The Boys Explained: Who Is Homelander’s Predecessor, Soldier Boy?

It’s been almost two years since fans last saw The Boys, but the Prime Video series is finally back and the first three episodes of Season 3 officially debuted today. New and crazy adventures await William Butcher (Karl Urban) and his team in their attempt to eliminate Vought’s Supes. Plus, Billy seems more relentless than usual after losing his love interest, Rebecca, during the clash with Homelander (Antony Starr) and Stormfront (Aya Cash). Now, the leader of the Boys needs to find more information on Soldier Boy to find new ways for stopping the Supes.

Who is the mysterious and powerful Supe mentioned in Season 3? And why is it so crucial that Butcher finds out what happened to him?

ComingSoon spoiler alert

Who Is Soldier Boy?

The Boys Concept Art for Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy Unveiled

The Season 3 premiere featured a close encounter between Butcher and Queen Maeve, who were looking for a way to get rid of Homelander. Maeve mentioned Soldier Boy, Vought’s Homelander before Homelander, who went missing in 1984. According to the official version of events, Soldier Boy died in a nuclear meltdown, but some classified files imply a mysterious weapon apparently killed him. Maeve gave Butcher some temporary Compound V and charged him to investigate what happened to Vought’s original superhero. To find out the truth, Butcher will have to track down and face Payback, Soldier Boy’s old team.

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In the comics, Soldier Boy was introduced in 2009’s Herogasm miniseries created by Garth Ennis, John McCrea, and Keith Burns. Soldier Boy’s role and powers mock pretty much the ones of Marvel’s Steve Rogers, including his shield as a melee weapon. Unlike Captain America, Soldier Boy is a coward who is desperate to gain membership in The Seven. Comic book Soldier Boy showcases an innocent nature, refusing to join his team during the “Herogasm” Orgies. Still, since the show differs a fair bit from the source material, the character underwent a substantial change in his live-action adaptation.

Who Is Portraying Soldier Boy in The Boys?

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The task to portray the first live-action adaptation of Soldier Boy has been entrusted to Jensen Ackles. 44-year-old Ackles is coming off a fifteen-year run as Dean Winchester, the demon hunter in The CW’s Supernatural. His credits also include voicing Bruce Wayne in the Batman: The Long Halloween animation movies. One of the most important supporters of Ackles joining The Boys was showrunner Eric Kripke, who worked for a long time with the actor on the Supernatural set.

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When Does Soldier Boy Make His Appearance in The Boys?

While Soldier Boy has yet to meet Butcher and the others in the present, the World War II hero already made his first appearance in the second episode The Boys Season 3. During their visit to VoughtLand, Frenchie (Tomer Capon) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) watch a brief history video about the Supe. In the series, Soldier Boy comes from a very low-income family in South Philadelphia but made a name for himself in WWII and guided America in its fight against communism. Moreover, Soldier Boy also appears in Grace Mallory’s recollection of memories of Operation Charlie in Nicaragua shown in the third installment of the series.


What do you think about the first episodes of The Boys Season 3? Let us know in the comments section below.

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