Posted in: Amazon Studios, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: Black Noir, Homelander, prime video, the boys

The Boys: Kripke on Changing Black Noir/Homelander Comics Storyline

The Boys Showrunner Eric Kripke explains why the Prime Video series went in a completely different direction from the comics with Homelander and Black Noir.

Of the many, many fascinating things about this season of Prime Video and Showrunner Eric Kripke's The Boys, it's how we've gone from a Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) who was a stone-cold silent assassin to Black Noir 2.0 – who, let's just say, can be a bit too talkative. But if you're a fan of writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson's original comic book series, then you know that the difference between the live-action Black Noir and the comic book version is about as dramatic as can be – one aspect of the storylines in play showing just how much the streaming series is carving out a universe distinctly different from the comics. Speaking with Variety, Kripke explains why they chose to go in a dramatically different direction with Butcher, Homelander, and Black Noir – but first, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign because we're going to offer an overview of a righteously major plot point from Ennis and Robertson's series.

In the comics, Black Noir turns out to be the mastermind behind all of the bad blood that both of them have been dealing with. How? Because he turns out to be a Homelander clone – put into position in case the leader of The Seven ever went rogue and needed to be put down. But when it appeared that time would never come, Black Noir began impersonating Homelander and committing some horrific acts – including raping Butcher's wife – and then playing on Homelander's unstable mental state to convince him that he committed those acts because of a split personality. That leads to Butcher and Homelander taking on Black Noir, who kills Homelander but finds himself in such a weakened state that he becomes easy pickings for Butcher and his killing blow.

See what we mean? We're talking about something very different from where things are heading (like how Homelander kills the original Black Noir in the streaming series)—and we didn't even drop any specific details. Noting how it played out in the comics, Kripke felt that the "clone" twist wouldn't work for the series for two very specific and understandable reasons.

"In the comics, he's a clone of Homelander this entire time and is actually the one doing all these horrific things. And again, it's a hell of a twist. But it's like, well, wait, the villain I've been following isn't really the villain," Kripke explained. "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."

Aside from having Homelander own his villainous ways, Kripke wasn't feeling the "clone" aspect specifically, either. "Plus, cloning feels like too — I'm going to sound silly — but cloning feels too magical for the show," he added. "We try to say that superheroes are the only slippery banana and that everything else we try to make as grounded as possible."

The Boys Season 4: Eric Kripke on Sister Sage, Firecracker Insights

During an interview with EW, Kripke shared that Susan Heyward's Sister Sage and Valorie Curry's Firecracker represent the show's twisted take on two more superhero archetypes – "The World's Smartest Person" and "All-American! USA!" When it comes to Sage, Kripke notes that being "a tactical genius" will see her having Homelander's ear – making The Seven leader "much more dangerous." As for Firecracker, Kripke notes that the gun-loving supe sits somewhere to the far right of even VNN's Cameron Coleman (Matthew Edison) – and that she definitely has very similar traits to Donald Trump's potential VP pick, Kristi Noem. Here's a look at what else Kripke had to share about Sister Sage and Firecracker:

Kripke on Sister Sage: "It's such a funny power. A lot of superhero worlds have that character. Whereas most of them are usually really reedy white dudes, we wanted a Black woman who was raised in a low socioeconomic area, so no one f***ing listens to her. It's both commentary and satirical that you have literally the smartest person in the world that could cure all of society's ills, but she just can't get anyone to listen to her. So then she becomes a bitter misanthrope."

Kripke on Firecracker: "It turns out there's always crazier. Firecracker represents both members of the conspiracy-minded movements and the super extreme right-wing news media. That character has some surprising backstory that connects her to some of the characters in our world that it was just interesting to bring in one of those pistol-packing 'I shot my puppies' type of characters."

In The Boys Season 4, the world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander (Antony Starr), who is consolidating his power. Butcher (Karl Urban), with only months to live, has lost Becca's son and his job as The Boys' leader. The rest of the team is 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.

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