Jensen Ackles had a chance to reunite with Supernatural showrunner Eric Kripke when he appeared on Kripke's newer series The Boys. Ackles played a well-renowned hero within the world of The Boys known as Soldier Boy. This iteration of Soldier Boy is vastly different from the version that appears in Garth Ennis' comic of the same name. Despite Soldier Boy's story wrapping up by the end of the show's third season, fans shouldn't count him out from appearing in a future season. Perhaps even its upcoming fourth season.
Since Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy essentially ends up right where Butcher and MM found him at the beginning of the season, fans might wonder how the show intends to bring him back without rehashing old plot points from season three. The writers created a perfect opening for Soldier Boy's return and it falls in line with all of the other liberties the show has taken over the course of its three seasons.
The Boys: Where is the Show Filmed?
This Canadian city's urban charm becomes a central character in The Boys, enriching its narrative depth.
Who is Soldier Boy?
There are very distinct differences between the comic book version of Soldier Boy and the live-action version. However, in both versions, the creators designed him to be the Captain America within the universe of The Boys. Unlike Steve Rogers, however, Soldier Boy is quite the degenerate, as fans saw throughout the show's third season. Soldier Boy is a World War II hero and the Homelander before Homelander existed. He was invulnerable and had super strength and superhuman speed. He went missing in 1984, with reports stating he died in a nuclear meltdown. However, classified documents stated a mysterious weapon killed him.
The reports of Soldier Boy's demise were greatly exaggerated as Butcher and the boys found him cryogenically frozen in a hidden storage facility. While surprising, to say the least, Butcher saw the super as an answer to all his problems. When Soldier Boy came out of storage, he exhibited a new ability that entailed an energy blast from his chest, which not even the likes of Homelander could survive. He seemed to be an answer to the Homelander problem.
In a shocking turn of events, the show reveals that Soldier Boy is Homelander's father. This iteration of the character is a far cry from his comic book counterpart, but it definitely works. In fact, it probably works better with the way Eric Kripke has crafted the universe around The Boys​​​​​.
What Happened to Soldier Boy?
Unfortunately, since things rarely go Billy's way when it comes to Homelander, Soldier Boy wasn't able to follow through with his deal. Oh yeah, Butcher made a deal with Soldier Boy to kill Homelander. Everything started off fine with Maeve, Butcher, and Soldier Boy all against Homelander. However, Homelander decided to bring his biological son, Ryan, into the mix, which only muddled the whole thing. Butcher has a complicated relationship with Ryan since he's the child of his (Butcher) deceased girlfriend Becca.
While Soldier Boy has Homelander pinned and is ready to fatally strike the superman, Ryan tries to stop him out of some misguided sense of compassion for his Homelander. Well, Soldier Boy doesn't care who's in his way; he'll remove any obstacle and pushes Ryan aside, which doesn't make Butcher too happy. In another turn of events, Soldier Boy ends up on the wrong side of the three versus one.
One thing leads to another, which leads to Maeve making a swan dive out the window of the skyscraper they're fighting in with Soldier Boy who was charging up his energy blast. During their fall together, Soldier Boy erupts in a blast of radiation of his own doing. This doesn't kill Queen Maeve, although the public believes she's dead, but it does remove any traces of Compound V from her system, rendering her a normal human being. Soldier Boy, on the other hand, ends up in custody under sedation.
The Best Way for Soldier Boy to Return
Homelander is just as dangerous in the comics as he is in the TV series. That's why the comics had a fail-safe for the character. Unbeknownst to readers, Homelander, and everyone else, Black Noir was a clone of Homelander ready to take him out if he ever got carried away. In fact, Black Noir manipulated Homelander in several ways, proving to be much more dangerous than the version audiences see on screen. Needless to say, the comic book version of Homelander got carried away with a whole plot that involved taking over America.
For the first two and a half seasons of the show, fans thought it would turn out the same way. However, season three decided to have Homelander kill Black Noir because he didn't tell him about Soldier Boy being his dad. That seemed to put an end to the idea of Noir eventually killing Homelander. Well, not quite. Eric Kripke made it clear that Black Noir will return as a new character, allowing the same actor to play him underneath that suit.
A new Black Noir can pave the way for Soldier Boy to return as well, and it would continue the show's trend of adapting aspects of the comic but with small tweaks ( the show altered Herogasm fit its parameters). Instead of a Homelander clone under the mask, it would be Homelander's own father.
Since Maeve managed to get the World War II vet back into a cryogenic slumber, and it's clear by the final scene that Homelander can do no wrong in the eyes of the people, there's a good chance the authorities would make a deal with Soldier Boy. They might convince him to hold off on acting on any grudge he has, or maybe they give him a couple of things he wants while in return he dons the Black Noir suit. Jensen Ackles wouldn't need to take on the role until the show decides to unmask him and it's clear that Soldier Boy doesn't care about the fame and spotlight in the same way Homelander does. It wouldn't be difficult for him to lie in wait. As far as audiences know, without Soldier Boy, there's no weapon on Earth that can take down an unleashed Homelander.