It’s possible that The Boys’ fourth season hinted at Black Noir’s comic book past.
With the release of the trailer for Boys season 4, fans can’t wait to see where their beloved characters will go in these upcoming episodes. Before the premiere of season 4, The Boys had previously revealed that a shocking character—the enigmatic Black Noir—would be returning from the grave. The Nathan Mitchell-portrayed Superman will return, despite his death in season three. The teaser for The Boys’ fourth season features him not just with the other members of The Seven, but also engaged in a fierce battle with Billy Butcher.
Upon discovering that Black Noir has returned, though? Is The Boys TV show at last admitting that it’s based on one of the biggest plot twists in the comic book? There will be comic book The Boys spoilers underneath!
The unmasking of Black Noir comes late in to the run of The Boys comics, revealing that the entire time the character has actually been a clone of Homelander, albeit one that is somehow even more insane than the real guy. Black Noir was created as a clone of Homelander by Vought as an insurance policy, in the event that Homelander went rogue and needed to be put down. One thing they didn’t count on however was the clone exploiting his true identity and committing heinous acts while posing as Homelander, driving the original Homelander crazy because he couldn’t remember doing any of this stuff. It became a snake eating its own tail in a way for the comics, as the crazier Homelander got the more likely it would be that Black Noir would need to put him down.
In previous seasons of The Boys however, the TV series made it clear that they were doing something else with Black Noir. The character, played by Nathan Mitchell, was revealed to have his own tragic backstory as a young black superhero that wanted to become “the Eddie Murphy of supes,” he was abused by Soldier Boy in the 1980s and disfigured to the point that he was forced to hide his face for good and resume his job as a lap dog for Vought’s clean-up.
As The Boys season trailer revealed, Black Noir is back, and he seems more aggressive than ever. Not only does he appear on screen with A-Train and The Deep as Homelander himself demands his teammates become “wrathful gods,” and then again facing off with Billy Butcher in the office of The Boys. Not only does Black Noir being back on The Boys seem to indicate that the TV Series is headed toward a more comic book-accurate version of the character, but his appearances in the season 4 trailer nearly cements it.
To add fuel to the fire, Black Noir actor Nathan Mitchell previously had a tease about playing a different version of the character. Speaking with The Movie Dweeb, he said: “If we were going to play and remix the character, I think that everyone’s seen a very stoic version of Black Noir. So if they were going to do something new, I think it would be fun to go in the opposite direction.”
Time will tell, and The Boys season 4 is closer than ever. The Boys season 4 will premiere with three episodes on Thursday, June 13, 2024 on Prime Video, with new episodes debuting weekly until The Boys season 4 finale premieres on Thursday, July 18. Prime Video describes the new season as follows:
“The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.”
