The Boys’ Mother’s Milk Was Originally Planned to be Secretly Ancient

Mother’s Milk (or, MM, as he’s more comfortably known) is one of the main characters in The Boys, and is, indeed, one of the most prominent members of the Boys – not to mention perhaps the most powerful. In the comics, MM is a supe, but not like any other supe in the series. Though originally, MM was something much more than simply a unique supe, but someone who was, “a couple of hundred years old”.

In the backmatter to The Boys Omnibus, readers are given bonus material courtesy of the series creators, Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. That includes the original character outlines for everyone in the series, including and especially each member of the Boys. In the section dedicated to Mother’s Milk (written by Darick Robertson), the original outline specifies that MM was originally 200 years old, and that the only person who knew that was Butcher.

Underneath each character outline, Garth Ennis made his own notes about how that character ended up in the final series compared to the original concept. For MM, Ennis notes that the plan to make the character 200 years old went “out the window” fairly early. However, the idea that MM was hundreds of years old upon his inception means that it will always be a part of his character whether it was used in the finished series or not – even just in the meta sense.

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The Boys Still Kept the Grossest Part of MM’s Original Origin Story

The Boys abandoned the idea that MM was 200 years old, but kept the reason why.

MM’s unnaturally long life originally came from the milk produced by his mother’s breast. He’d regularly drink his mother’s milk, and in doing so, he’d essentially be immortal. Not only that, but he’d also maintain his superhuman strength. No Compound V or any tech-based enhancements, MM simply drank his mother’s milk, and he’d be powerful enough to challenge any supe the Boys were going up against.

In many ways, this aligned with what ended up in the series. MM’s mom worked in a factory where she was exposed to traces of Compound V, which resulted in her children having birth defects. The trace amounts of Compound V in her milk was the only thing keeping MM alive, and it also granted him super strength. The only thing that was changed was the bit about MM being hundreds of years old. However, the idea of a grown man drinking his mother’s milk remained, which is easily the grossest part of his origin.

Garth Ennis Didn’t Like How “Super” MM’s Original The Boys Origin Was

The Boys is a series that truly despises superheroes. Having superpowers in this series is morally reprehensible in and of itself, even if that power is being used for good. MM and the rest of the Boys have access to temporary superpowers – with MM’s source being notably unique – but they are not, strictly speaking, supes. However, if MM was hundreds of years old, standing up for what is right throughout that stretch of history, he’d feel too much like the ‘superheroes’ The Boys so vehemently hates, and regularly punishes – something Ennis himself touched on in The Boys Omnibus bonus material.

In the grand scheme of things, MM being 200 years old really wouldn’t have added much to his character aside from being a personal secret that may have amounted to an interesting subplot arc. What is interesting, however, is that this aspect of MM’s character was ever entertained at all, and was originally an integral aspect of his wider story arc, as The Boys’ Mother’s Milk was originally secretly ancient.