Who is the man behind Noir’s mask?

The first three episodes of The Boys season 4 is finally here on Amazon Prime Video. This season, the show has a whole new host of Supes joining The Seven. But one person you were probably most shocked to see is Black Noir after his apparent death at the end of season 3.

You might be asking yourself, did Noir survive Homelander’s attack, or is that someone completely new posing as the elusive Supe? Don’t worry, we’re here to explain all of that and give you the lowdown on the new Black Noir.

What happened to Black Noir?

(Image credit: Amazon Studios)

The real Black Noir actually met his demise in season 3 episode 8 when he is disembowelled by Homelander for keeping the truth from him about Soldier Boy being Homelander’s real father. This was a complete shock and quite upsetting for a lot of fans (me) as in the third season we got to know more about the seemingly ageless Noir and his past including what Soldier Boy did to him and why he had to wear his mask and remain silent from that day on.

For many people, Noir’s death felt a little underwhelming and sudden given the fact he was a key character. This, along with the fact that his death is never publicly announced in the show, made us hold onto hope that he might return one day, so we can imagine your shock when Black Noir casually appeared in season 4.

Who is the new Black Noir?

(Image credit: Amazon Studios)

When we first meet Noir in season 4, it is confusing, to say the least, as the hero we all thought was dead casually rocks up to the boardroom partway through episode 1 and sits down at the table where The Deep greets him and Homelander gives him a strange, almost guilty look. The next time we see the Deadpool-esque Supe is in the Vought meet and greet room where he and two other members of The Seven do you know what to a set of unfortunate fans. After the carnage goes down, Noir says “Yo, what the fuck, that was so fucked up you guys.” This is the first time we have ever heard Noir speak (aside from a flashback before Soldier Boy crushed his skull) and only adds more to the question of who this guy actually is.

However, the mystery is put to bed at the start of episode 2 where Noir shows up on the set of A-Train’s new movie and says “Hey, can we talk?” to which A train reminds him he isn’t supposed to be talking at all. Noir says, “Look, playing Noir has been a meaningful challenge but yesterday was wack as fuck,” later adding, “I’m just having trouble with Noir’s motivation.” This confirms that the man behind Noir’s mask is not the Supe we all know and love but is an actor playing him, presumably hired by Vought to hide that Homelander murdered a member of his team in cold blood.

The funny part is that actor Nathan Mitchell who played Black Noir in seasons 1-3 is credited at the end of season 4 episodes 1-3, meaning he is presumably playing and voicing the imposter version of his past beloved character. We can only assume this is some kind of meta joke thrown in by The Boys team.

The motivation behind Vought using an actor to play Noir instead of saying the Supe died in some accident just as they did with Supersonic, makes us think that there may be more to Noir’s death and quick replacement than meets the eye. But for that, we will just have to keep on watching!

The Boys season 4 episodes 1-3 are available to stream on Prime Video right now. For more, check out The Boys season 4 release schedule and the best shows on Prime Video.