Homelander's Big Surprise
Over the course of Season 1, viewers learn why Billy Butcher hates superheroes, and Homelander in particular. Billy's wife Becca once worked for Vought International until she was raped by Homelander and mysteriously vanished several days later. Ever since, Billy has waged an obsessive crusade of revenge.But as we learned, there's more to that story than Billy realized. Dr. Vogelbaum revealed to Homelander that Becca became pregnant as a result of what may have been a consensual relationship. Vogelbaum initially lied and told Homelander both Becca and the baby died in childbirth. But after returning for a second interrogation, Homelander learned the truth -- Becca and the child lived, and they've been hiding out under new identities.Ironically, that deception is the only reason Billy is still alive. Rather than allow his nemesis to blow himself up in a futile attempt at revenge, Homelander saved Billy and brought him to the home where Becca and her son now live. Homelander now gets to bask in the knowledge that he has a son who inherited his father's All-American looks and incredible powers. Meanwhile, Billy is faced with the realization that his entire crusade was built on a lie. Will Billy still have the drive to keep fighting after this, or will he be demoralized by the discovery that his wife has been hiding from him and raising another man's child?
The Superhuman Arms Race
The revelation that superheroes can have children with ordinary humans is bound to have a huge impact on the series in future seasons. Before Becca gave birth to her son, it was believed that the effects of Compound V rendered heroes sterile and unable to reproduce. Now, this surprising twist raises the question of how many other biological offspring of Vought's creations are out there in the world?It's not hard to understand why Vogelbaum and his employer would want to keep the existence of Becca's child a secret. Superheroes are Vought's most valuable asset - an asset that's kept carefully controlled and delivered to the public in very specific ways. Even the rise of terrorist supervillains like Naqib is all part of a manufactured ploy by Homelander to convince the military to invest in Vought's superheroes for national defense. Every hero in the world was born in a lab thanks to Compound V. Or so the company thought.Let's use Jurassic Park as a comparison. It's one thing when a corporation breeds highly dangerous creatures in a controlled setting. But once those creatures begin breeding and the population grows beyond its intended limit, and once other corporations begin stealing that technology for their own ends, then suddenly humanity has a very dangerous situation on its hands. What began as a completely staged superhuman arms race might wind up developing into a very real one.
The Boys on the Run
The rest of the team aren't faring much better than Billy by the end of Season 1. Their identities have been leaked to Vought, their families have been taken into protective custody, and all the resources of the most powerful corporation in the world are being devoted to hunting down The Boys.That dangerous status quo will likely feed into Season 2, as the Boys try to stay one step ahead of their pursuers and decide whether or not bringing down Vought is still a mission worth pursuing. If so, they may have to keep on fighting without Billy as their leader, which may wind up being better for the team's long-term survival.This could also be an opportunity to introduce several story elements from the comic book series. In the comic, several Boys members have super-powers of their own (including Hughie). This could be a way of leveling the playing field. They may also begin working more closely with Mallory and the CIA, benefiting from the resources and protection of the federal government. Mallory clearly wasn't willing to come out of retirement for Billy, but she may make an exception for the rest of the team if word of Homelander's son gets out.
From Seven to Three
As much as The Boys are in a bad spot right now, there's little denying their actions took a heavy toll on The Seven. The team is down several members. Translucent is dead. The Deep is trapped in a downward spiral in Ohio. A-Train is in pretty bad shape. And it's not even clear if Starlight will continue to serve on the team in light of her actions in the season finale.At this point, that only leaves three members definitely left standing - Homelander, Black Noir, and Queen Maeve. No doubt Vought will need to recruit some new members to fill out the ranks. Fortunately, the Boys universe is home to a number of other superhero parodies. There are entire other teams in this universe, including Payback, Teenage Kix and the Young Americans. One subplot from the comic involves the twist that Compound V can even resurrect dead heroes (albeit as brain-damaged zombies), so there's no guarantee dead characters will actually stay dead.Given the death of Madelyn Stillwell in the finale, the team will also be in need of new management. We're assuming that role will be filled by Stillwell's boss, Stan Edgar, who made a brief appearance in the finale.