The anti-hero of a generation, Karl Urban’s foul-mouthed take on lead protagonist Billy Butcher in Amazon Prime’s The Boys and its subsequent spin-offs has been an integral aspect of the show’s considerable success. Combining an acid tongue with a penchant for savage violence, the New Zealander’s character is one of television’s most inimitable personalities.
As such, it’s hardly surprising that the Boys’ leader has produced enough memorable pieces of dialogue to fill a short book. Whether he’s delivering a pithy one-liner in the face of near-certain death, mercilessly taunting friends and enemies in equal measure or just letting his nihilistic personality loose on the unsuspecting general public, Butcher’s deadpan soundbites are the stuff of legend.
10 “I’ll tell you what you are. A f****** moron. Translucent doesn’t even mean invisible – it means semi-transparent.”
Hilariously Mocking The Seven’s Invisible Representative
- Season 1, Episode 1: “The Name of the Game”
Most human beings confronted with a superpowered individual threatening to smash their scalp off would have folded quicker than a deck chair, but Billy Butcher is not “most human beings”. Butcher finds himself in this exact situation in the show’s first episode after being overpowered by the invisible superhero Translucent, who demands that Billy tell him who he is.
Despite the ridiculously dangerous predicament he finds himself in, a bloodied Butcher’s immortal response to Translucent’s demands is to contemptuously ridicule his opponent’s choice of moniker; “I’ll tell you who you are. A f****** moron. Translucent doesn’t even mean invisible – it means semi-transparent.”
9 “Where’s your f******* rage?! Your self-respect?!”
Exploding In Disgust At His Local Support Group
- Season 1, Episode 6: “The Innocents”
Butcher loathes superheroes above all else but the Boys’ ruthless leader reserves a unique brand of contempt for humans who idolize them. Attempting to warn Hughie of the dangers of associating with Starlight, Butcher takes his crew’s latest member to a support group for individuals maimed by supes.
Upon hearing several participants still speak effusively of superheroes despite their horrific injuries, Butcher explodes in disgust at the group’s apathy, passionately demanding, “Where’s your f****** rage?! Your self-respect!”. It takes a special kind of internal rage to explode at a group of horrifically injured individuals, and this unforgettable soundbite underlines the fact that Butcher has it in spades.
8 “Don’t worry. Daddy’s home”.
Welcome Back, Monsieur Charcuter
- Season 2, Episode 1: “The Big Ride” & Season 4, Episode 6: “Dirty Business”
Signing off the explosive events of “The Big Ride” with a wicked flourish, Billy’s tongue-in-cheek response to his abrupt return to the fold perfectly set the tone for the chaotic events of The Boys’ sophomore season.
The iconic quote has even taken on a dark new significance with the release of The Boys’ fourth installment. Joe Kessler mockingly repeats Butcher’s own line to him, immediately after the jaw-dropping reveal that Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s sinister antagonist is actually no more than a hallucination caused by Billy’s Compound V-riddled brain tumor.
7 “Never go into shark-infested waters without chum.”
The Billy Butcher Fishing Manifesto
- Season 2, Episode 6: “The Bloody Doors Off”
Butcher has proved time and time again that he is more than willing to throw an unsuspecting soul to the wolves if their demise is to his benefit. This state of affairs is perfectly summarized by a piece of dialogue towards the end of the second season, where the Boys’ leader remarks, “Never go into shark-infested waters without chum.”
Sharply underlining the morally ambiguous nature of the show’s lead character as well as the dangerous situations that he typically frequents, Karl Urban’s pitch-perfect delivery of this grimly tongue-in-cheek line is the cherry on the cake.
6 “Expecting a happy ending, were we? Well, I’m sorry, Hughie. It ain’t that kind of massage parlor.”
A Unique Take On Spa Days
- Season 2, Episode 5, “We Gotta Go Now”
Immortal one-liners in the face of almost certain death and Billy Butcher are practically synonymous at this point. Karl Urban’s character can’t even be bothered to laugh in the face of death, usually opting for a pithy soundbite in a near-fatal predicament as opposed to wailing in terror like a regular human being.
Look no further than Butcher’s response to Hughie when preparing to sacrifice himself to Black Noir in Season 2. Despite Hughie’s obvious dismay at the potential loss of his mentor, Butcher dispassionately deadpans: “Expecting a happy ending, were we? Well, I’m sorry, Hughie. It ain’t that kind of massage parlor.”
5 “You don’t trust me. Susan, I am shocked and saddened by that.”
Always Looking For An Angle
- Season 1, Episode 2: “Cherry”
The arrogant “Monsieur Charcuter” has proven himself to be many things, but “reliable” is decidedly not one of them. Butcher has pulled the rug out from under practically every individual he has ever encountered, with Susan Raynor proving to be no exception.
As such, it’s hardly surprising that the CIA’s Deputy Director has her doubts when Billy initially brings the story of Compound V to her attention during Season 1. Despite his status as a notoriously unreliable source of information, Butcher’s response is to feign hurt at Raynor’s skepticism, sarcastically remarking in tones dripping with mock hurt, “You don’t trust me. Susan, I am shocked and saddened by that.”
4 “Scorched earth.”
Let’s Burn Together
- Season 3, Episode 1: “Payback” & Season 3, Episode 6: “Herogasm”
Karl Urban’s charge has never made a secret of the fact that he’s willing to die in his relentless pursuit of revenge against Homelander. As the pair share an awkward détente in the third season’s first episode, Antony Starr’s villain suggests a “scorched earth” approach to their rivalry; a one-on-one fight to the death where only one man is left standing.
Homelander’s chilling soundbite comes back to bite him during the epic Herogasm brawl, after realizing that his mortal enemy now has superpowers. Starr’s antagonist incredulously asks what Butcher has done, prompting his foe to gleefully taunt him with his earlier quote; “Scorched earth”. The fact that the soundbite perfectly embodies Butcher’s relentless mentality is just the icing on the cake.
3 “When you put them together…they’re the goddamn, f****** Spice Girls.”
The Pep Talk To End All Pep Talks
- Season 1, Episode 4: “The Female of the Species”
The Spice Girls are decidedly not the first choice that springs to mind when envisioning Billy Butcher’s choice of playlist. However, Butcher shares an unlikely affinity with the “Wannabe” singers; much to Billy’s chagrin, his late wife Rebecca adored the English girl group.
As such, Butcher using the group’s lack of success as solo artists to form an analogy for his squad’s need for teamwork is a surprisingly touching sequence in a show that isn’t exactly renowned for them and is one of the first brief glimpses into a softer side of the Boys’ seemingly amoral leader.
2 “Go on, son. Have a bump.”
Billy’s Stance On Drugs
- Season 3, Episode 1: “Payback”
If there’s some moral low to which Butcher won’t stoop to when attempting to gain the upper hand over superheroes, it hasn’t made itself apparent to date. This is a state of affairs that has extended to inserting plastic explosives rectally, driving speedboats through whales, and using superpowered babies to blast security guards into bloody fragments.
Case in point? When confronted with the size-manipulating superhero Termite, Butcher opts for an exceedingly unorthodox style of subduing his foe. The Boys’ leader traps the tiny supe in a bag of cocaine, causing his miniature adversary to overdose. Gleefully surveying his stricken prey, Butcher wickedly taunts him with a grin like an evil Cheshire Cat; “Go on, son. Have a bump.”
1 “If there is some geezer up there with a big white beard, he’s a world heavyweight c***.”
Butcher’s Take On Religion
- Season 1, Episode 5: “Good for the Soul”
One of the most inappropriate characters ever to make their bow on television, it stands to reason that Butcher’s nihilism extends to insulting Christianity’s figurehead with an eye-watering expletive.
Discussing organized religion with an elderly minister at the Believe Expo, Butcher proceeds to obscenely dismiss the notion of God in the same tone of voice that most regular human beings debate football over; “If there is some geezer up there with a big white beard, he’s a world heavyweight c***”. If ever there was a soundbite that summed up Billy’s anarchic personality, it has to be this one.
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