The Boys season 4 turns Billy Butcher into a Supe, and his powers in the Amazon series remind me a lot of Netflix’s anti-superhero show.

Subversive superhero shows have become increasingly popular in recent years, so The Boys is just one example of a series that deconstructs the beloved genre. There are numerous superhero shows that pull apart common narratives and tropes, but The Boys is one of the darkest examples. The Amazon series takes a pessimistic approach to the concept of superpowers, imagining how they would be used to serve sinister corporate and political agendas.

Needless to say, the superheroes in The Boys are nothing like the ones we know from Marvel and DC, even if several of them are obvious parodies of characters from those franchises. Many of The Boys’ Supes are villains, and even one of the heroes who becomes super-abled takes a dark turn in season 4. Butcher’s tumorous tentacles are fairly grotesque, and he uses them to sow chaos in The Boys’ season 4 finale. Butcher’s power adds to The Boys’ dark depiction of superheroes. It also feels reminiscent of another character’s ability — one from an entirely different anti-superhero show.

Butcher’s Powers In The Boys Are A Lot Like Ben’s From The Umbrella Academy

Both Characters Have Tentacles That Emerge From Their Bodies

Butcher’s tentacles in The Boys season 4 remind me of Ben’s powers in The Umbrella Academy. Like The Boys, the Netflix series takes a more realistic approach to the standard superhero narrative, showing how being raised with powers deeply traumatizes the Hargreeves siblings. And one of the Hargreeves has a similar ability to Butcher’s. Ben’s powers see tentacles emerging from his body, and he’s able to use them offensively, just like Butcher does at the ending of The Boys season 4.

“Ben’s powers see tentacles emerging from his body, and he’s able to use them offensively, just like Butcher does at the ending of The Boys season 4.”

Ben’s tentacles are slightly less disturbing in The Umbrella Academy, likely because they’re not obtained from a cancerous drug like Temp V. In general, The Umbrella Academy is less dark and explicit than The Boys, but it does offer insight into what Butcher might be able to do. His ability seems to function similarly to Ben’s, and it’s interesting that two spiritually similar series have characters with nearly identical powers.

The Boys & The Umbrella Academy Were Both Spiritually Similar Shows

Both Series Deconstruct The Superhero Genre

The Umbrella Academy may not have the same dark tone and violent nature as The Boys, but the two series feel spiritually similar to one another. Both streaming shows set out to deconstruct superhero narratives, exploring what these extraordinary beings would be like with real human shortcomings. The Umbrella Academy and The Boys refuse to idealize superheroes, positing that they’d be just as flawed as everyone else — perhaps even more so. They also both debuted in 2019, so Butcher’s power is just the latest thing The Boys has in common with the Netflix series.

Butcher’s Powers In The Boys Remind Me A Lot Of Netflix’s Own Anti-Superhero Show