So, you’re watching The Boys and you’ve reached that point where the rage in Billy Butcher’s eyes finally starts to make sense. The show keeps dancing around it, dropping breadcrumbs about why Becca disappeared, and the big, ugly word "rape" gets thrown around a lot. But if you’re a fan of the comics or just someone who likes to poke at the plot holes, you might be wondering if what we saw—or what we think we saw—is the full story.
Honestly, the answer changes depending on whether you’re looking at the Amazon Prime show or the original comics by Garth Ennis. And believe me, the comic version is way more of a mind-trip than the TV show lets on.
The Show Version: A Brutal Act of Power
In the Amazon series, the narrative is pretty straightforward for the first season. Butcher is convinced that Homelander raped his wife, Becca, at a Vought party. We even see that grainy CCTV footage of them going into a room together. Becca looks terrified. Homelander looks... well, like Homelander.
For a long time, the show leads us to believe this was a straight-up assault. Becca goes missing right after, and everyone assumes she's dead. When she finally pops back up in the Season 1 finale, it’s a total "wait, what?" moment. She’s alive, and she has a son named Ryan.
The show eventually confirms that yes, Homelander did rape her. It wasn't some secret affair. Becca tells Butcher later that she didn't tell him because she knew he’d go on a murderous rampage (which he did anyway, but hey, she tried). The whole reason she was in hiding was that Vought wanted to see if a Supe could be raised "normally" by a human mother. It was basically a giant, cruel lab experiment.
The Comic Twist: It Wasn’t Even Homelander
Now, if you think the show is dark, the comics are on a whole other level of messed up. In the original books, Butcher spends the entire series thinking Homelander raped and killed Becky (her name is Becky in the comics). He has these photos as "proof"—shots of Homelander doing some of the most disgusting things you can imagine.
But here's the kicker: It wasn't Homelander.
In a massive twist near the end of the comic run, we find out that Black Noir is actually a clone of Homelander. Vought created him as a "fail-safe" just in case the real Homelander ever lost it. But Noir spent years waiting for the order to kill Homelander, and the order never came. He went completely insane from the waiting.
To force a confrontation, Black Noir started dressing up as Homelander and committing horrific crimes—including the rape of Becky Butcher. He even sent the photos to Butcher to stir up the hornets' nest. The real Homelander in the comics actually had no idea why Butcher hated him so much. He thought he was just blacking out and doing these things in his sleep.
Why the Show Changed It
Kripke and the writers for the TV show decided to ditch the clone twist. Honestly, it was a smart move. In the show, Homelander is a way more interesting villain because he is the one responsible for his actions. Making him a victim of a clone’s frame-up would’ve sucked the air out of Antony Starr’s performance.
Instead, the show makes it a story about trauma and "nature vs. nurture." Ryan is the first naturally born Supe, and his existence is the ultimate proof of Homelander’s violation of Becca. There's no "it was a clone" escape hatch here. It’s just raw, ugly reality.
Quick Breakdown of the Differences:
- The Show: Homelander definitely did it. Becca survived, Ryan exists, and the tragedy is that she was forced to raise her rapist's child in a fake suburban prison.
- The Comics: Black Noir (the clone) did it while pretending to be Homelander. Becky died when the baby—which was basically a monster—burst out of her. Butcher killed the baby with a desk lamp right then and there.
What This Means for Ryan
Because the show kept Becca alive for two seasons, we get to see the fallout. Ryan is the living reminder of that night. Butcher’s struggle to love a kid that looks like his worst enemy is basically the heart of the show.
It also adds a layer of "is he or isn't he?" to Ryan's personality. Is he doomed to be a monster like his dad, or can Becca's influence save him? In the comics, there was no question—the kid was a literal demon from birth. In the show, it’s much more gray.
How to Keep the Lore Straight
If you’re arguing with friends about this at a watch party, just remember:
- If they’re talking about the show, Homelander is 100% guilty.
- If they’re talking about the comics, it was the "clone" Black Noir.
- In both versions, Becca (or Becky) is the tragic catalyst for everything Butcher does.
The fact that the show made Becca a real character with her own agency—even in the middle of all that horror—is one of the reasons it's actually better than the source material in some ways. She wasn't just a "fridged" wife; she was a mom trying to break a cycle of violence.
If you want to dive deeper into the differences, I’d suggest re-watching Season 1, Episode 8, and then comparing it to Issue #40 of the comics. The tone shift is wild. You’ll see how the show focuses on the emotional trauma of the assault, while the comic uses it as a "gotcha" plot point for a bigger conspiracy. Both are heavy, but the show definitely feels more "human" about the whole thing.