The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke has confirmed that Black Noir II is not Homelander’s clone in Season 4. In the comics, Black Noir II is a clone of the deranged leader of The Seven. Vought created him as a contingency, in case Homelander turned into a liability. This version of Black Noir even had Homelander’s powers, such as durability, flight, super strength, heat vision, enhanced vocal cords, and more.
Speaking with Variety, Eric Kripke confirmed that the existing version of Black Noir won’t be Homelander. The showrunner believes this twist will not do justice to Antony Starr’s character as the primary baddie. He did not reveal Black Noir’s identity, but he did tease that his reveal would be “as grounded as possible.”
“It’s a hell of a twist. But it’s like, well wait, the villain I’ve been following isn’t really the villain. 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. Plus, cloning feels like too — I’m going to sound silly — but cloning feels too magical for the show. We try to say that superheroes are the only slippery banana and that everything else we try to make as grounded as possible.”
In the comics, Vought creates Black Noir as a failsafe: someone with Homelander’s powers who can take him down if he becomes a threat. This backfires spectacularly, as Black Noir secretly commits horrific crimes and frames Homelander. Driven mad by the public’s accusations and the degradation of his sanity, Homelander takes over the White House, even slaughtering the President. There, he discovers that Black Noir is his clone. This leads to an all-out vicious brawl between the two. Ultimately, Black Noir emerges victorious, killing Homelander in a brutal showdown.
With Season 4 delving deeper into Homelander’s past, a reveal of Black Noir as his clone seems unlikely. That sick SOB is becoming more unstable with every passing season. It seems like Kripke prioritizes this established character development over a direct adaptation of the comics’ storyline.
Stream all episodes of The Boys Season 4 on Prime Video. Stay tuned for more updates.