Why Black Noir Fans Should Get Hyped For The Boys Season 3
Spoilers and potential spoilers (based on the comics) for The Boys ahead!
If a university ever ran a course on superhero psychology, The Boys would no doubt be the highlight of the syllabus. In no uncertain terms, the show establishes how zealous hero worshippers can be and how people who grow up with powers might realistically act. Sure, some superheroes would be like Starlight (Erin Moriarty), burning with a desire to leave the world better than they found it. A lot more, however, would probably end up as apathetic as Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligot), or as self-centered as A-Train (Jessie Usher), or as morally corrupt as Homelander (Antony Starr).
All these "heroes" have been thoroughly explored over the two seasons of The Boys ... except Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), that is. Even Black Noir's looks are a mystery, as his costume encases his entire body. Viewers know that he doesn't speak, that his Compound V enhancements are nothing to scoff at, that he's a surprisingly skilled pianist, that he does feel emotions to some degree, and, most significantly, that he has a tree nut allergy. The information comes off more like fun trivia than the character depth which other members of The Seven have shown, though.
Despite being so inscrutable (or perhaps because he's so inscrutable), however, Black Noir still has his fans, both in-universe and in the real world. Come season three, the real world fans are in for a treat.
It's not all about screen time, but...
In an interview with TVLine, The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke spoke a little bit about Black Noir. He's well-aware that many fans of the show are also fans of the mysterious, shadow-clad Supe, and that they're eager to learn more about the man beneath the mask. Well, according to Kripke, "We're exploring [Black Noir] even more in Season 3, because we are giving the fans what they want."
And thus, the speculation game begins.
Viewers will remember that at the end of season two, Queen Maeve activates Black Noir's tree nut allergy courtesy of an Almond Joy, leaving him writhing on the ground like so much chopped liver. As she later tells Homelander, Black Noir survives the incident, but has entered a vegetative state — which is never shown on camera, but there's little reason to doubt her. It does raise the question of whether he'll still be a vegetable come season three, or whether the Compound V flowing through his veins will cause him to recover quickly.
Recovery or no recovery, Black Noir's story doesn't end there, if Kripke is to be believed. But will that story follow the comics? The comics version of Black Noir is [spoiler] unveiled as a clone of Homelander, one who makes a habit of dressing up as the world's most famous Supe and committing atrocities in costume. But when Queen Maeve rips off the bottom half of Black Noir's mask to stuff the Almond Joy down his throat, he's clearly a Black man, portrayed by Mitchell.
The show is no stranger to diverging from the source material, and that may be the case this time around as well. Either way, more Black Noir means anticipation for season three is building even higher than it already would have.