The vast majority of fans would agree that Amazon has done a spectacular job on its hit Prime Video series,The Boys, but that doesn’t mean the live-action show is without its faults. Overall, the lore ofThe Boysas established in the Dynamite Entertainment comic book series is either closely followed or respectfully honored in the Amazon show. However, when it comes to one particular character who was vital to the Boys’ in-world comic book origin, Amazon totally missed the mark (though perhaps for the better).
InThe Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker#6 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, Billy Butcher explains how the Boys became the autonomous CIA-backed anti-supe strike team it is when fans meet them inThe Boys#1. Originally, the Boys consisted of just Butcher and Greg Mallory, and they were little more than a hit squad passed around between different law enforcement agencies like the CIA and DEA.
They had to answer to whatever agency contracted them, and had to follow whatever mission they were given. No independent investigations, no funding, and no autonomy. Mallory knew that the only way this was going to change was if he and Butcher nailed an A-list supe, which Mallory could use to convince the powers that be that the Boys needed real funding, and could operate as its own unit. Finally, Butcher and Mallory (with the help of Love Sausage and the Legend) landed that supe, who wasnone other than Webweaver.
Webweaver is the Reason the Boys Became the Boys, & Amazon Ignored That
Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmakermakes it clear that, if it wasn’t for Webweaver, the Boys wouldn’t be the version of the team fans know and love today. They’d still be contracted out by CIA and DEA operatives for special missions involving supes, without having any real say in anything they do. But, because of Webweaver, the Boys was truly able to become the Boys, setting the stage for the events of the entire series.
In the live-action Prime Video series, however,Webweaver was left completely out of the Boys’ origin. Instead, he was just another dead-beat supe who was willing to be an informant for the Boys for the promise of immunity and drugs. While he did help the Boys pull off an important operation in season 4 (one that took a hilariously memorable left turn for one Hughie Campbell), he ended up just gettingripped apart by Homelander, meaning he has no impact on both the Boys’ in-world origin or future in the Amazon series.
Amazon Might Have Actually Improved on Webweaver by Ignoring His History with The Boys
In Some Ways, Amazon’s Webweaver is Even Better than His Comic Book Counterpart
While Webweaver certainly wasn’t a part of the Boys’ origin in the Prime Video series, and won’t be a part of the team’s future either, this version of the character is still in some ways better than his comic book counterpart. For starters, Prime Video’s version actually appears on-screen, whereas Webweaver is only referenced by name inButcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker(and wouldn’t be seen until 2020’sThe Boys: Dear Becky). That allowed the series to actually give the character a personality. Plus, Amazon brought Webweaver to the present day, allowing him to have some standing in the current story.
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There are definitely aspects of Webweaver where Amazon arguably surpassed the comics, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t compare to what Amazon left on the proverbial cutting room floor in terms of its comic book adaptation. Amazon robbedThe Boysof this major character who was originally vital to the team’s origin, forever making Webweaver infinitely less impactful in the show than he was in the comics.
The Boys
The Boysfranchise is a satirical and dark superhero series based on the comic book by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. It explores a world where superheroes, or “Supes,” are corrupt, violent, and morally bankrupt, all controlled by the powerful corporation Vought International. The story centers around two opposing groups:The Boys, a vigilante team aiming to expose and defeat the corrupt heroes, andThe Seven, Vought’s elite team of Supes led by the ruthless Homelander.
