What is the Supe Virus in The Boys?

Gen V introduced fans of The Boys to a new corner of its universe. This corner featured the supe university known as Godolkin University or GodU. On the outside, it looked like any other university campus in the United States, with the exception that every student was a super-powered individual. Some students could fly, some could shrink and grow, and others could engulf their bodies in flames. However, there was a dark secret hidden beneath the surface of the campus.

Vaught International constructed an underground facility at the school called the Woods, where the Dean of Students, Dr. Indira Shetty, used it for her own nefarious goals. With the help of Dr. Edison Cardosa, Shetty developed a virus capable of giving flu-like symptoms to superpowered individuals. With some tweaking, they were able to make the virus lethal, in hopes of eradicating the entire supe population. When Marie Moreau and several other students discovered Shetty’s plan, they jumped to action. Unfortunately, they ended up causing more chaos than intended.

There Was a Virus in The Boys Comic

While the Prime Video series doesn’t follow the story of The Boys comic exactly, the aspects it adds enhance the story without dismantling the integrity of the source material. Even when comic book fans think it’s straying too far from the comics, the show veers back in line with the comic in a brilliant grasp of the material. That’s what Gen V and The Boys are doing with the supe virus now.

Butcher is a significantly more violent character in the comics than the Prime Video series, to the point that he has no scruples about killing an entire population. Late in the comic, Butcher uses a modified version of Compound V and kills over 150 supes in one attack. Not every supe is invulnerable like Homelander, but they’re all pretty durable, so killing them with a virus makes it significantly easier to fight them.

The Prime Video series hasn’t suggested that Butcher would resort to something so devastating, especially when he works with a couple of supes himself and shows some empathy for Homelander’s son Ryan. However, after using Temp V too much, Butcher now has an accelerated expiration date. There’s no telling what lengths he’d go to if given the chance. From the post-credit scene of the Gen V finale, showing Butcher in the Woods, it’s clear he’s aware of the virus and his devilish smirk at the end hints to nothing good.

The Boys Season 3 Ending Can Make Butcher More Genocidal

It’s no secret that Butcher loathes the existence of supes. He didn’t trust them even before Homelander attacked his ex, Becca, and he has even less regard for their life after. He was apprehensive when Kimiko joined the team, and downright resistant to Starlight being one of The Boys. But after working with them and seeing that they’re not all bad, Butcher learned to tolerate them. The hardest supe for Butcher to be around, surprisingly, wasn’t Homelander. Rather, it was his son Ryan, who was the product of Homelander’s attack on Becca.

It took Butcher a little time to come around to Ryan’s existence, but after Becca’s death, Ryan served as a connection to her. Butcher even gave some fatherly advice before Mallory took him into custody. Unfortunately, The Boys season three showed Ryan developing more of a connection with Homelander, forgetting how his mother raised him. In the finale, Ryan’s mouth arched upward into a smile when Homelander killed a nameless Starlight fan, showing that Ryan is more aligned with his father than many would like.

While Butcher wants nothing more than for supes to stop existing, his focus has been primarily on Homelander, viewing him as the ultimate evil in their world. If Homelander is able to influence Ryan in his way of thinking, Butcher won’t have a reason to hold back anymore, and supe genocide might be more appealing. Witnessing his last living connection to the woman he loved embracing an absolutely evil mindset on top of having a limited time to live thanks to the Temp V serum will drive Butcher to extreme measures.

Fans have seen that when Butcher sets his mind on something, he gets what he wants. There have been obvious cases where MM was able to talk him down, but if the TV series follows the comics, releasing the virus will be what breaks the team apart.