The Boys Season 4's Final Scene Hints Billy Butcher Won't Stay A Supe For Very Long

While Billy Butcher's powers might have made him seem unstoppable in season 4's ending, The Boys may have already explained how he will soon lose them and why this might save his life. As The Boys season 5 release nears, it is increasingly difficult to tell where the satirical superhero series is going with its story. Although Billy Butcher once seemed like the tough antihero required to take down the megalomaniacal Homelander, The Boys season 4’s ending turned Butcher into a full-blown tentacled monster who used his new powers to tear Victoria Neuman limb from limb.

That said, Homelander’s The Boys season 5 plans remain a lot scarier than anything that Billy Butcher has ever done, so he may still be the best bet for taking down the villainous supe. The morality of the show has only gotten more and more grey as The Boys continues, and a straightforward showdown between Butcher and Homelander seems too simple and clean an ending for the series. The Boys season 4’s ending seemed to imply that Butcher was ready to unleash his powers on Homelander and his army of supes, but this ignored one pivotal revelation.

The Boys Season 4's Post-Credits Scene Sets Up Soldier Boy On Homelander's Team

Homelander Could Use Soldier Boy To Fight Billy Butcher

Butcher plans to kill Homelander with the virus he took from Frenchie in The Boys season 4's ending, and he kills Victoria Neuman so the titular vigilante group can't make yet another deal that will see them compromise their goals for power. However, Butcher isn’t privy to what viewers see in the finale’s post-credits scene. After storming the White House, Homelander finds Soldier Boy in the CIA’s supe containment bunker in the finale’s post-credits scene. Homelander is thrilled to find that his father has been in storage all along.

Soldier Boy has the unique ability to drain other supes of their powers when he is near them.

Homelander will almost certainly use Soldier Boy to fight Butcher, and this would be terrible news for Butcher’s newfound powers. As evidenced throughout The Boys season 3, Soldier Boy has the unique ability to drain other supes of their powers when he is near them. This means that even Butcher’s tentacles, seemingly created by his persistent abuse of Temp V, wouldn’t stand a chance against Soldier Boy. As such, the super-powered Butcher is unlikely to ever get a one-on-one face-off with Homelander before Soldier Boy saps him of his powers.

If Soldier Boy Fights Billy Butcher, Butcher Could Lose His Powers

Soldier Boy Can Drain Supes Of Their Powers

Surprisingly, Soldier Boy stealing Butcher’s powers might be a good thing. After all, Butcher went rogue when he killed Neuman, destroying what might have been a powerful alliance for fear of being outwitted down the line. He undermined the Boys as a unit by going against their plan, and there is no guarantee that he alone could take on Homelander’s season 5 army more successfully than Starlight, Hughie, Mother’s Milk, Frenchie, and Kimiko. However, it is unlikely that any of these characters could convince Butcher of this while he still wields these powers.

Butcher is unlikely to give up on his rampage against Homelander and his associates without a fight, but depriving him of his powers might force him to reconsider his plan. Not only that, but Butcher’s powers also put him on a self-destructive path. Ever since Butcher first started using Temp V back in season 3, he has been acutely aware that the drug is slowly killing him. Even his powers themselves, the tentacles that spring forth from his body, are technically tumorous growths. Thus, Soldier Boy’s intervention could prove vital for Butcher in terms of his health.

Butcher Losing His Powers Might Actually Save His Life

Billy Butcher’s Powers Come At A High Cost

Ironically, by sapping him of his powers, Soldier Boy could inadvertently save Butcher’s life in The Boys season 5, both figuratively and literally. For a long time, Butcher and Homelander seemed to be heading toward an ending that was somewhat akin to their fates in The Boys comics, wherein Homelander dies while fighting Noir and Butcher is killed as he wages a murderous campaign against all supes. Although it is too late for Homelander to redeem himself, Butcher can avoid this self-destructive spiral.

If Butcher loses his powers, he will most likely be forced to work with the Boys again. As a result, he will need to temper his wild side, meaning he will have a better chance of defeating Homelander, and he will be more likely to avoid becoming as evil as Homelander in the process. If handed endless power, Butcher is likely to abuse his abilities and stop at nothing to defeat Homelander, his followers, and potentially all supes. However, if he loses his powers to Soldier Boy in The Boys season 5, Billy Butcher could regain his humanity before his last stand.