The Boys Is Trolling You By Teasing The Comics’ Homelander Clone Ending

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 5, episode 3, “Every One of You Sons of Bitches.”

The Boys season 5 has started fast and strong by cooking up a plethora of interesting storylines, but in among the chaos, Prime Video’s superhero adaptation has also found time to troll its audience by teasing the comics’ Homelander clone ending. Despite the show’s heavy deviations from the source material, there are naturally still some major similarities between both iterations.

Alongside adapting the President Homelander story — or something close to it — Butcher’s transition to be more like Homelander in The Boys does feel like a step towards his comic ending. However, it’s not the only controversial arc the project has teased, as Black Noir’s strange behavior indicates he could also be treading a familiar path.

After the original version of this character was killed off back in season 3, he was replaced by Black Noir II, a supe with strong acting skills, which suggested that The Boys was going a completely different route regarding the assassin. That seems to have changed in season 5 though, as the Seven member has completely refused to talk.

In addition, he disappears every afternoon without explanation, suggesting something isn’t right. By The Boys season 5, episode 3’s ending, we’re still no closer to understanding what is going on with him, as he was last seen left incapacitated outside Stan Edgar’s safe house, courtesy of The Deep.

Clearly, Black Noir II’s change of character is intentional, and it looks as though The Boys is trying to bait its viewers by hinting that he may have been replaced by a Homelander clone.

The Boys Season 5’s Black Noir Mystery Is Teasing The Character’s Comic Ending

Unlike in the show, Black Noir never had a real person under the mask in the comics, let alone two different men taking the mantle. Instead, he was simply a clone of Homelander created by Vought who was used as a fail-safe in case the Seven’s leader ever went rogue.

Prime Video’s version of The Boys all but killed any idea of this ever happening in the adaptation with its changes, yet the character’s current behavior is directly teasing his comic ending. We’ve yet to see Black Noir II unmasked in season 5, meaning someone inside Vought may have had him killed and replaced without anyone else realizing.

It explains this sudden mysterious aura surrounding him, as there’s no immediately obvious reason why he’d suddenly stop talking, even when alone with close friends like The Deep. Perhaps it was a plan orchestrated by Sage, as even she seems concerned by Homelander’s increasingly unhinged attitude, and she has the knowledge to make something like this happen.

When exactly this switch would’ve taken place is anyone’s guess, but between The Boys season 5’s time skip and Gen V season 2 is most likely, since Black Noir II was still verbal in the spinoff. Considering that the Homelander clone reveal was such a controversial moment in the comics, it would be hard to replicate this properly in the adaptation.

It would therefore be a bold move for the show to repeat this storyline, even more so since Black Noir has already had a much different history. That said, while The Boys may be trying to fool its audience into believing this is where the character’s story is going, I’m convinced it’s all a red herring.

It’s Not Possible For The Boys Season 5 To Pull Off The Homelander Clone Twist

The Deep (Chace Crawford) and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) looking uncomfortable with a disappointed Homelander (Antony Starr) standing between them in The Boys season 5

For as much as The Boys may want viewers to believe the Homelander clone twist is coming, it simply feels impossible to pull this off. First and foremost, back in 2024, showrunner Eric Kripke confirmed the series wasn’t going to adapt this storyline, and it’s hard to imagine he has changed his mind so soon.

Kripke claimed to have written season 5 before the US Presidential Election in November 2024, meaning the only way the Homelander clone storyline would make sense is if he was simply lying, which feels unlikely. Additionally, Nathan Mitchell has been involved in season 5’s press tour, suggesting he is still playing the character.

Technically, Mitchell has portrayed Black Noir in the past, even though Fritzy-Klevans Destine provided the face of the original version, but Mitchell is the face behind Black Noir II, confirming that he’s still very much involved in the series. These points aside, it would also just feel wrong if Homelander wasn’t the one behind the character’s actions.

He’s practically dictating everything at Vought, so a clone of himself somehow slipping into Black Noir’s costume without him realizing it would feel off. It’s much more plausible that the villain opted to cut Noir’s tongue out or threaten his family if he ever talked again, as Homelander is scarier than ever, as evidenced by A-Train’s death in season 5’s premiere.

While we can’t entirely rule out the possibility of Black Noir being replaced by a clone, or even another character, it looks close to impossible for this to be reality, meaning something else is going on with him in The Boys season 5, making it one of the show’s best ongoing mysteries.