Hughie Campbell has changed a lot in the four seasons ofThe Boys. Once a naive young adult living in his dad’s house, he has grown to be one of America’s most reliable vigilantes, a metamorphosis inspired by tragedy. After watching A-Train kill his girlfriend, Robin, he gladly joined The Boys and took the war to The Seven. Cupid was also kind to him. After Robin’s death, he found an equally great romantic partner in Annie, Starlight.
As likable as Hughie is, he isn’t entirely comic-accurate. The show’s writers made a few changes to the character, an unexpected move since exercising creative liberties while adapting a story onto the screen is an industry norm. Thankfully, most of the tweaks made him more interesting in live-action than he was on the pages. However, a few other things could arguably have been left as they were.
8Hughie Acquires Superpowers Immediately After Joining The Boys in the Comics
In the comics, Hughie acquires powers (super strength, super-intelligence, and durability) shortly after he joins the vigilante team. This happens after Billy Butcher forcefully injects him with Compound V. On screen, he only ever acquires powers (naked teleportationand super strength), and it happens much later in the show after members of The Boys take Temp V (a version of Compound V that makes someone a Supe for 24 hours only).
A Necessary Move?
Understandably, Hughie gets mad at Butcher for injecting him with the drug without his consent, but Butcher argues having powers is the only thing that will give them a chance against The Seven. However, the show tackles this subject much better. By keeping Hughie and the rest of the gang powerless, they become underdogs, hence every dent they put on The Seven feels like a major win, not a fight against equals.
Additionally, there is consent on the show. Hughie is never forced to take Temp V. In fact, Butchie discourages him, only for him to get some anyway.
7Wee Hughie Clearly Isn’t as Tall as Jack Quaid
Hughie is commonly referred to as “Wee Hughie” on the pages because he is the shortest member of The Boys. The comic version of the character is modeled after actor Simon Pegg, who is 5’8. Like Pegg, the character has short hair, a huge difference from the screen version of Hughie.
The Nickname Wouldn’t Fit TV Hughie
Actor Jack Quaid is 6’1, making him as tall as Karl Urban who plays Billy Butcher. He isn’t short, so the tag “Wee Hughie” would never fit. Pegg would likely have been the first choice to play the character since he looks exactly like Comic Hughie, but he was considered too old for the role. Alternatively, he was cast as Hughie’s father, a job he has done extremely well so far.
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6Hughie is Scottish in the Comics
Hughie is American on the show, but Scottish in the comics. For most of his childhood, he lived in Auchterladle, Scotland, with his adoptive parents. He eventually moves to Glasgow when he becomes an adult. There he becomes a full-time conspiracy-theorist. He refuses to track down his real parents either, labeling them irresponsible and despicable.
Balancing Nationalities
The decision to change Hughie’s nationality makes sense because the show would otherwise have had two British citizens, since Butcher is English. One of the things the Prime Video series has done particularly well is being diverse with its set of heroes. Each of them belongs to a different country or race, hence subverting the age-old trope of comic protagonist teams all being citizens of one country.
5His First Mission in the Comics Is Completely Different
Hughie’s first mission on the pages is different from his first mission on the show. On screen, he remains under Butcher’s tutelage for a while and helps him capture the elusive Translucent. In the comics, he is immediately entrusted with a solo mission and tasked with spying on the Teenage Kix. This is one of Vought International’s four minor subgroups. The others are Payback, G-Men, and the Young Americans.
Utlizing His Best Skills
Hughie has great investigative skills, thanks to his past life as a conspiracy theorist, so his first mission in the comics makes sense. During the mission, he does a particularly good job by taking photos of the Kix in compromising positions. The Boys later use these photos to blackmail them.
This experience also shapes Hughie’s morals for the rest of the comic series. While The Boys are fighting the Kix, Hughie punches Blaney Cook in the stomach, only to blow a hole through his body and kill him because of his super strength. He feels totally guilty about committing murder and becomes reluctant to kill from there on.
4Hughie’s Parents Are Happily Married in the Comics
Hughie’s parents are estranged at the start of the series. Hughie is shown living with his dad. Hugh Campbell Sr., who is struggling financially. Because of the family’s cash problems, he decides to accept an out-of-court settlement by Vought International after Robin gets killed by A-Train. In the comics, Hughie’s parents are happily married, with no financial problems.
It’s easy to pity Hughie on TV, but the character’s ‘imperfect family’ arc makes the show better. Hughie embraces Butcher as a father figure because he isn’t happy with his biological father’s actions. He strongly believes Hugh Sr. should never have accepted the Vought settlement. The arc also created room for an intriguing Season 4 story where Hughie’s mother returns to take care of a sick Hugh Sr. until he is subjected toa rather bizarre death.
3His Hilarious Comic Book Stint with the G-Men
Hughie has a stint as a member of Vought’s second most popular group, the G-Men. The superhero team lampoons the X-Men, and its members are shown to enjoy sexual depravity, so much so that they find themselves in a scandal named the #G-Too movement. So, how does Hughie find himself there in the books? He goes on an undercover mission and convinces the members that he is just like them.
Preventing a Major Crisis
Hughie’s stint with the G-Men benefits The Boys greatly as he is able to learn about the group’s major goal and stop it. The plan involves the members committing enough heinous acts so that they can be promoted to The Seven. Such a move would definitely have resulted in a bigger Supe crisis, so Hughie does well by blocking it.
Besides that, readers get to see Hughie’s sense of humanity. Despite the G-Men being the enemy, he rescues some of them from a near-death experience in one scene.
2Hughie’s Childhood Friendship Arc
The BoysTV show leaves out much of Hughie’s origin story, notably his childhood. The comics reveal that he had two close friends, Det and Big Bobby. Sadly, the two don’t appear in the series. Born with a glandular condition, Det always stunk, much to the annoyance of his other two friends. The trio had a habit of playing dangerous games, including hurting dogs for fun. Unsurprisingly, Hughie would develop a conscience and nurse the animals before taking them back to their owners.
A Forgotten Period in Hughie’s Life
In the show, this childhood friendship isn’t entirely necessary, as it adds nothing to the story. Adult versions of Det and Big Bobby are never shown, so focusing on them might feel like a waste of time. Furthermore, Hughie has more responsible friends as an adult. Still, the show would have been more enjoyable by giving the character his comic backstory, since he is the group’s everyday man that most viewers can relate to.
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1His Brutal Murder of A-Train in the Comics
There are hints thatThe Boysmight kill off A-Train, but It’s unlikely that Hughie will do it. After all, he is now working with The Boys. In the comics, Hughie kills the speedster after much hesitation. During Homelander’s attempted coup d’etat on the US Government, Butcher captures A-Train and urges A-Train to kill him. Hughie resists until Butcher plays a tape detailing the Seven’s secret plan to make Annie suffer. Angered, Hughie reacts by kicking A-Train’s head off.
Bitter-Sweet Revenge
Hughie already has enough trauma, and the show’s writers have done well by not dumping any more misery on him. Most importantly, he is a good guy who shouldn’t be doing such things. Killing A-Train messes him up psychologically in the comics, and it would undoubtedly have the same effect on him if it were to happen on the show. Now that A-Train’s status as a mole for The Boys is clear, he is more likely to be killed by a fellow Supe.
