- Primary Subject: The Boys Season 5 Series Finale
- Key Update: The hit Prime Video series concluded its five-season run by delivering a vastly different final fate for its characters compared to the original comic books.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: May 22, 2026
- Quick Answer: The Boys TV finale diverges from the comics by keeping major team members alive, omitting the Homelander clone twist, and ending with Hughie tragically shooting Butcher.
The Boys is now over, and the hit Prime Video series has evidently carved its own path in ending the battle between the titular group, led by Butcher (Karl Urban), and Homelander’s (Antony Starr) Supes.
Based on the comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the show made numerous changes to its source material–though it still kept certain elements of the original story intact.
So now that fans have seen the full series, here’s how The Boys differs from the comics.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. READ WITH CAUTION
How The Boys End Compared to the Comics
There’s a stark difference in how The Boys TV series ended compared to the comics.
The comic book version concludes with far more chaos than the show, though it could also be considered less satisfying to some readers.
In the comics, Butcher does confront Homelander at the White House, just like in the TV series, but the execution plays out very differently.
Homelander’s government takeover is driven by different circumstances. In fact, he doesn’t attempt to become a god-like figure; instead, he becomes enraged after discovering that Vought created a clone of him through Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), who was actually responsible for many of the horrific acts blamed on him.
The show, however, portrays Homelander as the central villain, whereas in the comics, he is largely manipulated and framed.
Black Noir is also the one who ultimately kills Homelander in the source material, while Butcher fights Black Noir and kills him using a crowbar.
Their final battle does not involve Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) or Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), either, and Vought International is not directly involved in the confrontation.
In fact, Ryan is killed almost immediately after he is born in the comics.
So while Homelander is responsible for many of the tragedies in the series, including Becca’s (Shantel VanSanten) assault, his role is handled very differently in the source material. Still, the use of the crowbar in Butcher’s final confrontation is a direct nod to the comics.
What The Boys Season 5 Changed From the Comics Ending
While The Boys Season 5 retained some elements of the comics, including the crowbar and Hughie (Jack Quaid) killing Butcher, it also made several significant changes to the original story.
Beyond that, the show appears to diverge almost entirely from the comics’ ending.
Before the final climax, Black Noir dies twice, along with Frenchie (Tomer Capone), who is actually killed by Butcher in the comics rather than Homelander in the series.
Butcher is also responsible for the deaths of MM (Laz Alonso) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) in the comics before Hughie manages to stop his rampage against Supes.
In the source material, even the members of The Boys are Supes themselves, meaning they also become targets of Butcher’s descent into violence.
However, the Prime Video series avoids this darker direction. Instead, MM and Kimiko receive more hopeful endings: MM reunites with his family and adopts Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), while Kimiko visits France and adopts the Bernedoodle she and Frenchie had previously considered.
Elsewhere, although Hughie does kill Butcher, the circumstances are changed. Butcher appears to have second thoughts about carrying out global genocide against Supes before Hughie pulls the trigger, making the moment more tragic as Butcher even comforts him.
Hughie and Starlight (Erin Moriarty) do get the happy ending they deserve in both versions, but the show takes a different route–showing them expecting a baby out of wedlock, whereas in the comics, they are married and not expecting a child.
As for The Deep (Chace Crawford), he survives in the comics and goes on to form a new team for Vought. In the series, however, he is thrown into the water by Starlight and ultimately killed by sea creatures.
Overall, while there are major differences between Prime Video’s The Boys and the comics, the series attempts to deliver a more emotionally satisfying ending for viewers.
The Boys Seasons 1 to 5 are streaming on Prime Video.
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