One thing passionate fans were interested in seeing in The Boys TV series was the Homelander twist from the comics. It was a very shocking swerve from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, but the arc surprisingly humanized Homelander a bit.

Unfortunately, the hit Prime Video series didn’t go in that direction, and opted to explore a different route. However, as The Boys Season 4 illustrates, some version of the Homelander twist from the comics is starting to take shape. This change is effectively creating a much larger mystery than before.

What Was The Boys’ Black Noir Twist?

In the comics, Black Noir was a quiet member of the Seven. He was an enforcer who didn’t seem to have a purpose other than to bodyguard Homelander. However, the final few issues revealed he was a Homelander clone. He committed a series of nasty acts, framed Homelander, and then caused public criticism. He did this to gaslight Homelander into taking over the White House. It gave Noir a means to his one purpose: kill Homelander if he ever got out of line.

Sadly, Noir got frustrated that Homelander wasn’t evil, so he hatched this scheme to break his mind and turn him into a dictator. It was a shocking cerebral reveal that ended with him killing Homelander. Noir was wounded badly, however, which led to Billy Butcher killing him and ending the military’s Homelander bloodline. The Boys changed this for the small screen.

In the TV series, Noir was a Black super-soldier who worked in the military for Payback, and Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy bullied him. A feud broke out which saw Soldier Boy damage Noir’s vocals, and the team turned against Soldier Boy by giving him up to the Russians. When Soldier Boy was freed years later to kill Homelander and the truth emerged, Homelander murdered Noir for hiding what he knew about his lineage.

Noir lying was partly to protect Homelander, but also because Noir had trauma and fear issues over what Soldier Boy did to him. Many believed this was the better direction. It added nuance to Noir, worked in Homelander’s racist views, and didn’t convolute the plot too much with another evil Superman. Simplicity was the creative key.

How Is Black Noir Alive in The Boys Season 4?

The new Noir in The Boys Season 4 is an actor played by Nathan Mitchell. He isn’t a soldier, but a supe Thespian brought in to play a role. At first, he keeps nagging the Deep on the idea of brotherhood, and how to act, but he is silenced. Noir cannot speak, or the public will know the original is dead.

The Boys’ Sister Sage and ex-Vought CEO Ashley also keep reminding him that silence is golden. But after beating down and killing some Homelander enemies, Noir starts to become depressed. He wants to leave the group, but the Deep convinces him to stay. Deep makes it clear this is the role of a lifetime. All Noir has to do is enjoy killing and get what the Deep crudely describes as “murder boners.” This represents power and makes them gods on a spiritual level.

The Deep takes Noir under his wing even more as the season progresses. In The Boys Season 4 ending, Noir transcends being a hired gun. He goes after A-Train to murder him for betraying Vought, and later kills Vought employees. He is protecting Vought’s secrets, but Noir does have a battle flaw: he has narcolepsy. He falls asleep during fights and even during Homelander speeches. But Homelander, while mildly annoyed, keeps him around.

Homelander sees this particular Noir as important. It won’t be easy managing him, as Noir has a crush on Sister Sage and what seems to be an affair with her. The Deep does too, teasing maybe The Boys Season 5 will turn their bromance into a rivalry. What’s certain is that someone did great at recruiting this Noir. Vought’s executives have a way of finding the right people to put around Homelander, which hints at the possibility of there being more than just coincidence at hand.

The Boys’ Black Noir Reveals Scary New Powers

There are subtle cuts as to why Homelander respects the second Noir. For one, Noir is seen displaying a lot more powers than his predecessor. He is invulnerable, taking shots to the chest from Butcher’s chain gun. Additionally, he can fly. It gives him Homelander’s powers, minus super-speed and laser vision. He might even be stronger than Homelander. Butcher’s team runs away immediately, which they don’t usually do when confronting Homelander. This could be a clever homage to the Homelander clone and how terrifying he was, but it could also speak to Vought’s experiments.

They used Godolkin University and the Woods’ lab to make a supe virus. There could be other branches perfecting Compound V as well, and which heroes have certain powers. This Noir could even be someone they spliced with Homelander’s DNA. He may not look like a blonde-haired white supremacist, but having Homelander’s abilities would be what matters. Vought would have good reason for this, as Homelander has insulted Vought’s shareholders and intimidated the board. Not to mention, they keep secrets from him, making a back-up organic. This could have been Stan Edgar’s contingency plan before he got carted off to jail.

Stan is free and plotting for The Boys Season 5, which could bring him back to talk with Noir and reveal the man’s true purpose. Stan considered the old Noir like a son when he handled the Payback team for the CIA, so such an approach would bring the Noir mantle full-circle. In addition, a “Black Homelander” with his genes and powers would truly be a middle finger to a Homelander that is racist and vile. If there is one thing The Boys does well, it is making logical creative decisions. The showrunner, Eric Kripke, has remained coy about how such a powerful Noir could appear out of thin air.

This teases more bombshells to be revealed. The fact Homelander tolerates him hints that he also suspects something is up with Noir. This will be an enticing prospect for The Boys‘ final season. Noir has personality and character. All that is left is to give him a higher calling. The comics’ Noir was psychotic, but this new Noir could find a shot at redemption the way A-Train did. An actual Black supe shouldn’t be killing for an alt-right, fascist cult. Ultimately, Noir is going to have to make a choice, and from the clues provided, he may well end up being that secret weapon that no one knew about when it comes to murdering Homelander.

All four seasons of The Boys are streaming on Prime Video.