The first clip from The Boys Season 4 has dropped, and it already changes the dynamic between Billy Butcher and Homelander in a huge way.
The clip, seemingly set early in The Boys Season 4, has Butcher pleading with Ryan to come back to Grace with him, but Ryan insists that being with his father, Homelander, is where he wants to be.
It’s when Homelander enters that we learn he’s found out Butcher’s horrifying secret: a tumor in his brain that will kill him in six months.
“Look at that big black mass curdling on your brain.” Homelander taunts. “What have you got? Six months? Less? It’s too bad we’re not gonna have that last dance together.”
The moment is fairly surprising, as many fans likely wouldn’t have expected Homelander to learn about Butcher’s tumors, at least not so quickly. But fans also likely forgot x-ray vision is one of Homelander’s vast array of powers, considering how rarely he’s seen using it.
Homelander learning that Butcher is dying is a pretty big change for the relationship and puts the typically cold and manipulative Butcher on the backfoot to start The Boys Season 4. While it can’t be understated that Ryan clearly has feelings about it himself, the focus is squarely on Homelander’s reaction.
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The two have, in the past, had a bizarrely friendly yet antagonistic relationship in a sense. The two had something of a peace summit early in The Boys Season 3, where Homelander admitted he enjoyed his feud with Butcher, which at least partially explains all the times he’s let him live.
Butcher’s tumor is the result of a Season 3 plotline where he used the untested V24 to briefly gain superpowers. While the V24 itself wasn’t lethal to humans, a side effect of repeat use was the sudden growth of tumors.
The Boys Season 4 picks up on the fallout of the plot thread, with Butcher using his remaining six months on a final desperate gambit to kill Homelander and all his supes. But Homelander knowing Butcher’s situation is a hell of a swerve, and it puts the two in an incredibly tense position to start the season.
The Boys Season 4 premieres June 13, 2024, on Prime Video, but you can kill time until the premiere by reading about Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s new character or the hated character who will die early in Season 4.
