Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 4, episodes 1-8.
The Boys season 4 raises the stakes of the conflict between the titular team and the Supes, and the Amazon series introduces several of the latter in its eight-episode run. This isn’t much of a surprise. The trailers for The Boys’ fourth outing tease new additions to The Seven, and the show rarely wastes an opportunity to throw more odd powers and personalities into its narrative. As Victoria Neuman and Robert Singer continue their bid for the U.S. presidency — and The Boys team grows increasingly desperate to stop Neuman and Homelander — multiple new players enter the fray.
Some of these Supes are more dangerous than others, but they all pose a threat to The Boys’ main characters in season 4. Their powers range from familiar to unique, and their additions to the show keep things interesting as the political tensions surge higher than ever. With so much else going on in the latest episodes of The Boys, viewers may need a refresher to break down the new Supes and their individual powers.
11 Sister Sage (Played By Susan Heyward)
Power: Smartest Person In The World
Sister Sage is probably the most important new Supe introduced in The Boys season 4, as she and Homelander come up with a plan to gain control of the White House. Played by Susan Heyward, Sister Sage is known as the smartest person in the world. Although she doesn’t have the impressive physical powers that make The Boys’ other Supes so unbeatable, Sage benefits from being one step ahead at all times. This is why she’s an asset to Homelander. While The Seven’s leader is impulsive and emotional, his newest ally is cool, collected, and clever.
It’s no wonder that Homelander asks Sister Sage to join The Seven in The Boys season 4, and she even becomes the newfound CEO at Vought International. With Sage calling the shots, Homelander’s team is more dangerous than ever. In just three episodes of The Boys, Sage manages to frame Starlighters for murder, stir conflict between Supes and non-Supes, and find new ways to spin the narrative in Homelander’s favor. Sage is a forced to be reckoned with, and undoing the harm she’s done will be a massive task for The Boys team.
It’s hard to say what Sage’s true intentions are so early in the season, but it’s possible she’s playing Homelander and The Seven — or at least using them in the same way they’re taking advantage of her wits. Although Sage doesn’t seem to have a dog in the race between Supes and non-Supes, she clearly feels superior to the latter. Her interest in backing Homelander’s coup feels like it goes deeper than that, though. It’s almost as though she’s having fun using her intelligence to stir chaos.
10 Firecracker (Played By Valorie Curry)
Power: Creating Sparks With Her Hands
Firecracker is the other new addition to The Seven, and like Sister Sage, her strengths don’t have much to do with her physical powers. Valorie Curry’s character does have superpowers, boasting the ability to shoot sparks from her hands. However, as Sister Sage suggests when she recruits Firecracker, this power leaves something to be desired. Firecracker has yet to lend her physical prowess to Homelander’s cause, and she doesn’t appear to be much of a brawler. Fortunately for Homelander and Vought, her induction to The Seven comes with other benefits.
Firecracker is a conspiracy theorist with a decently large following, and she excels at giving people “purpose” through her controversial and often contradictory messaging. She’s already furthering Homelander’s agenda by supporting the ideologies associated with it. But by making her a member of The Seven, Homelander and Sage give her an even bigger platform to spread misinformation and make their followers angry. Firecracker winds up with her own news show for Vought, and she uses it to slander Starlight and anyone who supports her.
It turns out that Firecracker has a nasty history with Starlight, adding to her motivations. She also idolizes Homelander, and she seems willing to do just about anything for his approval. These reasons for her behavior make her a dangerous addition to The Seven, even if she can’t fight as well as the other members. Combined with her ability to spread propaganda, these qualities make Firecracker someone The Boys must watch out for.
9 Black Noir’s Replacement (Played By Nathan Mitchell)
Viewers already know Black Noir from The Boys seasons 1-3, but the real Noir perishes at the end of the show’s third season. Vought covers this up in season 4, hiring an actor to wear the suit and pretend he’s the original. The company can’t afford to replace another member of The Seven, and it certainly can’t admit Homelander killed someone else while he’s undergoing a murder trial. The new Black Noir’s identity remains a secret throughout The Boys season 4’s early episodes. However, it is revealed that he’s a Supe, so he’s technically a new addition to the series’ superhuman cast.
The new Noir has similar powers to the old one, boasting unnatural strength and speed. This will no doubt help him pass as the original Supe throughout The Boys season 4, and so will his acting talents. The other thing the Amazon show reveals about Noir’s replacement is that he’s an actor. Vought likely chose him for this reason, knowing he could replicate both the abilities and mannerisms of the other Supe.
8 Splinter (Played By Rob Benedict)
Power: Splitting Into Clones Of Himself
Rob Benedict is another Supernatural star who makes an appearance in The Boys, and he plays the Supe behind one of season 4’s wildest scenes. Benedict portrays Splinter in the series, a less prominent character than the other Supes introduced in episodes 1-3. Splinter’s main ability fits his name perfectly: he’s able to split himself into more copies of himself, creating clones that can fight off his enemies. This proves a challenge for The Boys, as the team is forced to face him after attending a convention for conspiracy theorists.
Splinter is one of Firecracker’s friends and fans, and he uses his splitting abilities to protect her from MM, Frenchie, and Kimiko in season 4. It’s only thanks to Butcher that they manage to overtake him. Even then, it’s a close call. If Splinter survived the encounter, he very well could have been an asset to Vought. As far as Supe powers go, his is pretty useful — even if it’s somewhat disturbing. The fact that he uses his ability to perform sexual acts with himself is also bizarre (but on brand for The Boys). Let’s just say Splinter’s introduction will ruin God for Supernatural fans.
7 Zoe Neuman (Played By Olivia Morandin)
Power: Deadly Tentacles
The Boys introduces Zoe Neuman prior to season 4, as viewers see Victoria inject her daughter with Temp V. However, season 4 marks the first time the Amazon series puts Zoe’s powers on display. Until now, there has been no indication of what abilities Temp V gave her. This changes when Frenchie and Kimiko run into Victoria’s daughter during one of their missions. Realizing they don’t mean well, she lashes out, attacking the guards they’re bribing with deadly tentacles that come from her mouth.
While having the ability to attack people with sharp tentacles doesn’t sound like the most impressive power, Zoe does a lot of damage in The Boys season 4’s premiere. She’s as much a threat as any other Supe the team comes into contact with, and it’s clear that Zoe could be an effective weapon. Now that her mother is dead, Zoe might seek revenge against The Boys team. There’s no telling what her story will be in The Boys season 5, but the show’s heroes shouldn’t overlook her.
6 Hugh Campbell Sr. (Played By Simon Pegg)
Power: Phasing Through Things
Hugh Campbell Sr. falls into a coma in The Boys season 4, and Hughie procures Compound V in order to save his father. Although he thinks better of this decision after a conversation with Butcher, Hughie’s mother gives his dad the drug when he leaves the room. And while it does wake Hugh Campbell Sr. up, it also grants him a power that makes him dangerous. When Hugh Campbell Sr. becomes a Supe in The Boys season 4, episode 5, he gets the ability to phase through anything — including other people.
Unfortunately, Hugh Campbell Sr.’s new powers don’t mesh well with the damage the stroke does to his mind. Hughie’s father shows signs of memory loss, and he begins acting strangely after his powers manifest. He’s also terrified of what he’s able to do, and Hughie realizes he can’t go on living like this. Ultimately, Hughie makes the decision to kill his father rather than force a difficult and dangerous life on him. This means Simon Pegg’s stint as a Supe is short-lived, but The Boys season 4 still delivers on the twist viewers have been asking for since day one.
5 Web Weaver (Played By Dan Mousseau)
Power: Creating Webs
A twisted parody of Marvel’s Spider-Man, Web Weaver plays a minor role in The Boys season 4. Hughie poses as Web Weaver during Tek Knight’s Federalist Society party in The Boys season 4, episode 6, which means The Boys need to neutralize the actual Supe first. Fortunately, he isn’t much of a threat. Although he can create silk webs using his body, Web Weaver doesn’t seem like much of a fighter. He’s also addicted to heroin and all too willing to give the team information on Firecracker to procure more of the drug.
The Boys are able to steal Web Weaver’s costume after drugging him, and he pays dearly for his missteps with the team. When Firecracker tells him that Web Weaver is the leak — not entirely true, as A-Train is the one working with The Boys — Homelander interrogates the other Supe. He proceeds to rip him in half, delivering one of The Boys’ most gruesome deaths ever. Like Hugh Campbell Sr., Web Weaver isn’t around for very long in The Boys season 4. Thanks to his gross enema scenes, however, he leaves a lasting impression.
4 Laddio (Played By Reid Millar)
Power: Unknown
Laddio has an even more minor role than Web Weaver in The Boys season 4, only appearing once, when Hughie is taken to Tek Knight’s dungeon. Laddio is restrained in the Tek Cave, and it seems like he’s been there for a while. Tek Knights former sidekick, Laddio shows what would have become of Web Weaver if The Boys hadn’t intervened. He breaks free in the episode “Dirty Business,” and he helps The Boys push Tek Knight for information.
Since Laddio’s appearance in The Boys is so brief, the Amazon series doesn’t tell us much about his character. It’s unclear what the Supe’s powers are, though viewers can assume he has the enhanced strength, speed, and endurance that come with being super-abled. As far as we know, Laddio is still alive when The Boys season 4 comes to a close. Perhaps he’ll show up again in The Boys season 5 and answer our biggest questions about him.
3 The Shapeshifter (Played By Multiple Actors)
Power: Taking The Form Of Other People
The final episodes of The Boys season 4 introduce the character Homelander and Neuman task with killing President Robert Singer: a shapeshifter with the ability to take the form of just about anyone. The shapeshifter assumes several identities in The Boys, and the team first encounters her as a young woman who appears to be hurt. The Supe shifts again over the course of the episode, but her body choice for Singer’s assassination is the most shocking of them all. The shapeshifter poses as Starlight at the end of The Boys season 4, tricking Hughie to get closer to her target.
Had the shapeshifter succeeded in killing Singer, disguising herself as Starlight would have had another benefit. The real Starlight would have been blamed for Singer’s assassination, landing her in prison and destroying her reputation. This was no doubt what Homelander and Neuman wanted. Fortunately, The Boys take out the shapeshifter before she can fulfill her mission.
2 Ashley Barrett (Played By Colby Minifie)
Power: Unknown
Ashley Barrett is one of the most resourceful characters in The Boys, and her ability to climb the ladder at Vought proves as much. In The Boys season 4 finale, Homelander gives The Seven orders to kill anyone who might have dirt on them — and as The Deep notes, this includes Ashley. Overhearing The Seven’s discussion, Ashley runs to Homelander’s stash of Compound V and takes her chances. Her will to survive is strong, and she’s willing to roll the dice if there’s a chance she can make it out of Vought Tower alive.
The Boys shows Ashley taking Compound V, and the last shot we get of her sees her screaming in agony. Based on the finale alone, it’s unclear if Ashley survives her experience with the drug — though knowing her, it’s likely. The Boys doesn’t offer any details on what powers she could obtain from Compound V, but hopefully, we’ll learn more about Ashley’s fate in season 5. The prospect of her being a Supe in The Boys season 5 is an exciting one. Perhaps she’ll even turn on Homelander and Vought.
1 Billy Butcher (Played By Karl Urban)
Power: Tumorous Tentacles
After hinting that Butcher is a Supe for all of season 4, The Boys confirms as much during its finale. The Boys season 4’s ending sees Butcher embracing his darker side — the Joe Kessler on his shoulder, if you will. And with this turn of events, Butcher’s powers fully emerge. Compound V does, in fact, turn him into a Supe, granting him the ability to shoot tumorous tentacles from his chest. Butcher’s Supe power is one of the grosser ones, but it also makes him a force to be reckoned with.
Butchre is able to kill Victoria Neuman with his new ability, and he’ll no doubt do more damage with it before The Boys is through. The series hasn’t had the chance to dig too deeply into Butcher’s abilities, but he seems to be on the stronger end of the Supe spectrum. This will make his showdown with Homelander in The Boys season 5 that much more exciting. It also means The Boys will have a hard time preventing him from unleashing the Supe virus on the world.
