On The Amazon Prime series The Boys, Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid) is only armed with his brains, however according to the comics Hughie can use superpowers on his own. These powers could finally unlock during The Boys season 3. As an integral part of The Boys‘ famous group, Wee Hughie keeps twisted heroes under control. In the show, he does this with his brains and engineering abilities he gained while working at an electronics retail store. In the first episode of The Boys, he figures out the invisible supe’s vulnerability to electricity, and then successfully blocks the signal of the tracking chip, which would warn other Supes of his position. He’s collaborative and is capable of thinking at a moment’s notice in the life-threatening situations that The Boys often face. However, he’s still a typical individual.

It is in Garth Ennis’ original comics however, Hughie and The Boys are using a totally different strategy. Instead of relying on weapons and thought-out strategies, The Boys improve their abilities to fight Supes in hand-to-hand combat. Billy Butcher, the team’s leader, injects every single member with Compound V, the substance that created the Supes. 

Compound V grants The Boys superhuman abilities to offer them a chance in the face of The Seven, which is a dark parody of the Justice League made up of the strongest Supes around. Hughie is part of the team following his partner Robin being killed accidentally by A-Train. He is a member of The Seven who is super-fast, but is not aware of The Boys’ use of Compound V.

The first time he has been assigned to The Boys in the comics, Hughie is tasked with watching the depraved actions that comprise Teenage Kix, a young group of superheroes. He is joined by Billy Butcher. As he takes incriminating pictures of the Kix, Butcher surprises Hughie with a syringe containing Compound V, which is injected into his neck. He is irritated by the injection that is not consented to, however Butcher states that the effects are not permanent, but will be needed in his job. Soon, he begins to feel the impact of V, since it increases his power and endurance. So How Strong Is Hughie in The Boys ?

How Did Hughie Get His Powers In The Boys?

The story of The Boys keeps on getting exciting because we are witnessing The Boys themselves finally getting closer to closing the gap between themselves and the supes, which are stronger than they actually are. In this way we saw in the very first episode of Season 3 of The Boys that Queen Maeve provided Billy Butcher the temporary Compound V, which was dubbed V24, to help him discover a way to fight those who belong to Payback and gain information from them.

Billy Butcher did indeed use the temporary Compound V as it became apparent that he was unable to get information from Gunpowder, who was more powerful than he was. Therefore, he was forced to get V24 to attain the power that would allow him to manage Gunpowder and even kill him. It’s even possible that his strength under V24 is so strong that it allows him to take on Homelander at a par.

After The Boys were able to get into Russia to recover the weapon believed to be capable of killing Soldier Boy and possibly Homelander, Butcher took another shot of V24, believing that they had the best chance to escape the military base alive.

In the meantime, Hughie saw him taking V24 and became curious about it, to the point where Hughie wanted to take a shot. The reason Hughie was enticed to take V24 was due to his feeling that he was unable to accomplish anything while Homelander was looking down on top of him and threatening to remove Starlight out of his life. He wanted to be tough enough to face his own struggles without relying on Starlight to help him. However, Butcher didn’t allow him to fire a shot since he believed that he wouldn’t be able to take it.

The Boys managed to get into a Russian military base, but ran into trouble when the security guards began firing at the group. They were trapped, which they were unable to escape until Butcher tanked the bullets and revealed that he was able to use abilities that were his own. The others in The Boys understood that he had grown powerful because he was immune to bullets, and was equipped with identical heat vision Homelander is able to use.

Mother’s Milk was in an impasse and was on the verge of being murdered by soldiers. Hughie intervened to help her by teleporting from his clothing. He was capable of killing the soldier in one strike, and everyone was left to wonder what had transpired to Butcher and Hughie. This was the moment that Butcher said that Hughie likely took the V24 even though he didn’t look. In this way, Hughie got his powers by taking the V24 without Butcher’s consent and knowledge.

What Are Hughie’s Powers In The Boys?

As we’ve mentioned earlier, Hughie was able to increase his power during The Boys when he took the temporary Compound V known as V24. The V24 allowed him to be powerful enough to assist the other Boys in the event at The Russian army compound, which was featured in Episode 4. What are the powers of Hughie when he’s inside the V in the temporary form?

The first ability Hughie Campbell showed was the ability to teleport himself. It appears that his teleportation is something that works only on the body as he teleported from his clothing. It happened as Mother’s Milk was about to be killed by one of the guards at the military camp when Hughie was able to save her after teleporting a short distance. It is also suggested that this teleportation capability only applies to his body, but not his clothing.

e extremely strong due to Compound V. However, their super-strength levels are different from one another, because there are supes who are much stronger than the rest.

Hughie showed his increased power when he was able to take down the Russian guard with just one punch. This indicates that he does have super strength, and his strength was higher than the other supes, but not as strong as the more powerful ones such as Homelander or Queen Maeve.

Hughie’s abilities differ from the ones that Billy Butcher has demonstrated, which suggests that, just like usual, Compound V24 could have different outcomes that are dependent on the individual taking it. However, the fact that Billy Butcher did not have the same abilities (strength, invulnerability, as well as heat vision) during the dose he took after his first one indicates the possibility that this V isn’t random and would depend on the individual who is taking it.

In this way, Hughie’s genetic makeup could have played a part in the way his abilities compare to Butcher’s abilities. It could be that the effects of V24 could be biological in nature, instead of being entirely random.

Hughie’s Comic Powers Explained

Hughie, The Boys main character, initially is struggling to adapt to his abilities. Alongside being a victim of superpowers, he finds them difficult to manage. As the Teenage Kix find out about The Boys’ blackmail, they confront Butcher and the others on the streets. After the fight, Hughie punches Kix member Blarney Cock right through his chest, causing him to die accidentally. Hughie is shocked by what he did, but Hughie is able to withstand the fight and gets involved in numerous fights. Because of his improved endurance, he typically walks out with only one or two scratches.

Despite his abilities, Hughie’s biggest strength is his brain. His sharp wits and logical thinking enable him to solve problems that others can’t. He aids The Boys with his detective skills and was instrumental in determining that Swingwing, which is a mockumentary of Nightwing, is the perpetrator of a homophobic murder. Hughie is also the moral center for The Boys, bringing a spirit of teamwork and compassion which allows the team to become more effective.

While The Amazon Version shows The Boys didn’t at first give Hughie or any of his fellow teammates supernatural powers, the series keeps the character’s essence alive. Hughie is among the most grounded and “normal” characters of The Boys, and provides an ideal foil for the more impulsive characters in the show. Actually, Hughie and The Boys could have done better with Compound V so far, since it assures them that they don’t sink into Supes levels of evil. All that changes with the arrival of The Boys season 3 however.

How Strong Is Hughie On The V?

We’ve seen how powerful Butcher is when he’s on the V, as he could deal with Gunpowder without a hitch. It’s because he is strong enough to be able to perform feats that are similar to those Homelander could accomplish. But what is it about Hughie? How powerful is Hughie in the V?

At the moment we don’t know what the strength of Hughie is on the V as he hasn’t yet shown the entire amount of what he’s able to accomplish. What can be said is he’s strong enough to strike directly through a normal human being. And this isn’t something all the supes have shown the capability of doing. It means that he may be more powerful than the average supe, but is likely to be less powerful than other supes with more strength such as Homelander as well as Queen Maeve.