It’s no secret that “The Boys” is based on a comic series. However, Amazon is not quite so precise with the realization of the original.
While “The Boys” season 4 slowly but surely works towards a big showdown, Butcher (Karl Urban) has to face the consequences of his Temp-V abuse. He shares his impending fate with a cuddly guinea pig, whom he compassionately frees from his laboratory cage. In the comic book by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, however, the animal is not quite so harmless – and not nearly as cute.
In the episode “The Perils of Country Life”, Butcher and Co. are taken to Stan Edgar’s (Giancarlo Esposito) country house, in whose basement Victoria Neuman’s (Claudia Doumit) allies are researching the so-called Godolkin virus. When The Boys enter the laboratory, however, there is no trace of the scientists. Only a rabbit is innocently munching away in its cage.
The animal had to serve as a test subject, as the cannula connected to Temp V in its paw reveals. With regret in his eyes, Butcher removes the access and lets the animal hop away. Anyone who watched the scene on Prime Video will certainly have noticed the nameplate on the cage: Mr. Fuzzy Buzzy.
This is not just a random name, but a kind of homage to “The Boys” comics. However, in the original, in issue #60 to be precise, it is not a rabbit that bears this name, but a wolverine (yes, the animal really exists). And it causes a lot more chaos than Butcher’s cuddly buddy…
In “The Boys” original: Mr. Fuzzy Buzzy mauls the president
We remember: While searching for Sameer (Omid Abtahi), Butcher hears rustling coming from a bush. As he turns away from the group, he sees the rabbit he rescued earlier. It has difficulty breathing and is eventually torn apart from the inside out by tentacles. This fate was triggered by the experiments with Temp V, which is why Butcher now fears that he will die in a similar way in the near future. He releases Mr. Fuzzy Buzzy with a powerful kick.
The eponymous wolverine from the comics is not quite so easy to kill. While the rabbit didn’t cause any major damage, the predator from the original follows its instincts – only in a much more brutal and blatant way. During a pet demonstration, Mr. Fuzzy Buzzy attacks President Robert Schaefer in the original and eats his face off. As a result of Schaefer’s extremely bloody death, Vice President Victor Neuman takes over his position of power.
You can find the corresponding scene in the sixth and final comic book.
Schaefer and Victor do not appear 1:1 in the Amazon series. However, the similarity of the names and their government positions suggest that Robert Singer (Jim Beaver) and Victoria Neuman are the counterparts to those comic characters. Fortunately for them, Amazon has significantly toned down the storyline surrounding Mr. Fuzzy Buzzy; otherwise Singer would have had to die at this point in the series.
Accordingly, this change will have far-reaching consequences. Instead of succeeding Singer by law, Neuman has to come up with another plan to take over the leadership of the USA. We find out whether she succeeds every Thursday in a new episode of “The Boys” on Prime Video.
