The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke addresses the Black Noir twist in the comics and why he was never interested in following it.

SPOILERS for The Boys comic-book series. Although The Boys does follow many of the events in the original comics, there have been some fairly big departures, including one major change involving the character of Black Noir.

In the comics, Black Noir is revealed to be a clone of Homelander and is actually the one responsible for many of the heinous acts attributed to Homelander throughout the series, including the rape of Billy Butcher’s wife. The TV series took a different approach with the character, and showrunner Erik Kripke explained to Variety why he was never interested in the Homelander clone twist.

“No, and I don’t mind saying it. In the comics he’s a clone of Homelander this entire time and is actually the one doing all these horrific things,” Kripke said. “And again, it’s a hell of a twist. But it’s like, well wait, the villain I’ve been following isn’t really the villain. And mileage varies, and I’m sure fans are mad I’m not going that way, but that felt not as satisfying to me. I’m like, if I’m going to follow this villain, I want this guy to be the villain. So I was never really into the clone idea.“

Kripke added, “Plus, cloning feels like too — I’m going to sound silly — but cloning feels too magical for the show. We try to say that superheroes are the only slippery banana, and that everything else we try to make as grounded as possible.“

The first three episodes of The Boys season 4 are currently streaming on Prime Video, and it was announced last week that the series will be coming to an end with its fifth season. “Season 4 premiere week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the final season!” Kripke said. “Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final OK from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax.“

The official synopsis for The Boys season 4: “The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son and the rest of The Boys are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.” You can check out a review from our own Alex Maidy right here.

Are you disappointed that The Boys TV series won’t follow the Black Noir twist from the comics?