The Boys: What Billy Butcher's Brain Worm Could Mean for the Group's Future

butcher brain worm the boys
Credit: Sony Pictures Television | Amazon Studios | Kripke Enterprises | Point Grey Pictures | Original Film | Kickstart Entertainment | KFL Nightsky Productions | Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymr4wxPmkjE | Fair Use For Promotional Purposes

butcher brain worm the boys
Credit: Sony Pictures Television | Amazon Studios | Kripke Enterprises | Point Grey Pictures | Original Film | Kickstart Entertainment | KFL Nightsky Productions | Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymr4wxPmkjE | Fair Use For Promotional Purposes

Billy Butcher may have finally gotten his wish to come true. While trying to fight off Ezekiel, fans were drawn to the worm wiggling around Butcher's brain in The Boys season 4. What was that all about?

CONTENT SPOILERS: This article contains spoilers for Prime Video's The Boys season 4, proceed with caution.

The Brain Worm May Be the Secret Weapon Butcher's Been Looking For

Right when Butcher was about to pass out from being suffocated in Ezekiel's stretched-out arms, something — a worm-like figure to be exact — was wiggling on the side of his brain. What's up with that?

Butcher had been taking dosages of V24 (the temporary superpower provider), which severely cut his lifespan, and had him develop a brain tumor. In an attempt to battle the illness, he decided to take Compound V, despite the risk it holds on grown adults.

butcher brain worm the boys
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Credit: Sony Pictures Television | Amazon Studios | Kripke Enterprises | Point Grey Pictures | Original Film | Kickstart Entertainment | KFL Nightsky Productions | Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymr4wxPmkjE | Fair Use For Promotional Purposes

Instead of facing death as the average user would have, he gained something greater: potentially permanent powers.

This brought fans to a couple of theories: one, taking Compound V may have stopped him from cutting his life short; two, the brain worm parasite may be the 'Becca' we've seen in his hallucination scenes; three, the newfound powers Butcher may have gained will turn him into a Supe that kills other Supes who have taken Compound V.

While none of these theories have been addressed in the show's season 4 yet, one particular comment resonates with another series within The Boys' universe.

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Not the First Time The Boys Pulled a Supe Worm in the Universe

There are only three episodes of the animated series on Prime, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, that are canonical to The Boys show, and one of them happened to have a similar storyline on Billy Butcher's brainworm problem.

Season 1 episode 7 titled John and Sun-Hee tells the story of how John had to steal Compound V from Vought International in hopes of curing his wife, Sun-Hee, from pancreatic cancer.

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While Sun-Hee miraculously healed from the serum, her cancer flew out of her body and wreaked chaos in wildlife. Even though they had no means of stopping it, Sun-Hee also managed to gain powers of her own: glowing tentacles.

Using her newly gained powers, she sacrifices herself to destroy the tumor.

Now, what does this say about Butcher's fate? Could he possibly suffer the same way? Well, The Boys season 4 episode 4 hasn't left that much clue.

However, another crucial element they share is when Sun-Hee 'lost control' over her evolved cancer. In this case, when Butcher unknowingly killed Ezekiel, he wasn't exactly in control or was aware if he even did that himself.

Whether or not this spells trouble for the Boys would have to wait until the future episodes air on Prime.

READ NEXT: Why Did Starlight Beat Firecracker in The Boys Season 4?

Meanwhile, fans can wait for The Boys season 4 episode 5 titled Beware the Jabberwock, My Son to premiere on June 27 on Prime.

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