Top 10 WTF Powers from The Boys and Gen V
#10: Laser Baby
While snooping around a private Vought facility, Butcher finds a baby who’s been given compound V. He quickly discovers the infant can shoot high powered lasers from their eyes. Seeing Butcher borrow the kid’s abilities was hilarious. And just in case fans couldn’t get enough, there was an entire episode dedicated to a laser baby on the animated spinoff. In both mediums, seeing a small and cute child wield dangerous weapons left us stunned and surprised. We just hope that any lucky parents of a laser baby find a way to keep their infant from destroying whatever they see.
#9: Acid Spit
There were more than a few supes with odd powers that resided in the Sage Grove Center. However, the strangest one of them all had acidic powers. The unnamed man possessed the ability to produce a deadly and melt-inducing substance from his mouth. While that might just sound a little odd on the surface, his power’s huge drawback pushed him over the edge. It turns out that the man wasn’t immune to his own acid. When Kimiko fought him, he suffered fatal facial burns from his own ability. Other people with acid powers typically don’t share that same weakness. It’s extremely unfortunate that his already disgusting power couldn’t be as useful as it was for people in other mediums.
#8: Paper Manipulation
During an episode of “The Boys: Diabolical”, a group of supes with un-ideal powers find themselves needing to uncover crucial documents. But they can’t just rely on their skills alone. When push comes to shove, the supes call on a supe that can manipulate papers. His superheroic ability allows him to move around documents and…that seems to be it. The Papers man lacks the ability to find anything specific. And it’s unclear if he can even wield documents as weapons. Honestly, a regular person that’s really good at origami is more useful than this papered supe.
#7: Having a Rat Tail
The fact that God U student Harper has a rat tail is often played as a quick visual gag. But the more we thought about it, the more bizarre it became. For anyone who hasn't studied rat anatomy, the tails are actually good for two major rodent body functions. They help keep balance when the animals are on all fours. That particular function becomes a little less useful if you’re standing on two legs like Harper does. As a second benefit, the tail helps rats let out excess heat due to their fur. That’s another function that has little benefit for the noticeably unfurry Harper. Maybe Master Splinter can give the God U student lessons on how to make her tail into a useful superpower.
#6: Naked Teleportation
Although the non-powered Hughie has been an invaluable member of “The Boys” from the beginning, he found himself wanting to do more. After taking some experimental compound v, he gained the ability to teleport at will. But Hughie’s power noticeably doesn’t let him bring his clothes along for the ride. As useful as teleportation is an ability, the instant nudity often left him scrambling for clothes or at the center of awkward situations. And anyone who hitches a ride leaves their threads behind too. Since Hughie swore off of compound V as of season 3, his days of naked jumps seem to be over. He’s fortunate that he isn’t stuck with a power that requires him to bare all just to work.
#5: Regenerating Limbs
Several characters on the boys have shown the ability to regenerate parts of their body at will. But no one makes it quite as weird as Gecko. After discovering that any of his limbs would come back extremely quickly from damage, he turned it into a very disturbing side hustle. While we can’t get into details here, trust us when we say the process seems to be a bit painful for Gecko. This odd duck could’ve become a Deadpool-esque hero who charges into battle with no concerns of injury. However, Gecko’s choice to harness his abilities just to provide cheap thrills made him a certifiably strange supe.
#4: Breathing Through Gills
When we first met the Deep, we wrote him off as a bargain bin Aquaman. Both characters had enhanced strength, could communicate with marine life, and breathe underwater. But we soon discovered that there was one major difference between the two. While Aquaman can breathe underwater with his human anatomy, the Deep needs a set of gills to do the same. Unfortunately for “The Boys” character, his organs are extremely vulnerable to attack. This means that any opponent aiming for the gills could easily take him out of a fight. And unless The Deep is in a hallucinatory state where he imagines his organs are singing, they serve almost no purpose on land. The benefits of having gills definitely don’t outweigh the drawbacks.
#3: Slow Motion Movement
Most of the teenage supes with rough powers learned how to use their abilities in useful ways. However, we’re still struggling to find any practical use for Mo-Slow’s powers. His abilities make it so that he can’t do anything quickly. And since Mo-Slow can’t force anybody else but himself to move slowly, the power can’t even hinder an opponent’s movement. It’s clear that this character was made as a parody of the fast heroes that perceive things in slow motion. Unfortunately, he only has a singular speed. While Mo-Slow will definitely look cool in any dramatic slow motion hero montages, his power doesn’t allow him many options for hero work.
#2: Blood Control
Not every weird power is all-bad. Just ask Marie Moreau. When she first gained her blood-related powers, she tragically ended up giving her parents fatal wounds. But Marie soon learned that she was capable of a lot more. When a woman was in danger of bleeding out, the supe was able to reverse the blood flow and save a life. Marie can also use her abilities to sense abnormalities like trackers inside of people’s bodies. And while we can’t show it here, she can also use her blood as an offensive weapon. Although Marie’s ability probably won’t be depicted on any lunch boxes any time soon, her offbeat skills may make her a top tier heroine one day.
#1: Godlike Control…Over Waste
Shortly after consuming compound V, Sky discovers that she’s gained an extremely gross ability. She can make sentient human waste that is capable of independent thought and movement. After producing one of these creatures, Sky can sense where it is and find it anywhere. She can also grant sentience to other waste and even give them extra abilities like flight. We were honestly surprised that this highly unsanitary power had so much versatility. During Sky’s debut episode, she even makes the Deep retreat. But no matter how useful this ability is, there’s no denying that it's far and away one of the weirdest powers dreamt up in any “Boys” reality.
Did we miss a weird superpower from “The Boys”? Let us know in the comments below.