Black Noir seemed to return from the dead in The Boys season 4, but there is a simple answer to the question, “How is Black Noir alive?” Black Noir is a major player in both The Boys comics and their TV show adaptation, but the character’s arc is very different in these two incarnations. In the comics, Black Noir is possibly a bigger antagonist than Homelander himself, as he is responsible for inciting Billy Butcher’s entire rampage against supes. In the TV series, he is much less unambiguously villainous.

While he is a loyal companion to the megalomaniacal Homelander, the show’s version of Noir is conflicted about the nature of his work for Vought. Homelander killed Black Noir in The Boys season 3, episode 8, “The Instant White-Hot Wild.” Therefore, it was surprising to see Black Noir back in The Boys season 4. A popular theory regarding Black Noir based on the comics could have explained his return, but the show went for a far more simple route.

The Boys’ Homelander Comic Twist Won’t Happen In Prime Video Show, Confirms Eric Kripke

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How Did Black Noir Return In The Boys Season 4?

Vought Pretended Black Noir Didn’t Die (But Hire A New One)

For the public, Black Noir is a guy in a suit. As such, Vought hires someone new to take on Black Noir’s role and pretends this is still the same person which makes things easier for the company. Black Noir’s tragic backstory allowed season 3 to depict just how detached from reality the character was, and his instability wasn’t something Vought could always be guaranteed to control. A new person in the Black Noir suit should be easier for the corporation to manipulate since this character doesn’t share the original Noir’s unpredictability.

This allows the same actor, Nathan Mitchell, to play the man in the suit during The Boys season 4. Noir’s lack of a voice or a face means that it was easy for Vought to replace him after Homelander brutally murdered the character for a perceived betrayal during the season 3 finale. This is a simple trick for the company to pull off, and it is easier than replacing Starlight and Queen Maeve. This also means the series had to abandon Noir’s original connection to Homelander.

The Boys Won’t Do The Comics’ Black Noir/Homelander Twist

Black Noir’s Comic Connection To Homelander Isn’t As Effective Anymore

In the comics, Black Noir is revealed to be Homelander’s clone. This storyline occurs in the finale of the long-running series, beginning when Butcher receives a series of photos implicating Homelander in horrific crimes. Butcher is shocked by Homerlander’s apparent carelessness, while Homelander himself is equally shocked by the content of the photos, as he has no recollection of committing those specific atrocities. When an increasingly unstable Homelander decides to disregard any pretense and commits more acts of violence, Black Noir reveals he has secretly always been a Homelander clone.

Black Noir was created to replace Homelander if he went rogue.

Black Noir was created to replace Homelander if he went rogue and spent years committing appalling crimes like the “hero.” The Boys season 4 was never going to go this route, as many of its most impactful elements had already been retconned. Homelander assaulted Butcher’s wife in the show, while this crime was committed by Black Noir in the comics. As such, turning Homelander and Billy’s eventual battle into a three-person scrap between the two characters and Black Noir would now lack the intensity that the source material’s shocking twist boasted.

Not only that, but the fact that the show’s original Black Noir wasn’t a Homelander clone could come across as a cheap misdirection if his replacement did align with the comics’ story. Showrunner Eric Kripke already said he wasn’t going to do the Black Noir clone storyline, anyway, so the actor replacement was the way to go.

“it’s a hell of a twist. But it’s like, well wait, the villain I’ve been following isn’t really the villain. And mileage varies, and I’m sure fans are mad I’m not going that way, but that felt not as satisfying to me. I’m like, if I’m going to follow this villain, I want this guy to be the villain. So I was never really into the clone idea.”

What Black Noir’s Return Meant In The Boys S4

Homelander Might Be Driven To Madness By Noir’s Return

Vought might want the public to think this is the original Black Noir, but the Seven knows the truth. They also know they need to figure out a way to get him up to speed. That leads Vought to send the Depp out with Black Noir II to help break him into the superhero business on a large scale like the Seven is used to. Their first mission, though, is to take the fight to the Boys’ headquarters, which is not an easy task for the new Noir, who has nowhere near the experience as his predecessor.

He was there fighting, but things went bad. When A-Train joined the fight and helped The Boys, Noir II ran away, showing a key difference between the guy and the original. “He is working his way there and, as we can see from that scene, he’s not used to getting shot at,” said actor Nathan Mitchell (via THR). “He is still a new kid on the block in a lot of ways. As the season goes on, he begins to embrace killing more.”

What The New Black Noir Is Likely To Do In The Final Season

His Role Is Up In The Air

Season
Episodes
Release Date
Season Finale Date

1
8
July 26, 2019
July 26, 2019

2
8
September 4, 2020
October 9, 2020

3
8
June 3, 2022
July 8, 2022

4
8
June 13, 2024
July 18, 2024

By the time season 4 ended, Black Noir II was a little more comfortable as part of the Seven. However, he was also someone who might not be prepared for the carnage likely to come in season 5, which Eric Kripke admitted will be the final season of the series. The twist that Black Noir is a Homelander clone is now out the window, so this means anything could happen with the character as the show comes to a close. For fans of the Prime Video series, this should be exciting to see.

Mitchell said that the last season will be “chaotic,” and he can’t wait to see how things pan out for The Boys and Black Noir II. “We’re in a mad dash to the finish line and the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been,” he said. “And new Noir is probably going to be even more comfortable with killing. He’s growing into his role, so he’s more of a threat to the Boys now.” Don’t expect him to survive, but expect Kripke to find some way to utilize the new character as the show races to a close.