Did Becca Reveal Supes' Weakness In The Boys Season 2 Finale?

To the public, the superheroes of The Boys appear to live up to every expectation: they're strong, brave, and determined to fight for justice. They are, in essence, what everyone else should strive to be, powers or no powers. This sentiment is especially true of the Seven, the world's premiere superhero team. Beneath that brilliantly-constructed veneer, however, most of these heroes are deeply flawed in disturbing and disappointing ways. In-universe fan-favorite Homelander (Antony Starr) is probably the worst offender, believing himself a god and doing as he pleases.

This is where the titular Boys come in. Unlike most people, they're well aware of the horrible wake "Supes" leave behind, and want to do something about it — namely, kill them. Hughie's (Jack Quaid) whole reason for joining up is because his girlfriend Robin (Jess Salgueiro) is run through by speedster A-Train (Jessie Usher) — a victim of collateral Supe damage, like so many others. The only problem is, there's quite a power differential between the Boys and Supes thanks to Compound V, a miracle drug that bestows users with incredible gifts.

Killing Supes, then, takes more brains than it does brawn. The Boys can't just rush in every time they see a cape fluttering in the wind: They have to be cautious, careful. Things don't always go as planned — emotions get in the way, unexpected obstacles arise, all that jazz — but the Boys are mostly cognizant of the fact that they're outmatched. Yet, as pointed out by Redditor imaleksander, Becca (Shantel VanShanten), wife of Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), may have accidentally discovered something that could turn the tables: a potential Supe weakness.

Spoilers for The Boys ahead!

The season two finale sees long-standing conflicts boil over and nightmares come true. Just when the Boys think they have Stormfront (Aya Cash) cornered thanks to an experimental weapon designed by Frenchie (Tomer Kapon), the former destroys it with a fearsome lightning blast. Lucky for them, Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), and Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligot) — ladies enhanced by Compound V — are on the scene. They rip Stormfront a new one before she flies off to find her real target: Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), superpowered son of Homelander and Becca. A bruised and battered Stormfront believes that Ryan belongs with her and Homelander, that they could nurture his budding powers better than Becca could. She throws Butcher out of the way, stumbling clumsily yet confidently towards Ryan and his mother. What, after all, could a regular woman like Becca do to a Supe like Stormfront?

Stab her in the eye, of course.

The gruesome tactic actually works, leaving Stormfront's face a bloody mess. The knife isn't a plot convenience, either: Becca had it in her possession since escaping the compound Vought set up for her earlier. There was no way to know if it would've worked or not beforehand, but you'd be hard-pressed to find something that could come between a mother who loves her child as much as Becca loves Ryan. It doesn't put Stormfront out of commission entirely, but the Supe's pained scream is proof enough that it does some damage.

Becca's small victory begs the question as to whether this would work on other Supes, too, or whether she simply got lucky with Stormfront.

Compound V is a strange beast. It enhances the strength, speed, endurance, and durability of all who use it, but the degree differs, and sometimes extra powers are granted. The Deep (Chace Crawford), for example, is at home underwater and can speak to all aquatic creatures, but his physical abilities are on the lower end of the spectrum. Homelander, on the other hand, not only has the highest degree of basic Compound V enhancements out of all Supes, but can fly, shoot lasers from his eyes, see through anything except zinc — the works.

Regardless of what powers a Supe does or doesn't have, and setting exceptions aside, a normal person generally isn't going to be able to do much to the average Supe. Stormfront is far above average, so why does Becca's knife stab work? 

Former Seven member Translucent (Alex Hassell) could help answer that question. Aside from invisibility, Translucent possesses skin "hard as diamonds," as Frenchie puts it. The Supe can be hurt and feel pain, but to actually penetrate his hide is next to impossible. Though the Boys manage to capture him early in season one, they can't figure out how to kill him — until Frenchie watches a documentary about turtles on TV. Translucent's skin is impenetrable, but his insides are theoretically as vulnerable as a turtle beneath its shell. The theory proves correct, and Hughie blows Translucent up with a bomb implanted ... up his butt. Gross, but effective.

Becca attacking Stormfront's eye relies on a similar principle: Hit the soft spots. Stormfront takes bullets, crowbars, and even Homelander's lasers like a champ (though he was holding back at the time, and Ryan's lasers later do major damage), but those are all aimed at her resilient body. Homelander himself survives a bus dropped on him with nary a scratch, and as Madelyn Stillwell (Elizabeth Shue) says, "There isn't a weapon on Earth that they haven't thrown at him. They've all failed." For all the Boys know, his eyes could be as prone to injury as Stormfront's, his insides no different than Translucent's ... or not.

It's hard to say. Anyone brave enough to run up to Homelander with a knife is going to get punched through the chest, flown into the stratosphere, or cut in half by heat vision. Indeed, the fact remains that going toe-to-toe with Supes is a death wish more often than not. Becca's discovery could prove to be immensely valuable, but at what cost? By season two's end, the Boys have already paid quite a toll, but the war on Supes is far from over, potential weakness uncovered or not.