The Boys Superpowers That Don't Make Any Sense

In a media landscape saturated with superheros, one show manages to stand out from the rest. Eric Kripke's "The Boys" follows a ragtag group of human vigilantes in a world where superheroes are not only real, but just as flawed as the rest of us. The Prime Video series is bursting with super-abled people, each of whom possesses a unique set of powers. The fun of the series lies in not only watching what these "supes" can do, but seeing how they inevitably use their abilities for mischief and debauchery.

However, while they're incredibly fun, these powers can be hard to fathom; some are downright confounding. A supe called Termite (Brett Geddes), for example, loses control of his ability to miniaturize when he sneezes, while a hero named Love Sausage (Andrew Jackson) has no discernable power aside from amplified control of his massive ... appendage. And these examples are merely the tip of the iceberg. If you're interested in more superpowered madness, here are the 14 top superheroes on "The Boys," with a breakdown of their head-scratching abilities.

Once the Boys get their hands on Temp V, some members of the team find it impossible not to use it. Butcher (Karl Urban) experiments with the substance first, giving himself superpowers for the next 24 hours. In addition to enhanced strength and increased durability, Butcher gains the ability to shoot destructive beams from his eyes. While speaking to Variety, creator Eric Kripke described this heat vision as both a blessing and a curse. "It's a different, self-punishing, self-flagellating power. The beams are really rough and they're smoking because they're burning his eyes as it's happening," Kripke said. "It's a natural extension of his inner rage and his inner hatred, both toward Homelander and toward himself."

This begs a question: How can Butcher use his heat vision without permanently damaging his eyes? We know from Maeve's gory ocular injury in the season 3 finale that a supe's eyes are particularly vulnerable, and we watch as Butcher uses this power to slice both a car and a supe in two. With his super endurance expiring right after the Temp V wears off, his eyes don't get time to fully heal, right? The experimental drug has already cut Butcher's life expectancy down to a year or two — who's to say it won't cost him his vision, too?

Of all the insidious acts that Vought is responsible for, experimenting on humans ranks among the top. At a secret facility called Sage Grove, teens and young adults are given injections of Compound V for the purpose of creating a version of the drug that's safe for public consumption. When the Boys infiltrate the compound, they encounter a variety of supes with strange abilities. One, a young man credited as the Acid Vomit Patient (Nick Alachiotis), pukes up a corrosive substance that instantly dissolves anything it touches.

The Acid Vomit Patient is not immune from the destruction himself, and dies when his own bile melts off his face. This is not only a horrific way to go, but also reveals a frustrating inconsistency: If the Acid Vomit Patient can be harmed by his own fluids, why don't they burn him internally? Even if the substance is activated by oxygen, the acid should hurt him as it passes from his throat into his open mouth. Unfortunately, we'll never know the answer, as the Acid Vomit Patient perishes after literally getting a taste of his own medicine.

When the Boys infiltrate Sage Grove, they're shocked to find a legendary supe working at the facility. Retired from the Seven, Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) serves as a lowly orderly at the secret research center, tasked with using his pyrokinetic powers to murder unruly test subjects when Vought decides they are no longer useful. Filled with shame and regret, Lamplighter reluctantly agrees to testify in front of Congress and leaves the center with the vigilantes. However, Lamplighter has his own agenda; upon reentering Vought Tower, he dies by self-immolation in the same place where his statue once stood.

While this is the end of an interesting character arc, Lamplighter's shocking act raises a question: How is the supe vulnerable to his own flames? Unable to create fire on his own, Lamplighter carries a lighter to produce small sparks that he can manipulate. During his time in the Seven, he lugs around a giant torch, which is continually lit to provide access to a blaze. This is extremely dangerous if he does not have some sort of tolerance to burns. Further, Lamplighter routinely produces infernos that can instantly cremate a living body. Surely proximity to that level of heat would cause blisters — at the very least — without a protective ability. We also see him withstand the Acid Vomit Patient's bile. If he can heal from those wounds, why not burns created by his own powers?

When Stormfront (Aya Cash) first joins The Seven, the feisty feminist feels like a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, she quickly shows her true colors and proves to be not only a murderous bigot, but a literal Nazi. As the wife of Frederick Vought, Stormfront received the first successful injection of Compound V during World War II, and operated for decades under the name Liberty. She reemerges after a long absence with the moniker Stormfront, as well as the power to create bursts of lightning from her hands and feet. She's also one of the few supes with the ability to fly. But with such distinctive powers, how was she able to completely reinvent herself without anyone in this Vought-obsessed culture recognizing her from the past?

We know very little about Stormfront's time as Liberty, except that she gained her powers at roughly the same time as Soldier Boy. However, while there are a variety of images, clips, and commercials featuring Soldier Boy, there seems to be considerably less material starring Liberty. Did Stormfront's first super alter-ego have different powers, ones more aligned with her uber-patriotic moniker, or did the world simply forget about a flying woman who electrocuted her enemies? And, while we're at it, does she age or not? Given Stormfront's cathartic demise, it's likely these questions will remain unanswered.

Because of his menacing persona and deadly martial arts training, Black Noir has long been one of the most feared members of The Seven. However, he's also shrouded in mystery. In season 3 of "The Boys," flashbacks to Soldier Boy's time in Payback finally reveal the face — and voice! — of the silent supe, while also explaining the tragic reason why he prefers to stay in the shadows. The cruel and abusive Soldier Boy delivers two devastating beatings to the bright young Noir as he attempts to make a name for himself in showbiz. During a mission in Nicaragua, Soldier Boy repeatedly smashes Noir's head with his shield and holds his partner's face against a burning car, giving Noir brain damage and disfiguring him so badly that he refuses to take off his mask.

But Noir has withstood other severe injuries, surviving both explosions and gunfire. He also recovers from anaphylactic shock when Maeve force-feeds him an Almond Joy. Decades later, why do his facial wounds and brain damage remain? His suit wouldn't protect him from a nut allergy, and his healing powers can't be limited to his skin. These flashbacks answer some questions about Noir's history, but they open up even more about the nature of his abilities.

He may be a villain, but The Deep (Chace Crawford) has emerged as one of the funniest characters on "The Boys." In addition to his self-serious attempts to revamp his image, his superhuman ability to mentally talk to aquatic animals results in plenty of comedy. The Deep befriends a cephalopod named Timothy, accidentally causes the gruesome death of a grocery store lobster, harnesses the power of a sperm whale named Lucy, and begins a sexual relationship with an octopus. These personal interactions are hilarious, but do they push The Deep's powers to their real limit? Put another way, can The Deep only talk to animals who live in water?

In addition to conversations with fish, The Deep has talked to both shellfish and aquatic mammals. Further, we know from his doomed attempt to save a flirtatious dolphin that he can talk to these creatures when they're not submerged. So, what about amphibians, who live both on land and in water? Can The Deep mentally communicate with land mammals, too, especially if they sometimes go for a swim? If so, would that ability extend to humans? The horrifying endpoint of this speculation: Is it possible that the bumbling "fish guy" actually possesses the ability to read all of our minds?

Season 2 introduces a powerful new enemy when Susan Raynor (Jennifer Esposito)'s head abruptly explodes while she's sharing information with The Boys. The mysterious assassin takes out several powerful leaders before finally revealing herself as Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit). When Hughie discovers her identity early in season 3, we simultaneously learn that Victoria needs to establish a direct line of sight to the body part she's planning to pop before using her power. This detail creates a major continuity error: Neumann is present at the congressional hearing where heads start exploding. With cameras everywhere, someone would catch her eyes turning white as she unleashes her powers during the massacre.

Nosebleeds usually presage one of Nueman's attacks, but this too creates more questions than answers. Is the affliction a warning to potential victims, or an inevitable side effect of her power? At one point, she makes Starlight's nose bleed, but she's not actually attempting to murder "America's sweetheart." It's simply a threat. However, her childhood friend Tony's begins to bleed before she kills him; why in the world would she warn him of her plans, potentially allowing him to get the upper hand? Given that Nueman will likely be a major antagonist in the show's upcoming fourth season, hopefully we'll get a little more clarity on these terrifying powers soon.