The latest trailer for The Boys teases a few villains that the titular group will face in season 3, while also secretly revealing who the main bad guy will be. Based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys twisted take on the superhero genre has quickly become one of the best Amazon Original TV shows. In the show's first two seasons, the titular Boys have come up against some powerful enemies, but their biggest threat might be closer to the group than they initially thought.
Homelander has been the main villain in The Boys up to now. The Superman-inspired leader of The Seven is set to become even more unhinged in season 3 and will undoubtedly be the focus of The Boys' efforts to stop "Supes." The Boys season 3 trailer also sets up Victoria Neuman, the head-exploding congresswoman, and Stan Edgar, the CEO of Vought International and the one responsible for Compound V, as major antagonists. Secretly, neither of these three will be the biggest villain in The Boys.
Billy Butcher is being set up to become the main villain of The Boys. The leader of The Boys hates Supes and has ruthlessly murdered them in the past, but the latest trailer reveals that Butcher will become superpowered in season 3. Butcher is shown receiving a vial of liquid that can turn him into a Supe for 24 hours, a development that makes it more likely that he will turn on The Boys as his comic book counterpart does. The trailer already makes it clear that Mother's Milk is unhappy about Billy's newfound abilities, given The Boys' collective aim is to stop people from getting that sort of power. Although Karl Urban's character justifies it as leveling the playing field, the rift that his decision will cause could be the beginning of Butcher betraying The Boys.
Hunting down each of The Boys is how The Boys comic book series ends. Butcher is determined to kill everyone who has been dosed with Compound V, even if they are innocent, something that Hughie, Frenchie, the Female, and Mother's Milk are against. Instead of reasoning with his peers, Butcher decides to murder all those who know about his plans, including his close friends. The powers that Butcher has in season 3 of the show will make him more threatening and more unreasonable, making it likely that he will cross The Boys if they choose to stand in his way.
There are key differences between the powers that Butcher has in The Boys comics compared to what has been revealed in the latest trailer. In the comic books, Billy uses a similar short-lived version of The Boys' superhero-charging Compound V but only gains super strength, while Karl Urban's Butcher has additional abilities, including laser vision. By overpowering Butcher this way, his betrayal of The Boys is more likely because he knows that the group won't be able to stop him. The Boys has an abundance of villains for season 3 already, but a superpowered Butcher would be the biggest threat of them all.