Jan Thijs/Prime Video
Eric Kripke's seedy superhero show "The Boys" is home to some pretty outlandish characters, though none are perhaps more terrifyingly out-of-control than Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell). The silent but deadly and incredibly twisted member of The Seven has ripped through anyone that's stood against him and was the man that even Homelander (Antony Starr), who cared more about Noir than other supes on his team, often sent him out to do his dirty work. That's saying a lot, in light of the many horrible things Homelander has done himself over the years.
Even more alarming, "The Boys" season 3 offered some unsettling insight into how Noir sees the world, revealing that he has a host of animated imaginary friends. Combining an ultra-violent character with oh-so-adorable "Looney Tunes"-like cartoons to hilariously dark effect takes skill, and it turns out that Kirpke had a very specific vision in mind when creating these scenes.
"They're adorable, right? I kept giving the direction, this would be like if Martin Scorsese directed 'Snow White,'" Kripke explained to Variety in 2022. "Adorable Disney characters but then once the beatdowns happen, they're as anatomically correct as how a real human body would react when exposed to that kind of violence. And it's a sizzling combination." It's a scary viewpoint to have, but one that Kripke assured had actually been there since the beginning of "The Boys" (right up until Black Noir's brutal demise).
Black Noir's imaginary friends were meant to feel like Disney by way of Martin Scorsese
Prime Video
In a world where superheroes have names like "Love Sausage," Black Noir's inner animated thoughts really were pushing things to the limits. "I love that we're revealing who he is, I love even more how we're doing it," Kripke told Variety. He added that the goal was to push the envelope even further into funny yet frightening territory:
"When you look at all the different layers of those cartoons, they're these animated characters that only he can see, that he probably could see since season 1 of the show; they've been around him this whole time. I mean, that's what we're certainly implying."
"And they are pretending to be the characters from his flashback on a stage presented as an elementary school musical, animated. That's a lot. There's a lot going on there," Kripke noted. It was sad, then, that things came to a brutal and bloody end when Homelander put a stop to his ally. Noir's animated buddies were even present when he shuffled off this mortal coil. Indeed, despite being decided at the last minute, Noir's grisly fate was immensely impactful. Speaking to Insider, Kripke explained, "We got to know what we needed to know about him, and then it was time for him to head off with Buster Beaver to the Buster Beaver Pizza in the sky."
Oh Noir, we hardly knew ye ... and we're kind of glad for that.
English (US) ·