10 Issues Should Be Enough...

[statsman]

...to resolve the major plot arc- the inevitable final confrontation between The Boys and the supes. The Boys may have lost all legal standing by then, or the supes may be totally rogue. There is any number of delicious ways this can play out. This being a Garth Ennis book, there is a good chance that evil will be defeated, but little chance that we will be able to say that good triumphed.

The fun part of this series is the way it has developed several mysteries for us. I wanted to catalogue them, because the speculation is fun and we should start seeing them knocked off as we progress through the last year of the series. Here goes-

1. Homelander’s plan. We know he’s crazy (brought down an airplane on a whim, delusions, mood swings). We know (from issue 62) that he told the other supes that his plan was authorized by Vought (it wasn’t). The cover to issue 61 hints that it’s horrific.

2. The Man From Vought. He has been portrayed as nothing other than an extremely shrewd executive…except that every supe (including Homelander) that knows him is terrified of him. Why? Does he have powers? What is his background? We know The Boys are aware of him, and don't know about him (except in a confrontation, MM stood down).

3. Mallory. Is he dead now? If so, wouldn’t MM know, because he kept in contact with him? Also, who was the (unseen) one that killed him (implied to be Butcher, but is that really in character for him)? Did Mallory have an end game plan?

4. Butcher’s back story. Was it really Homelander who assaulted his wife (Homelander claims he never forced himself on anyone)? Is there a twist coming? What is Butcher’s plan? We have learned that Butcher likes to have the upper hand in fights. How does he plan to take down the Homelander? The revelation he had while rehashing the 9/11 events- what was it? Was it merely that he figured out MM was talking to Mallory?

5. Black Noir. Anybody else wondering if the latest hints dropped are setting him up as the stand-in for Homelander in the destroyed family photos, or Butcher’s wife’s attack? He’s the Batman analogue, but he has powers, right? He’s shown as an expected survivor in a final battle, along with the Seven’s two other most powerful members.

6. The Legend. What exactly is his history with Maeve? Don’t know if this needs to be resolved.

7. Mother’s Milk. What was the deal with the short family crisis for him? Had to be more than filler, right? Is this setting up the Boys’ weakness, that will allow Vought to sabotage them (i.e., Vought blackmailing MM into betraying them)? The mystery is who sent him the initial e-mail, right? Doesn't it have to be Vought?

[Kamakazi]

Great questions. Here's my not-so-great speculations. :)

1. Homelander’s plan. We know he’s crazy (brought down an airplane on a whim, delusions, mood swings). We know (from issue 62) that he told the other supes that his plan was authorized by Vought (it wasn’t). The cover to issue 61 hints that it’s horrific.

Unfortunately, Homelander's plan is the stupidest plot point of the entire title. From Issue #1 it was explained that Supes are lazy, hedonistic bastards who are far happier living like rockstars than they'd ever be actually "ruling" anything. Ennis hasn't explained Homie's plan because there's literally no way TOO explain it. What did Homie do, get the Supes together and say "I've got a great idea- let's give up our lives of wealth and privilege, spend all our time committing murder for no reason, and then inevitably be exterminated since 99% of us aren't even at "Forbush Man" levels of superpowers?" The other supes have to know that Vought killed the ENTIRE COMBINED G-TEAMS in less than 30 seconds. Who the hell really thinks that the Supes are competent enough to take over the world? And really, hasn't that been Ennis' main point all along- that the Supes are so clueless that they're completely irrelevant as soldiers/crime fighters?

2. The Man From Vought. He has been portrayed as nothing other than an extremely shrewd executive…except that every supe (including Homelander) that knows him is terrified of him. Why? Does he have powers? What is his background? We know The Boys are aware of him, and don't know about him (except in a confrontation, MM stood down).

In the "Little Nina" arc, it was strongly implied that Vought Guy had some sort of telepathic powers. Of course, it's hard to say if Ennis even remembers that arc. :)

3. Mallory. Is he dead now?

Lord, I hope so.

4. Butcher’s back story. Was it really Homelander who assaulted his wife (Homelander claims he never forced himself on anyone)?

I would LOVE to believe that there's more to the story than we've been told. But I don't believe there is. In Preacher, Jesse claims that he "never killed anyone" prior to killing Odin Quincannon, yet in the "They eat horses, don't they?" prequel arc, Jesse is shown killing a minimum of two people- one with a bolt-driving cattle gun, and the other by hanging him. It's unlikely Jesse could have forgotten either of those events. Ennis doesn't care much about continuity, so it's entirely possible that Homelander did, in fact, rape Becky.

5. Black Noir. Anybody else wondering if the latest hints dropped are setting him up as the stand-in for Homelander in the destroyed family photos, or Butcher’s wife’s attack? He’s the Batman analogue, but he has powers, right?

BN may have started out as "Batman", but Ennis has since turned him in to Michael Meyers from "Halloween". At very least, he's super-strong and nearly invulnerable, as evidenced by the way he walked away from the burning wreck of his Noir-Plane.

[Hot_Ch0c0]

In reverse order!!

7. Too Late for me to care much about Janine… Unless Mallory is behind the email… Vought may have benefitted from distracting MM. But, why get his daughter involved in porn, etc.?… Vought could have just kidnapped her when they took over the White House and quietly contacted MM… I just wanna see Mamma MM get out of the basement to whup some supe a$$ and save her baby!

6. Was Blarney Cock the Legend and Maeve’s love child? And whatever happened to the Legend’s feet?

5. My guess on Black Noir is that he is Homelander’s equally perverse retarded twin (or clone as the case may be, since they were both "manufactured") or Noir has always had some major brain defect. It may be the case that Vought tried to abort him, but Noir “lived” or had so much V in him that he came back to life. (Maeve called him a “zombie” and knows something about him that disgusts even her). Now, our other two examples of “returners from the dead” have been Blarney Cock (Teenage Kix) and Nubia (G-Men). Both were severely mentally impaired. Noir’s “power” may be that he can sustain life-ending injuries and survive them (just like Michael Meyers) with relatively minor brain impairment. A power like that would explain why he is so tough (survived being dropped into the ocean on 9/11, the plane explosion and who knows what else) but not so smart. Noir remains smart enough to play his role and be a pervert, but not much else. We do know he’s NOT mute “good soldier, good soldier”, but my guess is he chooses not to talk because the more he would talk the more his mental disability would show (he’s smart enough to shut up).

Of course he could have been a military volunteer “good soldier, good soldier” who was injected with V, died, and came back…as partially brain-dead Black Noir! Only those who created him would know for sure…

Wouldn’t it be cool if Black Noir was the first attempt at creating Homelander? An attempt that failed (can’t fly, brain damaged, etc.) and he was aborted and put “on ice” in a cooler somewhere for a few years… Then someone came up with a concept for a black-masked mystery figure who never speaks, etc. Then that failed experiment could play a supporting role, but never the lead… Hmmm, thaw him out, why waste all that money? SPLENDIDIO! Black Noir is Born!!

Or Maybe Black Noir was the prototype for Vic the Veep… Who’s face are we going to see when Black Noir’s mask finally comes off?

4. According to Rebecca’s diary… It’s pretty clear cut it was Homie as the rapist…. However, IF Black Noir is a clone of Homelander, who was dressed up like Homelander (as it appears they did with Maeve)… That could be a twist…

3. Mallory and MalChemical will be two of four survivors of the final fight and form a new Fantastic Foursome with the Frenchman and The Female known as “The MFs”.

As much as I would love for the Grampa Mallory from Barbary Coast just to be another act to manipulate Hughie, I guess we’ll just have to see if Mallory ever shows up again… MM has not acted like Mallory is gone… But, Butcher doesn’t like to leave loose ends…

2. Vought Guy also has a steady (almost mechanical) heart rate, and stays inhumanly calm in the most stressful situations. But, our Tin Woodsman has found his Tasha Yar in Vought Gal… And their true romance will overshadow Annie walking out (flying out?) on The Douche of the Decade: Wee Hughie. Regardless, I’m VERY interested to see how/if the future Mr. + Mrs. Vought survive the visit from Frenchie and Female… Will Vought Guy’s powers finally be revealed?

1. As far as Homie’s plan: It seems to me that Vought wanted Homie to tell the supes to support the transition of power in the USA to Vic the Veep when the hostile takeover came. Then, Vought Guy probably felt like supes would no longer be needed by Vought and could be phased out… What Homie actually appears to have done is tell the supes that Vought wanted them to do things that will set up HIS plan for the supes to take over and HOMIE WILL RULE, basically enslaving all humanity… So, the supes are dupes. They think they are doing what Vought wants (as usual), but they are really doing Homie's dirty work..

Kamakazi, I think Homie and the lazy, self-intrested supes swallowed Vought Guys "The G-Men imploded" story. Even if some were curious, it was better for them to not ask questions and go on leading their self-indulged lives... No one even mentioned "Whatever happened to the G-Men?" at Herogasm... And no one at Vought/Red River is telling what happened...

Here is one more question: WTF happened to Laddio? Tek Knight sent him out to visit the other teams and he hasn't been seen since...

[Kamakazi]

Here is one more question: WTF happened to Laddio? Tek Knight sent him out to visit the other teams and he hasn't been seen since...

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I was wondering the exact same thing a few weeks back. :)

[MisterS]

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I was wondering the exact same thing a few weeks back. :)

Same Here!

I had also brought up if there was more to Mallory's involvement during his imprisonment by the Nazis that we are aware of (could he be an unwilling Manchurian candidate?)

I also find it odd that all the players thus far (The Supes, Boys, and Vought) have been 'forced' into this confrontation. Jack is falsely accused of Murder, Terror is killed, MM gets that link, and Vought's plan to get Vic into the Oval office being all but derailed seems that their is a FOURTH party we have yet to see...

[sproxx]

As I see it, Black Noir's condition was explained already. You remember the 9/11-Scene? Homelander said, that their plan was to have Black Noir fly the plane after killing the kidnappers. So at some point, he COULD perform complex task like this.
But he was dropped earlier in that issue and it wasn't clear how someone even as powerful as Black Noir could survive that.

That always suggested for me that Black Noir was one of the first (if not even the first alltogether) to go through Vaught's revivial program. That might have left him brain-damaged to some degree (but not as severe as with the other examples we have seen - maybe because he is on the higher end of the power bell curve). That is why he is not able to give eloquent speeches or fly his plane anymore, but still can enjoy the simple pleasures of life, like the occasional blow job from a team rookie or being a Homelander stand-in for a photoshoot with Maeve ...

This is pure speculation now, but I guess a half-success for the revival project would have Vought motivated to try a few more times, just to see if the process could be made to work. That would explain the amount of super-zombies we have seen in the complete run of the series.

[Hot_Ch0c0]

As I see it, Black Noir's condition was explained already. You remember the 9/11-Scene? Homelander said, that their plan was to have Black Noir fly the plane after killing the kidnappers. So at some point, he COULD perform complex task like this.
But he was dropped earlier in that issue and it wasn't clear how someone even as powerful as Black Noir could survive that.

That always suggested for me that Black Noir was one of the first (if not even the first alltogether) to go through Vaught's revivial program. That might have left him brain-damaged to some degree (but not as severe as with the other examples we have seen - maybe because he is on the higher end of the power bell curve). That is why he is not able to give eloquent speeches or fly his plane anymore, but still can enjoy the simple pleasures of life, like the occasional blow job from a team rookie or being a Homelander stand-in for a photoshoot with Maeve ...

This is pure speculation now, but I guess a half-success for the revival project would have Vought motivated to try a few more times, just to see if the process could be made to work. That would explain the amount of super-zombies we have seen in the complete run of the series.

At one point I thought that Noir's fall on 9/11/01 could have been the cause of his condition. BUT the timeline is all wrong...... Homie tricked Maeve into banging Black Noir way back on 12/2/97 (according to Doc P's transcript/photos in issue 58)... Her quote to Homie and Noir back then was "I'll fucking kill you both, you and this brain-dead ape of yours!..."

[sproxx]

At one point I thought that Noir's fall on 9/11/01 could have been the cause of his condition. BUT the timeline is all wrong...... Homie tricked Maeve into banging Black Noir way back on 12/2/97 (according to Doc P's transcript/photos in issue 58)... Her quote to Homie and Noir back then was "I'll fucking kill you both, you and this brain-dead ape of yours!..."

That's interesting. I wasn't aware of that.
I thought as Maeve started spying for the Boys after 9/11, this stuff too would have occured around this time.


There goes my theory, then.

[Hot_Ch0c0]

That's interesting. I wasn't aware of that.
I thought as Maeve started spying for the Boys after 9/11, this stuff too would have occured around this time.


There goes my theory, then.

Maeve was spying for Mallory and Butcher for years BEFORE 9/11...... She just didn't realize who they were... In issue 46 (Legend on Maeve's lap cover) Butcher tells Hughie Maeve plants the bugs in the Seven HQ and "She first got in touch about ten years ago." (which fits with about 1998 in the the Boys timeline). She set up a meeting through the Legend because she hated Homelander and wanted to get back at him........Mallory convinced her to put in the cameras/bugs... The sex with Black Noir "prank" is what pushed her over the edge (as Hughie suspected).

Now, it is true that after 9/11, when the Boys tried to blackmail Homelander, and they all met on the World Trade Center tower top, Maeve realized WHO she had actually been spying for... Issue 50 shows Legend and Maeve met with Mallory and Butcher face to face at Vinnie's Comics after Lamplighter killed Mallory's grandaughters.... Maeve confesses "Vought said we had to go with him (Homie) -- One mention of that fucking day (9/11) and we shut up and got moving. When I saw the two of you (Mallory and Butcher) standing there I thought I was going to puke." Maeve knew Mallory and Butcher from before, but had no clue they were behind the blackmail attempt.

The art always shows Maeve looking down (feeling guilty?), not making eye contact when the Seven are confronted face to face by Mallory and the Boys...

Side note: It's always been interesting to me that Vought Guy was not sent to manage the Seven until AFTER Lamplighter killed Mallory's grandaughters (not even the 9/11 screw up was enough to send him in)... He was the last resort to resolve the situation... the ultimate solution...

[statsman]

Great comments. A few more thoughts-

-What happened to the Legend's feet? Frankly, without thinking it through, I always just figured it was diabetes. Maybe I'm wrong, and there is something deeper in the story. Is the Legend the wild card? Y'all make a lot of points about Black Noir, and it begs the question of why Maeve didn't pass the info along to the Legend, with him spilling to Butcher.

- You're right about the manipulation of the characters, by all factions. Mallory was pulling Butcher's strings, Somebody is yanking MM's, Terror's killing might not have been by Jack From Jupiter...

- Mallory failed to get Hughie to join his side (whatever it was). I suspect Butcher will fail as well, mystifying Butcher with his reluctance to throw A-Train over the edge of the building.

[blarneycock]

Well, with about ten issues left, when do you think we'll see Darick return to interior art? Now that Butcher's done, what else is he working on?

[superhamster]

I see Mallory returning to use his previously displayed superpower of boring people to the brink of death to lecture, ad nauseum, whomever raises, for the umpteenth time, the question of when Darick will return to draw interior art or whomever derides the size of beer bottles drawn by Russ.

To quote The Female of the Species, "HA!!"

[Sir Gibby]

Sproxx, that's fuckin brilliant man. Amazing observation.
We've seen Noir only say 2 words. The rest have been grunts. Resilient as hell. And maybe as rich as God, or rich enough for someone to keep him cleaner than Lamplighter. Seen as more important than most of the rest of the team...snap.

On that theme, I'm really hoping we don't see members of the Boys killed and come back as zombies after all is over. Positive Ennis isn't that pathetic, but it just reminds me of the end of Shaun of the Dead too much.

[statsman]

So, after first posting this, it occurs to me that having A-Train captured and tied up on a roof, the sensible thing to do would be to interrogate him, therefore discovering whatever plan Homelander had (as Vought Guy was about to find out before Frenchie and the Female drop in). I was really hoping that Ennis would avoid the temptation of the "idiot plot" (as Ebert explains it, an idiot plot is a plot that only works if every character is an idiot) as a device of keeping suspense going about Homelander's plan. I see from the preview for issue 63 that Ennis came through, as Butcher (**** spoiler! spoiler****) admits to Hughie that he already beat the plan out of A-Train.

One other takeaway from the preview- Frenchie doesn't really speak French, as he shouts out the name of a French movie star as he swings into combat.

[Dustin]

...to resolve the major plot arc- the inevitable final confrontation between The Boys and the supes. The Boys may have lost all legal standing by then, or the supes may be totally rogue. There is any number of delicious ways this can play out. This being a Garth Ennis book, there is a good chance that evil will be defeated, but little chance that we will be able to say that good triumphed.

The fun part of this series is the way it has developed several mysteries for us. I wanted to catalogue them, because the speculation is fun and we should start seeing them knocked off as we progress through the last year of the series. Here goes-

1. Homelander’s plan. We know he’s crazy (brought down an airplane on a whim, delusions, mood swings). We know (from issue 62) that he told the other supes that his plan was authorized by Vought (it wasn’t). The cover to issue 61 hints that it’s horrific.

2. The Man From Vought. He has been portrayed as nothing other than an extremely shrewd executive…except that every supe (including Homelander) that knows him is terrified of him. Why? Does he have powers? What is his background? We know The Boys are aware of him, and don't know about him (except in a confrontation, MM stood down).

4. Butcher’s back story. Was it really Homelander who assaulted his wife (Homelander claims he never forced himself on anyone)? Is there a twist coming? What is Butcher’s plan? We have learned that Butcher likes to have the upper hand in fights. How does he plan to take down the Homelander? The revelation he had while rehashing the 9/11 events- what was it? Was it merely that he figured out MM was talking to Mallory?

5. Black Noir. Anybody else wondering if the latest hints dropped are setting him up as the stand-in for Homelander in the destroyed family photos, or Butcher’s wife’s attack? He’s the Batman analogue, but he has powers, right? He’s shown as an expected survivor in a final battle, along with the Seven’s two other most powerful members.


1. I think Homelander may come off as calm and collected most of the time, but his plan comes from all his inner irrationalities and neuroses. He wants to prove himself to Daddy (Stilwell) but the method shows almost a childish misunderstanding of his "parent." Let's not forget he may be coached on how to speak and act in public, but he has still spent his life in a bubble, and this has led to a strange form of being sheltered.

2. I hope he doesn't have powers. That would go against the point of the series, that the real villain is the corporate machine's soulless concern for its other men at the expense of profit. The supes may be walking, talking, thinking human beings, but in the end they're just product, and Vought is the true villain.

4. Homelander also has conversations with his reflection. And don't forget: "Why can't I do the things I can do?!" If it wasn't Homelander, I don't see that Butcher would care. To Butcher there is no "wrong guy" as far as supes are concerned. He would still see the Homelander as the face of Vought's evil and callousness rather than the one who personally wronged him.

5. Again- Butcher wouldn't care. He plans to kill Black Noir if he can, and I think Homelander will die at the end of the current arc- with Vought's method of stopping him that Stilwell spoke of and didn't elaborate on and the supe-seeking missiles' inevitable use in the story, I can see it happening very soon. The only way it could be a twist is for Butcher to think it's all over with HL dead and BN missing. But for Butcher, it will never be over. It would be an interesting twist despite the ass-pulls necessary to make it work, but if Ennis does it, I cannot guess what he will do with it.

[ambaxtoxin]

1. Homelander’s plan. We know he’s crazy (brought down an airplane on a whim, delusions, mood swings). We know (from issue 62) that he told the other supes that his plan was authorized by Vought (it wasn’t). The cover to issue 61 hints that it’s horrific.

4. Butcher’s back story. Was it really Homelander who assaulted his wife (Homelander claims he never forced himself on anyone)? Is there a twist coming? What is Butcher’s plan? We have learned that Butcher likes to have the upper hand in fights. How does he plan to take down the Homelander? The revelation he had while rehashing the 9/11 events- what was it? Was it merely that he figured out MM was talking to Mallory?

5. Black Noir. Anybody else wondering if the latest hints dropped are setting him up as the stand-in for Homelander in the destroyed family photos, or Butcher’s wife’s attack? He’s the Batman analogue, but he has powers, right? He’s shown as an expected survivor in a final battle, along with the Seven’s two other most powerful members.

Solicitation for TPB #11:

HERE WE ARE AFTER ALL THESE ****ING YEARS!!!

It’s been a long time coming, but Billy Butcher’s revenge on his wife’s killer is about to be realized- if he can only get his hands on the bastard. The Boys prepare for one last terrible battle, as the Homelander finally bites the bullet and sets an army of superheroes against the forces of the United States military. Battle rages at the White House, Frenchie and the Female are unleashed, and Hughie faces his own terrors… while MM, patient to the last, races against time to uncover the greatest and most dreadful secret of Vought-American’s superhero program. Butcher steps willingly into the jaws of death, alone and unafraid: but what he finds waiting for him is beyond even his darkest dreams.

So, looks like we'll see most of the big questions answered next issue... only two weeks to wait!


6. The Legend. What exactly is his history with Maeve? Don’t know if this needs to be resolved.

7. Mother’s Milk. What was the deal with the short family crisis for him? Had to be more than filler, right? Is this setting up the Boys’ weakness, that will allow Vought to sabotage them (i.e., Vought blackmailing MM into betraying them)? The mystery is who sent him the initial e-mail, right? Doesn't it have to be Vought?

The solicitation for #67 suggests these two points will be taken care of:

The ghosts of the Legend’s past rise to haunt him, and in a way so do MM’s- as he catches up with his daughter and finds out much, much more about her recent mistakes than he bargained for. Meanwhile Hughie investigates the recent tragedy and ends up in an unexpected showdown… with Monkey? The bodycount mounts in part two of The Bloody Doors Off.

But that 'recent tragedy' bit made me have another look at the solicitation for #66...

The last Boys story begins with some very shady goings on in Moscow, as an old friend runs into some unexpected trouble. Butcher announces a promotion that doesn't please everybody, Annie makes a decision that horrifies Hughie- and in the aftermath of last issue's super-carnage, Vought-American begin the struggle for survival. Part one of the six-part The Bloody Doors Off.

... is Love Sausage going to die? :(

I guess there aren't many other ancillary characters left to be killed off by this point.

[Dustin]

I've said before that the idea of a "post-supe world," meaning one where the Boys exposed the superhero community for what it really is and it gets largely wiped out, was appealing to me- I figured it would happen, but I wanted to spend a few issues in that world before the series ended. It looks like I'm going to get what I wanted- so what does everyone else think of this idea? I read that interview where Ennis said that there would be no costumed idiots after issue 65, so it makes one wonder what place there will be for the Boys in such a world.

[Mark B]

A world in which the public have turned their back on superheroes is one thing, but will the Government be so quick to drop its desire for a super-powered army? Vought may find its assets sequestered "in the national interest". Would the Boys oppose such a move, do you think? Butcher, MM and Mallory are all ex-military, after all. I can see Annie volunteering to join the new super-army, and that's certainly something that Hughie would have trouble swallowing (sorry!).

Also, a thought about Janine. She is the daughter of a V-powered father and a mother who took V-laced cocaine. What powers might she have developed? I imagine both Vought and the Government would like to know that; maybe she could be the beginning of a new breeding program. (Is this why she can't see her father right now, because she's pregnant?)

Ten issues should be enough? I would read more!

[MisterS]

That makes me wonder about people born with V laced powers in a post Homelander world. How would society treat them? Would they be tested for V at birth then forcibly euthanised? Also, what would be the status of supes like Super Duper? Would they still be accepted or forced into a type of detention?

[Kamakazi]

That makes me wonder about people born with V laced powers in a post Homelander world. How would society treat them? Would they be tested for V at birth then forcibly euthanised? Also, what would be the status of supes like Super Duper? Would they still be accepted or forced into a type of detention?

One could make a good case for the idea that only Bobby Badoing can be proven to actually HAVE any type of superpowers. :)

MENSTRUAL SAUSAGE!