Black Noir’s origin is much different in the comics than in The Boys show, but Eric Kripke has no interest in bringing that particular story to life.

Speaking to Variety, Kripke briefly addressed Black Noir’s comic twist — which revealed the Seven member was secretly a deranged Homelander clone framing Homelander for monstrous actions — and why it didn’t fit into the story he wanted to tell. Though he recognized the Noir reveal was “a hell of a twist,” The Boys showrunner added, “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.”

Likewise, Kripke steered away from the comic Black Noir characterization because, even in a universe full of metahumans, this reveal didn’t gel with his series’ established worldbuilding. As he explained, “cloning feels like too — I’m going to sound silly — but cloning feels too magical for the show. We try to say that superheroes are the only slippery banana, and that everything else we try to make as grounded as possible.” Instead, season 3 revealed Noir to be a former member of the superhero team Payback who helped give Soldier Boy over to the Russians, albeit after Soldier Boy left him permanently brain-damaged and mute. Homelander later killed Noir in the season finale for withholding knowledge that Soldier Boy was his father, though season 4 introduced a new Black Noir on the Seven whose true identity remains unknown.

The Boys TV Show Delves Into Homelander’s Past

While this part of Homelander’s backstory was omitted, The Boys‘ latest episode recently delved into the Seven leader’s traumatic past as he gets revenge on the scientists who experimented on Homelander as a child. Season 4 also introduced new members to the Seven in Sister Sage and Firecracker, with the former using the latter to sow outrage and misinformation about Starlight as Homelander’s opposition following the events of season 3. The show continues to score well with critics via Rotten Tomatoes, though season 4 also earned The Boys its first rotten audience score due to review-bombing, with Kripke defending The Boys‘ overt political satire ahead of the season’s release.

Additionally, confirmed spinoffs in The Boys universe include Gen V and The Boys: Mexico, with season 4’s trailer teasing the return of characters from the former series. Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan also showed interest in a spinoff involving his new character Joe Kessler after Kripke suggested it in a recent interview.

New The Boys episodes air on Thursdays on Prime Video.