The Boys Season 3 finale heavily teased a change of direction for the show with Ryan Butcher (Cameron Crovetti) showing a darker side whilst attending a rally with his father, Homelander, as he smiles at his maniacal dad's decimation of a protester. This arc will definitely be continued in the fourth season, with recent news confirming Crovetti has been promoted to a series regular. However, things were very different for the character in the Dynamite comic book series, and had the show stayed true to its source material, we may never have seen Crovetti on our screens.
We've watched throughout the Prime Video series as Crovetti's character has been on quite the journey. The first reference to the naturally born supe was when we were told he had died along with Becca (Shantel VanSanten) at childbirth, but it is soon revealed the two were being kept hidden by Vought in an undisclosed location. When we then meet Ryan, he is a sweet innocent boy, being protected from the dark world of Vought by Becca, who did everything she could to provide him with a healthy upbringing. However, this all soon begins to unravel for the family when Homelander (Antony Starr), Ryan's father, catches wind of their location, and Ryan becomes eager to spend time with him. This leads Ryan down a long and winding path of turmoil, which includes Stormfront (Aya Cash) playing step-mum, and a period of time living with Grace Mallory (Laila Robins). Eventually, Ryan's journey leads him back into the custody of Homelander, and it's his influence that has provided this glimpse into a darker side of Ryan.
The series has cleverly shown us how Ryan's young mind is influenced by those around him, using the angle to highlight the strength of nurture over nature. The comics didn't go this deep with this particular storyline. In fact, this wasn't a long-running arc at all. To sum up the Dynamite version of events, Becca's unnamed son did die soon after being born, along with his traumatized mother, matching the original version of events from the Prime show. However, the whole situation was extremely different in the comics.
It's no secret that the show has been creative when it comes to bringing the comics to life, with many characters having vastly changed angles. One such major change was Black Noir's existence. Although played onscreen by Nathan Mitchell, Noir was originally a clone of Homelander, with a personality even more villainous. This is hugely significant as in the publications, Becca's baby wasn't Homelander's, it was in fact Black Noir's, conceived through rape while he was disguised as Homelander. The conception onscreen was told to us in a very similar way, except it was of course Homelander himself who committed the atrocity, since the clone version of Noir doesn't exist in this universe.
So what happened next to the comics' version of Ryan? Although he wasn't given much time on the pages, he definitely made his presence known. After brutally ripping his way out of the womb, the super powered newborn turned his attention to Billy Butcher (Karl Urban). Sure, a baby threatening someone as strong and fearless as Butcher doesn't sound very scary, but this was far from a fetus. The child came out as a fully formed being, teeth and all, and immediately shot fierce lasers from his eyes towards Butcher. Ultimately, the "baby" wasn't a match for Butcher who brutally bashed his head in with a table lamp. Ouch. There was a nod to this version of events in the TV series when The Boys discover Vought's experimental lab where the supes are being created. Butcher comes across a supe baby whilst investigating the lab, and the baby promptly fires lasers from his eyes, just like Noir's son in the comics. It was a nice reference that fans of the comics will appreciate, showing how the series doesn't want to dismiss its source.
It'll be fascinating to see how the series further develops Ryan in the upcoming season, with a complete blank canvas to work on. Crovetti has excelled in the role since taking over from Parker Corno in Season 2, and he is well-deserving of his promotion to series regular, a position which should allow us to see a lot of development to his character.