Compound V

> "*See, this is why the supes ARE supes. Some Jerry came up with it in the thirties, started trials on people. It alters D.N.A., so you can inherit it, or sometimes it just shows up in the food chain. Now an' again some arsehole gets his hands on the pure stuff. All that dying bloke in a spaceship gave me powers, nuke tests made me into a monster bollocks--that's all it is, really. Bollocks.*"
> ― Billy Butcher
>
>

### First Appearance

The Boys #4

**Compound V** is a drug developed by a Jewish scientist around the time of the World Wars to start a new brand of warfare. The effects of Compound V can vary, and sometimes be deadly.

## Background

Compound V was created by the Jewish scientist Jonah Voglebaum during the World Wars. Compound V is a special drug based on traits that sometimes appears in the DNA of living creatures from time to time and enhance their physical abilities. The drug got the attention of Vought American Consolidated, who began selling superhumans. At the time, the experiment was a huge failure, as the first Payback team was easily gunned down by Germans. Mallory, who would soon join The Boys, was the only survivor of the encounter. Compound V would see continuous use, but when after a humiliating loss in Vietnam that warranted public officials blaming Vought American, Vought went into hiding and eventually resurfaced three years later as they sold the story of the Homelander to the public.

More supes were made as the trend for supes became more and more popular. The supes would eventually need a different type of Compound V, as Compound V was extremely costly to make. The Seven alone cost over $19 billion dollars to have the drug ready for, not counting other costs such as employment and raising them from birth. As such, other versions of Compound V necessarily exist.

Compound V is also used as a drug in other forms, including an inhalant. Most average supes use a cut form of the drug due to high cost rather than using a pure form. The Boys use a temporary version of the drug. Prostitutes are known to use a version of the drug known as Blue which grants them durability so they can safely withstand intercourse with supes.

Compound V was eventually leaked to the public and the idea of supes was dropped after Homelander's failed uprising. Vought American was presented with a new brand of heroes to replace the old, but even with a controlled version of the substance, results seemed unfavorable as supes still behaved poorly in tests. Ultimately, supes and Compound V as a source of income were dropped and future projects were scrapped as the future of Vought American, then renamed to American Consolidated to avoid controversy due to the Homelander scandal, became uncertain.

## Stats

**Attack Potency:** Varies from **Wall Level** (Even middling heroes such as Blarney Cock are stated to be capable of punching an average human's head off, and one of the incompetent supes of Superduper destroyed a car Hughie was using) to **Small Building Level** (The better supes are capable of competing with the Seven or fighting the Boys)

**Speed:** Varies from **Human Speed** (Some have no notable feats above that of a human and can get quickly killed by gunfire, despite amazing powers) to **Supersonic+** (The Female and A-Train are capable of speed feats at this level)

**Durability:** Varies from **Wall Level** to **Small Building Level**

**Hax:** Varies. Can sometimes have **Flight**, **Heat Vision**, **Acid Manipulation**, **Intangibility** as a result of a different physiology, **Enhanced Senses** (The Frenchman apparently has a better sense of smell than Billy Butcher's dog, Terror), **Teleportation**, **Elastic** physiology, **Invisibility**, **Electricity Manipulation**, and possibly many more depending on the strain or how the user is bred

## Minor Feats

### Attack Potency/Strength

* Compound V users can lift a thirty six ton tank off of the ground
* Homelander can toss a jet with one arm
* Homelander can apparently lift a plane, but unlike the in-universe comics, he needs to start lifting from the ground first
* The original Crimson Countess can melt a tank
	+ The second one can melt steel
* Some supes can melt walls with acid
* One former G-Man killed herself with her melting powers

### Speed/Reactions

* Compound V users can usually beat an entire room of armed humans
* Compound V users can also avoid electricity being fired at them from the air
* Some Compound V users can create sonic booms
* Some Compound V users can run or fly at mach three

### Durability/Endurance

* Compound V users can take explosions, such as:
	+ Grenades to the face (Mother's Milk)
	+ Point blank explosions and gunfire as a result of warfare, even after being mutilated (Black Noir)
	+ Mailed bombs (Hughie)
* Above average Compound V users are hard for weaker ones to hit such that they break their hands trying to hurt them

## Weaknesses

* The resurrection capabilities of Compound V are often botched and resurrect a user of it with limited mental capacity
* Compound V has little side effects, but most traces of it are cut or are temporary
* Compound V in its purest form costs around $19 billion