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Billy Butcher has easily become one of the most iconic characters in The Boys. The foul-mouthed Britisher was already a fan favorite as his character is one of the most complex personalities of the series, and now, with Karl Urban playing him in the show, Butcher easily has become a recognizable face in the modern comic book sphere.
His rivalry with Homelander is the defining storyline of The Boys, and throughout the series, both the characters have shared some scathing words. Their most iconic banter, however, comes from season 3, where the characters mention their inevitable battle as "scorched earth." This phrase has a deeper meaning than many fans might think.
Billy Butcher's "scorched earth" line in The Boys has a deeper meaning
Billy Butcher and Homelander's rivalry in The Boys is a defining aspect of the series. In the show, Homelander is responsible for s*xually assaulting Butcher's wife Becca, and this sets him on a path of vengeance to ruin the life of the most popular superhero in the world.
To do so, he forms the titular group - The Boys. This sends him into a downward spiral as his thirst for vengeance slowly begins to eat him up, and when Becca is killed in an encounter with Homelander and Stormfront, it fuels Butcher's hatred for him even more.
In season 3, him and Homelander have a conversation together, where they both talk about their destinies. They draw the conclusion that they want a "scorched earth" fight where both of them are the last men standing in the end. This pretty much sets up their upcoming dynamic.
So, in season 3, when Butcher finds the temporary Compound V, he takes it and it makes him as powerful as Homelander for a short period of time. Both of them face off in the episode Herogasm, and here is where Butcher gives a callback to their conversation by saying "scorched earth," as the playing field has been leveled. However, that term has a deeper meaning.
Scorched earth is a military term that basically means destroying your enemy and everything close to them no matter what the cost is. And in a way, it reflects Butcher's mentality in the series really well too. The Boys has been leading up to Butcher's need for vengeance taking over him, and it was the most prominent in season 3.
The entirety of that season focuses on Butcher going to insane lengths to make sure that he has everything he needs to destroy Homelander. Not just with finding Soldier Boy, but also taking the temporary Compound V just to make sure that he has a fighting chance even if it comes at the cost of his own health.
Season 3 of The Boys also sees him be more dismissive towards his friends. They are either with him, or against him and he doesn't even stop Hughie from using the Compound V despite knowing about its side effects.
This directly puts him at odds with his teammates.
However, that won't stop Butcher at all. With season 4 of The Boys set to release soon on Amazon Prime Video, we can expect this to be a main storyline going forward.
Season 4 of the series premieres in 2024.
