‘The Boys’ Divisive Finale Completely Changed the Ending From the Comics

Editor's Note: The following article contains spoilers for Season 5 of The Boys.

The ending of The Boys was never going to satisfy its entire audience. Some fans felt that the fifth and final season spent too much time setting up the upcoming prequel series, Vought Rising, rather than providing closure for the popular superhero satire. Others feel that Season 5 lacked the proper scale, especially given that America is under the thumb of Homelander (Antony Starr) and an army of superheroes. Even the long-awaited series finale, "Blood and Bone", has divided The Boys fanbase down the middle, especially those who've read the original Dynamite comics by Garth Ennis and Darrick Robertson.

"Blood and Bone" is dedicated to the final confrontation between the Boys and Homelander, with their leader Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) taking him on in a fight to the death. Thanks to Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) gaining the same radioactive abilities that fueled Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and a last-minute assist from Homelander's son, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), Homelander is depowered, leading Butcher to brutally beat him and then impale his head on a crowbar. Fans of The Boys comics were hoping that Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) would show up in the final battle, as he plays a major role in the series' narrative​​​​​​.

Black Noir Plays A Key Role in 'The Boys' Comics

Throughout The Boys comics, Black Noir mostly shows up as a silent, yet intimidating figure. That all changes in the comic's penultimate story arc by Ennis and Russ Braun, "Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men." Homelander launches an invasion of America, killing what remains of the Seven and leading an army of superheroes to take over the White House; Butcher, in turn, sends the Boys to finally topple Vought. However, Butcher and Homelander learn that they were manipulated into hating each other by Black Noir, a Homelander clone created to take him down if he ever went rogue​​​​​​. That day never came, and the clone decided to fulfill his purpose by setting Butcher on a warpath against Homelander. While Noir kills Homelander, Butcher eventually gets his revenge and kills Noir.

Black Noir's role in Prime Video's version of The Boys plays out differently, as he's an entirely different character. While this Noir is still loyal to Homelander, it's revealed that he was originally part of Soldier Boy's team, Payback, and that he backstabbed the shield-wielding Supe by letting him be captured by Russian forces. Once Homelander learned that Solder Boy was his father, he killed Noir for keeping the truth from him. Seasons 4 and 5 introduce a new version of Noir, who's a method actor, to the point where he starts to embody every aspect of the new Noir — including his silence. The new Noir eventually meets his end at the hands of the Deep (Chace Crawford).

'The Boys' Showrunner Changed The Ending For A Simple, Yet Satisfying Reason

According to The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke, the series was never meant to adapt the Black Noir twist. Kripke unpacked this decision in an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, saying that he didn't want to undermine the villainous actions Homelander committed during the course of The Boys.

"People love it, and mileage varies, but that just was never satisfying to me to have followed Antony Starr for all these seasons, and then at the very end to find out that he actually didn't do any of the things that he thought he did; it was actually Noir, who was his clone. So, I was never gonna do that version."

Kripke's reasoning makes sense, especially considering that Antony Starr's performance as Homelander is one of the major highlights of The Boys. He's equal parts hilarious, menacing, and conflicted, resulting in a villain that fans loved to hate and never missed the chance to watch. Revealing a clone would have undermined this character journey, so it serves as one of the better changes that Kripke and co. made from the page to the screen.

There's still a chance that Black Noir could show up in The Boys spinoff, as Vought Rising will follow Soldier Boy's career; given the time frame of The Boys, there's plenty of time for future seasons to explore his time with Payback. While The Boys might not have made every fan happy, it definitely delivers on its final fight.

All episodes of The Boys are available to stream on Prime Video.