Analyzing The Abilities Of Characters From The Boys Pt. XVIII

Analyzing The Abilities of Characters From The Boys Pt. XVIII

🧨 Ryan Butcher🧨

An under-analyzed character from The Boys cast, Ryan is the son of The Homelander. Being the first official natural-born superhuman, I find it curious that Ryan was never injected with compound V. Even though none of the babies could have consented to being shot up with a potentially lethal drug, Ryan having a genomic affinity for world shattering power forms the basis of any Evil Superman story you can think of.

Ryan being the first, and really the only one of his kind, creates this distance between him and the other Supes. None of them chose this life, but Ryan was raised with powers he never got to explore nor understand, while he was sequestered away under the protection of Becca. Homelander’s reaction to this lack of self realization is heartbreaking to me, specifically because, unlike Homelander, Ryan was raised a human instead of an experiment. I find it almost insulting that Vought essentially propped Ryan up to have the exact backstory they fabricated for “John”: a quiet life in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, à la Clark Kent’s origin story.

Ryan being this cookie cutter doppelgänger of his father creates this dynamic of showing the audience the hero Homelander could have been had he been raised by people instead of maniacal scientists in a lab. Additionally, it provides a bitter form of clarity on the nature of corruption. Given the circumstances that John went through, wouldn’t any and every baby grow up to be exactly like him? You can try to explain that you’re special or you’re different, but without any form of support system or human socialization, and between being baked alive and probed beginning at infancy, I doubt most people would be capable of maintaining their humanity.

I pray that Ryan is able to truly internalize that the deaths of Becca, the stunt actor, and even Grace weren’t truly his fault. I mean, if someone gave you superhuman strength as a preteen wouldn’t you have an alarmingly high body count by now? If you ask me, the kid’s doing good, all things considered…

I think the most valuable lesson you should take away from his character is the concept of chance. Anyone, given the circumstance, could have been either John or Ryan. Ryan has the *chance* his father didn’t to be a real hero, but whether he chooses power or mercy, is entirely up to chance.

*Butcher’s influence on Ryan is fascinating to me because, he’s a horrible role model. Butcher has just as horrible tendencies and selfish whims as Homelander, and yet, in Ryan’s eyes, is the more humane of the two purely because he’s just some guy. Now that Butcher can rival the strength of Homelander, and Ryan knows everything his father’s done, only time will tell how Ryan will begin to unpack his new perspective on Billy.*

H2O: Just Add Water moodboards

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harleyxhoward

1 year ago

René Lalique's 1936 perfume bottle design for Trésor de la Mer

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harleyxhoward

1 year ago

Beyoncé in 2004 ｡⊹ ♡.*࿐ ｡ ₊ ·

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harleyxhoward

10 months ago

No ordinary girl...

Cleo / Rikki

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harleyxhoward

1 month ago

The original file was lost, and any picture I've found was way too small and I can draw so much better

Any other little creatures I could squeeze in for orange?🧡

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harleyxhoward

8 months ago

Analyzing The Abilities of Characters From The Boys Pt. XII

🚹Jordan🚺

Jordan is, by nature, dichotomous. Their ability is a unique form of gendered shapeshifting which is implied to be a byproduct of their bigender identity. When we first meet Jordan, they’re snippy and selfish, focused solely on getting ahead and being applauded for their good work and impeccable scores. As the story goes on, you begin to reveal layers of insecurity and frustration that the world will only ever see them for their superficial identities.

When first introduced to Jordan, they were relaxed in their female form. Interestingly enough, this was most likely due to the fact that Brink knew Jordan was assigned male at birth, and accepted them regardless as both identities they present as. This, as I mentioned earlier with Dean Shetty’s master manipulation of Cate, was most likely the byproduct of a drawn out control tactic to keep Jordan’s success tethered to GodU, and to give Brink a guard dog in the event of…well, exactly what transpired in the first episode.

As we see while Jordan fights, their female form, the result of their own vulnerability typically used when comfortable or in moments of leisure, has the ability to propel people away with some form of telekinetic blast. This may be due to their own insecurities plaguing them with feelings of inadequacy. That initial desire to push people away manifests itself as the ability to do exactly that.

In their male form, they’re seemingly indestructible and super strong, being capable of being shot at point blank and trading blows with Luke and Sam, affirming that Jordan is both strong and versatile in combat.

When the V most likely kicked in, Jordan was probably going through puberty, as many other supes were when their powers manifested. Imagine recognizing that you were bigender and feeling the need to endure the bigotry of your surroundings in hopes of a better future while simultaneously wishing to shove people away. This dual nature manifested in their ability to visibly shapeshift, and yet their parents treat this as a burden, confused as to why Jordan doesn’t just stay a boy indefinitely.

Jordan’s gendered division is most likely rooted in their feelings of men being tough while women are guarded, but I believe that as Marie shows them that it’s possible to love both sides at once, we might see them use their powers interchangeably or even simultaneously.