Spoilers for The Boys Season 4, Episode 4, “Wisdom of the Ages,” and a later Season 4 reveal. Episode 4 strongly suggests that Compound V is changing Billy Butcher’s body, but it does not definitively establish that he has become a conventional Supe with a stable, known power set. His fight with Ezekiel ends with a disturbing, apparently involuntary manifestation from inside his body; showrunner Eric Kripke’s comments reinforce the V-related transformation while preserving uncertainty about what Butcher is becoming.
What happens to Butcher in “Wisdom of the Ages”?
In Season 4, Episode 4, released June 20, 2024, Butcher confronts the Supe Ezekiel. The encounter ends with Butcher apparently losing awareness as a worm-like, tentacled growth emerges from his body. The moment looks like an attack powered by something inside Butcher, rather than a controlled ability he consciously chooses to use.
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TheWrap’s June 20 recap describes the parasite in connection with Butcher’s Compound V and V-24 use, and characterizes his apparent powers as sporadic and not always within his control. That is a recap-level description of what the scene suggests, not a definitive medical explanation or a confirmed classification from the show’s creators. (TheWrap’s Episode 4 recap)
Does Episode 4 confirm that Butcher is a Supe?
Not outright. The episode provides strong evidence that Butcher has undergone a V-related bodily change, but it does not spell out that he is now a standard Supe or establish a reliable power set. The distinction matters: a frightening manifestation and an apparent burst of power do not, by themselves, settle what the change is or how it works.
#1 Best Overall
- The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under Homelander's muscly thumb as he consolidates his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca's son, and his job as The Boys' leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they must find a way to work together and save the world before it's too late.
In a TV Insider interview published June 20, 2024, showrunner Eric Kripke said the series was increasingly hinting that Butcher had taken regular Compound V and that “there clearly is something happening under his skin.” He also described Butcher as facing the possibility that “part of him is human and part of him might be a monster.” The words “hinting” and “might” leave room for uncertainty; they support a V-driven transformation, not a categorical declaration that Butcher is a Supe. (TV Insider’s interview with Kripke)
What the later Episode 6 reveal clarifies
Later Season 4 spoilers: Episode 6 reveals that Joe Kessler is imaginary and connected to Butcher’s V-induced brain tumor. That later revelation gives more context to the tumor and monstrous presence associated with Butcher’s condition. It is a clarification of the larger mystery, not information Episode 4 itself reveals. (Variety Australia’s interview about the Kessler–Butcher twist)
Rank #2
How to read the twist
- What Episode 4 shows: Butcher’s encounter with Ezekiel ends in an uncontrolled-looking bodily manifestation.
- What Kripke says: The show is hinting at regular Compound V use and something happening under Butcher’s skin, while describing the possible “monster” as uncertain.
- What Episode 6 adds: Kessler is imaginary and linked to Butcher’s V-induced brain tumor, connecting the later story to the change Episode 4 signaled.
The safest answer to “Is Butcher a Supe now?” is that Episode 4 makes a V-altered transformation highly likely, but stops short of confirming a conventional Supe identity. The twist is that something dangerous appears to be growing inside him—and, at that point in the season, neither its full nature nor its limits are settled.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
- Condition: New
- Format: Blu-ray
- AC-3; Color; Dolby; DTS Surround Sound; Dubbed; Subtitled; Widescreen
Rank #3
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