The Boys Season 2 Corrects Becca Butcher Mistake Made in Comics
Beyond not dying like her comic book counterpart, Becca Butcher's evolution in The Boys Season 2 fixed one of the original comics' errors.
References of sexual assault and violence abound throughout this page.
Although Becca Butcher from The Boys might have had a sad end on the series, the TV show's portrayal of the character is much better than that of the comic book sources. Played by Shantel VanSanten, Becca first surfaced in flashbacks as Billy Butcher's wife who vanished during an apparently scheduled encounter with Homelander. At the end of The Boys season 1, it was discovered, nevertheless, that she was alive and under cover from Homelander's son Ryan, who had been born following the Seven leader's rape.
In season 2, Becca's tragic death results from accident when Ryan kills her trying to save her from Stormfront while unsure of his skills. Eventually, Becca's death profoundly changes Butcher and Ryan for both good and bad at different periods. Though vital to these characters, the comic book Becca is very different and falls short of the multifarious, powerful, likeable figure the television series produced.
How Becca Is Different in the Comics (& Why Garth Ennis Regrets Her Storyline)?
The superpowered fetus claws its way out of " Becky" Butcher, as she is known in the comics, marking her death. This all occurs in front of Butcher, which helps to greatly explain his current state. Notes on the original proposal for the comic in The Boys: Definitive Edition revealed Ennis's regrets about Becca's death.
Ennis pointed out that killing Becca and Hughie's girlfriend Robin in order to traumatize the males in their life was participating in one of the worst clichés of the superhero genre; what is often known among comic book readers as "fridging". Although The Boys aimed to parodies of clichés like these, Ennis suffered at having to kill two likeable ladies only to make a point.
Sadly, he had no other way to tell his story, but he tried to remove the curse from it by making Becca Butcher in The Boys so lovely a figure the viewers would join Billy Butcher's wrath at the needless idiocy of her death. This then drove Butcher's own Puncher-parodying fall from grace as he became exactly the kind of vindictive monster Becca feared would result from learning of her rape and seeking retribution.
The Boys TV Program Becca Strenger
Fortunately, the creators of The Boys' series managed to fix Ennis's error by substituting Becky Butcher from the comics with slightly altered circumstances and name to better capture the great spirit that made her a fit for the iron-willed Billy Butcher. Season 2 quietly displayed this as she stood up to Homelander and convinced him to promise to spare her spouse.
Though she stays loyal to the spirit of the original material, Becca has shown to be a more fascinating character than her comic-book equivalent.
Like Annie's backstory in The Boys, the show manages sexual violence better than the comics, and Becca Butcher's fortitude is the ideal model of a more subdued approach. Season 2, episode 3, "Over The Hill With The Swords Of A Thousand Men," explicitly displayed her strength when she told Homelander to leave their son behind after shoving him off her house's roof while trying to teach him to fly. Her bravery in doing this to her rapist was far more remarkable as she showed no evidence of fear.
Any questions regarding Becca's bravery were completely erased in The Boys Season 2 when she confronted Billy and defied his plan for her release. Becca did this since she understood that Homelander's actions had caused Billy to despise superhumans, therefore permanently changing his perspective of her son. Billy's heartbreaking statement in the show reflected one Becca gave to Billy Butcher in The Boys' comics, which Billy had perused in her diary following Becca's death.
Becca claims in both speeches that Billy placed her on a pedestal because he thought she would save him from his darker inclinations, but in reality she was terrified of what he would do should he discover she had been raped and worried Homelander would kill her more than everything else.
Though she stays close to the spirit of the source material, Becca has turned out to be a more fascinating character than her comic-book equivalent. Though she might not be the saintly social worker helping battered women leave violent homes, the live-action Becca Butcher is no less courageous and noble, giving her life to save the man she loves and stop another super-powered person from being born with Homelander's terrible psychopathy. This may make Becca the most heroic character in a universe full of superheroes; an irony Garth Ennis would most certainly love.
Becca's Death In The Boys Comics Was Gratuitous (Even For The Boys)
In the comics, Becca Butcher never brings Homelander's kid to full term. She also goes back to Billy to attempt and lead a regular life instead of disappearing following rape by Homelander. She learned she was pregnant shortly after, and it soon became clear the baby was developing faster than usual. Three months after insemination, Rebecca Butcher is in bed when the almost completely developed fetus fights her way out of her stomach. Billy is with her. This is also how Butcher finds out about the rape; he realizes Homelander was responsible later on, though.
This is not where the horrific scene finishes either. With laser vision, the half-formed supe turns on Billy and aims to burn him. No portion of this horrific process is spared in the artwork; Billy is driven to beat the baby to death with a lampshade. This was obviously meant to emphasize how terrible the reality of existence in a society full of superpowers may be and confirm Homelander as a hateworthy villain as well as support Butcher's extreme sadism toward supes in readers' view.
Even supporters of The Boys, meanwhile, believed it was superfluous and overdone. The Boys accomplished the same goals without resorting to the horrific infanticide. When Billy Butcher used a supe baby's eye laser as a weapon, the program employed a similar image, but this youngster thankfully made it through the scenario.
The Boys comics lack the Ryan character.
Ryan and Billy Fall Apart Without Becca Showed in Season 3
The loss of Becca Butcher in The Boys' second season was poignant and affected several characters, including her young son Ryan most especially. Ryan's story arc in Season 3 of The Boys veers dark, with him divided between Butcher and Homelander without his mother. More alike than Butcher would ever admit are homelander and Billy. Becca noticed this, and keeping Ryan hidden was as much about shielding him from Butcher's influence as it was about keeping Homelander ignorant of his kid. Pretty much all Becca worried about has come true since her death.
Though Ryan and Billy were starting to be persons Becca would loathe, their shared relationship to her provides them both atonement and makes her death all the more poignant. The killing of Becky Butcher in the comic books was a needless cruel narrative device meant only to explain Butcher's deeds. One of the few pure souls on The Boys, Becca Butcher's passing confirmed that she had always been a hero.
Becca Remains Part Of The Show As Conscience For Butcher
Becca has stayed a major feature of The Boys even after her death, evidence of her indispensible value. Butcher in Season 4 is coping with his own approaching death and experiences hallucinations of Becca conversing with him. But this goes beyond Butcher seeing the person he loves as death approaches as Becca is visiting Butcher to offer sincere assistance. She might be gone, but she left enough influence on Butcher for him to envision all the ways she would support him to be a better man even without her.
She seems to be urging Butcher to get himself together when he is beaten and powerless of defending himself. When he has done something wrong or needs to make amends, she serves as his conscience, guiding him back down the better path. Most importantly, she is there to remind Butcher to make things right with Ryan. Though Butcher sees the influence Homelander is having on Ryan, he refuses to write the boy off and sees Ryan as the one part of Becca that is still alive. It is a beautiful sentiment that makes keeps her presence felt in The Boys.
The Boys is a superhero/dark comedy satire series created by Eric Kripke based on the comic series of the same name. Set in a "what-if" world that reveres superheroes as celebrities and gods who experience minimal repercussions for their actions. However, one group of vigilantes headed by a vengeance-obsessed man named Billy Butcher will fight back against these super-charged "heroes" to expose them for what they are.
