How The Boys Changed Robin’s Death From The Comics

Amazon’s hit series The Boys doesn’t always perfectly follow the source material, and here’s how the very first episode changed the death of Robin, Hughie Campbell’s girlfriend. With two seasons already streaming and The Boys season 3 on the way, it has become one of the most popular shows around. In an age where superhero content is in high demand, Amazon hired Eric Kripke to bring the satirical twist from Garth Ennis and Darrick Robertson’s comics to life.

The Boys is well-known for its more adult content and bloody violence. Although both elements are heightened in the comics, the show has still included shocking moments from the source material. One of these came early on in the first episode of The Boys season 1. After the show introduced Jack McQuaid’s Hughie as an employee at an electronics store who had an affinity for Supes, his girlfriend Robin was introduced. Fans of the comics knew what would happen next, as Robin died in a flash, with Hughie left standing in the street covered in her blood and holding the remains of her hands.

Robin’s death is the inciting incident for Hughie to get involved with Billy Butcher and The Boys in both the comic and show, but The Boys made some changes to how it happened. One of the biggest changes comes with where Robin dies, as it happens in America instead of Glasgow, Scotland, like the comics. The Boys did maintain A-Train’s involvement in Robin’s death, but it changed how he was responsible. The comics saw A-Train throw a supervillain into a wall and, accidentally, through Robin. The speed the villain was traveling tore Robin’s body from her limbs, with her body crushed by his on the impact. This is quite different from The Boys, which simply had A-Train run through her at top speed. A-Train claims he was chasing after bank robbers, but his lack of control came from being high on Compound V.

Even with the changes made to Robin’s death in the show, the key aspects of it are retained. Comic readers might have known it was coming, but her body bursting on impact from A-Train was a shocking moment for casual viewers. The show even kept the memorable comic panel of Hughie standing in shock, still holding onto Robin’s hands. In many ways, it immediately establishes the tone of The Boys while also pushing Hughie into a new life of trying to take down A-Train and Vought’s entire superhero empire.

Despite the differences, The Boys managed to simplify what happened with Robin’s death and update it for the story the show wanted to tell. The show effectively eliminated the middle (evil) man by having A-Train be directly responsible for her death. Having A-Train run through Robin instead of throwing someone at her further fuels Hughie’s hatred of him. The changes also helped incorporate A-Train’s abuse of Compound V, which was a huge part of season one. Could The Boys have worked by having a completely comic-accurate death for Robin? Most likely. But, this is just one of many ways that show managed to borrow from the source material without directly copying it.

About The Author

Cooper Hood
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Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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