The Boysis incredible TV.Compared to the even more brutal and out-there comic book, theAmazonseries feels tame, which is interesting considering just how hyperviolent and gory the show can be. The best part, for many, is the premise ofThe Boys:regular people get injected with a substance called Compound V and develop superpowers, meaning anyone could be a hero.
But, having Compound V in one’s blood is unpredictable, since theSupes(as the people with powers are called inThe Boys' universe) can’t choose their powers or how they work. That’s why some get the short end of the stick, for one reason or another.Very often, it’s not just about the usefulness of the powers—it’s the mental and physical strength and the motives of the people having them that matter, too.
The Boys is a drama series that explores the darker aspects of superhero culture, portraying a world where superheroes abuse their powers rather than use them for good. Centered around a vigilante group aiming to control these corrupt heroes, the series delves into themes of power, corruption, and accountability. The show features a complex narrative with multifaceted characters, offering an unfiltered look at the consequences of unchecked power.
10Supersonic’s Sonic Clap
And How He Needs His Hands Together to Create It
Supersonic(Miles Gaston Villanueva) was shown in season 3 as a candidate for one ofThe Sevenand asStarlight’s ex-boyfriend and a Vought boyband member. Supersonic accepts the offer to join The Seven despite Starlight’s insistence that he leave; this results in Supersonic, sadly, getting killed by Homelander (Antony Starr) after he learns Supersonic worked with Starlight. Though it seems he was a nice and genuine guy, his abilities couldn’t save him fromthe strongest Supe inThe Boysuniverse.
The sonic clap itself isn’t the worst power to have, since Supersonic demonstrates thathe can control the soundwaves he creates with his powerful claps. In fact, they can be so strong that they can break glass and disrupt any nearby water. However, there’s a downside to this: he needs his hands free in order to create the sonic claps; so, if his hands were bound, or he potentially lost one of them, this particular power would be useless to him.
9The Deep’s Ability to Talk to Marine Life
Or Perhaps the Way He Ends Up Choosing to Use that Ability
The Deep(Chace Crawford) has the power to talk to marine life, which is, in the right hands and intentions, incredible. Apparently, The Deep can sustain intense water pressure and evensurvive the Mariana Trench, which is impressive and a true feat of superhuman biology. After The Deep starts his Supe career innocently—trying to actively lobby for marine conservation—he realizes nobody around him actually cares about those who need help. Considering he’s insecure, he begins using his powers for cheap tricks and to impress The Seven (specifically Homelander).
Yes, there’s also the fact that The Deep has a romantic and sexual relationship with an octopus (voiced byTilda Swinton, no less). In this case, his superpower is of no use to anyone, not even him, since he ends uptrapping the poor octopus in a closet and killing herbecause of his inability to just break up with her.In The Deep’s case, it’s not that his power is all that terrible; it’s just that it’s in terrible hands, though it’s unsure how talking to marine life could actually benefit The Seven.
8Hughie Campbell’s Naked Teleportation
Hughie Can Go Anywhere, as Long as He Doesn’t Need Clothes
Teleportation is, without a doubt, one of the coolest powers anyone could wish for. No more traffic jams, long commutes, or even airplane rides. But, no one would enjoy having this power if everywhere they popped up, they appeared naked. In season 3 ofThe Boys,Hughie Campbell(Jack Quaid) gets some Compound V in his system and becomes a powerful adversary to many of The Boys' enemies. He can escape sticky situations, but the only suitable situation he teleported into naked was inseason 3, episode 6, “Herogasm.”
Hughie is capable of teleporting wherever he wants to go, but he can’t take any of his clothes with him. In episode 6 (one ofthe most shockingThe Boysepisodes), he grabs Annie/Starlight (Erin Moriarty), and they teleport naked together, so he can’t teleport others' clothes either. From a logical and scientific standpoint, this makes sense, but the Supes inThe Boysaren’t all rich and can’t afford some super-fancy suits that will teleport with them. That’s why this is one of the worst powers inThe Boysuniverse.
7Gunpowder’s Superhuman Precision
Which Really Didn’t Feel Like a Superpower in His Hands
Gunpowder(Sean Patrick Flanery) isone of the members of the Supe team called Payback, which was active during the 1980s. AfterSoldier Boy(Jensen Ackles) gets woken up from cryo-sleep, Butcher (Karl Urban) finds Gunpowder at a gun convention to ask him all about the former Payback leader. Gunpowder refuses to talk to Butcher, and he starts shooting at him in the convention’s parking lot.
This is where Gunpowder gets the chance to use his superhuman shooting accuracy. He is an excellent marksman, but he often misses, despite that. He can’t influence the quality of his guns, soif he uses regular firearms, he’s powerless against other, bulletproof Supes. And while his aim is high precision, his physical strength is less than desirable; it makes sense that someone with incredible marksmanship would focus a lot more on that part of their powers, but when push comes to shove, that can be pretty useless.
6Lamplighter’s Fire Control
Can You Imagine He’s Not Immune to Fire?
Another former member of The Seven,Lamplighter(Shawn Ashmore), was part of the initial Seven and, technically, Starlight’s predecessor. He was kicked out, potentially becausehis secret work for The Boys and their leader, Grace Mallory, was revealed, butLamplighter is another underrated Supewhose powers can be used for good—and can be rendered useless.
Lamplighter requires an active fire to activate his fire control powers.
That’s why he was always depicted in murals and pictures with his signature torch; he can borrow fire from that or a lighter, but that’s under the condition that he has his outfit or a fire source on him.This isn’t as problematic as the fact that Lamplighter is not immune to his own powers. If he accidentally burned himself after attempting to burn someone else, his skin wouldn’t bear the pain and would sustain heavy burns. This was only useful to him when he decided to intentionally burn himself and end his life,making his death one of the most tragic.
5Webweaver’s Unusual Web-Producing Spot
Including His Inability to Control His Webs in Times of Distress
Webweaver (Dan Mousseau) was an integral part of season 4 and The Boys' attendance ofTek Knight’s partyfor America’s one-percenters. He was the confidential informant for MM (Laz Alonso) and Butcher,but his personal life and choices got the better of him in the end. Most of the Supes inThe Boysare tragic characters, who depict the consequences of getting superpowers and imagining a rock star life.
Webweaver is the knock-offSpider-ManofThe Boysuniverse,but he shoots his webs naturally and from the worst possible place—his backside. His webs shoot out of a place just above his butt, and he can’t usually control them. When he’s agitated, they come out in bulk and appear sticky. Those webs may seem like they’re shooting out from his buttocks, which makes the power incredibly impractical but also nasty to those around him. How would Webweaver use his webs in a fight? Imagining any scenario in which he’d have to activate them just looks and seems very awkward. Spider-Man, he is not.
4The TNT Twins' Fizzle Bombs
What Would Happen If They Were Separated?
The TNT Twins are another former part of Soldier Boy’s team, Payback. When they were younger, they were at peak physique and heroic, but their appearance inseason 3, episode 6, “Herogasm”,shows just how those looks were deceiving. Though they’re older and can’t be of the same physical fitness as when they were young, Tommy and Tessa (Jack DoolanandKristin Booth) are also shown as not having used their explosive powers in a long time and haven’t relied on them for years.
The TNT Twins' powers come down to superhuman strength when they’re separated, but they’re more powerful when they’re together.When they can have physical contact, they can charge large, explosive plasma bolts from their hands; while this is pretty powerful, it requires them to be together all the time, which, as seen from Tommy and Tessa, is better off not happening at all. Unless one has a sibling they get along with well and they both nurture their powers over time, the plasma bolts are pretty useless.
3Love Sausage’s Massive Appendage
What Might He Need It For?
One of the (seemingly) most useless and potentially worst powers ever shown inThe Boyswas sported by a Supe that MM namesLove Sausage(Derek Johns). He hasan appendage that looks like a tentacle and can extend to any necessary length, but that appendage is in his pants, between his legs. Fans are first introduced to this bizarre, but very muchThe Boys-like, Supe when he uses the appendage to attempt to kill MM at the Sage Grove hospital. MM becomes permanently scarred by the fact that another man tried to choke him with his sexual organ.
While sure, a body part that can be extended to great lengths and used as a weapon could be useful, it actually being a man’s sexual organ seems painful and highly uncomfortable. ConsideringLove Sausage in the comicsclaims he can’t run in a straight line when he’s aroused and that large breasts are “his Kryptonite,” there are ways to defeat him, mainly if his adversary is a large-breasted woman.This power may seem worse to others than Love Sausage himself, but he’s still just a man with a long appendage in his pants, and that’s pretty much it.
2Acid Man’s Acid Vomit
He Wasn’t Immune to His Own Abilities
Another example of how a Supe’s own power works on them, too, is the Sage Grove Hospital patientonly known as the Acid Vomit Patient in trivia. When The Boys meet Lamplighter at Sage Grove, many of the hospital’s patients are sent to try and defeat them. TheAcid Man comes barging into a room, knocking down Lamplighter, trying to kill him with his acid puke. However, while he charges his new projectile, Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) pushes him away and steps on his stomach, causing Acid Man to vomit all over his face. His face melts, followed by excruciating screams (the scene is darkly hilarious).
Anyone can see why acid vomit is such a disadvantage - the man is helpless against himself. Though even the most likable characters ofThe Boyshave their biggest enemy in themselves, they at least can’t burn their own skin off by accidentally coughing at it. Plus, in the scene when Acid Man appears, his regurgitation also looks painful and hard to handle, but at least his insides are primed against the harmful prospects of acid.Puking on others just doesn’t seem practical or attractive to anyone who imagines themselves as a hero.
1Firecracker’s Spark Generation Ability
Her Supe Nickname Feels Unnecessary
Firecracker(Valorie Curry) becomes one of The Seven in season four, and her Supe nickname stems from her ability to create sparks with her fingers. The sparks are electric, and her skin seems resistant to its heat, but that’s more or less it.Though she has more power with her charisma, public rhetoric, and the ability to win over wider audienceswith wild conspiracy theories, she’d be better off with a different nickname. Viewers see thatFirecracker finds a way to be useful to Homelanderbeyond her finger sparks, although it’s unsure how her health will hold up by the end of next season.
Firecracker’s spark generation ability is the worst power because she’s part of The Seven. Thebig seven are meant to represent the elite of Supes, but she doesn’t have much more to offer than a couple of fizzles.Her entrance into the upper echelons of Vought shows the switch in thepolitical currentin the series, considering she’s lobbying hard against Starlight and people of various ethnicities and religions inThe Boysuniverse.
