Chapter Summaries

Vought’s board debated Chang Wei’s demand for Compound Five, and Edgar Stan decided to make Homelander accept responsibility for attacking an official institution. Homelander rejected Edgar’s offer to hide in a private prison, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Chang Wei’s demand for Compound Five alarmed Vought’s directors, and Edgar Stan questioned how Chang Wei had learned the compound existed.
• Vought’s shareholders blamed the research and development department for failing to create Compound Six and argued over whether to surrender Compound Five.
• Edgar decided to speak with Homelander, believing Vought needed to keep Compound Five to compete with Supernova Company.
• Edgar offered Homelander a deal: plead guilty, avoid public prison, and serve the company from its private prison.
• Homelander angrily rejected the prospect of hiding for the rest of his life, while Edgar told him the company would not take responsibility for his mistakes.

Edgar warned Homelander that Vought Company could replace him and urged him to surrender, then sent Madelyn to persuade him. Madelyn comforted Homelander, who agreed to listen to her and follow their plans.

• Edgar confronted Homelander over attacking the Black Ops Division and the White Emperor, and warned that Vought Company would abandon him unless he surrendered.
• Homelander rejected Edgar’s warning and vowed Vought Company would regret losing him.
• Edgar instructed Madelyn to comfort Homelander and guide him into cooperating.
• Madelyn found Homelander amid the wreckage in his room and listened as he admitted he feared prison and losing his freedom.
• Madelyn embraced Homelander and promised they would find a solution, and he cried and agreed to listen to her.

Madelyn persuaded Homelander to turn himself in to the Black Ops Division, while Chang Wei met with CIA Deputy Director Susan and Billy Butcher to discuss opposing Vought Company. Billy presented conclusive evidence of Homelander’s murders, leaving the Black Ops Division and the CIA prepared to act against him.

• Madelyn reassured Homelander and told him to turn himself in, promising to portray his crime as an accidental mistake.
• The secretary-general told Chang Wei that CIA Deputy Director Susan had arrived, and Chang Wei invited her in.
• Susan met Chang Wei with Billy Butcher and praised the Black Ops Division’s plan to recruit superpowered individuals to fight superhuman crime.
• Chang Wei explained that Supernova Company was a competitor of Vought Company, while Susan considered using the Black Ops Division to counter Vought’s influence.
• Billy Butcher told Chang Wei and Susan that the CIA and he had obtained conclusive evidence linking Homelander to multiple murders and exposing Vought’s cover-up.

Vought Company fought to protect Homelander after he surrendered, while restarting research into Compound Six to find a possible successor. Its lawyers and public relations team built a defense blaming a shapeshifting super-criminal, and the chapter left Homelander’s case turning in his favor as the story spread through the media.

• President Stan ordered Dr. Vogelbaum back to work on Compound Six and mobilized Vought Company’s resources to defend Homelander.
• Vought’s legal and public relations departments argued that a shapeshifter had impersonated Homelander during the first attack on the Black Ops Division, and they assembled an alibi for him.
• After Homelander was arrested for attacking Minister Chang Wei, Vought’s lawyers claimed the shapeshifter had disguised himself as Chang Wei and lured Homelander there.
• Vought’s team gathered circumstantial evidence and used the media to promote the new explanation, casting doubt on the Black Ops Division’s accusations.

The Black Ops Division imprisoned Homelander in a facility designed to contain his strength and blocked Vought and others from reaching him. As isolation and memories of his childhood experiments pushed him toward collapse, Chang Wei got the despair and distrust he wanted.

• The Black Ops Division used its special authority to take custody of Homelander and shut out outside visitors, leaving Vought president Edgar unable to pressure them.
• Homelander found himself confined behind walls that absorbed his attacks, while his promised chance at a trial or release failed to materialize.
• Isolation revived Homelander’s painful memories of laboratory experiments and intensified his longing to see Madelyn.
• Homelander finally beat his fists against the prison wall and muttered that Madelyn and Vought had lied to him, as Chang Wei watched his hope and trust unravel.

Vought Company tried to pressure the Black Ops Division into releasing Homelander as his imprisonment battered its stock price and The Seven’s reputation. Madelyn promoted Starlight as the team’s new member, stabilizing the company’s shares, though they remained below their previous level.

• Vought Company backed protests and media pressure demanding Homelander’s release, but Chang Wei dismissed the effort as no threat to the Black Ops Division.
• Homelander’s arrest and Lamplighter’s retirement deepened The Seven’s crisis, and Vought Company’s stock lost more than five billion dollars in market value.
• Ashley told Madelyn that Starlight, a twenty-five-year-old hero from Des Moines, Idaho, had impressed people with her interview remarks and strong approval ratings.
• Madelyn ordered Marketing to promote Starlight’s words and expand her public profile through media partnerships and charity events.
• Vought Company’s campaign helped restore The Seven’s image and stabilize its stock price, but its value still fell short of when Homelander was on the team.

Vought promoted Starlight’s induction into The Seven, and Deep led her through the team’s conference room during her welcome. When Starlight told him she had admired him since childhood, Deep exposed himself, shattering her image of her childhood hero.

• Vought launched a widespread publicity campaign announcing Starlight as the newest member of The Seven.
• Starlight joined The Seven while Homelander was imprisoned, and Queen Maeve, Deep, Xuanse, Invisible Man, and The Train attended her welcome.
• Deep showed Starlight around The Seven’s conference room as she expressed her childhood admiration for him.
• Deep took off his pants and treated Starlight’s admiration as an excuse, leaving her shocked and disillusioned.

Starlight considered resisting Deep after he threatened to have her expelled from The Seven, but fear for her career and her fans left her unable to act. She realized the Black Ops Division might be her only recourse and began forming a plan to contact them.

• Starlight turned away from Deep, but he threatened to have her kicked out of The Seven if she resisted.
• Starlight unleashed her powers in anger, causing the conference room screens to explode, but Deep's threat frightened her into stopping.
• Starlight weighed exposing Deep against enduring his abuse to protect her place in The Seven and avoid disappointing her fans.
• Starlight remembered the Black Ops Division and considered contacting them as a way out of her predicament.
• Starlight touched her phone inside her pocket and looked at Deep as a bold plan took shape.

Starlight lured Deep into confessing Vought Company's corruption while secretly recording him, then attacked when he grew suspicious. Deep claimed the company would protect him, and Starlight decided she had to act despite fearing her report might be buried.

• Starlight confronted Deep about harassing her and pretended to be frightened to draw out his admissions.
• Deep boasted that heroes were tools for profit and revealed Vought Company's collusion, suppression of rivals, and corruption within The Seven.
• Starlight secretly recorded Deep as she encouraged him to keep talking.
• When Deep became suspicious, Starlight unleashed her Superpowers and hurled him into the office wall.
• Starlight showed Deep the recording, and his claim that Vought Company would do nothing to him convinced her to act.

Starlight reported Deep to the Black Ops Division for workplace sexual harassment, and the agents arrested him after she supplied a recording of their conversation. The recording sparked public outrage and left Vought Company facing a crisis, while the company began considering Starlight’s challenge to its authority.

• Starlight left Deep’s office and hurried to the Black Ops Division with a recording of their conversation.
• Black Ops Division agents arrested Deep at Vought Company for suspected workplace sexual harassment.
• News of Deep’s arrest spread through Vought Company and online, where his supporters demanded evidence and his critics condemned him.
• The Black Ops Division released Starlight’s recording, prompting widespread outrage at Deep’s comments.
• Madelyn, Edgar, and Vought’s Board of Directors discussed the damage to the company’s reputation and Starlight’s decision to bypass Vought.
• Starlight followed the public reaction from her apartment and worried that Vought would retaliate, while keeping Deep’s comments about the company’s dark secrets out of the recording she submitted.

Madelyn tried to contain the scandal after Starlight exposed Deep’s sexual coercion, but Vought turned the crisis into a publicity campaign that elevated Starlight. Meanwhile, Billy Butcher approached Chang Wei to join The Boys and pursue Homelander and other Superheroes.

• Madelyn tried to pressure Starlight into retracting her accusations, but Starlight resisted with Black Ops Division’s support and recorded evidence.
• Vought announced that Deep had been removed from The Seven, prompting public mockery of the group’s damaged image.
• Madelyn used the scandal to promote Starlight as a women’s rights advocate and a new public face for The Seven.
• Billy Butcher, unable to rely on the CIA, recommended himself to Black Ops Division to join The Boys.
• Butcher met Chang Wei in his office and addressed him as the White Emperor.

Butcher joined the Black Ops Division as a peripheral ally and was tasked with investigating whether Vought Company had used a compound to create Superpowered individuals. He accepted Captain America's support and began considering how to obtain a physical sample.

• Chang Wei questioned Butcher about his violent past, then agreed to let him join the Black Ops Division without making him an official member.
• Captain America gave Butcher a file containing intelligence that Vought Company might have used a compound similar to Compound A to create Superpowered individuals.
• Butcher reacted with anger to the possibility that Vought had fabricated its story about Superpowered individuals being a gift from heaven.
• Captain America instructed Butcher to find a physical sample of Vought's compound and offered funding and a phone for emergencies.
• Butcher accepted the mission and realized that Vought would heavily guard the compound, making it difficult for him to obtain alone.

Billy Butcher reunited Frenchie and Mother's Milk to investigate Vought's Compound A, arguing that exposing the company's human experiments could force authorities to regulate superhumans. Frenchie remained unconvinced that public exposure would stop Vought from profiting by selling the compound.

• Billy Butcher decided to bring Frenchie and Mother's Milk back together for the mission, despite Mother's Milk's peaceful family life and the former teammates' lingering conflicts.
• Frenchie mocked Vought, while Mother's Milk questioned whether their intelligence about the compound was reliable.
• Billy Butcher assured them that the Black Ops Division had investigated the lead and that Captain America had personally confirmed it.
• Mother's Milk considered how they should approach the investigation, but Billy Butcher said the Black Ops Division's intelligence already provided a lead.
• Billy Butcher explained that revealing Vought's human experimentation could pressure authorities to regulate superhumans.
• Frenchie questioned whether Vought could simply sell Compound A for profit, and Billy Butcher emphasized that the company had experimented on people, including babies, since World War II.

Billy Butcher, Mother's Milk, and Frenchie infiltrated Mercy Hospital to find evidence that Vought was using Compound Five on infants. They reached the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and began searching for the superhuman babies and proof of Vought's experiments.

• Billy Butcher persuaded Frenchie that exposing Vought's human experiments could trigger lawsuits and government investigations.
• Billy Butcher learned that Vought had delivered Compound Five to hospitals through Ezekiel's religious organization to create superhuman children.
• Billy Butcher, Mother's Milk, and Frenchie set out for Mercy Hospital at night after Frenchie disabled its surveillance systems.
• Billy Butcher and Mother's Milk entered the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where Mother's Milk paid Billy Butcher ten dollars after losing their bet about Vought's superhuman babies.
• Frenchie called Billy Butcher and Mother's Milk over to look at something in the unit.

Butcher, Frenchie, and Mother's Milk found a baby receiving blue liquid at a secret Vought facility and mistook it for Compound Five. As guards overwhelmed them, Butcher used the baby's laser eyes to fight back and clear a path through the corridor.

• Butcher and Frenchie identified the blue liquid as Compound Five, while Mother's Milk questioned whether they had found the right substance.
• Butcher drew some of the liquid into a syringe and hid it when guards approached.
• Mother's Milk shot two guards at the doorway, and the trio fought back as Vought's forces pressed them in the corridor.
• Butcher remembered that the baby could fire lasers, grabbed it from the pod, and aimed its eyes at the guards.
• The baby's blue lasers blasted guards apart, and Butcher repeatedly directed its attacks to clear their way.

Butcher and his allies escaped with Compound Five and debated whether the evidence could bring down Vought Company. After Butcher contacted Captain America, a squad of The Boys arrived to collect them, led by Cyclops.

• Laser Baby's attacks helped Butcher kill the guards in the passageway, and the infant fell asleep after the fight.
• Butcher, Frenchie, and Mother's Milk escaped with Compound Five and discussed whether exposing it would be enough to destroy Vought Company.
• Butcher explained that the authorities' response would depend on whether Vought had secretly injected Compound Five into children without their parents' knowledge.
• Butcher contacted Captain America, who promised to send people and discuss their next steps against Vought Company.
• Three black Chevrolets arrived with a group of The Boys, and Cyclops stepped forward to identify Butcher.

After the attack on Loving Children's Hospital, Vought sent Xuanse to investigate and learned that Billy Butcher, Frenchie, and Mother's Milk might have taken Compound Five. Madelyn ordered Xuanse to kill them while planning a media campaign to protect Vought if the secret became public.

• Cyclops confirmed the area was safe and took Billy Butcher, Frenchie, and Mother's Milk back to headquarters.
• Vought executives learned that Loving Children's Hospital, a secret Compound Five base, had been attacked and assigned Xuanse to investigate.
• Xuanse reviewed the security footage, recognized Billy Butcher and his companions, and reported that they might have taken Compound Five.
• Madelyn ordered Xuanse to find and kill the three men.
• Madelyn planned to use Vought's media resources to portray its Superheroes as genuine heroes and considered whether Supernova Company could divert attention if Compound Five was exposed.

Superhuman terrorists kidnapped Madelyn outside Vought Company, throwing the company into crisis. Edgar mobilized Vought’s defenses and sent for Xuanse, who learned of the kidnapping while investigating Billy Butcher and the others.

• After Homelander’s Compound Five operation became public, superhuman terrorists targeted Madelyn as someone who might know about the substance.
• Several terrorists attacked Madelyn outside Vought Company, overwhelmed her bodyguards, and carried her away.
• News of Madelyn’s kidnapping spread, and President Edgar strengthened Vought’s security and ordered the Superheroes to return.
• Edgar asked where Xuanse was and learned he had left after meeting Madelyn.
• Vought technicians tracked Xuanse down, and he learned Madelyn had been kidnapped while he was searching for Billy Butcher and the others.

Edgar and Ashley investigated a superhuman attack on Vought and discovered that Dark God, not The Flash Liberators, was the likely culprit. Edgar learned that both radical groups had ties to disturbing underground operations, and Dark God might have kidnapped Madelyn to obtain more Compound Five.

• Edgar reviewed intelligence on The Flash Liberators and questioned how the group could have developed a compound that created powerful superhumans.
• Ashley corrected Edgar, explaining that Dark God had carried out the attack, and Edgar read the rest of the file.
• Edgar learned that Dark God sought superhuman rule while The Flash Liberators trafficked people and operated within the Adrenaline Red industry.
• Edgar discovered that The Flash Liberators also had superpowered individuals and asked who had attacked Vought.
• Ashley suspected Dark God had kidnapped Madelyn to obtain more Compound Five, while Dark God's next destination was Sage Grove Center.

The Train accidentally killed Hughie's girlfriend while speeding out of control after taking Compound Five, then Vought staged an apology that persuaded Hughie to forgive him. Hughie later saw The Train partying without remorse, realized the apology was false, and went to the police station.

• The Train lost control at supersonic speed and killed Hughie's girlfriend, then offered Hughie a brief apology and left.
• Hughie called the police, hoping The Train would face justice for his girlfriend's death.
• Vought forced The Train to perform a tearful public apology and portrayed the death as an accident during a mission.
• Hughie believed The Train's apology and forgave him, while Vought's public relations campaign improved public opinion and the company's stock price.
• Hughie saw The Train laughing and drinking with friends at a bar, realized the apology had been a performance, and headed to the police station.