Vought is the villainous mastermind behind the creation of heroes in The Boys universe, but how many Supes is the nefarious conglomerate actually responsible for?
It all started when a Nazi scientist named Frederick Vought designed a substance that would trigger genetic mutations in humans. He named it Compound V, and in the years following World War II, his company started testing the drug on adult subjects. Most of these individuals perished due to its lethal effects, but Vought’s scientists eventually realized that infants would survive the transition. As such, they began a program, offering fame and fortune to parents who agreed to give the substance to their child.
At the time The Boys takes place, there are hundreds of superpowered individuals in society. Most of them are under Vought’s direct control as part of their multimedia monopoly, but the series has shown that the sinister organization has used Compound V on a number of other occasions. In fact, the company’s promotional ad in the premiere episode, “The Name of the Game,” seemed to suggest that “200 plus superheroes” are under their care.
But when you take the rest of the narrative into account, that number can only designate the Supes who publicly work for them. Starlight even says that she was part of a superhero pageant circuit in her small town when she was a child, so there could be hundreds of Supes with minimal mutations in the United States that we don’t know about.
Then there are Vought’s secret facilities, where the likes of Lamplighter and Gecko worked. The one that Stormfront was involved with housed dozens of mutated individuals, and we can only imagine how many more there might be. And thanks to Homelander, a number of Supe-terrorists are now also out and about, posing a threat to both The Seven and Billy Butcher’s rogue squad.
When you consider these variables, then, it’s difficult to number the amount of Supes in the world of The Boys. But as ScreenRant notes, a close estimate would be 200 to 250 who publicly work at Vought, and several thousand more scattered around the globe.
