In the premiere episodes of The Boys season 3, a new form of the Compound V was introduced, called the Compound V24 or Temp V.
Compound V was revealed back in season 1 when all the supes were exposed to have received their powers by ingesting the serum and not being born with it.
Let’s dissect how the new form of the serum exactly works.
A military weapon
In season 3 episode 1, Stan Edgar attempts to convince the US Secretary of Defence Robert Singer to use the Temp V as part of their military to temporarily power up the soldiers. The name comes from the temporary nature of its use.
According to him, the powers provided by the tweaked serum only last for 24 hours. Since Stan has struggled to control immature superheroes such as Homelander, he feels that temporary powers would be ideal.
However, the Temp V has still not been perfected and may cause side effects. Singer shoots down the idea because of how the term Compound V has gained bad PR after being promoted by Stormfront and hated by the world for her Nazi agendas.
The serum is also revealed to be quite expensive. One vial is worth $2 million. A month-long operation would cost the government $60 million per soldier, and $600 million per 10-man squad.
New hope for The Boys?
During Queen Maeve and Butcher’s discussion, the fact that a weapon managed to kill Soldier Boy comes to light. This could have the potential to slaughter Homelander once and for all.
Gathering information on the death of Soldier Boy would require Butcher to meet his former teammates; Crimson Countess and Gunpowder.
Since they are powerful Supes, she suggests using Temp V to level the playing field while trying to get intel out of them.
Butcher’s decision
Considering the hate that Butcher has always harboured for Supes, he rejects the idea initially and is about to dispose of it, until Homelander provokes him, and he realises how helpless he currently is. He holds on to the vial for the time being.
In episode 2 Hughie tells him that Victoria Neuman, whose real name is Nadia, has been the ‘head popper’ Supe all along and that she’s practically Stand Edgar’s daughter. The government is useless in the fight against the Supes.
This clears any doubts in his mind and he consumes the Temp V, taking on and successfully defeating Gunpowder. During the battle, he displays super strength and the ability to use eye lasers, similar to Homelander. It is currently unknown if he has more powers up his sleeves.
As Edgar mentioned before, the serum is not perfect yet. In episode 3, Butcher experiences side effects as his health deteriorates, causing vomiting and nausea.
In the comics
Contrary to the series, Butcher has used a modified form of Compound V to gain superpowers from the start of his war against the supes. Other members of The Boys have also gained powers due to the modification.
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