Butcher quotes from The Boys

Mallory

Neuman's head of the Bureau because I said so. I tried to save her from the attack on Congress that she fucking caused!

Hughie

Well, at least you didn't spend the last year getting her oatmilk lattes and every piece of intel she asked for.

Mallory

[to Butcher] I would very much like to know the plan to eliminate her.

Well, that depends on what you can tell us about your little holiday down in Nicaragua.

Mallory

[pause] I've never been to Nicaragua.

Really? 'Cause a little birdie told me you were Payback's case officer down there, on a classified job that Soldier Boy never come back from.

[pause; Mallory scoffs] Colonel?

Mallory

Whatever it is William thinks he may have heard… he's mistaken.

Is he? You know that safe you got in your home office? The one behind the picture of Bush number one? Well, I borrowed a ledger from it–the one with all your assets around the world. How long do you think them and their families will last when I put every one of their fuckin' names on Facebook?

Mallory

You'd sign the death warrants of dozens of innocent people who had nothing to do with this?

I'm embarrassed for the both of us that you're askin'.

Mallory

[pause] Nicaragua's ancient history. Not to mention, I could be killed just for telling you.

And all your agents will get killed if you don't. [pulls out chair and sits down] Blimey. What a pickle.

Mallory

[beat] It was part of Operation Charly.

Hughie

Operation… Charly?

Mallory

Reagan's pet project, off the books. Helped the Contra rebels fight the Russian-backed Sandinistas, but we needed a way to pay for it. Some of the cash came from selling arms to Iran. Oliver North's epic fuck-up. But the rest? If there's one thing that the Contras had plenty of, it was cocaine. I was in charge of trafficking the coke into the U.S. and then using the profits to buy more weapons in the fight against the Reds. Whatever it took.

That's some self-justifying bullshit. Were you part of that other thing, too?

Hughie

What other thing?

She knows. [to Mallory] Tell him.

Mallory

The unwritten policy was to sell the cocaine strictly to minority neighborhoods–destabilize, demoralize–while staying out of white ones. Late in '84, we were gearing up for a major offensive. So the higher-ups, in their infinite wisdom, decided it was the perfect time to throw a wrench in the works: Fucking Payback. Each more ridiculous than the next: Crimson Countess, Mindstorm, Swatto, the TNT Twins, Noir, Gunpowder, and the most idiotic of them all…

You came to me after Becca disappeared and promised me Homelander's head. And all this time, you knew there was something that could do the job, and you never said a fuckin' word!

Mallory

Whatever this weapon is, it probably won't work on Homelander.

And what if it does?!

Mallory

Even worse. Because it wouldn't end with him. You'd go after another Supe, then another, then all of them.

If you'd have told me about this sooner, Homelander might already be dead! Ryan wouldn't be runnin' from one safe house to the next, wonderin' when his nutter dad's gonna drop outta the sky! And Becca… Becca might still be alive. And for that… I'll never fuckin' forgive ya.

Mallory

This was never about Ryan or Becca. It was always selfish. Always and only for you. For the hate inside that you want to let loose on the world. I thought maybe you changed, but I was wrong. You are your father. Always have been.

Butcher, what the fuck is wrong with you, man?

I'm sure you're gonna tell me.

That shit you pulled with Ryan and now this cold-hearted shit you said to Kimiko? How could anybody be such a complete asshole?

Practice.

You knocked on my doorstep, motherfucker. Now, I respect the chain of command, but this? I'm not gonna tolerate your bullshit anymore, man.

Do you remember when we met?

Hard to forget.

Me and the colonel, we had our pick of officers. Some, uh… [chuckles softly] Some real haircuts. D'you ever wonder why we picked some grunt Marine stuck in the brig?

Let's see. I knocked out my racist C.O. Sent him to the ICU with one punch, so you knew I was strong. And you read my file, so you knew I hated Vought.

Yeah, it weren't none of them. I mean, they didn't hurt, mind ya, but no. We spoke to the blokes that you went through basic with. And to the man, they said that you were the one that held that platoon together. A natural-born leader.

You never told me that.

Mate, I'm under no illusions about who I am. And that's why we brought you in. 'Cause no matter how hard I gotta be… you're here to look after the Boys. Now, if I thought to do that, I can't be a complete arsehole, can I? Just mostly one.

Hughie

Butcher, can I uh… [Butcher breathes heavily] What are you doing?

Contingency. In case things go arse over tit at the lab.

Hughie

[pause; closes the door] I wanna try some.

Don't be daft. This shit is poison, Hughie. A lad like you don't want no part of it.

Hughie

What, you mean like a loser? A fuck-up?

Sooner or later, Homelander will find Ryan, okay? It's just a matter of time. I have to do this, alright? You don't.

Hughie

Annie's in just as much danger. Homelander almost lasered me in half in front of her, and it was like... it was like I was back with every bully that I ever had, just taking it. And then she had to save me again! Butcher, please. Please. Please… because right now, I am so angry that I can't even breathe.

[sighs] Oh, Hughie… It's shittier. It's not power; it's punishment. You don't deserve none of it.

Hughie

What, and you do?

Get ready to go. [closes the door on Hughie]

[to M.M.] Listen, mate, we can't hang about here lookin' for him, right? He's Ivan's problem now. We gotta get Kimiko home to a proper doctor.

You don't give a shit about Kimiko. Or anyone else.

Oh, come off it, mate. Look, I took a fuckin' drug. And in case you forgot, I just saved your life.

[pause] You killed Gunpowder, didn't you? Did you use your little laser eyes?

You're too fuckin' right, I did. And it felt good. For once, I leveled the fuckin' playing field.

Butcher, the whole point of what we do–the whole goddamn point–is that no one should have that kind of power.

Well, ain't that just fuckin' fairies and dancin' dildos, eh? I happen to live right down here, mate. On planet Earth.

I done 'em all: Coke, E, meth, smack. [holds up V24 sample] Ain't nothing like this. Used to be months of leg work to take down a Supe. Gunpowder… not even a New York minute.

Queen Maeve

Must've felt good.

I hated every second. [shakes his head] No. The V just made me more… me. With great power comes the absolute certainty that you'll turn into a right cunt. [sips from the bottle] I mean, that's the thing, right? You're all just people. All the V does is just amp up all that shit that's already inside. Your lot? Just a bunch of walkin' nuclear erections, y'know? And it's not just Homelander. I mean, you–you fuckin' all gotta go. Every fuckin' last… one of ya.

Queen Maeve

Yeah.

Queen Maeve

What? You still think you're too good for me?

I swear on my kids' lives.

You hate your fucking kids.

So would you, if you met them.

You're that asshole from the lab.

That's right. I'm the arsehole that let you out. Russian Porta-Loos, eh? You want the Countess' head on a spike, don't ya? Well, she's in there. Yours for the takin'. Consider it a gesture of good faith.

Good faith for what?

[pause] I was thinkin' that you and I could come to a little arrangement. What you lot call… a team-up.

Where's the Chop Socky Oriental sauce?

Hughie

They don't… have that anymore?

Why the fuck not?

Hughie

Many… many good reasons.

Did you get the other shit?

Here you go, guv.

Oh… Man, I missed bennies. It's how we won D-Day, you know? We were wired to the fucking gills.

[as Soldier Boy crushes the pills with a jack knife] Listen, let's have a little chat about this team-up, yeah?

What the hell do I need a team for? The last one handed me to the Reds.

And we got you outta that pickle. We wrapped up Crimson Countess and delivered her like a fuckin' Christmas turkey, and I even sorted Gunpowder for ya.

What, am I supposed to be impressed with that? That's like killing Emmanuel Lewis. [laughs; snorts the crushed-up pills]

Yeah, well, he grew up a bit since you last saw him.

[to Hughie, who is staring at his shield] Hands off the fucking shield.

Anyway, you want payback on Payback, don't ya? Well, it just so happens that we are experts at exterminatin' shitbag Supes. You see, it's a whole different world out there now, son. We're here to help you find your way.

Well, I can find them on my own.

Hughie

Are you sure? I mean, do you know what a GPS is? Or Bluetooth, or… [chuckles] the internet?

… [smirks] You made those words up.

Hughie

Nope. No, those are real words. And–And you need those to find them, alright? You need us.

Kid's right. All we ask in return is that you add one more name to the list.

Who?

A right cunt named Homelander.

I've seen pictures. Who is he?

He's the new you.

No one's the new me, pal. [pause] But why him?

Let's just say, you're not the only one who wants payback.

Alright. You help me find the rest of my team, and I'll help you with this Homelander.

Hughie

Oh, okay. So, this–this is an actual orgy. That's what this is.

Fuckin' Herogasm. Still a thing, eh?

It's my thing. I founded it in '52. Me and this other Supe, Liberty. Man, was she a firecracker.

Frenchie's gonna be real heartbroken he missed this.

I need to talk to Hughie. Where is he?

Oh, Starlight. How delightful. He's just popped out for a bit.

Okay, well, he's not answering his phone.

Bit hard to keep a phone when you're teleportin' all day, innit, love? How can I help?

Temp V is gonna kill you both.

Well, it's gonna have to join the queue.

I was just in the lab. It causes lesions, okay? It turns your brain into fucking Swiss cheese! So please be honest with me, and tell me how many doses have you taken.

Just a couple.

Jesus Christ. Butcher, three to five doses kills you. You need to tell Hughie.

Yeah. Yeah, I will. I will. I promise.

Okay, but I'm calling back every five minutes until… [Butcher hangs up on her] Butcher? Goddammit.

Hughie

Okay, hi. Only thing open was Long John Silver's, so... I guess that's kind of fish and chips, right?

Yeah. Nice one.

Hughie

Everything alright?

It's, uh… It's the Temp V.

Hughie

What about it?

[beat] We gotta swing by the office and get some more. [pause] And then you, me, and Granny Fucker are gonna finish this fuckin' job.

Hughie

Yeah. [chuckles] Fuck, yeah.

[sniffs whiskey] Whoa. That brings me back. Used to sneak my dad's Manhattans when I was a kid.

I didn't have to nick nothin' from my old man. He used to get me and me little brother lagered just for the hell of it.

Well, I gotta admit, that does sound funny. The old man still around?

Arse cancer. [pause; sees Mallory calling him and shuts his phone off] Shittin' his guts out as we speak, one hopes.

You ever see The Soldier Boy Story?

Must've missed it.

It's a classic. We lost Best Picture to An American in Paris that year. At least I got to ass-fuck Jane Wyman in the coat check. It's about a poor kid from the streets of South Philly, discovers he's got incredible powers to match his heart of gold. It was all bullshit.

[sarcastically] Blimey, you don't say.

Actually, my father owned half the steel mills in the state. I went to boarding school. Got kicked out of boarding school because I was a fuck-up… but he made sure I knew it.

Used the belt, did he?

Never laid a hand on me. He couldn't be bothered. He said I was a disappointment. Not good enough to carry his name. So I went to his golf buddies in the War Department, and they got me into Dr. Vought's Compound V trials. I became a superhero. Strongest man alive, fuckin' ticker-tape parades when I came home.

And what did the old man say then?

Ah… he said I took a shortcut. [pause] That a real man wouldn't have cheated. [beat; clears throat] How 'bout you? You got kids?

It's complicated.

I always assumed I had a few out there… somewhere. I always wanted 'em, 'cause I thought I could do it better than my father did.

Homelander ain't yours. Not really.

He's the only blood I've got left.

It don't matter. You didn't name him, didn't raise him. Vought grew him in a fuckin' test tube to take your place. He's the fuckin' reason they left you to rot with the Ivans. Look, mate… we had a deal.

I'm gonna get some air.

Homelander

Scorched earth, eh, William?

Scorched earth.

Where's Noir?

Homelander

[pause] He's dead. I killed him.

Why?

Homelander

Because he didn't tell me about you. I'm alone. I just wanna talk. I know what it's like to have your team betray you. But with you and I together… they wouldn't stand a chance. Nobody would.

Unless we kill each other first.

Homelander

That's true, but why? What, because he says so? [chuckling] He's nothing. He's a human.

[to Soldier Boy] Don't you listen to this fuckin' twat. He ain't your kid.

Homelander

YES, I AM! I AM YOUR SON! I am your blood. That's all that matters.

Maybe.

Ryan…

Homelander

[to Soldier Boy] This is my son, Ryan. Your grandson.

Ryan

Hi, Grandpa.

Homelander

You see? You have a family. You have him… [tearfully] and you have me.

[pause] It's a shame that I've missed… so much. I wish I could've raised you and taught you, father to son.

Homelander

Me, too. That's okay. We're not alone anymore. We have each other.

Maybe if I'd raised you, I could've made you better… and not some weak, sniveling pussy starved for attention. But there's no fixing that now.

Homelander

Weak? I'm you.

I know. You're a fucking disappointment.

What the fuck are you doing?

Not the kid.

Oh, I thought you said blood didn't matter. I thought that was the whole fuckin' point!

He's my wife's son.

Wait, Homelander fucked your wife? And you wanna save the brat? The hell's wrong with you?

I made a promise.

So this is it. Everything you wanted–He's right fuckin' there, and now you blink?

Stand down.

Fuck you! You're weaker than he is.

Hughie

You sure you wanna do this?

I don't need it. [shakes her head] I don't. The suit never gave me any power. And Vought sure as shit didn't. [Hughie gives Annie her old boots to throw away] It's always just been me.

[pause; clears his throat] Uh, Annie?

Mm-hmm?

You know, we're in a historic building. You need to double-knot...

Okay.

… and bag your trash if you're gonna be working here.

Butcher isn't gonna like it.

Frenchie

Butcher can suck my shit. From now on, this is a democracy, huh? I say you're one of The Boys.

Me, too.

Hughie

Oh, fuck.

[on TV] After the tragic drowning of presumptive VP candidate Lamar Bishop, we go live to the Singer campaign in Sioux Falls, where Dakota Bob just announced his new running mate.

[on TV] What would you like to say to the American people?

[on TV] As the next Vice President, I will work hard to provide a safe and secure future for all citizens on both sides of the political divide.

[on TV] And that's why I am so proud to have her on my team.

Well… That bitch has definitely gotta go.