The Boys Season 2 Fixes The Comics' Becca Butcher Mistake

Summary Becca's tragic death in The Boys TV show contrasts with the gratuitous and controversial end of her character in the comics.

The TV adaptation of Becca Butcher shines as a complex and heroic character compared to her lackluster comic book version.

Becca's lasting impact on Butcher and Ryan posthumously proves her bravery and nobility, making her a key figure in shaping the show's narrative.

Thir article contains mentions of sexual assault and violence.

Becca Butcher from The Boys may have met a tragic end in the series, but the TV show's version of the character is a big improvement over the comic book origins. Played by Shantel VanSanten, Becca was initially introduced in flashbacks as Billy Butcher's wife who went missing after a supposed interaction with Homelander. However, it was revealed at the end of The Boys season 1 that she was alive and was kept in hiding, having given birth to Homelander's son, Ryan, after the leader of the Seven raped her.

Becca's sad demise comes by accident in season 2 when Ryan, unfamiliar with his powers, kills her when trying to save her from Stormfront. The loss of Becca ultimately transforms Butcher and Ryan in profound ways, both for better and for worse at varying times. However, as essential as she was to these characters, the comic book version of Becca is much different and falls far short of the complex, strong, and likable character the television series created.

Becca first appeared in The Boys season 1, episode 4, "The Female of the Species."

How Becca Is Different In The Comics (& Why Garth Ennis Regrets Her Storyline)

Becca's Death Served As A Controversial Comic Book Cliché

"Becky" Butcher (as she's called in the comics) meets her end when the superpowered fetus claws its way out of her. This all happens in front of Butcher, which goes a long way to explaining why he is the way he is. Ennis wrote about his regrets regarding Becca's death in his notes on the original pitch for the comic in The Boys: Definitive Edition.

Ennis noted that he was indulging in one of the worst clichés of the superhero genre by killing off Becca and Hughie's girlfriend Robin in order to traumatize the men in their lives; what is popularly known among comic fans as "fridging." While the ultimate point of The Boys was to parody tropes like these, Ennis despaired at having to kill two likable women just to prove a point.

Unfortunately, he saw no other way to tell his story but tried to take the curse off of it by making Becca Butcher in The Boys so lovable a character that the audience would share Billy Butcher's rage at the pointless stupidity of her death. This, in turn, fueled Butcher's own Punisher-parodying fall from grace, as he became exactly the sort of vengeful monster Becca feared Butcher might become if he learned about her rape and sought to avenge her.

The Boys TV Show Becca Is Stronger

The Series Allows Becca To Fight Back

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Thankfully, the writers of The Boys' series found a way to correct Ennis' mistake, taking the Becky Butcher of the comics and changing her circumstances (and name slightly) to better display the strong spirit that made her a match for the iron-willed Billy Butcher. This was subtly shown throughout season 2, as she stood up to Homelander and got him to agree to spare her husband.

Becca has proven to be a more interesting character than her comic-book counterpart while remaining true to the spirit of the source material.

As with Annie's backstory in The Boys, the show handles sexual violence better than the comics, and Becca Butcher's resilience is a perfect example of a more tactful approach. Her strength was shown directly in season 2, episode 3, "Over The Hill With The Swords Of A Thousand Men," when she ordered Homelander to get away from their son after pushing him off the roof of her house while trying to teach him to fly. The fact that she was able to do this to her rapist without showing any signs of fear made this courageous act even more impressive.

Any doubts about Becca's courage were obliterated in The Boys Season 2 when Becca confronted Billy and refused to go along with his plan to free her. Becca did this because she realized that Billy hated superhumans because of what Homelander did to her and that would forever color how he viewed her son. The heart-breaking speech Becca gave to Billy in the show mirrored one she gave to Billy Butcher in The Boys' comics, which Billy read in her diary after Becca's death.

In both speeches, Becca says that Billy put her on a pedestal because he believed she saved him from his darker impulses, but in truth, she was afraid of what he'd do if he found out she'd been raped and feared his death at the hands of Homelander more than anything.

Ultimately, Becca has proven to be a more interesting character than her comic-book counterpart while remaining true to the spirit of the source material. While she may not be the saintly social worker who helped battered women flee abusive homes, the live-action Becca Butcher is no less brave and no less noble, sacrificing her life both to save the man she loves and prevent the creation of another super-powered individual with Homelander's scary psychopathy. This may make Becca the most heroic character in a world full of superheroes; an irony Garth Ennis would likely appreciate.

Becca's Death In The Boys Comics Was Gratuitous (Even For The Boys)

The Aftermath Of Becca's Death Is Even More Gruesome

Becca Butcher never carries Homelander’s baby to full term in the comics. She also doesn’t vanish after being raped by Homelander and instead returns to Billy to try and lead a normal life. Shortly after learning she was pregnant, it became apparent the baby was developing at an accelerated rate. Three months after insemination, the fetus, almost fully formed, claws her way out of Rebecca Butcher’s stomach while she and Billy are in bed. This is also how Butcher learns of the rape, although it’s not until later that he discovers how Homelander was responsible.

This isn’t where the horrifying scene ends though. The half-formed supe turns on Billy and tries to incinerate him with laser vision. Billy is forced to beat the baby to death with a lampshade, and no part of this harrowing process is spared in the artwork. This was clearly intended to hammer home just how brutal the reality of life in a world filled with supes could be and solidify Homelander as a hateworthy antagonist, as well as justify Butcher’s rampant sadism toward supes in readers' eyes.

However, even fans of The Boys felt that it was excessive and unnecessary. The Boys show achieved the same objectives without the nightmare-inducing infanticide. The show used a similar image when Billy Butcher wielded a supe baby's eye lasers as a weapon, but this child thankfully made it through the scene.

The character of Ryan doesn't exist in The Boys comics.

Season 3 Showed Ryan And Billy Fall Apart Without Becca

The Key Characters Lost Their Emotional Anchor

Becca Butcher's death in season 2 of The Boys was emotional and had a lasting impact on several characters, especially her young son, Ryan. Season 3 of The Boys took Ryan's story arc in a dark direction with him being torn between Butcher and Homelander in the absence of his mother. Homelander and Billy are more alike than Butcher would ever admit. Becca saw this, and keeping Ryan secret was as much about protecting him from Butcher's influence as preventing Homelander's knowledge of his son. Since she died, pretty much everything Becca feared has been proven right.

Both Ryan and Billy were becoming people Becca would hate, but it is their shared connection to her that offers them both salvation, which makes her death all the more meaningful. Becky Butcher's death in the comic books was an unnecessarily cruel narrative device that served little purpose beyond justifying Butcher's actions. Becca Butcher's death in The Boys show proved that she'd actually been a hero all along and one of the few pure souls on the show.

Becca Remains Part Of The Show As Butcher's Conscience

Becca's Season 4 Appearance Solidifies Her Importance

Image via Prime Video

As a testament to how important she is in The Boys, Becca has remained a big part of the show after her death. Season 4 found Butcher dealing with his own impending death, which includes hallucinations of Becca talking to him. However, this is not just Butcher seeing the person he loves as death draws closer as Becca comes to Butcher to provide genuine help. She may be dead, but she left a big enough impact on Butcher that he is able to imagine all the ways she would help him be a better man even without her there.

When Butcher is beaten and unable to fight back, she appears to encourage him to pull himself up. 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.