Hughie vs. Butcher: Who Is Stronger as a Supe?

Season 3 of The Boys finally allowed us to see the superpowered versions of some of the members of The Boys as both Billy Butcher and Hughie Campbell have taken V24, a temporary version of Compound V. In that regard, they are now stronger than ever, and are strong enough to fight supes because of their powers. But who between Hughie and Butcher is the stronger supe in The Boys?

Butcher is stronger than Hughie right now because he has the better powers as a supe and is far more skilled and experienced in combat compared to Hughie. As of now, Butcher’s powers are similar to Homelander’s, and that means that he is significantly stronger than Hughie.

Hughie and Butcher having powers adds a good level of development in the series because they are now capable of doing things they couldn’t do in the past. Nevertheless, based on what we have seen so far, it is clear that Butcher’s supe abilities are better than what Hughie has. So, with that said, let’s look at who between Hughie and Butcher really is stronger as supes.

Physical Capabilities

From what we’ve seen from Hughie thus far, his strength as a supe is probably on par with a lot of the different supes that we’ve seen. We can even say that he’s probably stronger than most supes in terms of his physical strength because he is powerful enough to punch through a regular human with ease. While most, if not all, supes are given super strength, Hughie’s strength seems to be above the average super strength that most supes have because of the fact that he was able to punch through a person with relative ease.

Billy Butcher’s own super strength is pretty impressive as well because of the fact that he was able to overpower Gunpowder with relative ease during their fight. He was able to pummel the supe into submission, even though Gunpowder has the super strength that the average supe has. But what really takes the cake is the fact that Butcher seems to be invulnerable whenever he is under V24. Butcher did not flinch when he was hit by bullets and when he fought Gunpowder, as this is something that we’ve only seen from Homelander thus far.

As impressive as it was that Hughie was able to punch through a person, the fact that Billy Butcher is invulnerable is what makes him more impressive. Not a lot of supes could say that bullets are not capable of hurting them.

Hughie 0, Butcher 1

Powers

We have only seen two of Hughie’s powers thus far, as it is possible that he has more powers that he is yet to discover. In episode 4, he was able to teleport out of his clothes in a short distance to save Mother’s Milk from getting killed by a Russian soldier. On top of that, he probably has a regenerative healing factor as well because his broken arm healed up rather quickly after he took V24. We don’t know whether or not his healing factor is similar to what Kimiko has, but it was still impressive that he was able to heal from his broken arm rather quickly.

As of now, Billy Butcher has shown only one power aside from his super strength and invulnerability. He has the same heat vision that Homelander has, and that means that his powers are pretty similar to Homelander’s own powers. However, we are not sure whether or not he is capable of flight, just like Homelander. Nevertheless, being able to shoot lasers out of his eyes still make him very strong, as he was able to kill people instantly with this ability.

It might be impressive that Hughie is capable of teleportation and has a regenerative healing factor. However, the fact that Butcher could possibly have all of Homelander’s powers is what makes him dangerous as a supe. As such, we are giving this round to Butcher.

Hughie 0, Butcher 2

Combat Skills

Hughie was never the most capable fighter in the entire series as he had never trained as a fighter in his entire life. He was never trained as a combatant, and that means that he probably doesn’t know what to do in a fight against a supe that is trained in combat. In that regard, Hughie will probably lose a fight against another supe because he doesn’t have the skills that would allow him to bridge the gap between them.

Butcher is one of the most experienced fighters and operatives in the entire series. Before he became the man he is now, he used to work with the CIA and was once a special forces operative. As such, he has the skills and training of a fighter, and that means that he is very capable as a combatant. In a straight hand-to-hand fight, not a lot of people might be able to handle Butcher’s skills as a fighter, especially now that he has super strength on his side.

There is no question that this round goes to Butcher because he is simply better a fighter. In fact, in a hand-to-hand fight, almost anyone can beat Hughie because he simply doesn’t have any combat skills.

Hughie 0, Butcher 3

Experience

Hughie is a lot of things, but he has never had a lot of experience both as a fighter and a supe. He isn’t a trained fighter, and that means that he doesn’t have the experience that the other fighters in the series have. On top of that, Hughie hasn’t been a supe long enough to understand or know how to use his powers. That means that he still has a long way to go before he becomes quite adept with the way he uses his powers as a supe.

Billy Butcher hasn’t been a supe long enough, but he has been a fighter for a very long time because of his vast experience as a former CIA and special forces operative. In that regard, when he took V24, he was seemingly a natural when it came to his capabilities because he immediately understood how to use his powers to his benefit. His past experience with supes and his natural abilities as a fighter allowed him to instantly get used to his supe abilities.

Both Hughie and Butcher haven’t been supes long enough to understand how to use their powers. But Butcher seemed to be a natural at using his powers and abilities as a supe because he has been a fighter for a long time. As such, he takes this round.

Hughie 0, Butcher 4

Feats

Hughie hasn’t had a lot of feats in general and as a supe because he was always one of the more useless persons when it comes to a fight. His only feat as a supe was punching right through the torso of a Russian soldier. Other than that, he hasn’t had a lot of impressive feats that will make him stand out. He might be surprisingly skilled at doing a lot of things, but he hasn’t been the most impressive character in the series as far as his feats are concerned.

Both as a regular person and as a supe, Billy Butcher has been impressive. He was able to give some of the supes a run for their money, even as a regular human. However, when he became a supe, he was able to instantly overpower an experienced supe like Gunpowder, who had been in the supe business since the 80s. The fact that he was able to kill Gunpowder means that he has accomplished something quite impressive.

Gunpowder is no joke, and that’s why Queen Maeve gave Butcher the V24. As such, being able to kill Gunpowder easily makes Butcher more impressive as far as his feats are concerned.

Hughie 0, Butcher 5

Hughie vs. Butcher: Who Is Stronger As Sup?

As you can see, Billy Butcher is far ahead the better supe when compared to Hughie Campbell because he has all of the different factors swaying to his side. He is simply stronger, more powerful, more experienced, and more skilled than Hughie. The fact that Butcher has powers that could be similar to what Homelander has makes him stronger than almost any other supe on the planet, and that means that Hughie will probably never have a chance against him in a fight between supes.