The Big Conspiracy Theory about Black Noir’s Muteness

Black Noir is one of those few characters that can get away with being so captivating, without ever showing his face or even talking!

Right from The Boys S1 Ep1, we don’t hear a peep from him (though we do see him emoting in chuckles or sobs, depending on the situation), and while it is pleasantly beguiling, it does get you curious about why this is an important aspect of the character.

Let me clear that up for you:

In The Boys S3 Ep3, it is revealed that when Black Noir was part of Payback, Edgar Stan had ordered him to stay masked because he was Black. Then during a Cold War assignment, Black Noir was injured, rendering him mute and disfigured.

If you searched up this question before the S3 reveal, you may have seen an alternate reason for Black Noir’s muteness. As per the comics, Black Noir was actually Homelander’s clone, created to keep Homelander in check or kill him, in case the opportunity arises.

As such, not only did he have the same powers as Homelander (like flight, laser eyes, etc), he was also likely to be more powerful. But he couldn’t use any of these powers in case it tipped Homelander off. In fact, he was not allowed to talk or remove his mask at all, for this very reason!

However, Homelander does not go rogue, rendering Black Noir’s whole life purpose useless and in constant wait. In fact, it affects him so much mentally, that he even commits a bunch of heinous crimes as Homelander in order to frame him.

When it was announced that S3 would be about how the Boys are looking for a super powerful weapon that could end Homelander, many who had read the comics conspired that it could possibly be Black Noir’s time to shine.

Then came Black Noir’s backstory in S3, where we see that he was also part of Payback and actually lost his voice and got mutilated during the Nicaragua mission. As per the show, that is the reason he no longer can speak. 

Will the show ever play into Black Noir’s comic book story? As of now, it seems very unlikely. They’ve shifted the Supe-Most-Likely-To-Kill-Homelander title to Soldier Boy and made it quite clear that Black Noir’s muteness is not voluntary.

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.