He and Butcher go way back…

The Boys season 4

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character has been the subject of much speculation in the lead-up to the release of The Boys season 4.

Thankfully, we haven’t had to wait too long for the answer, as the Prime Video series has revealed the identity of Morgan’s mystery role in the new season. He’s even a familiar name to fans of the comics – even if he is wildly different to the iteration found in Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s works.

Spoilers for The Boys season 4 follow!

The Boys season 4

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Who is Jeffrey Dean Morgan playing in The Boys season 4?

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is playing Joe Kessler, a CIA operative who bumps into Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) – though not by chance – outside of a confidential meeting headed up by Grace Mallory (Laila Robins) and Robert Singer (Jim Beaver).

As we discover, Billy and Kessler last met 11 years ago while working together for the CIA. The pair even reminisce about the time Butcher saved Kessler’s life during an operation in Afghanistan, as well as Kessler’s more, ahem, extracurricular activities.

During the conversation, Kessler reveals that he wants Homelander taken out before (in his mind, at least) Supes start rounding up the civilian population and putting them into camps.

Unlike the others, who remain focused on VP prospect Neuman (Claudia Doumit), Kessler seemingly prefers cutting the head off the snake.

In the third episode, Kessler supplies Butcher with carfentanil, an extremely powerful drug that can be used to subdue Homelander’s biological – and suitably superpowered – son Ryan, who’s not yet got a hang of his abilities. Once that plan goes awry, Kessler leaves Butcher with an ultimatum: “We figure out to train [Ryan] or we figure out how to kill him.”

So far, that’s all we know about the TV show version of Kessler – though it appears there’s plenty more history to be mined there.

In the comics, Kessler also works for the CIA and provides intelligence to The Boys. It’s here where the similarities end. Not only does he have a different first name (Howard), but is nicknamed Monkey – on account of a brutal incident involving the animal at a brothel.