The Boys has given us some incredible characters with fascinating superpowers across two seasons. For instance, Depp can talk to aquatic creatures and understands everything they say, think, and feel.
While there are others such as Queen Maeve, Starlight, and Stormfront, Black Noir is one of the most intriguing supes. Not much has been revealed about his past, and people don’t know what he looks or sounds like. He is that silent guardian of The Seven.
The Boys season 3 premiered just yesterday, and in a flashback scene, we do see Black Noir as a man with presumably African American origins when he removes his mask. After a few moments, there’s a fight scene, and his head/face is almost disfigured.
But we do know that he made it alive because, after being a part of Team Payback, led by Stan Edgar, Noir was part of The Seven. We last saw him in season 2, when Queen Maeve gives him a nut allergy, and he instantly has an anaphylactic shock. Despite this, Stormfront confirms that the supe is still alive in a vegetative state.
All of this is the TV series rendition of the superhero. In the comics, Black Noir is vastly different in terms of the man behind the mask, his powers, and his powers. Let me explain.
In The Boys comics, Black Noir is a clone of Homelander created with the same superpowers. The two go head-to-head in a battle in which Noir overpowers the other antagonist and kills him.
I know those three lines had a lot of revelations that you would have had no clue about if you weren’t into the comics. But, fret not, for I’ll break it down for you.
Is Black Noir Homelander in The Boys comics?
Yes, Black Noir is another version of Homelander. It is revealed much later in the story that Stan Edgar had created this clone as a failsafe for Homelander. If the latter was to go rogue or wreak havoc, the former was to end him and mitigate the destruction caused.
What are Black Noir’s superpowers in the comics?
Black Noir possesses all superpowers that Homelander does. These include superhuman strength, durability, speed, stamina, hearing, smell, heat vision, X-Ray vision, and flight.
He also shares the same weakness as Homelander – Insanity. He was told that his destiny was to kill Homelander, which didn’t happen for years and perhaps even decades.
He started losing his mind towards the end because he couldn’t fulfill this purpose. As a result, he framed Homelander and exposed him as the bad guy in front of the whole world, leading to a showdown between the two.
How did Black Noir kill Homelander in the comics?
When Homelander is framed, he loses his mind and kills the President at the White House. Black Noir arrives, reveals himself as the clone, and in a face-off between the two, Noir defeats and brutally kills Homelander.
To get on Homelander’s nerves, he first reveals that he’s his clone built to destroy him. He then tells him how he framed him and tied him to activities such as cannibalism. It was relatively simple because he was the spitting image of America’s favorite superhero.
But here’s the kicker. Black Noir saves the biggest plot twist involving Becca and Ryan for the end. He explains how he raped Becca while pretending to be Homelander and how Ryan is his child.
This is the last straw for the ‘greatest superhero ever.’ The two engage in a brutal face-off, with Black Noir coming on top. He left just the chest and arms of Homelander for identification purposes.
How does Black Noir die in the comics?
This fight with Homelander cost Black Noir a lot too. He had sustained severe injuries such as burns and an open skull. The US military used tanks and guns to exploit his weaknesses at that moment. Billy Butcher, who’s ruthlessly intelligent when it comes to killing superheroes, uses a crowbar to open Black Noir’s skull completely and crushes his brain to kill him.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the Black Noir in Amazon’s TV series is very different from this, and season 3 digs deeper into his origin story. The Boys Season 3 premiered with the first three episodes yesterday. You can watch the remaining ones on a weekly basis. They will air every Friday at 12:00 AM PDT.
About The Boys
The Boys is an American satirical superhero streaming television series developed by Eric Kripke for Prime Video. Based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, which was originally published by DC Comics under their Wildstorm imprint before moving to Dynamite Entertainment, it follows the eponymous team of vigilantes as they combat superpowered individuals who abuse their abilities.
The show is a satirical take on the superhero genre and showcases a world where superheroes are corporatized and controlled by companies. What happens when these superheroes step out of line and rub some boys the wrong way, is the story.
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