Is Black Noir really dead? The Boys Season 3 ending explored

The eighth episode of The Boys was an epic conclusion to the Soldier Boy saga.

Titled The Instant White-Hot Wild, the episode was filled with jaw-dropping moments with Billy Butcher and Homelander lasering Soldier Boy together. Maeve fights Homelander and gets her eyes gouged.

However, the most heartbreaking moment came with the death of the beloved member of The Seven, Black Noir.

After running away in episode seven, Black Noir returns to The Seven tower to stand with his best friend Homelander against the incoming threat of Soldier Boy. Upon finding out that Noir knew that Soldier Boy was Homelander's father all along, the latter punches the former in the abdomen and pulls his guts out.

In his final moments, Black Noir was accompanied by his animated animal friends, who were sobbing and bidding him farewell. A character that never spoke and stayed hidden behind a mask throughout the series brought tears to the eyes of the audience.

---

Black Noir garnered a massive fan following after his death in the final episode of The Boys season 3

Designed as a parody of Batman, Black Noir’s character stayed mysterious for the first two seasons. However, in episode seven of the third season, fans witnessed his backstory in one of the most unexpected ways.

After running away from Vought tower, Noir finds solace in an abandoned school where, like Snow White, he has animated friends. These include Buster Beaver, an Eagle, Sheep, some birds and other animals who come to life.

In an interview, creator Eric Kripke was quoted saying:

“If there’s an idiosyncratic way that I can tell a story, I’ll take it because it’s way more fun to step out of the box and tell something uniquely. This notion of when [Noir’s] alone, he’s like Snow White, [with] cute animals fluttering around him, just made me laugh.”

The cartoon animals presented a tragic tale in which Noir, a member of Payback, was bullied by their team leader Soldier Boy. Fans could not help but see the racist undertones present in their interactions. Cartoon friends encouraged Black Noir to stand against Soldier Boy, but alas, he met his demise at the hands of his supposed best friend, Homelander.

With Noir lying disembowled, it is safe to say that there is no coming back to life for this character. He had gone through a similar attack in Nicaragua at the hands of Soldier Boy but Vought fixed him. Fans believe that resurrecting Noir will only hamper his beautiful character arc.

Black Noir’s tragic tale struck the right chord with fans who took to Twitter to express their sorrow.

---

In The Boys comics, Black Noir is Homelander’s clone who r*ped and killed Butcher’s wife

The creator of The Boys TV series, Eric Kripke, is known to stray away from comic book source material. He decided that The Boys won’t have any superpowers as opposed to the comic books.

In the series, he gender-swapped Stormfront and made significant changes to the character. However, the biggest change comes in the form of Black Noir, who is revealed as the primary antagonist in the comics.

Black Noir is none other than a clone of Homelander. Vought was made him as a contingency to kill Homelander if he ever went rogue. However, years of staying in close proximity to the target drove Noir insane.

Black Noir is the one who created the conflict with The Boys after he dressed up as Homelander and assaulted Rebecca, Butcher’s wife.

---

The Boy’s season 3 is now streaming on Amazon Prime with season 4 ready to go on the shooting floor in August of 2022.