In a show where nearly every character has the potential to be a villain, The Boys has always stood out for its dark and twisted portrayal of superhero culture. With its fifth and final season on the horizon, fans are eagerly anticipating how the story will wrap up, and according to series creator Eric Kripke (Supernatural, Timeless, Gen V), the conclusion is set to be as brutal and satisfying as ever.

According to Comicbook.com, during a recent interview with TV Guide, the cast of The Boys was asked to envision the ideal deaths for their characters. The responses were varied and intriguing, but perhaps most telling was Kripke’s own insight into how the show might end. He hinted that the characters who suffer the most in the final season will be those who deserve it, suggesting a form of poetic justice in the series’ conclusion.

While discussing the fate of the characters, Kripke acknowledged that not everyone would make it out alive. “Anyone who dies in season five will richly deserve it, I’ll just say that,” he remarked. As reported by Comicbook.com, the season’s script is not yet fully completed; Kripke confirmed that the team has a general sense of which characters will survive and which will meet their end. “We don’t have it all totally figured out, but you get to do the final season of the show, and you get to go out on your own terms, so not everyone’s making it through,” he added.

This statement is particularly ominous for characters like Billy Butcher, whose moral compass has been anything but straight throughout the series. According to Comicbook.com, Butcher’s fate remains uncertain as one of the more complex and troubled characters, though it’s clear that his journey will be a pivotal element of the final season.

The origins of The Boys are as unconventional as the show itself. Initially canceled after just six issues by DC, the comic series found new life with Dynamite Entertainment, where it ran successfully from 2007 until 2012. Garth Ennis (Crossed, Get Fury, Dangerous Habits) and Darick Robertson (We Gotta Go Now, Hellblazer, Space Bastards), the creative minds behind the comic, ultimately decided to end the story on their own terms after 72 issues, but not before spawning a series of spinoffs and inspiring countless imitators in the comic book industry.

As mentioned by Comicbook.com, in a 2017 oral history of WildStorm, Robertson recounted the abrupt cancellation by DC. He described the challenges of meeting editorial demands while staying true to his vision, only to find out that the series had been dropped without warning. “I did not quite understand what happened,” Robertson recalled, “but on the way home my cell phone was going crazy. We got 17 offers from every other publisher in the business. Almost everybody had put their hands up to say, ‘We’ll take the book.’”

The legacy of The Boys extends far beyond its comic book origins. The Prime Video adaptation has been a massive success, blending dark humor with biting social commentary. The stakes have never been higher as the show heads into its final season, and according toComicbook.com, the fourth season left fans on the edge of their seats, with Victoria Neuman inching closer to the Oval Office under the influence of the terrifying Homelander. Meanwhile, Butcher, with only months to live, finds himself alienated from his team and facing the ultimate challenge of saving the world from the brink of destruction.

As the countdown to the final season begins, one thing is certain; The Boys will go out with a bang, ensuring that justice, however twisted, will be served.