Black Noir’s Disappearance Reveals How Soldier Boy was Betrayed

Black Noir has been an enigma in The Boys since the first season. However, Season 3 gave us some insight into the character and his past. We learned that he was part of Team Payback three decades ago and was one of the supes who worked with Soldier Boy.

In Episode 6, when he comes to know that Soldier Boy is alive, he immediately takes out his tracking chip and leaves. However, we don’t understand why he ran and where he went?

Black Noir is at Buster and Beaver pizza restaurant, but we don’t know its location. Black Noir and other Payback members betrayed Soldier Boy on Vought and Stan Edgar’s orders, who said there’s a new boy who’ll be the next big superhero.

In The Boys Season 3, Episode 3, we learn about the mission in Nicaragua. At the time, Payback (Who were The Seven of that generation) was working with the government agents to complete a drug smuggling mission.

Here we had Grace Mallory as the government’s lead and Stan Edgar as Vought’s representative. We also had Soldier Boy, Black Noir, and other Payback members. According to Stan, this was the first mission between the government and Vought and was a trial to see if supes could be introduced into the army.

During this, two important things happen. One is a conversation between Stan Edgar and Black Noir. We see Black Noir without a mask, and he is a person of color. He tells how he should be without a mask because only then will people recognize him and be inspired by him.

It was a different time when people of color weren’t given much respect (Not much has changed today) and were far more hostile towards them. So this was important to Black Noir. However, Stan understood the same trait as a disadvantage.

On one hand, Stan wanted the supes to be likable and acceptable according to society and the government agencies. But, on the other hand, Black Noir wanted to be the leader of Payback and represent his community.

It ends with the Stan letting the supe be without the mask. But things don’t end well for him because of the second significant event. The camp is attacked, and in the aftermath, we realize that Soldier Boy is (allegedly) dead, and Black Noir gets severe burns on his face. We even see him reach out for his mask while barely being able to move.

All of this was in Episode 3. We now know that Soldier Boy wasn’t dead and was merely kidnapped by the Russians. As we all know, Black Noir moved from Payback to The Seven and has been on the team ever since.

Episode 7 reveals a few crucial things about Soldier Boy, who he is, and the mission in Nicaragua. Soldier Boy wasn’t the most likable superhero. As Black Noir remembers certain events, he sees how Soldier Boy belittled him and perhaps everyone else on the team.

This incident was enough to show the dynamic between the rest of the team and our American superhero. So, in Nicaragua, Stan Edgar asks Black Noir if he can somehow neutralize Soldier Boy and give him up to the Russians.

Black Noir asks the motive, and Stan quite calmly replies that there’s a new boy and a new superhero who’ll take Soldier Boy’s place. The rest is pretty simple. Noir convinces the others, and together they somehow manage to neutralize him and serve him to the Russians on a platter.

In episode 3, when we saw Black Noir’s face disfigured and thought it was because of some Russian weapon, it was actually because of Soldier Boy. This means that perhaps there was no weapon to neutralize Homelander in the first place.

Speaking of Homelander, it is also revealed that Soldier By had taken part in some genetic research and let Vought take his genes. Homelander was born out of it and hence is Soldier Boy’s son.

This changes everything in The Boys. It means that two of the strongest supes will act together against Billy Butcher and the gang, who only have Starlight and Kimiko on their side. Black Noir wouldn’t tag along with them, but he most likely wouldn’t even survive these two. We just have to wait for one more week to get all the answers.

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.