The Boys: What Black Noir's Season 4 Return Could Mean For Homelander
After leaked photos from the set of "The Boys" Season 4 revealed in October 2022 that Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) is likely to return in the next highly anticipated batch of episodes, fans are wondering how that's even possible and what it means for Homelander (Antony Starr). Fans undoubtedly recall Black Noir's brutal death at Homelander's hands last season, so how could he be returning, and what will it mean for the red, white, and blue villain?
"The Boys" showrunner Eric Kripke has confirmed Black Noir's return, saying that it will be a different character wearing Black Noir's suit. However, Mitchell will remain under the mask since he was never shown as Black Noir on-screen. The younger version of the character fans saw in flashbacks during Season 3 was played by a different actor, Fritzy-Klevans Destine.
Fans of "The Boys" comic book series are probably a step ahead here since they'll recall that the Black Noir of the comics was actually a clone of Homelander tasked by Vought with killing him should he step out of line. When framing Homelander for crimes didn't result in an order to kill his target, Black Noir went mad. In those comics, Black Noir is revealed to be the real perpetrator of Becca Butcher's assault, and many other horrifying actions thought to be Homelander's doing.
Obviously, we've seen that the Black Noir of the TV series is not a Homelander clone. But it remains possible that "The Boys" will still borrow from the comics for Season 4's Black Noir plot.
Black Noir is reborn, but whose side is he on?
The Black Noir of "The Boys" TV series on Amazon Prime Video is a very different character than in the comics. Season 3 explored his backstory in depth, where we learn that a young Black Noir, real name Earving, was a member of the Payback team headed by Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). He was brutally disfigured by Soldier Boy and left with permanent brain damage after an assassination attempt on the team leader ordered by Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) went sideways. We've seen far too much proof that Black Noir is not a clone of Homelander for the show to retcon that choice to match up with the comic books.
It also seems unlikely that the new Black Noir in Season 4 will be a Homelander clone. After all, as noted above, showrunner Eric Kripke has confirmed that Nathan Mitchell is still playing the character. There is the remote possibility that Kripke intentionally misled fans to avoid further leaks, but that doesn't mean Antony Starr is under that onyx mask.
Whatever's in store for Black Noir in Season 4 of "The Boys," it's almost guaranteed to affect Homelander. The last we saw of Noir, he was disemboweled by him and died on screen. Kripke's promise that this will be "a different character who wears the Black Noir suit" may suggest that Homelander, now acting as CEO of Vought, installed a loyalist to replace Noir. This feels the most likely, as it would not only mean the new Black Noir is the loyalist Homelander desires, but it would give Mitchell a chance to finally shine in the spotlight. Of course, all we know for sure is that anything can happen on "The Boys." Executive producer Seth Rogen promises the upcoming season still finds ways to shock him.