In just two seasons of The Boys, there has been plenty to unpack about Hughie Campbell. He has gone from a frustrated adult living in his father's house to being one of America's most feared vigilantes. He has also gone from watching his girlfriend get killed to dating America's most genuine superhero. In fact, his relationship with Annie aka Starlight is perhaps the most wholesome in the series.
Hughie often stands out because he is portrayed as the everyday man. Everything he is currently doing is new to him. He is neither a skilled fighter nor a charming guy. He is where he is because he has both been lucky and unlucky. While fans of the series know about his love life and feud with A-Train, there are things only comic fans know at this point.
Origin Story
On-screen, Hughie isn't given an extensive origin story. Neither are the rest of The Boys. But comic Hughie has more history. He doesn't grow up in America like his series counterpart. For most of his younger life, he lives in Auchterladle, Scotland. He is also adopted and never makes an effort to track down his real parents because he hates them.
After A-Train kills his girlfriend, he is approached by Billy Butcher who makes him an offer. Butcher wants him to join The Boys who are based in America. Since Hughie isn't doing much in Scotland, he agrees to follow Butcher across the Pacific where he meets the rest of the team and becomes a full-time member of The Boys.
Special Powers
The odds are often against The Boys because they don't have superpowers like the men and women they are after. However, the playing field happens to be much more level in the comics. All the members of The Boys have powers because they took Compound V at some point. As for Hughie, he has three main powers: Super Strength, Durability and Advanced Intelligence.
He acquires his powers involuntarily after Billy Butcher forcefully stabs him with a syringe filled with Compound V. Butcher's actions initially anger Hughie, but he eventually accepts his new abilities. His strength is best demonstrated when he creates a big hole in Blarney Cook's stomach by simply punching him.
General Appearance
Hughie looks a lot different in the comics because the character was modeled after actor, Simon Pegg. The English actor wasn't young enough to play Hughie in the series, though, so he took on the role of Hughie's father instead.
Comic Hughie has a bald head and a blonde goatee. He also wears a black leather jacket, a grey t-shirt and blue jeans, most of the time. The Hughie that viewers are used to has dark hair and often changes his clothes.
Comic Nickname
The protagonist is frequently referred to as "Wee Hughie" in the comics. This is because the character is inspired by Simon Pegg. He is portrayed as the shortest member of The Boys, though Pegg is 5-foot-8.
The series refers to this nickname once when Frenchie calls him "Wee Hughie." Fans get the feeling that Hughie doesn't like the name and is unlikely to be referred to it again when he fires back at Frenchie, saying: "I'm six foot one!" Jack Quaid, who portrays Hughie, is that tall.
No Knowledge About Superheroes
Comic fans know a Hughie who isn't as in tune with pop culture as his series counterpart. In the Amazon show, everyone knows about The Seven, including Hughie, who even has comic books.
On the pages, Hughie doesn't care about superheroes. In fact, he doesn't even know the names of the world's popular heroes. before his girlfriend gets killed. Part of his pop-culture ignorance has to do with the fact that he grew up in a quiet town in the UK.
Childhood Friends
Growing up, Hughie had two friends named Det and Big Bobby. Sadly, the two don't appear in the series. Det was born with a glandular condition, hence he always smells bad.
As children, the trio often played cruel games. For example, they would throw stones at animals. However, Hughie would intentionally miss since he was a good kid at heart. He would also take wounded dogs back to their owners, though he never told them he participated in the games that brought about the injuries.
His First Mission
One of the first things Hughie does after becoming a member of The Boys in the Amazon series is killing Translucent. Events play out a bit differently in the comics where Hughie's first action is spying on the Teenage Kix. This is one of four sub-groups under Vought International, the others being the G-Men, Payback, and the Young Americans.
Members of the Teenage Kix are portrayed as more immoral and immature than The Seven. The Kix soon find out about The Boys and it is during a fight with them that Hughie ends up killing Blarney Cock.
No Broken Family
Speaking of parents, Hughie's father, Hugh Campbell Sr., is single at the start of the series. He has financial problems that make him persuade to accept the out-of-media cash settlement by Vought International after A-Train kills Hughie's girlfriend, Robin. Hugh Sr.'s actions anger his grieving son.
Conversely, Hugh Campbell Sr. is living with Hughie's mother in the comics. They also don't appear to be having any financial problems. The relationship between Hugh Campbell Sr. and Hughie is much more cordial too.
Stint With The G-Men
A spinoff series revolving around the G-Men is currently in development. The G-Men are a parody of the X-Men and Vought International's second most bankable superhero team after The Seven. There are several other teams under the G-Men, such as the G-West, G-Coast, G-Wiz and even Pre-Wiz.
Hughie once has a stint as a spy in the comics where he goes undercover in the G-Wiz. He spies on the unruly superpowered teenager and reports to Billy about their plans to pull off major crimes so they can join the big boys.
He Finally Kills A-Train
In an event that's likely to also play out in later seasons of the series, Hughie finally gets his revenge on A-Train in the comics by killing him. Hughie is shocked when Billy Butcher presents to him a brutally beaten and bound A-Train so that he can exact his long-awaited revenge.
Hughie is reluctant to kill the speedster so he opts for a lengthy speech, lamenting how he caused him great pain by killing his girlfriend. When Butcher lets him known that The Seven only hired his current girlfriend Starlight so that they can use her sexually, Hughie goes on to kick A-Train's head off. He achieves this easily, thanks to his powers.