There are a few theories circulating regarding Soldier Boy’s return inThe Boysseason 5 and some make more sense than others.The legendary supe Soldier Boyis a fan favorite in Eric Kripke’s critically acclaimed Amazon Prime Video TV show. Ever since debuting inThe Boysseason 3, Soldier Boy demonstrated everything that madeThe Boysunique - he was the perfect satirical response to heroes like Captain America. Jensen Ackles' gruff bravado was perfect for Soldier Boy, and his long-term working relationship with showrunner Kripke led to perfect synergy between the show’s script and Ackles' performance.
Having ledSupernaturalalongside Jared Padalecki for 15 years, Ackles was the most obvious choice for a tongue-in-cheek role inThe Boys. Kripke’s seminal fantasy TV series,Supernatural, honed Ackles as a point of dark humor and toxic masculinity. However, Ackles’Supernaturalcharacter, Dean Winchester, had a heart of gold, whereas the same doesn’t appear to apply to Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy is unscrupulous and vicious, with dangerous superpowers inThe Boys. The all-American supe is sure to bring some dark storylines toThe Boysseason 5, with some moments, in particular, seeming likely to transpire.
10Soldier Boy Joins Homelander’s Army In Season 5
Soldier Boy Could Become Homelander’s Pawn
Homelander built up an army throughoutThe Boysand Soldier Boy could be about to join it. The importance of Homelander’s army was shown byGen V,The Boys’spinoff TV series. Featuring heavily inGen V,Homelander’s army may be crucial to future seasons of the spinoff. Therefore, tying the army in further to the lore ofThe Boys,with a Soldier Boy arc, makes sense for the continuation ofGen V.
The Boysseason 5 is set for release in 2026.
Additionally, the last viewers saw of Soldier Boy, he was lying in an incubator being watched by Homelander. He was completely vulnerable to Homelander’s machinations, andHomelander may want to use the supe to his advantage. Homelander found himself down a few allies bythe end ofThe Boysseason 4, so he may try and manipulate the powerful Soldier Boy into joining his cause, possibly with the promise of harming Butcher.
9MM Finally Kills Soldier Boy In The Boys Season 5
MM Avenges His Family In The Boys Season 5
Mother’s Milk was known as MM, and he may finally avenge his family inThe Boysseason 5, killing Soldier Boy. Although a supe in the comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, MM was a normal human in Kripke’s TV series, and had lost a lot to supes. In the Amazon show,MM had a feud with Soldier Boyowing to Soldier’s Boy’s impact on his family. It seems that MM’s family, in the show, were collateral damage in a Soldier Boy rescue.
Giving MM a similar backstory to Hughie, this means that MM was driven to control supes by the loss of his loved ones. Importantly, MM not only lost loved ones to a public rescue gone wrong, he also lost his father to Soldier Boy.MM’s father was so obsessed with taking down Soldier Boy, he completely ignored his sonand was driven by obsession to an early grave. MM could finally achieve justice in season 5 and put an end to Soldier Boy.
8Soldier Boy Condemns Homelander’s Actions
Soldier Boy Rejects Homelander In The Boys Season 5
Soldier Boy is effectively Homelander’s father inThe Boys, and with Homelander seeking his approval, Soldier Boy’s rejection would be a fittingly dark arc. It seems likeSoldier Boy is heading for a confrontation with Homelander, regardless of what he may want, since he is incapacitated in Homelander’s possession. With Homelander in control of Soldier Boy, season 5 could show his continued yearning for fatherly approval.
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Soldier Boy wasn’t exactly on Homelander’s side throughout the entirety ofThe Boys. Therefore, being woken up by Homelander may not be the first item on his wishlist.Homelander may keep Soldier Boy prisonerand fail to grasp the emotional nuances of this, in his insensitivity. That would make Soldier Boy reluctant to capitulate and make any reconciliation between Homelander and his vulnerable father figure difficult.
7Soldier Boy Trains Ryan In The Boys Season 5
Ryan & Soldier Boy Team Up In The Boys Season 5
Ryan is enteringThe Boysseason 5 without a clear father figure,and Soldier Boy could step in to fill the role. Fatherhood is a significant theme inThe Boys, showing how generational trauma and family values impact entire generations. In this sense, linking Ryan to Soldier Boy would work. Ryan may exemplify the theme of fatherhood the most inThe Boys, torn between supe values on one hand, in the form of Homelander, and human values on the other, in the form of Butcher.
The supe Homelander is Ryan’s biological father via sexual assault. Meanwhile, the human Billy Butcher represents a non-biological but marginally less demented father figure. Ryan’s gradual and heartbreaking discovery over the course ofThe Boysthat neither man was the ideal father figure may lead him into Soldier Boy’s arms, Soldier Boy being his grandfather.Soldier Boy will wake up sooner or later, and he may be seeking a son to replace Homelander, who was a disappointment.
6Soldier Boy Removes Homelander’s Powers
Homelander Will Lose His Supe Abilities In The Boys Season 5
Soldier Boy is impressively able to remove other supes' powersinThe Boys, and his removing Homelander’s powers would provide a fitting end to Homelander’s story.Soldier Boy affected Kimiko’s powers, proving that he could be the one to finally neutralize Homelander. This could be a key element toThe Boysseason 5, sinceThe Boysare seeking to put an eye to Homelander’s reign of terror.
The Boyscomic book series began in October 2006.
Billy Butcher worked hard inThe Boysseason 4 to ensure he had a virus that could kill all supes. Although this plan went wrong in many ways,Butcher is still poised to unleash the virusin season 5. Soldier Boy’s impact on the way compound V operates in supes' bodies could provide an alternative to Butcher’s virus, offering the Boys a means to tackle Homelander without killing other supes.
5Homelander Kills His Father In The Boys Season 5
Homelander Has Good Reason To Kill Soldier Boy
There is every reason for Homelander and Soldier Boy to startThe Boysseason 5 on the wrong foot,and that could lead to Homelander killing Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy teamed up with Butcher and Hughie inThe Boysseason 3to hunt Homelander, making him a target for Homelander in season 5. Homelander was moved to learn that Soldier Boy was his biological father and gave him leeway, despite his attack. However, he may not be so kind in season 5, having had time to deliberate.
Homelander was seen meditating on Soldier Boy’s usefulness in the finale ofThe Boysseason 4, showing that he hadn’t yet discarded all hope of an understanding with Soldier Boy. However, the two have major differences that may be impossible to reconcile.Soldier Boy’s death at the hands of Homelander would be the perfect endto the character in many ways, proving that Homelander would stop at nothing to achieve power.
4Soldier Boy Gets Revenge On Butcher In Season 5
Soldier Boy Isn’t Happy With Butcher In The Boys
It is very likely that Soldier Boy will seek revenge on Butcher for his betrayal inThe Boysseason 5. Despite their team-up inThe Boysseason 3,Butcher and Soldier Boy didn’t end their liaison on good terms. Butcher went back on his deal with Soldier Boy to protect Ryan, who he was protective of up until the end ofThe Boysseason 4. Butcher wasn’t so sure that Ryan needed protecting by the end of season 4.
Soldier Boy and Butcher are both incredibly powerful supes going into season 5, so a standoff would make great television.
Eric Kripke spoke out on Soldier Boy’s return inThe Boysseason 5, confirming that “Soldier Boy is really driven to kill Butcher” after their former run-in.The Boys’showrunner stated that Soldier Boy was an “excellent antagonist,” suggesting that he may not be so amenable to a partnership with the Boys. Soldier Boy and Butcher are both incredibly powerful supes going into season 5, so a standoff would make great television.
3Homelander Finally Gets His Father’s Approval
A Twisted Moment Of Recognition Between Father & Son
With fatherhood a major theme inThe Boys,season 5 may give Homelander the paternal acceptance he seeks. Eric Kripke suggested thatThe Boysseason 5 will explore the relationship between Homelander and Soldier Boy. This would tie off the loose ends started by the interaction between the two in season 3. Season 4 didn’t give this relationship the time it deserved, whereas season 5 should.
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From hilarious one-liners to quite deep character quotes, Soldier Boy has some fantastic lines - some of the best of the series, in fact.
Homelander and Soldier Boy are cut from the same malicious cloth, and a slanted moment of understanding between the two could underline this. This would suit the show’s satirical tone and allow Soldier Boy and Homelander to take on Butcher together.Homelander’s partnership with Soldier Boywould help the two attack Butcher, who has proven to be a mightier enemy than either expected.
2Butcher & His Stepson Take Out Soldier Boy & His Son
Ryan Kills Soldier Boy While Butcher Kills Homelander
Butcher and his stepson, Ryan, may be the ones to finish Soldier Boy and his son, Homelander.Billy Butcher wrestled with paternity inThe Boys, seeking to validate his relationship with his stepson, Ryan. Competing with Homelander for the fatherhood of Ryan revealed how painfully deficient Butcher was as a father. Butcher faced failure as a stepfather in season 4, with Ryan becoming increasingly violent.
If Ryan and Butcher team up to destroy Homelander and Soldier Boy, this father-son duo would poetically mirror the father-son duo they killed.
Although Ryan appeared to be turning away from both Butcher and Homelander inThe Boysseason 4, Soldier Boy’s cruelty could be enough to make Ryan choose Butcher over Homelander.Soldier Boy proved his ruthlessnessinThe Boysand a moment of shocking callousness could confirm to Ryan that Butcher was right. If Ryan and Butcher team up to destroy Homelander and Soldier Boy, this father-son duo would poetically mirror the father-son duo they killed.
1Butcher Tortures Soldier Boy In The Boys Season 5
Soldier Boy Gets His Comic Book Ending
The comics by Ennis and Robertson suggest a dark end to Soldier Boy - he may be tortured to death by Butcher. Soldier Boy was tortured by Billy Butcher inThe Boys #34by Garth Ennis, Carlos Ezquerra, Hector Ezquerra, Simon Bowland, Tony Avina, and Darick Robertson of Dynamite Comics. With a confrontation between Butcher and Soldier Boy almost guaranteed,Soldier Boy’s gruesome comic book ending is reasonably likely.
Butcher is looking like one of the most powerful characters ofThe Boysgoing into season 5, so there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be in a position to torture and kill other characters. As the comics reveal, Butcher’s arc just gets darker and darker until its sordid ending.Soldier Boy’s enmity of Butcher in the show puts him in Butcher’s path, and clearly, Butcher will stop at nothing to end all supes, precipitating gratuitous violence inThe Boysseason 5.
The Boys
Cast
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
