Jack Quaid’s character, Hughie Campbell, never intended to join a mission to kill superheroes, but sometimes things just happen. Taking charge of your life becomes a top priority after being thoroughly traumatised and covered in whale guts for the first time, which is why Hughie was so excited to join the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs where he could spend the season filing paperwork and busting supes with the law rather than using buttbombs.
Sadly, Hughie lives in the vicious and violent world of “The Boys,” where such comfort is only fleeting. By the time “Glorious Five Year Plan” (the fourth episode of the third season) rolls around, Hughie’s days of dressing in a suit and tie are long gone, and he is once again immersed in the mayhem of Butcher’s irrational battle to eliminate supes by any means necessary. It turns out that they have to become superhuman themselves.
Any moron willing to inject himself with the experimental medication can gain superhuman abilities for 24 hours thanks to the recently discovered Compound V-24 (also known as Temp V), which aids the Boys in levelling the playing field a little. While Frenchie and MM surge into combat brandishing weapons, Butcher and Hughie are covertly wielding the power of V: during the battle to find the weapon that “killed” Soldier Boy, the pair display their abilities in front of the crew. While it undoubtedly surprises their fellow Boys, comic book readers have known this was coming for a while. Hughie’s abilities have always played a significant role in his personality, but a few significant alterations have been made for the Prime Video adaption.
First off, Hughie’s real power differs slightly from what comic readers would recall, but both forms retain superhuman strength and durability. After receiving Temp V injections, Hughie has the strength to punch a hole through a man’s chest. In the television show, the unfortunate victim is a lab guard at the Russian-run facility that houses Soldier Boy, while in the comics, Hughie really knocks down Teenage Kix member Blarney Cock with his punch.
What else distinguishes Hughie’s power from others except the person whose abdomen he inserts his arm through? He also possesses teleportation skills in the episode. With the small exception that he now loses his clothes in the process, Hughie can now vanish from one location and reappear in another. The irony of this additional ability is funny because Hughie’s natural inclination has always been to flee from danger before getting trapped into Butcher’s web. Now that he possesses a special ability, he can either dash out of a sticky situation or go into fight.
Another layer of mystery surrounds Hughie’s power, which is similar to that of A-Train, the very supervillain who set him on this course by murdering his girlfriend. Butcher’s encounter with the V also gave him laser eyes that like Homelander’s, turning him into a reflection of the supervillain who destroyed and is still haunting his life. It almost seems as though there is a lesson to be learnt about avoiding becoming what you despise. Even Mother’s Milk tries to explain this to them (“the fundamental point of what we do is that no one should have that type of power”), but Hughie and Butcher might take some time to understand reason.
The circumstances of the V injection are the most intriguing distinction between Hughie’s talents in the comics and the TV. In the comics, Butcher injects him with the medication while they are on their first operation, taking Hughie by surprise. Hughie is furious because the results are permanent and partly because a needle was forced into his neck against his will, but he is even more upset when he learns the real reason. At first, it’s challenging to manage his abilities, and it’s distressing when he punches Blarney to death. Hughie on Prime Video, though, isn’t quite like this.
Hughie is caught off guard when he punches through the Russian and immediately apologises, but he isn’t really upset about it. Hughie is thrilled to find his strength as he pushes the corpse to the ground and examines his blood-stained arm. Even though it’s a touch unsettling how quickly he moves past the unintentional death, Hughie has been doing this for a while. In the comics, this superhero kill was his first, although Hughie had witnessed far worse on television. Hughie chooses to take the V on the show. He is nevertheless ecstatic to have powers, and it helps that they are merely momentary affects. He finally has a chance after spending the previous season worrying about his ability to defend Starlight and feeling insufficient around superhumans.
Hughie striking through Blarney in the comic book world also represents another change in Hughie’s personality: he is disgusted by his strength and resents Butcher for bestowing power on him. This causes the two of them to become increasingly tense. In spite of their companions’ objections, Butcher and Hughie are depicted in the show as embarking on a dark journey together. While Kimiko takes it personally and asks, “Why would they do this to themselves voluntarily?” Frenchie and MM are shocked. Every day of her life, she has detested her abilities. It’s likely that Starlight won’t be a fan either, so if Hughie continues, it’s impossible to predict how it would affect his relationships.
Hughie was cautioned when he first learned what Butcher was up to: “It’s not strength. It is retribution.” Hughie, however, sees things differently: when you have the face and general demeanour of a kicked dog, possessing authority is especially tempting. Hughie will quickly lose his role as the team’s “canary” and turn into another Butcher who needs to be restrained if the V and the pull of power override his better judgement.
Prime Video now has the first four episodes of “The Boys” season 3 available to watch, with new episodes released every Friday.
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