Supervillain Origins The Boys Black Noir

Supervillain Origins The Boys Black-Noir

Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re exploring the origins of the supervillain Black Noir.

Before we fully unmask this nightmare pretending to be a hero, it’s worth mentioning that the character has two distinctly different origin stories between the show and the comics. To paint the full picture, we’ll be covering both of his beginnings. Since we’re diving into major story points, spoiler warnings for “The Boys Season 3” and the full comic are in effect.

What fact shocked you most about Black Noir? Let us know in the comments.

While most members of the Seven love showing their faces in public, Black Noir is the notable exception. The silent and extremely deadly character is known for his dedication to his missions and for his loyalty to the Vought International superhero company. But outside of his job, Black Noir’s past and motivations were a complete mystery. However, the villain’s true origins were eventually revealed in both the comics and the show. It turns out that the tales of these two Black Noirs couldn’t be more different.

On the page, Black Noir was once introduced as one of the most morally bankrupt members of the Seven right away. As soon as Starlight arrived on the team, he and two other members forced her to prove her loyalty to them in a horrifying way. Black Noir unfortunately got away with this crime scot free. After this point, he was just an accomplice or witness to most major crimes that the Seven perpetrated. The only notable exception to this rule is the time he went out of his way to target Hughie for absolutely no reason. One of the reasons Black Noir was able to get away with everything is because of his range of impressive powers.

The villain’s super strength was absolutely off the charts. Not only could he easily bench press minivans if he wanted to, but he could also measure up to most heroes. Black Noir could even hold his own against Homelander in terms of strength. Outside of pure brawn, he had enhanced reflexes, was extremely good in a fight and had pretty much mastered stealth. Most of his opponents wouldn’t be able to see him coming before he’d already taken them out. Despite learning a lot about his powers, the face underneath the mask was a complete mystery. But that all changed after Homelander invaded the White House.

While the head of the Seven was enjoying his latest conquest, William Butcher stepped into the Oval office for a tense conversation. The leader of the Boys reminded Homelander that the so-called hero assaulted Becca Butcher. To make the tragic story worse, she died while trying to give birth to a superpowered child. But when Homelander was confronted with this sad tale and evidence of even more sickening crimes, he denied everything. The leader of the Seven insisted that the only way he could’ve been behind all those violent acts is if he had a dissociative episode. However, Black Noir had a simpler and much more disturbing explanation. Before diving into the story, he removed his mask and revealed that he looked exactly like Homelander. His appearance was no accident.

After Vought engineered Homelander’s birth, they realized he might be too powerful for anyone to handle if he went rogue. So, the company decided to make a stronger clone that they could better control and to hide this copy underneath a mask. Black Noir silently followed their orders for the majority of his career. Unbeknownst to most Vought executives, hiding his identity completely and being unable to slay Homelander broke him inside. Black Noir started believing that the only way he’d be allowed to complete his mission is if the leader of the Seven fully snapped. So, he decided to take pictures of himself doing heinous things while dressed as a Homelander. Black Noir also attacked Becca while disguised as the leader of the Seven. The plan eventually worked when Homelander invaded the White House.

Black Noir didn’t hesitate to fight Homelander when the time came. After a brief battle, the masked hero came out on top. But Black Noir didn’t enjoy his victory for long. He was quickly attacked by Butcher. With the help of a crowbar, the leader of the boys got bloody revenge for Becca. While Black Noir didn’t spend much time in the open, he did manage to accomplish the mission he was made for.

Fans who read the comics were expecting the same big character twist to play out on the show. For the majority of the first two seasons, he wore a mask all the time, was completely loyal to Vought and demonstrated impressive strength and reflexes. He also seemed completely unphased by any weapon or explosion thrown at him. However, everything changed when Black Noir tried to take out Starlight. In order to stop him, Maeve forcefully feeds him to trigger his tree nut allergy. The brief glimpse underneath his mask showed that he wasn't a spitting image of Homelander at all. This left audiences with more questions about Black Noir that didn’t get answered until season 3.

In a flashback, it was revealed that Black Noir is an African-American man named Earving. Although he wanted to show his face to the public, Vought CEO Stan Edgar encouraged him to hide his true identity to avoid any chance of facing racial prejudice. Black Noir begrudgingly agreed until a mission he was on went horribly south. After getting caught in the middle of a conflict, the supe’s face was severely burned. From that point on, Black Noir pretty much kept his mask on at all times. The backstory of why he hides his face and the fact that he had a weakness made it clear he wasn’t the same clone character in live-action. As an added bonus, it opened up the door for another character to step up and be the one who takes Homelander down.


Originally, Black Noir was only created to destroy Homelander. However, his new origins have allowed him to have a life and identity that wasn’t tied to the leader of the Seven. Both versions of Black Noir are ultimately silent and violent villains who will do anything Vought commands. While their origins take them down different paths, both versions are dangerous supes that have no problem slaying their targets.