Grace Mallory

Grace Mallory is the overarching protagonist of the first four seasons of the Amazon series The Boys and a minor character in its spin-off series Gen V. She was the former Deputy Director of the CIA and the founder of The Boys.
==The Boys Series==
===The Past===
Sometime around or before 1984, Grace Mallory participated in Operation Charly, an off-the-books covert project ordered by President Ronald Reagan to help the Contra rebels fight the Russian-backed Sandinistas in Nicaragua. Grace was in charge of trafficking cocaine into the US and selling the money gained to buy weapons for the Contra rebels. The unwritten policy in the operation was to sell and funnel the cocaine into minority neighborhoods to help destabilize and demoralize them, whilst keeping it away from white neighborhoods. 
In late 1984, Grace Mallory helped the arrangements for a final offensive into Nicaragua. While in the rebel encampment, Grace was displeased when she was forced to meet the members of Payback, a superhero team operating at the time. She asked Soldier Boy to refrain from firing an M2 Carl Gustaf rocket launcher in the direction of their munitions dump, even as Soldier Boy kept on flirting with her.
Stan Edgar then introduced himself to her. He explained that Vought-American had entered into a partnership with the US Government to help fight Communism, thus leading to Payback's involvement in the operation. Edgar further elaborated that Payback's aid for the Contra rebels would be a trial run for superheroes being involved in the military. 
Grace then ordered a flying Swatto to get down, pointing out that his antics could reveal their location to the enemy. Grace further opposed their involvement, pointing out that superheroes didn't have the discipline to operate in war. Edgar had a different opinion, pointing out Soldier Boy as a fine example and showing Grace orders straight from Director Casey, authorizing the partnership. 
Later, Grace observed a conversation between Stan Edgar and Black Noir who was unmasked. As she walked away, she encountered Soldier Boy who started flirting with her again, prompting a hostile conversation with Mallory. A member of the Contra rebels approached Mallory to chat but was then promptly gunned down by gunfire. 
Grace managed to shoot one enemy combatant before taking cover and observing Edgar's entourage move away as Black Noir covered their retreat, killing at least two enemy combatants. Swatto ran past Grace but was quickly hit by a missile after taking flight. 
Apparently, Swatto had taken flight yet again, finally inviting notice from the Sandinistas. The Sandinistas had then attacked with the aid of Russian special forces. Grace then witnessed Crimson Countess mistakenly massacre two of her own men, something which she angrily reminded Countess of. 
Grace then gunned down another combatant to aid Soldier Boy, who had been engaged in hand-to-hand combat with several of them and even managed to throw one several feet off the air. Gunpowder had manned a Humvee's 50 Caliber attachment, indiscriminately gunning down both friendlies and enemies alike, with Grace narrowly avoiding his stream of fire. Artillery shelling followed Grace as she took cover, temporarily knocking her out. 
When she came to, she observed the leftover aftermath of the massacre at the camp, forcing her to tears. Among the sights she saw was a heavily wounded Black Noir, and the TNT Twins trying to recover. Crimson Countess then ran up to her and told her that the Russians had managed to kill Soldier Boy with some kind of special weapon. Grace was in disbelief even as she watched a Russian helicopter fly off supposedly with Soldier Boy's body. 
The resulting massacre at the camp supposedly caused Grace to lose over 116 of her men, with Vought getting full immunity over the incident. As a result, Grace developed a vendetta against the company and swore to make them pay. 
===Recruitments===
In 2012, Grace visited William Butcher and sparked within him a desire for vengeance against the superheroes, by providing him with the knowledge that The Homelander had raped his wife Becca and that Vought International was involved with her disappearance. She worked with Butcher, and together they founded The Boys, who operated for an undetermined amount of time, between 2012 and 2015.
In the same year, Serge and his group of his friends were arrested after they attempted a bank heist. Grace was impressed by Frenchie ingenuity in creating weapons that can counter a Supe's powers so she offered him a choice: He can either rot for 25 years in prison or come work for her. Frenchie wasn't convinced and refused the offer. Mallory then proposed a new offer, she would send his friends (Cherie and Jay) to a maximum-security prison if he didn't reconsider. Frenchie assumed it was a bluff, but Mallory assured him it wasn't. As Grace prepared to leave the room, Frenchie stopped her and questioned what kind of work they would be doing.
In 2015, the original rendition of The Boys, under CIA supervision, attempted to blackmail Lamplighter with footage of him committing an unseen crime, into getting him to spy on The Seven for the CIA. Although Lamplighter appears to begrudgingly agree to the terms, Mallory is suspicious and has Frenchie tail him after the meeting. Frenchie follows him to a movie premiere but abandons his post when his girlfriend Cherie calls him up to inform him that his best friend Jay is overdosing and will die without an adrenaline shot. 
Although Frenchie returns only 30 minutes later, by this time Lamplighter had left the premiere and followed Mallory to her hotel room, burning her grandchildren to death by mistake, believing that Mallory was in the bed instead. This event hurt Mallory so much it led to her giving up on the path of vengeance. She retired to live in the woods to enjoy bird watching, reasoning that it was "either birdwatching or alcoholism." Although her desire for vengeance is allegedly over, Butcher still continues her legacy whether she wants him to or not.
===Season One===
====Broken Promises====
After their cover is blown by Mesmer, the newly reformed rendition of The Boys become fugitives and go into hiding. Billy Butcher and Hughie Campbell go to visit Mallory at her estate in a desperate attempt to get her help. Butcher asks Mallory what she has been up to since their last mission together, and she says that she has taken up bird watching to prevent herself from becoming an alcoholic. She then berates Butcher for daring to see her after long ago promising to never see her again, to which Butcher retorts that she is a hypocrite who taught him "a thing or two about broken promises". 
After introducing Hughie to Mallory, Butcher demands help from her, claiming that she "owes" him. Mallory refuses to help Butcher and continues to blame him for the death of her grandchildren. Butcher berates Mallory for manipulating him and turning him into a weapon to use against the supes and Vought, only to abandon him when it didn't suit her. Mallory replies that she doesn't regret that decision. When Butcher tells her he's going to finish what she started, Mallory confides in Butcher, as long as he promises never to return, about Homelander's affair with Madelyn Stillwell, and that he possibly has a weakness in her. As the two leave, Mallory pleads to Hughie to give up on his path of vengeance, warning him that it leads to nothing but a dead end.
===Season Two===
====Never Truly Done====
Despite Grace's attempts to avoid getting involved in the war between the The Boys and Vought, she does reluctantly come out of retirement to help Butcher when she wants to figure out who killed Susan Raynor. Eventually in Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men, she makes a deal with Butcher to give him information about Becca's whereabouts if he turns in a supe-terrorist at a rendezvous point. However, the deal goes sideways when The Boys are intercepted by The Seven, who kill the terrorist. Butcher meets Mallory at a shrine for the 59 apartment tenants who were killed by Stormfront. Despite Butcher's failure in promising to deliver the terrorist, Grace still gives Butcher the information to locate Becca. She explains she has a reoccurring dream of her on stage at Carnegie Hall, and everyone ever killed by a supe is in the audience just staring at her. So, she gives Butcher the information in an attempt to have "one less audience member staring at her" and to make amends to Butcher for stopping his search for Becca. A little before this, Mallory provides Butcher information to give to Mother's Milk with the location of a witness who claims to know the truth about Liberty, a retired super-heroine from the 70s. After M.M, Hughie and Starlight speak to the woman, Valerie Hunter, they report their findings to Mallory that Liberty is in-fact Stormfront herself, a slow aging racist supe who uses her position to commit racially motivated murders with impunity.
====Old Wounds====
After The Boys infiltrate the Sage Grove Wellness Center, they discover not only that Vought and Stormfront are using the asylum as a front to experiment on patients, but that Lamplighter works there as an orderly, used to "dispose" of inmates who are unruly or no longer of use. A fight between Lamplighter and Frenchie results in the inmates breaking out and sees the Boys team up with a redemptive Lamplighter to escape the facility. After escaping, Lamplighter, who has long felt guilt at the children's death, turns himself over to the custody of The Boys, who arrange for a meeting with Mallory in the woods. Mallory arrives, ready to execute Lamplighter to avenge her grandchildren, but relents when Frenchie explains that she would only be ending his torment. Mallory reluctantly asks The Boys what they intend to use Lamplighter for, if they aren't going to kill him. 
====Killing the King====
Grace Works with congress woman Victoria Neuman, using Lamplighter as an eyewitness into Vought's shady dealings. She makes a deal with Neuman, to get her information on Vought in exchange for Victoria taking down Vought. Grace knows that Lamplighter won't be enough, so she and M.M agree to go get more information to help their case. Grace tasks Frenchie and Kimiko to watch over and protect Neuman, warning Frenchie not to abandon his position again. She then orders Hughie to stay behind and watch over Lamplighter until they come back. 
Grace and M.M meet with Jonah Vogelbaum and want him to also testify against Vought for them. Grace remarks that Vogelbaum can help end the cycle of violence if he testifies. However, Vogelbaum refuses, stating he can't risk endangering the lives of his family. Grace understands that feeling and promptly leaves Vogelbaum's without any further Resistance. M.M questions Grace's choices and asks her if she is handling the situation with his family. Grace tells him that she has a plan for M.M and his family to move to Nicaragua and live in hiding. M.M says he'll take that offer after their done fighting Vought, but Grace explains the fighting will never end, so M.M should get out of it while he still has a family. Grace encourages him by expressing she wishes she had quit sooner before her grandchildren were burned.
When Mallory and M.M return to find out Lamplighter burned himself, they're both furious at Hughie for causing the situation. Mallory then calls Butcher to tell him their plan failed because their only eyewitness burned himself and Vogelbaum refused to testify. However, she is shocked, when Butcher tells her that he "convinced" Vogelbaum to testify for them. Grace then meets at the court hearings alongside Neuman. Everything seems to be going well until heads start exploding. Amongst the chaos, Grace escorts Neuman out of the courtroom to save her from sharing a gruesome fate.
====What next?====
Grace appears one final time at the end of What I Know to have the CIA hide Ryan Butcher in order to keep him safe from Vought. Upon securing the boy, Grace shares her condolences about Becca's death to Billy. Grace then questions Billy about his thoughts on the threat of Ryan becoming just like Homelander, Billy responds that Becca didn't believe so. Grace then informs Billy that The Boys have been pardoned of all crimes, and that the White House has opened the Office of Supe Affairs. Grace finishes saying Victoria Neuman is wanting to have the team continue to monitor supe activity. Butcher simply walks away from Grace without giving a real answer.
===Season Three===
For the past year, Grace has been looking after Ryan Butcher, serving as his surrogate aunt. Her peaceful life is interrupted by The Boys, who return to question Grace what she knows about a weapon that killed Soldier Boy Nicaragua. Grace reveals that in 1984 she was in charge over the CIA mission in Nicaragua to support the anti-Communist Contra rebels and Vought-American had sent Payback to assist them as a trial run for Supes in the military. Grace alludes that the Russians are the ones who killed Soldier Boy and took his body.
After Ryan's falling out with Butcher, Grace oversees Ryan grow more distant and practicing his powers. Ryan's practice is then interrupted with the arrival of Homelander. Grace tries to grab her gun and call for help, but Homelander threatens her not to. Grace is helpless as she watches Homelander manipulate Ryan by forgiving his son for what he did to Stormfront. She tries to call Butcher before his confrontation with Homelander to warn him that Ryan was taken, but her call is declined. Grace is seen one final time where she and the CIA keep Soldier Boy in a coma and placed him in captivity.
===Gen V===
Grace is contacted by Indira Shetty to discuss about the virus she's created in The Woods and offers her to work together using that virus against the supes. However, she is disgusted by her proposal and declines the offer, considering it genocidal, as well as comparing her vengefulness to Billy Butcher. It is revealed that her conversation was being recorded by her on a phone call with Billy Butcher however, who is very likely to attempt to weaponize the virus for his own purposes.
===Season Four===
For the next 6 months, Grace and the CIA continue working with The Boys and provide intel on assassinating Victoria Neuman. During this time, Grace demotes Butcher as leader of The Boys and replaces him with Marvin (likely due to Butcher losing Ryan to Homelander or because of his reckless alliance with Soldier Boy). The Boys carry out the plan to kill Neuman but Victoria's invulnerability foils their attempt. M.M reports their findings to Grace and Robert Singer. When Grace Mallory and Billy Butcher confront Ryan when in a CIA enclosed facility, they offer to train him in order to kill Homelander, he hesitates and asks to leave and kills Grace Mallory by throwing her against a concrete wall, breaking her neck.
==Personality==
Grace Mallory is a woman who's constantly living and dealing with her inner struggle about her life as a soldier and member of the CIA. Before losing her grandchildren, she used to be a tough and determined woman, willing to do whatever it took to face with Supes, allowing someone like Frenchie to join her personal squad in exchange of erasing all his criminal records and not sending him to jail. She is also adept in emotional manipulation and weaponizing emotional vulnerability, as she used Homelander's raping of Becca Butcher to both inspire, drastically and increase Billy Butcher's desire for vengeance, disarming his usually calm and reserved composure and demeanour. 
After her grandchildren were burnt to death by Lamplighter, Grace got deeply hurt, making her realize the severe consequences of her desire to take down the superheroes, this event made her abandon her path of vengeance, quit The Boys and retired of her position as the Deputy Director of CIA. Grace spent many years isolated in her pain, becoming melancholic and with an obvious PTSD, carrying on the scars of her bad decisions. Even after she chose to stop lamenting herself and once again help Butcher, she hasn't forgotten that incident and still griefs the loss of her grandchildren. However, Grace is now more compassionate and empathic, she warned Hughie what would happen if he followed Butcher in his path of vengeance, telling him that is a one-way ticket to a dead end, she also told Mother's Milk to quit and go back with his family saying that once you're in you'll never get out, and telling to stop doing the "self-martyr bullshit".
She is very pragmatic and down-to-earth, realizing that killing Lamplighter won't change the fact she lost her grandsons, and it would never bring them back to life even though she actually wanted to kill him, finally being able to let go her resentment and the pain after all those years with the help of Frenchie. At season 2 finale, Grace seems to have move on with her life, becoming the guardian and protector of Ryan Butcher. Although she left behind her scars from the past she still regrets her actions and not being able to have done anything to changed them, like the fact she was aware Soldier Boy did not die in Nicaragua like the world believes it.
In her younger years, Mallory was already mature, a natural and imposing leader, taking any job very serious. Even back then, she already had a disdain for Supes, viewing them incapable of being proper soldiers or taking orders. In Nicaragua, she told to Stan Edgar that including supes into the military is no mora than a "freak's show" and they don't belong in the war zone; saying they are undisciplined and untested. She was also greatly concerned when Payback started to kill her soldiers.
==Abilities== 
==Relationships==
===Family===
*Unnamed daughter
*Two unnamed granddaughters †
*Ryan Butcher - Adopted nephew and accidental killer
===Allies===
*CIA
**Susan Raynor † - Former Colleague
*The Boys - Former Colleagues and Followers
**Billy Butcher
**Mother's Milk
**Frenchie
**Hughie Campbell
**Kimiko Miyashiro
*Cherie
*Lisa Concilia †
*Jonah Vogelbaum †
*Robert Singer
===Enemies===
*Vought International
**Stan Edgar
**Payback
***Soldier Boy
***Black Noir †
***Crimson Countess †
***TNT Twins †
***Gunpowder †
***Mindstorm †
***Swatto †
**The Seven
***Homelander
***Lamplighter †
*Victoria Neuman † - Former Ally
*Godolkin University
**Indira Shetty †
===Victims===
*At least two Russian soldiers † (Intentionally; shot in the back)
==Quotes==
==Trivia==
*Grace's comic book counterpart is Greg Mallory, who is male.
== Commentary ==
* The Amazon series version of Mallory shares many similarities with Amanda Waller from DC Comics, as both are female government agents tasked with creating and managing clandestine vigilante groups (Mallory's The Boys and Waller's Suicide Squad) and are known for their seething contempt for superheroes.
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