The Boys is a really fun and unique spin on the superhero genre, and it draws the vast majority of it's inspiration from the comic book series of the same name.
And while the comic books provide excellent source material for the Amazon Prime adaptation, it comes as no surprise that the show has edited and adjusted some elements of the comics for it's translation to screen. Now that the TV series is two seasons deep, there are certain elements of the comic books that really can't be incorporated into the TV show, but what exactly are they?
Simon Pegg Playing Hughie
While Hughie Campbell is obviously a completely fictional character in terms of his characterization, the comic book series did admittedly draw inspiration from an iconic comic actor. Simon Pegg is actually the real life inspiration for Hughie's comic book version.
And while he obviously can't play Hughie in the series now, his casting as Hughie's father in the show is a clear nod to his relationship with the comic book character.
Hughie's Origin Story
While Robin's death was always the catalyst for Hughie Campbell's transformation into an anti-supe activist, his entire origin story is a tad different in the comics.
First off, comic book Hughie is actually Scottish, not American. And while his girlfriend Robin is killed by A-Train, she is collateral damage when A-Train was chasing an actual criminal.
Starlight's More Extreme Introduction Into The Seven
In both the comics and the TV series, Starlight's introduction into the Seven is an immediate indication that everything she hoped and dreamed about the world of superheroes was a lie.
However, in the comics her intro is even more extreme. In the series, it's only the Deep who coerces and assaults her, but in the comics it is Homelander, A-Train, and Black Noir who abuse her.
Kimiko's Accidental Origins
In the TV show, Kimiko's origin story is that she and her brother were abducted by a group called the Shining Light Liberation Army that murdered her parents and conscripted both children into their terrorist organization. After escaping them years later, she was given Compound V in the hopes that she would become a supe terrorist.
Her background in the comics is drastically different though, she becomes a supe as a baby when she accidentally falls into a bin of Compound V, kills the Japanese doctor who created the V, and she is imprisoned and experimented on for years afterwards so that other scientists can replicate the serum.
The Comic's 9/11 Retcon
Arguably the most memorable and horrifying scene in the entire series, when Homelander leaves a hijacked plane to crash with everyone still inside it's a shocking insight into how monstrous he truly is. But in the comics, the story is a bit different, as the crashed hijacked plane is actually a part of 9/11.
But given that The Boys takes place in a contemporary timeline, it's understandable why the change was made.
A Reversal Of Fortune
So while it is Hughie who is misleading Annie throughout most of the first season of The Boys, the reality in the comic book series is reversed.
It is in fact Annie who is keeping her identity a secret from Hughie, and he is the one who accidentally discovers that she's Starlight, a revelation that causes him to walk away from her feeling shocked and betrayed.
Becca's Death In Childbirth
Although Becca Butcher faked her own death in The Boys to escape Homelander and raise her son in relative peace, in the comic series, her death is all too real.
The story of the sexual assault and Becca's pregnancy is relatively the same, but the superpowered fetus is too much for her human body to handle, and the baby winds up killing her when she gives birth.
Ryan's Gruesome End
In the comics, Becca Butcher doesn't survive the birth of her child, and her child doesn't survive very long after the birth either.
Billy is actually with Becca when this all takes place, and as soon as the baby is born it's laser eyes present an immediate problem for Billy. In order to solve that problem, Billy kills the child by beating it to death with a lamp.
Ryan's Parentage
Another little fudged fact that was altered from the comics to the TV show is that while Becca believes that she was assaulted and impregnated by Homelander, it was in fact Black Noir disguised as Homelander.
The show seems to have ignored that little twist though, and it seems that Homelander and everyone else who knows about Ryan is confident in the fact that he is the father.
The X-Rated Comic Contents
While The Boys is actually incredibly risqué in comparison to most television shows, it has been very softened up from it's comic book source material.
It's not entirely impossible that the show will eschew the more boundary-pushing elements of the comics, but many of the plot points and more horrifying moments in the comics simply cannot be adapted to the small screen.