The Boys: The 20 Best Characters In The Comics

Summary

• The comic series “The Boys” had 72 issues from 2006-2012, boasting outlandish superhero characters loved by fans.
• Characters like Terror, Love Sausage, & Auntie Sis have yet to appear on the TV show, offering more depth for fans to explore.
• The comic series features unique characters like Tek Knight, Pops, & The Female, adding complexity to the world of “The Boys.”

Created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, Windstorm and Dynamite Entertainment’s beloved comic series The Boys had 72 issues published between 2006 and 2012. One of the primary reasons for the widespread appeal of the series was its outlandish cast of diverse superhero characters, many of which have been translated to the screen in the TV adaptation of The Boys on Prime Video.

While many of the storylines of the main characters in the comics have been used to inspire plots of the TV show, a few standouts from the comics have yet to appear in the small-screen adaptation. Which means plenty of characters that TV fans will need to know more about, whether they end up being adapted or not.

20 Terror

Terror was Butcher’s beloved dog in both the TV show and the comic. But Terror was far more important in the comic. On the TV show, viewers only got to see Butcher for Season 1, after which, Butcher leaves Terror behind at his home while he goes after the Seven. In the comics, Terror is with Butcher the entire time. He’s honestly the only companion that Butcher seems to actually like. Which is why it’s all the more heartbreaking that Terror is eventually killed by Black Noir. If Butcher wasn’t willing to genocide all supes before, it was this event that fully cemented Butcher’s resolve to kill every last supe he could.

19 Love Sausage

While there are a lot of very unlikable supes in the universe of The Boys, Love Sausage is one of the few who seems like a good guy. This large and boisterous Russian superhero is an ally of the Boys and helps them on some of their missions. It is easy to like Love Sausage as he is a powerful yet gentle supe who despises the corporate superheroes in the world. He also forms a charming friendship with Hughie, taking him under his large wing.

18 Auntie Sis

There are several superteams from The Boys comics that have yet to be introduced in the show. One of them is the low-powered yet wholesome Super Duper filled with a lot of innocent younger supes with their unofficial leader, Auntie Sis.

Though she doesn’t see herself as the team’s leader, Auntie Sis is very protective and caring of her young teammates. She is aware of the more villainous supes that are out there and wants to protect them from any such influences and dangers.

17 The Legend

The Legend was one of the new characters introduced in The Boys’ season 3, though he is very different from his more heroic comic book counterpart. In the comics, Legend was a comic book mogul who helped produce propaganda about Vought’s supes. However, when the supes caused a disaster battling in Vietnam (which also killed Legend’s son), he began working to bring Vought down. He secretly passes along information to the Boys, helping in their mission. He also has a romantic relationship with Queen Maeve, which makes for an unexpected pairing.

16 Pops

Pops was the loving father of Mother’s Milk. He had a minor role in the comic, but he’s arguably one of the most important characters as he’s one of the first characters to defeat Vought. Mother’s Milk’s mother used to work in a dog food canning factory which was infected with residual compound V. This gave Mother’s Milk and his brother health issues growing up. When Pops learned of this, he spent five whole years studying law and suing Vought. After nine attempts, he finally proved his case and won. It marks the first time that someone in The Boys comic beat Vaught.

15 Stillwell

Madelyn Stillwell was a notable character in season 1 of The Boys as one of the top Vought executives who is ultimately killed by Homelander. However, the comic book version of Stillwell is a much more intimidating and significant part of the story. James Stillwell is a Vought executive whose reputation makes him more terrifying and sadistic than even Homelander. He barely ever shows emotion and will face off with the out-of-control supes, putting them in their place.

14 Monkey

Monkey was another character who didn’t appear in the show, instead being replaced by the excellent Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Joe Kessler. Monkey was instrumental in helping the Boys operate, as he was where they got most of their information. As Kessler was a CIA-Analyst, he had access to huge amounts of government information, which Butcher would often torture him for. Monkey was a character that absolutely no one respected and was often played off as a joke, but without his information, the Boys never would’ve brought down Vought or the Seven, making him absolutely essential.

13 Starlight

Though the television version of Starlight is a more compelling and well-rounded character, she is still a terrific part of the comics. Many of the sad things that happen to Starlight in the series happen in the comics as well, yet she still maintains that strong heroic persona.

Though her relationship is not quite as charming and she doesn’t take a stand quite as quickly as in the show, comic book Starlight is proof that not all supes are bad people, and she is a hero worth cheering for.

12 Tek Knight

One of the best and most memorable characters in The Boys is Tek Knight, a character loosely based on a Batman/Iron Man hybrid. As the leader of the supergroup known as Payback, Tek Night is one of the few characters devoid of superpowers. Instead, he relies on advanced technological gadgetry.

This hilarious character is defined by his strange sexual peccadilloes, which are said to stem from a large brain tumor. Tek once tried to save earth from a meteor while hallucinating, unaware that the falling object was a common wheelbarrow.

11 Jack From Jupiter

Jack from Jupiter is a character who never appeared in the TV show, instead, he was replaced by the character Translucent. This is a bit of a missed opportunity, as Jack from Jupiter had far more impact on Butcher than Translucent did. Like many characters on the Seven, Jack From Jupiter was a sexual deviant, and when this information was leaked to the media, he immediately believed the Boys to be responsible.

But after an investigation by Homelander confirms Butcher had nothing to do with it, Butcher’s dog Terror ends up killed. Butcher assumes Jack did it, and immediately brutally kills Jack. While it was revealed to be Black Noir who ultimately did it, the loss of Terror is one of the biggest loses Butcher goes through since his wife, and he blames Jack for it.

10 Soldier Boy

Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) was introduced as one of the new superheroes on The Boys season 3 and lived up to his comic book counterpart. The Payback-affiliated Supe is a direct spoof of Captain America and wants nothing more than to be part of The Seven.

As the polite All-American who never curses, Soldier Boy is constantly beaten up by Billy Butcher in the comics, including one time when the latter bites Soldier Boy’s nose off. The character’s defining trait is pure cowardice, which is hilarious given his aspirations as a superhero.

9 A-Train

A-Train was a very different character in the comics, but was nonetheless important. Just like the show, it was A-Train’s killing of Hughie’s girlfriend that kicks off the major plot and gets Hughie involved with the Boys. While the TV version of A-Train has slowly but surely been working towards redemption, the comic A-Train was completely unrepentant for his crimes, and was eventually captured by Butcher and murdered by Hughie because of it. While a pretty popular character on the TV show, comic A-Train never reached the same level of importance and was ultimately killed off.

8 The Female

Also known as The Female of the Species, The Female is one of The Boys’ later recruits who has resonated as much as any among avid comic readers. As a silent assassin who protects the Boys along with The Frenchman, The Female has one of the most interesting backstories.

After falling into a vat of Compound V toxic waste as a baby, The Female formed superhuman powers along with an unquenchable thirst to kill, leading to some of the most gruesome deaths in The Boys. Once she offed the scientist who discovered her, The Female was held captive while her blood was examined for the human side effects of Compound V. In conjunction with The Boys, The Female also has secret ties to the mafia.

7 Mother’s Milk

As one of the original members of The Boys who appeared in the second comic book, Mother’s Milk is easily one of the best characters on paper. The aggressive and militaristic supe is the only of his kind to be born with Compound V in his blood. Armed with a pugilistic prowess as a former boxer, Mother’s Milk derives his name from being dependent on the substance to function optimally. Seeing such a hulking paragon of masculinity needing to drink breast milk is the source of several hilarious gags in the comics.

6 The Frenchman

Along with his best friend The Female, the aforementioned Frenchman serves as the mighty muscle of The Boys. Armed with a keen sense of smell, hot temper, and ruthless barbarity, Frenchie also shows his loyalty and kindhearted nature in private.

As one of the main characters and original members of The Boys, Frenchie also has a wealth of storylines and cool subplots for fans of the comic to indulge in. Part of what makes him such a standout is his mysterious past, which he alludes to in extremely outlandish stories that always sound like tall tales.

5 Billy Butcher

If for no other reason than his dramatic character arc, Billy Butcher is the quintessence of what The Boys represents. Modeled after Marvel’s The Punisher, Butcher begins as a main member of The Boys before defecting to become their chief enemy in the biggest betrayal in The Boys comics.

As such, no character goes through more in the comics than Butcher. The stories explore his traumatic past in the Marines, the time he attempted to kill his own father, the grief of losing his brother Lenny and wife Becky, and much more. Without Billy and Wee, there would be no series to speak of.

4 Wee Hughie

As the number one protagonist in The Boys, Scottish supe Wee Hughie, A.K.A. Hughie Campbell, is a critical focal point of the comic series. Patterned after Simon Pegg, Hughie is a brilliant conspiracy theorist who uses his whip smart intellect to analyze key intel. He joined the team when his girlfriend Robin was tragically killed by A-Train. After being injected with Compound V by Billy during their first assignment, Hughie also gained superhuman power and durability that allowed him to decapitate an enemy with a single blow.

3 Homelander

As the primary foe of The Boys and leader of the villainous Seven, John Homelander is easily one of the best characters the comics have to offer. Despite his Hollywood looks and polite, All-American demeanor, Homelander is The Boys‘ most powerful supe.

Equipped with the ability to fly, use X-ray and heat vision, as well as a sonic scream, Homelander gained his powers when Vaught-American began experimenting on his blood with Compound V before birth. In addition to his unmatched superpowers, he makes the decisions and orders his minions what to do.

2 Black Noir

While Homelander is the leader, the most odious member of The Seven is Black Noir, the sinister cipher responsible for violating Billy’s wife Becky and Hughie’s girlfriend Starlight. The stoic and speechless assassin is even more powerful than Homelander and was created by Vought-American to be his clone.

Black Noir’s unspeakable actions directly inspire several issues of the comics, as Billy and Hughie mount one violent revenge campaign after another against him.

1 Queen Maeve

Behind Homelander and Black Noir, Queen Maeve ranks third-in-command among The Seven. As such, she’s one of the best characters to get to know and love or hate in the comics.

Also injected with Compound V while in the womb, Maeve was born with superpowers akin to that of Homelander. Still, she has one of the most human backstories as a woman who becomes dependent on alcohol after a failed 9/11 rescue attempt. Her complicated character also shows sympathy for Starlight even though she opposes Hughie.