The Boys: 10 Goriest Deaths In The Series

The Boys has frequently been cited as one of the darkest, most violent shows currently streaming. However, rather than that being a major turnoff for fans, viewers of the show have delighted in seeing the shocking levels of violence some characters endure in the series. This sometimes results in extremely gory, surprising deaths.

With the recent release of The Boys’ season 3 trailer, fans are already buzzing wondering what the showrunners will have in store for the series next season. Regardless, given how incredibly gory the first two seasons of the award-winning show have been, it’ll be interesting to see how The Boys top themselves in terms of violence (but it’s almost certain that they will).

Black Noir’s Terrorist Takedown

Season 2 of The Boys opens with Black Noir infiltrating a terrorist compound in the Middle East, silently killing his way through many of the compound’s armed guards in an incredibly brutal fashion.

Throughout season 1 of The Boys, fans only saw Black Noir in a limited capacity, usually for more comedic relief than actually performing superhero work. In the opening moments of season 2, however, viewers witness the extent of Black Noir’s terrifying, hand-to-hand combat style, literally ripping enemies apart with his bare hands. Black Noir is among the best characters in The Boys comic, and seeing him more fully utilized in season 2 was a major strong point.

Lamplighter

Lamplighter is a fascinating character in The Boys. Originally a member of the prestigious Seven, he has since fallen out of grace with his fellow superheroes after savagely burning Mallory’s grandchildren alive. Guilty over his past crimes and unhappy with his position in life, Lamplighter ends up self-immolating in front of The Seven’s mural, charring himself to a crisp.

Given the viewers’ knowledge of Lamplighter’s past misdeeds, Lamplighter himself wasn’t an altogether likable hero. His self-egoism over his fall from grace is evident throughout his appearances in the show, finally culminating when he sees that he’s been fully replaced by Starlight on The Seven, resulting in Lamplighter going up in flames.

Lucy The Whale

Unlike many characters on this list, Lucy the Whale is probably one of the most harmless characters in all of The Boys. When The Deep tries using Lucy to block off the path of Billy Butcher and his team on a boat, Butcher ends up crashing directly into Lucy, launching the team directly into the stomach of the whale, killing her.

As if that weren’t shocking enough, the titular Boys end up having to crawl around in Lucy’s innards trying to get out, pushing their way through her intestines and other organs to escape. It’s a genuinely tragic, albeit somewhat funny death in the series, and–as is always the case with many of the most violent scenes in The Boys–was completely unexpected when it happened. Plus, The Deep deliberately beaching a whale remains one of the wildest things a superhero has done on The Boys yet.

Alastair Adana

Alastair Adana was an interesting addition to The Boys’ secondary character list, acting as the leader of a strange, Scientology-like group that tries to recruit The Deep and A-Train. He ultimately meets his end when Victoria Neuman causes his head to explode (likely by superpower manipulation).

Adana’s appearance in The Boys was always a strange, comedic one. As a would-be mentor to The Deep, it was clear that he was using the disgraced aquatic superhero to advance his agenda. His ambition and political dealing with Neuman would of course end up costing him in the long run, as he got in a bit “over his head,” in a very major way.

Susan Raynor

Like Adana, Susan Raynor was unexpectedly and graphically killed in front of the Boys when her head spontaneously combusts moments before she can reveal vital information to Mother’s Milk and Hughie.

A character that had been around since season 1, Raynor had a fascinating dynamic with Billy Butcher and the Boys, alternating between a helpful source of information and someone who wanted nothing to do with Butcher at all. One of the few government figures who tried helping the Boys occasionally, her violent, unexpected death was a major mystery throughout the second season, prompting the Boys to try and find the person responsible for her assassination.

Aleksy Lutz

Fans of The Boys may remember Aleksy Lutz as Popclaw’s landlord, a man who memorably meets his end by having his head graphically caved in when hooking up with Popclaw.

Not much is known of Aleksy, his role is an incredibly minor one in the series. However, his shocking and downright disgusting death still stood out in fans’ minds as a particularly gory moment in the series, illustrating just how dangerous superheroes can be even when they don’t mean to be (as in the case of Popclaw).

Translucent

Translucent remains a minor character in the early season of The Boys. A perverted member of The Seven capable of invisibility, he is killed by Hughie when Hughie detonates a bomb inside the superhero, splattering chunks of Translucent all over the place.

From his first few appearances in The Boys, Translucent was established early on as a character that fans are meant to dislike–a bully who uses his invisibility powers to hang around bathrooms and changing rooms. His death at Hughie’s hands is a major turning point for Hughie’s character, as it is the first person Hughie ever kills. It’s hard to know how the show will get more graphic than this, but star Jack Quaid has already promised that the next season of The Boys will be more messed up than before.

Mesmer

When Mesmer first appeared in The Boys, he was portrayed as an ally of sorts for Butcher and his team, feeding them information about Vought’s operations. However, when he tries selling them out to Vought, Butcher catches up with the B-superhero, bashing his head into the edge of a bathroom sink over and over until Mesmer’s skull caves in.

Like many characters on this list, Mesmer’s role in The Boys was somewhat small, yet his death remains a memorably gory one, with his face slowly turning into pulp with each new blow by Butcher. His death also illustrates an important point many characters could learn about Butcher: never, ever think about betraying him.

Madelyn Stillwell

Madelyn Stillwell was portrayed as one of the main antagonists of The Boys, perceived at first to be the true mastermind behind The Seven. However, her repeated flirtations and attempted seduction of Homelander end up costing Stillwell her life, as Homelander uses his laser vision to burn through her skull.

Anything involving lasers burning through a human’s eyeballs is always going to be shocking and gory, with Stillwell’s every a bit disgusting a death as viewers might’ve imagined it to be. Though the reveal that Homelander was evil on The Boys was a predictable plot twist, her murder at Homelander’s own hands also shows the hero’s continuing descent into madness, capable of killing those he has an emotional connection to like Stillwell.

Robin

Robin’s death remains the most shocking and emotional death on The Boys so far. A wonderful person and someone who Hughie loves, she is brutally killed when A-Train–moving at super-speed–crashes into her, pulverizing her in front of Hughie’s very eyes.

Though Robin’s screentime was limited, her unexpected death serves a pivotal moment for the entire series, launching Hughie on his mission of justice. As shown through Hughie’s various flashbacks of the event, it’s also a death that is engrained in Hughie’s memory–an unforgettable, traumatic ordeal that Hughie has to relive multiple times throughout the series.