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Vought Rising: Jensen Ackles Addresses "Gravity" of Ben-Clara Dynamic

The Boys: Vought Rising star Jensen Ackles hopes the series takes a deep dive into why Ben/Soldier Boy felt so connected to Clara/Stormfront.

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Article Summary

  • Vought Rising could finally explain why Soldier Boy stayed emotionally tied to Clara/Stormfront for nearly 80 years.
  • Jensen Ackles says he wants Vought Rising to explore the magnetic Ben-Clara bond and its lasting emotional weight.
  • The Boys left key gaps around Soldier Boy, Clara, and Bombsight, making Vought Rising crucial to filling in that past.
  • Soldier Boy’s “It’s what Clara would have wanted” line became a viral joke, but Vought Rising may give it real meaning.

If there was one thing lingering on fans' minds as The Boys prequel series Vought Rising premieres, it would be filling in the blanks of that love triangle between Soldier Boy/Ben (Jensen Ackles), Stormfront/Clara (Aya Cash), and Bombsight/Robbie (Mason Dye). As The Boys ended, we find Stormfront is dead (an offscreen death), Bombsight is out back into hiding, and Soldier Boy is back in a deep freeze sleep. At the The Boys finale premiere, Ackles spoke about what questions he hopes the series answers.

The Boys
Images: Prime Video Screencaps

Vought Rising: What Star Jensen Ackles Hopes Deep Dives into Benjamin-Clara

In the penultimate episode of The Boys, Soldier Boy shockingly gives his son, Homelander/John (Antony Starr), the V1, the precursor of modern Compound V, but the difference is that the original formula would grant immortality on top of the random superpower. As far as why V1 wasn't the standard, the rejection rate among candidates was too high, and too many died as a result. Upon Soldier Boy's rationalization, "It's what Clara would have wanted" became an unintended viral moment as a running gag.

As far as what Ackles hopes Vought Rising properly addresses, "I think just understanding the emotional gravity of it all, and why, why it's stuck with Soldier Boy for 80 years. How, how magnetic was that relationship [with Ben and Clara], and what is it that tethers him to it, even today?" While it was never properly addressed on the series, we never know who Homelander's mother is, but Soldier Boy is his father. Both loved Clara Vought, the wife of Frederick Vought, the inventor of V. While you can probably assume some Oedipus-related awkwardness, Ben's loyalty to Clara was never directly addressed in the Eric Kripke series, as she was already out of the picture at the end of season two when Soldier Boy made his debut in season three.

What we do know is that Clara went by Liberty before becoming Stormfront, but largely kept her Nazi beliefs, embracing her alt-right social media celebrity before the Boys ultimately exposed her Nazi ways to the public, which ruined her in the world of the show, maybe not so much in the real world in 2026 these days. She was left in a severely injured and near-catatonic state after Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) blasted her for going after his mother, Becca (Shantel VanSanten). You can check out Vought Rising, which also stars Will Hochman, KiKi Layne, Jorden Myrie, Nicolo Pasetti, Elizabeth Posey, Ricky Staffieri, and Brian J. Smith, premiering in 2027. It's what Clara would have wanted.

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Tom ChangAbout Tom Chang

I’ve been following pop culture for over 30 years with eclectic interests in gaming, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, film, and TV reading Starlog, Mad & Fangoria. As a writer for over 15 years, Star Wars was my first franchise love.
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