fingers to be touching to activate her powers. She pretended to be romantically involved with Payback's leader Soldier Boy for media purposes despite hating him, and owns a chimpanzee sanctuary called Chimp County. In 1984, she and Payback partook in a failed mission in Nicaragua, during which they sold out Soldier Boy to the Russians on Vought's behalf. In the present day, she continues to work for Vought, performing at Voughtland, and as a cam girl. When Frenchie and Kimiko try to interrogate her, Countess escapes, accidentally killing a Homelander mascot with her powers in the process. She is later captured by the Boys so they can form an alliance with Soldier Boy, who kills her upon learning of what she did to him.

Eagle the Archer

Eagle the Archer is mentioned, but seen only on the cover of a Vought-American comic shown to Hughie in issue #20. In issue #9, Butcher informs Tek Knight that six years ago Eagle the Archer "got coked off his tits" and beat his girlfriend into a coma. Butcher blackmailed him in exchange for information on all of his teammates.

In the live-action TV series adaptation, Eagle the Archer is portrayed by Langston Kerman. In his early life, he fought criminals, but innocent lives were killed whenever he ran out of arrows, which eventually led to him joining the Church of the Collective. After the Deep is arrested, Eagle bails him out and helps him join the Church as well. After the Deep recruits A-Train however, Eagle is accused of betraying the Church when he refuses to cease contact with his mother. In response, the Church anonymously uploads a sexually compromising video of Eagle to the internet, publicly embarrassing him. In the YouTube web series ''Seven on 7'', following his public embarrassment, Eagle is reported to have abandoned his role as a superhero to rebrand himself as a rapper.

TNT Twins

The TNT Twins, consisting of Tommy and Tessa TNT, are members of Payback capable of shooting electricity while holding hands exclusive to the live-action television series adaptation, portrayed by Jack Doolan and Kristin Booth. Following a failed mission in Nicaragua and selling out their leader Soldier Boy in 1984, the TNT Twins became the hosts of the annual Herogasm event in the present. After the Boys and Soldier Boy find them, with the latter seeking revenge on the twins, they claim that Black Noir sold him out and attempt to defend themselves with their powers, only to produce sputtering sparks due to not using them for years before Soldier Boy accidentally releases an energy blast that kills the twins and most of the Herogasm attendees.

G-Men

First mentioned in issue #7. Loosely based on the X-Men and Doom Patrol, the G-Men are Vought-American's most profitable team, as well as their most popular, due to their image as downtrodden outcasts, orphans and runaways, despite the fact that all of them are extremely rich. They also have six sister-teams; these include: G-Force, The G-Brits, The G-Nomads, G-Coast, G-Style and G-Wiz. There is also a preschooler group called Pre-Wiz, which Vought tried to stop Godolkin from forming. Outside of G-Wiz and Pre-Wiz, the entirety of the G-Men hate each other. Unlike the other superhero teams in The Boys Universe, the G-Men were formed independently by John Godolkin. Upon the original team being deemed ready, Godolkin would solicit a working relationship with Vought-American, giving the group some independence to operate.

G-Coast and G-Style are entirely African-American, and are constantly engaged in ridiculous feuds, mainly over the death of one of their members, 2-Cool which they each blame each other for.The Boys #23 Outside of Nubia, the other teams seem to lack any black members. According to Dime-Bag (a black youth) in #28, when he graduates from G-Wiz he will ''have'' to join either G-Coast or G-Style.

It was revealed that Godolkin kidnapped them from their families as children and conditioned them to love being G-Men by giving them an endless supply of whatever they wanted. He also sexually abuses them from a young age, with assistance from some of the other G-Men.

Vought-American executives eventually determined that Godolkin and the G-Teams were a public relations liability, and they were massacred by heavily armed Red River operatives. Pre-Wiz was "dealt with" by being consigned to a shipping container and dumped from a cargo plane mid-flight, off the coast of Iceland.

John Godolkin

John Godolkin is the team's founder, depicted as an unrepentant pedophile and kidnapper. Incidentally it is implied that he may have been similarly abused by his own father.The Boys #28 He appears to have no powers, unlike his students. Five-Oh, the team's field leader, does not like when Godolkin professes to be one of "them" (the outcast G-Men).The Boys #26 Even though the G-Men hate Godolkin, they are almost totally loyal to him. For example, Five-Oh, who privately mocks and detests Godolkin, is seen dying on behalf of his honor when they are massacred.The Boys #29 In addition Randall, who has an otherwise rebellious streak, unquestioningly carries out unspoken orders to kill Hughie.

John Godolkin is tolerated by Vought because his team, the G-Men, and their spin-offs have proven to be the most bankable superhero team. John Godolkin's behavior is uncontrollable, and eventually Vought becomes concerned with his perversions and instability, which causes them to terminate the entire group.

Godolkin's has a penchant for obtuse and dramatic speeches and could be accused of being intentionally pretentious

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