Spoiler Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for the Prime Video series The Boys.The popularity of superhero movies and TV series has been growing for quite some time now. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe expanding and gaining space on the big, and recently, small screen with new series always in the works, there has been no shortage of stories about people with incredible powers. These movies are known for their positive outlook on superheroes and people. Nevertheless, there are also a few other types of superhero stories that show a much darker side to these humans with special abilities. One of them is Watchmen, which gained a movie a few years back and recently a television series to continue the story. Another one is The Boys.



The Boys, Amazon Prime Video’s hit show, is on its third season and has already been renewed for a fourth. Every Friday, a new episode is released, making its fans eager to sit down and watch what will happen to these TV antiheroes. The Boys is a satire of what it would really be like if humans had superpowers; the abuse of power on a much larger scale is only one example.

When his girlfriend dies by the hands of a supe (what superheroes are called in this universe) and there is no justice, Hughie (Jack Quaid) is furious. He encounters Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), who hates supes more than everyone, and Billy’s group of friends, who are willing to take down the evil fictional corporation Vought Industries and its supes. Their journey against a large conglomerate that has supes on its side has many ups and downs, and a lot of blood.

Violence and gore are a part of almost every episode of The Boys. One of the most common occurrences of violence on the show? People literally explode. Here are the best scenes where people explode on the show.

8 Theme Park Explosion

In a scene from the new season, Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) and Frenchie (Tomer Capon) are looking for Crimson Countess (Laurie Holden) to help them find the weapon that killed Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), and they find her in a supe theme park, VoughtLand. Because this is The Boys, things quickly turn sour for the characters, and Crimson Countess fights with them. Caught in the middle of the fight is a guy dressed up as Homelander to take pictures with the kids. He is completely disintegrated, and his body becomes a splash on the ground and the surrounding children.

Related: The Boys vs Watchmen: How Each Subverts the Superhero Genre in Similar and Different Ways

7 The Church of the Collective

In the season two finale, the audience finds out who was the supe responsible for exploding people’s heads off in a very unexpected scene. An important member of the Church of the Collective, Alistair (Goran Višnjić), is talking on the phone and trying to make a deal with Victoria (Claudia Doumit), a rising political figure. They agree, and after he hangs up, he picks up a can of Fresca and is about to take a sip when his head also explodes. The camera then goes outside and shows that it was actually Victoria who is revealed to actually be a supe. A cool revelation in an interesting scene, it had to be part of this list.

6 Wrong People

In season three, there are some flashbacks from when Mallory (Laila Robins) met Soldier Boy and his team. They arrived at her camp while she was doing a secret project for the government. The supes don’t respect her requests to lie low and end up giving their location to the enemy. While in battle, Crimson Countess tries to help and accidentally explodes soldiers from Mallory’s team, not knowing who the enemy was. In this scene, the viewer discovers more about Black Noir’s past and why he always wears his mask.

5 Termite’s Sneeze

A shocking scene from the very first episode of season three, Termite (Brett Geddes) shrinking during a sexual act and entering his partner’s body (again, quite literally) is simply bonkers and could only happen in this show. After snorting too much cocaine, Termite’s nose itches, and he ends up sneezing – while still inside the other guy’s penis, which makes him normal size again. His quick transformation makes the lower half of the other guy’s body explode, killing him.

Related: Paul Reiser Joins The Boys as Stan Lee Parody Character

4 Deputy Director Rayner

The Boys is known for making the audience think they are safe while watching a simple scene and then, well, exploding viewers’ expectations, like when Deputy Director Rayner’s (Jennifer Esposito) head explodes mid-conversation. Covering Hughie and Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) from head to toe with blood (for what appears like the millionth time), this scene was brilliant in every way, but especially from a director’s point of view. There is no indication, at any point, of a change happening in the scene: the editing and camera movement is slow and steady. When the change happens, it is almost unbelievable that there was no warning, and that’s what makes it so mind-blowing (no pun intended).

3 Translucent

Translucent’s (Alex Hassell) death in season one is a turning point for Hughie and the story. Deciding to commit murder and helping his newfound friends, Translucent exploding with a bomb lodge inside him was a truly ridiculous and amazing scene. Making a huge mess and solidifying the group as enemies of the supes and Vought, this is the moment that changed everything.

2 Trial

After getting Jonah Vogelbaum (John Doman) to testify, the characters think they might have a win. That’s until multiple heads start to explode, and the most important characters on the trial are murdered. No one knows what is happening – or who is doing this. With a big plot twist and one of the scenes that left the audience and characters with their mouths wide open in disbelief, this scene is why The Boys is known for turning the tables and doing unimaginable things when the viewer least expects them.

1 Robin’s Death

Robin’s death is one of the first scenes of The Boys‘ pilot and what sets the tone of the show and Hughie’s story arc. The scene where A-Train bursts through Robin (Jess Salgueiro) has to be number one on this list. The horror and confusion of seeing Hughie’s face covered in blood while still holding Robin’s hands (the only part of her that is left) exemplify perfectly what The Boys is about: deranged people do deranged things, especially if they are a supe.