One prominently featured character in The Boys is actually the all-time favorite of one of the series’ creators. The shocking and over-the-top series features numerous entertaining and engaging characters. But for one of the series’ creators, only one character stands out above the rest as their favorite character they’ve ever worked on.
In The Boys Omnibus Vol. 6, writer/co-creator Garth Ennis provides a commentary for The Boys #66 by Ennis and Russ Braun. Ennis comments on the scene where Butcher gives his team three months off after Homelander’s attack on the White House, the same scene where Butcher promotes Hughie to the surprise of the rest of the team.
Ennis notes how much he loves Billy Butcher’s ability to manipulate the team and calls Billy Bucher his all-time favorite creation. In the same commentary, Ennis also compliments Braun’s art and his ability to perfectly capture what everyone is thinking at this exact moment.
Billy Butcher is Garth Ennis’ Favorite Character He’s Ever Created
The Boys is a bloody, brutal satire of superhero stories. It largely centers around a group of CIA-backed operatives, the titular Boys, and their attempts to reign in the superhumans of the world. Rather than the stalwart crusaders for justice they are in the comics, the superheroes (or Supes) are impulsive, entitled jerks who cause many more problems than solutions. Leading the Boys is Billy Butcher, the most violent and determined member of his crew who wants revenge on the leading Supe Homelander for assaulting his wife and is willing to do anything to get it.
Billy Butcher being Garth Ennis’ favorite creation comes as a bit of a surprise. Ennis has been working in the comic book industry for decades and has co-created hundreds of characters. In addition to writing The Boys, Ennis also wrote Preacher, featuring amazing characters like Jesse Custer and the Saint of Killers. Not to mention characters he’s made for the Marvel and DC Universes such as Barracuda, Section 8, and Tommy Monaghan, aka Hitman. While Ennis has made numerous colorful characters, none have been as fun for him to write as the scheming, manipulative and violent Billy Butcher.
What Billy Butcher Means to Garth Ennis
In many ways, Billy Butcher is emblematic of Garth Ennnis’ works. A tough, paramilitary individual with a dark sense of humor who has no problem getting his hands dirty. Butcher is almost everything Ennis ever worked on wrapped up into one definitive character. Billy Butcher is obviously a character with flaws (truly too many to include here). But from a writing perspective, Butcher was a character who allowed Garth Ennis to write as freely as he desired and who satisfied a creative itch. While The Boys is filled with some truly intriguing characters, Billy Butcher stands out as Garth Ennis’ favorite he’s ever written.
The Boys Omnibus Vol. 6 is available now from Dynamite Entertainment.
