As well as its superheroes parodies and blood-filled action, The Boys is known for foreshadowing events - a trend that started in the very first episode with Robin's death. The Boys episode 1, "The Name of the Game" doesn't waste time in showing how problematic superheroes could be in reality. This is especially true when, while discussing her future with Hughie, Robin is accidentally killed when the superfast A-Train, who is high on Compound V, obliterates her by running straight through her body. The shocking moment leads Hughie to The Boys and fight against Supes, but eagle-eyed viewers will have seen Robin's death coming.
The Boys has regularly hinted at moments that have then happened in the future. Most recently, The Boys laid early foundations for Supersonic’s covered-up death and the reveal that Soldier Boy is Homelander's biological father before paying them off later in season 3. Foreshadowing is a trick that viewers of The Boys have grown accustomed to, but even the show’s biggest fans would have struggled to pick up on the clues to A-Train's murder of Robin given how subtly it was done and because her death came within the opening six minutes of The Boys’ first episode.
The Boys' A-Train Clues Make Robin's Death Darker
Just moments before Robin's death, there are two hidden clues that foreshadow A-Train's imminent and unwelcome arrival. In Hughie's opening scene of The Boys, he is arranging an A-Train branded computer mouse on a shelf at the electronics store he works at just before Robin appears. That is quickly followed up by an A-Train ment being displayed on a taxi that the couple walks by when they leave the store together. Little over a minute later, in a manner similar to Robin's comic book death, the character is run out of existence when A-Train unintentionally turns her into a pile of blood and bones.
The subtle background shots of A-Train while Hughie is going about his day not only foreshadow Robin's death, but also signpost how the speedster will haunt Hughie for the rest of his life. Later in The Boys season 1, it is revealed that Hughie grew up adoring Supes, with posters of The Seven plastered across his bedroom walls. Ironically, Hughie even had a figurine of A-Train. The deep link that Hughie and A-Train have in The Boys is present throughout its first three seasons, but the dynamic of their hate-fueled relationship does eventually change.
How The Boys Season 3 Finally Gave Robin Justice
From the moment A-Train murdered Robin, Hughie wanted justice. The immediate aftermath of her death saw Hughie accept Vought's $45,000 settlement and A-Train's disingenuous in-person apology, but Hughie only did that at the behest of The Boys' Billy Butcher, so he could bug The Seven's headquarters. Hughie's issues with A-Train only grew in season 1, episode 3, "Get Some", when A-Train didn't recognize him just weeks after he apologized to Hughie, proving that A-Train was never truly sorry about Robin's death. Even later in the season when the two argue face-to-face, A-Train refuses to acknowledge Robin's ing as anything more than an accident.
It's not until The Boys season 3 that A-Train properly apologizes to Hughie for the death of Robin. After gaining short-term powers thanks to Temp V, Hughie confidently confronts A-Train and voices his pent-up frustrations regarding Robin during The Boys' wild Herogasm episode. Unexpectedly, the much-changed A-Train delivers a sincere apology, itting that what he did was wrong and messed up. Although it wasn’t the reaction Hughie expected - or even wanted given that he was in search of a fight - it finally gave Robin the justice she deserved since the first episode of The Boys, as A-Train finally takes ability and responsibility for her untimely death.