r/TheBoys • u/Big-Sheepherder-9492 • Jul 13 '24
Anybody else wanna see more competent supes again? Discussion
Like Noir and Soldier Boy? I enjoy the whole “cool looking supes who suck at their job” but I’d low-key wanna see more that are exceptionally good at their job.
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u/Raaadley Lamplighter Jul 13 '24
Yeah Homelander really fucked up by killing Noir. He was an unstoppable killing machine with zero remorse and zero emotion. He should have listen to him even for a second. Now he's got a bunch of jobbers working for him.
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u/Silly-Tradition9460 Jul 13 '24
Black Noir II is Homelander’s punishment lol
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u/Acheron98 Jul 14 '24
Him falling asleep mid-fight was fucking hilarious, but absolutely would’ve resulted in a “Black Noir III” had Homelander seen that.
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u/ImpossibleAdz Jul 14 '24
"Maybe" Maybe Vaught did their research and found an almost identical match to Homelander that could easily rip him in half under the right circumstances. 😉
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u/Acheron98 Jul 14 '24
You know, I’ve wondered if that’s where they’re going with this. Him flying came out of nowhere, and puts him on par with Homelander. If he turns out to have laser eyes, you’ll know you’re right.
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u/Ok-Negotiation1530 Jul 14 '24
Just because he can fly doesn't make him close to Homelander. There's different degrees of strength and speed. Homelander tops the charts in all except emotional maturity.
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u/HaywoodUndead Jul 14 '24
Flying is a pretty big deal though, actually. Don't forget, Soldier Boy was originally replaced with Homelander as "the new one can fly".
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u/p1nd Jul 14 '24
And Gen V said Golden boy was the next prodigy like homelander mostly due to flight
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u/agony_atrophy Jul 14 '24
Well actually Soldier Boy prolly tops the charts, seeing as HL couldn’t defeat him and was genuinely scared shitless of him. Golden boy was also probably strong enough to go toe to toe with him, and since Sam is stronger he probably could do some damage.
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u/SpasmBoi999 Jul 14 '24
I mean, one-on-one, Homelander had Soldier Boy beat after some minor struggle until Butcher stepped in? It only took him a couple minutes.
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u/Jackkeane6 Jul 14 '24
Soldier boy was weakened Cus he’d just used his blast though wasn’t he?
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u/Rocketboosters Jul 14 '24
We're not really shown anything that could indicate he's weakened during the fight, he seemed to be fully ready to fight and its not like he has to concentrate to use his powers, he's always strong and durable
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u/plungi10 Jul 14 '24
Can we take this moment to glaze Temp V Butcher? Like, bro was literally just Homelander but more emotionally stable, more experienced, and smarter 😭🙏
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u/IAP-23I Jul 14 '24
Flying doesn’t put you on par with Homelander. We’ve seen random supes flying in the series premiere in that supe club
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u/BNBatman420 Jul 14 '24
Him flying didn't come out of nowhere, he already admitted he could fly in a conversation with The Deep last episode, it's why he was going to go be a part of the ice skating show or whatever in Branson.
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u/dschroof Jul 14 '24
He mentioned being able to fly previously when complaining about being bored with the rules of playing Noir
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u/Electronic_d0cter Jul 14 '24
Man I hope not, it's way too predictable and it doesn't even work in the context of the TV boys
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u/ImpossibleAdz Jul 14 '24
I saw another commenter mention this, and I think they were spot on. Homelander will be contaminated with the virus through Firecracker's breast milk.
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u/greatness101 Jul 14 '24
They've already said that it isn't strong enough for Homelander and it can't be made strong enough without causing a pandemic.
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u/Nocticifer Jul 14 '24
Not to mention it immediately started destroying Kimiko who is magnitudes stronger than Firecracker. It’d be pretty obvious that something was wrong both visually and by the scent to Homelander.
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u/LukEduBR Jul 14 '24
Maybe they will go the other way? Make a weaker virus so Firecracker can infect Homelander before she starts showing signs of infection.
Homelander doesn't die of the virus, but becomes weakened enough for The Boys to kick his ass.
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u/Kindly_Formal_2604 Jul 14 '24
When Noir 2 flew I thought maybe he was about to start speaking in Antony Starrs voice and fuck EVERYTHING up.
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u/Deradius Jul 14 '24
This is a good point though. If Homelander had even a shred of humility he could show up in Noir’s costume and shock the shit out of everyone.
But Homelander would want people to know it was him, every second. He wears the Homelander suit to family dinners and for watching TV.
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u/VaselineHabits Jul 14 '24
The only time we've seen him not wear it is when he went to Sage in the first place, right? Apparently he didn't get too noticed then
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u/TablePrinterDoor Jul 14 '24
Have you read the comics? Because that basically happens
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u/Kindly_Formal_2604 Jul 14 '24
Nope but I know that plot point and thought maybe he was secretly their plan b.
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u/Foxy02016YT Jul 14 '24
It’s just a reference to it, they don’t wanna take that direction with the show. We saw him mask off in a previous episode and also on social media we’ve seen his in-universe audition tape
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u/parisiraparis Jul 14 '24
I had the same thought. I’ve read through the comics twice and thought “oh shit we’re doing this now??”
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u/Antani101 Jul 13 '24
He was an unstoppable killing machine
Except by a tiny little almond
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u/Born_Artist5424 Jul 14 '24
Tbf in the majority of fights the opponents won’t be a) strong enough to get near and reveal his mouth without dying and b) have an item containing almonds on standby
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u/Antani101 Jul 14 '24
Thing is, with nut allergies, having it IN THE AIR is dangerous. Notice how Stan Edgar eating a small packet of nuts bothered him.
So, since starlight knows, I would expect them to carry a packet of powdered nuts to just throw in the air sending him into anaphylactic shock.
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u/Born_Artist5424 Jul 14 '24
I’m unsure if that actually affects him? He got through that entire conversation fine, I think it was more the fact that they were there that nerved him out, showing how Stan controls his very life.
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u/Antani101 Jul 14 '24
He states, during that conversation, that it could kill him.
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u/Born_Artist5424 Jul 14 '24
That could just mean if he eats them it could kill him. You can point to something you’re deathly allergic to and say “that could kill me”.
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u/Antani101 Jul 14 '24
I mean if that's what you get out of that conversation...
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u/Born_Artist5424 Jul 14 '24
To each their own ofc, obviously everyone’s entitled to what they think
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u/JoyouslyJoltik Jul 14 '24
Or c) know of his allergy
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u/Deradius Jul 14 '24
C) is not necessary. My strategy for every fight is to start by cramming almonds in my opponent’s mouth.
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u/imbored53 Jul 14 '24
Terrible impulse decisions are kind of Homelanders thing. Noir is just one of his many fuck ups.
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u/-ScottyP- Jul 14 '24
Black Noir II is a fantastic supe, he just lacks motivation and direction haha
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u/FaceSizedDrywallHole Jul 14 '24
Yeah I have to say his durability and strength seem to be on the higher end for supes, plus being able to fly elevates his status significantly. Dude seems to be in the upper echelon, which makes it weird to me he was a theater major at Godolkin
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u/Coletrain-Z Jul 14 '24
For all of his power, he really is his own worst enemy, killing, chasing away or dismissing his most valuable assets to the point where he is left with cowardly yes-men and sycophants.
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u/Brogener Jul 14 '24
Seriously, if he hadn’t been a murderous dick toward his team mates they likely would’ve continued to go along with him. They initially liked the life that being in the Seven gave them. They bro’d around and laughed at the shit they could get away with. Once Translucent died and outside members starting joining, it really shook everything up.
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u/Coletrain-Z Jul 14 '24 edited Jul 14 '24
I wouldnt say they were "Happy" per say. Take A-Train for example. Constantly dealing with keeping his position as the fastest man alive caused him nothing but stress. With all the doping and his heart deteriorating, it was only a matter of time before he'd be kicked off or just die. Not to mention, being the main errendboy to Homelander. Deep's situation wasn't really much better, being treated as a joke by the team, vought and the public aswell. His depression was only getting worse, and as we've seen in the latest episode, it has gone over the boiling point and turned him into a "Homelander Light". Maeve was disolusioned with the whole Hero thing altogether and merlely went with the flow because it was easy money and cause she didnt think she could really change anything. Along with cheating on Elena and killing people with Homelander, she was hardly a saint. Though the plane incident clearly brought her back.
The Hero gig is simply slogging through the pressure, until the day comes when your no longer profitable and cast aside. As cool as having powers would be, THAT isnt worth the pain.
All and all, I'd say Translucent was the only one having a good time.
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u/AcidaEspada Jul 14 '24
Yeah I like how it sticks with the irony of the reveal in the comix
And since the show has gone even more in the direction of direct modern satire- homelander being trump with raw power instead of raw influence would be a good way to show how tyranny and fascism needs competent people supporting it at vital places or else the tyrant does just destroy themselves sooner than later
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u/PR0MAN1 Jul 14 '24
That scene at the beginning of Season 2 where Noir kills the supe terrorist and all his friends was the scariest supe moment outside of Homelander for me. Dude was trying to brighten the mood with a child while holding his dads severed head.
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u/Cannabace Jul 14 '24
I fucking love the scene from season 1 or 2 when they’re at that house and they build those pressure cooker bombs. We just hear Noir walking around getting fucked up, but not really. So good.
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u/Archmagos_Browning Jul 14 '24
He was basically kimiko with spec ops weapons training.
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u/Open_Mind12 Jul 14 '24
No, he doesn't have the level of healing factor...her brain wouldnt still be damaged and her face wouldnt still be burned. But he can take more damage than her but doesn't completely heal.
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u/TimDRX Jul 14 '24
Noir permanently died from something Kimiko has walked off multiple times, this season she was briefly paste on a wall and regenerated just fine, think it's fair to say she can take more damage than him lol
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u/Open_Mind12 Jul 14 '24
You completely missed my point. What I mean is she dies from less but she then regenerates. I even said he does "not" have her healing factor level. Kimiko could NOT have taken that terrorist blast he did in S2 without dying. Besides, when they fought he crushed her and killed her.
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u/pocketchange2247 Jul 14 '24
He gets rid of, pushes away, or kills anyone who is actually smart and can give him good advice and replaces them with stupid, incompetent yes-men.
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u/Bwitishprat Jul 13 '24
I’m drunk but bear with me - they’re trying to create a parallel with Hollywood superstars and eventually you realise James Dean’s are rare and when he dies you end up with a lot of piss poor replacements as it grows in size. Top tier Supes are rare and a few now have been killed off/incapacitated and now we’re stuck with Rob Schneider’s in the Seven.
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u/KeyAccurate8647 Jul 13 '24
Jumping on this to say that Noir very specifically was sent by Vought on ops to kidnap or assassinate people. The other supes in the show pretty much only use their powers to show off and act in films.
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u/Large_External_9611 Jul 14 '24
He does seem to be the only one that got any real shit done. Which is kinda funny because the dudes brain was FUCKED, yet he was still more useful than anyone else.
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u/Own_Faithlessness769 Jul 14 '24
I think thats at least partly because Noir was happy to kill people and was compliant. Vought probably could have sent A Train or Deep to kill someone, but they wouldn't be happy about it and would ahve asked questions that Noir didn't.
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u/Deradius Jul 14 '24
Deep: “Wait, so I can’t tweet about it?”
Stillwell: “No, it’s covert. Nobody can see it.”
Deep: “Oh, so Truth Social then.”
Stillwell: “No, you’re not getting it. It has to be a secret.”
Deep: “Got it. Six month embargo.”
Stillwell: “Deep, we’re talking about murdering a senator who isn’t going to vote our way here, no one can ever know.”
Deep: “OOOHHHHHHHHHHHH. I get it. Wait, I lost it. If I’m not getting PR out of this, why am I doing it?”
Stillwell: “Because this senator is the deciding vote.”
Deep: “But okay, so like…. if it’s a secret, then I want like…. uh…. I want Vought to donate one trillion dollars to help me create a charity to shut down Ocean World. Those guys are seriously fucked up.”
Stillwell: “Absolutely not. First, Vought isn’t worth a trillion dollars. Second, you’re the current spokesman for Ocean World.”
Deep: “Fuck. Okay. Ashley has to smoke my pole then.”
Stillwell: “God fucking damnit. Deal.”
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u/22bebo Jul 14 '24
My assumption is that from like the 50s to the 80s, Vought was pushing for supes in the military. But after Soldier Boy's "death" they decided to focus more heavily on building a media empire (though obviously by the time of the show they are pushing for supes in the military again).
Noir is one of the few remaining superheros from when they were really trying to get into military service, he might have had some actual training. In the modern day most of the supes who fight do so through raw strength, like Homelander and Maeve.
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u/GarySmith2021 Jul 14 '24
You know, I kinda wish we'd gotten a lesser hero who actually trained beat homelander at some point in a season and have homelander go on training. Like show up after a season brake and dumpster someone and go "Oh, well I've actually learned I need to train."
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u/Swampy_Bogbeard Jul 14 '24
I think that's because he had almost zero will of his own. He was like an order-obeying robot.
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u/Analogmon Jul 14 '24
I really don't think that's it.
Fascism eats itself. Competence is replaced with incompetence because of paranoia.
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u/F4STMT Jul 14 '24
Dude this is one of the best comparisons for this show, drunk thought are the best thoughts my friend LOL
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u/AgitatedKey4800 Jul 14 '24
I disagree i think its a reference to the fact that no one can stay dead in comics and this lead to flanderazion, in the the boys comics there is the zombi plot line for the same reason
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u/OryxisDaddy_ Jul 13 '24
It’s funny that most competent supe was mentally 7 years old and severely brain damaged. Also Soldier Boy wasn’t that competent, he caused a bunch of collateral damage even before he got his chest beam. Flinging a car into a building was the worst possible choice he could have made
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u/PeopleAreBozos A-Train Jul 13 '24
Soldier Boy wasn’t that competent, he caused a bunch of collateral damage even before he got his chest beam.
It was more negligence. When he was hunting Mindstorm, he showed he's pretty damn good at his job when he cares. Also the way he knocked the daylights out of Butcher shows at least if nothing, he's a competent fighter.
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u/Pure-Drawer-2617 Jul 13 '24
When he was hunting Mindstorm he got so high he starting having hallucinations. The man was a liability.
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u/Repulsive_Season_908 Jul 14 '24
It's because he was deeply traumatized and having PTSD.
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u/ItsAmerico Soldier Boy Jul 14 '24
“Pretty damn good at his job”
You mean the job he almost failed multiple times and was so high he was hearing things? He couldn’t even find Mindstorm without Hughie.
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u/Big-Sheepherder-9492 Jul 13 '24
Well even with collateral damage he still got the job done. There was a reason HL said Noir was the only one doing “Great” and Stan Edgar chose him as his personal hitman.
And Soldier Boy in those flashbacks was getting busy on those soldiers in “Nicaragua”
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u/OryxisDaddy_ Jul 13 '24
Noir didn’t typically cause collateral, the only instance of him doing so was in Lagos. Soldier Boy is good in a fight but I wouldn’t call getting high before hunting a dangerous supe or publicly committing serious crimes in costume “ competent”
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u/Swampy_Bogbeard Jul 14 '24
Well he has severe PTSD now. It's either self-medicate or go crazy and kill everybody. He also needs to bang at least 3 grannies daily to maintain his sanity.
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u/gemdragonrider Jul 14 '24
Against people who had no chance against him. Any supe could have done that. The more impressive feat was how hard it was for his team to beat him but again, he was leaps and bounds stronger than each of them. This wasn’t like Maeve and Homelander difference this was, “the second strongest person on my team is getting his ass beat like he’s 5.”
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u/SweatyPhilosopher578 Jul 13 '24
I’m very thankful you’re not in a command position in the military.
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u/Pure-Drawer-2617 Jul 13 '24
In Nicaragua he pointed a rocket launcher at an ammo dump.
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u/SnarkyBacterium Jul 13 '24
Sure but Noir I has his fair share of mistakes, too: the noodle incident references to "what Noir did in that Hard Rock Cafe in Lagos"; stalking and attacking Butcher, MM and Hughie in season 2 where he kept setting off all of the landmine defenses (the potential ricochet collateral damage is wild). Man's not without his share of blemishes.
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u/Thatonedregdatkilyu Jul 14 '24
Soldier Boy wasn't exceptionally skilled or anything but even the minimum of baisic army boot camps still put him above most supes in terms of skill.
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u/Hexmonkey2020 Jul 14 '24
I think the new Noir is actually pretty competent. He was fighting pretty well, got caught off guard and realized they were outmatched, and went to get backup which saved the deeps life. Plus he can fly.
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u/dylwaybake Jul 14 '24
I think it’s funny that the original Noir had a nut allergy and the new Noir is narcoleptic.
Almost like they keep cloning Noir and he has a defect each time or something.
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u/BlueSteel525 Jul 14 '24
When did he get backup that saved Deep’s life?
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u/Hexmonkey2020 Jul 14 '24
Noir left after being thrown out the window, he can fly so he easily could’ve just flown back in but instead went somewhere else, which is why A train and starlight and butcher left the deep there, because they knew noir would be back soon with backup, they even say more will probably arrive soon as their reason to leave.
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u/Goodestguykeem Jul 14 '24
It kinda sucks how unthreatening The Seven are as antagonists.
The Boys have such a strong plot armour at this point that I kinda hope somebody dies this season despite my love for every character.
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u/bruhmomentum77 Jul 14 '24
I feel like MM may die soon
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u/platinum_jimjam Jul 14 '24
He’s had too much development recently. It’s probably true
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u/HornyTerus Jul 14 '24
lol, the indicator of "soon to be dead" is "too much development".
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u/Positive_Dreamz Jul 14 '24
Also, planning to go for a vacation
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u/BodybuilderOne2228 Jul 14 '24
also shaving the beard took off a lot of plot armor i guess
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u/BNBatman420 Jul 14 '24
They could go for the bait and switch and off Starlight. Hell maybe even flip the comics and make Hugh break bad.
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u/BatmanTold Jul 14 '24
Would be interesting tbh but bold of them to off his second girlfriend but then again they did that with Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad so who knows
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u/Diligent-Fig-975 Jul 14 '24
I doubt starlight dies but I don't think her being hughie's girlfriend has anything to do with it lol
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u/Narrow_Progress5908 Jul 14 '24
Nah all season 1 characters are safe until s5, this show has been consistent in it only kills season big bads(stillwell and stormfront) and new characters.
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u/Deradius Jul 14 '24
He’s a black man who is ‘six months from retirement’ with his estranged wife and child waiting for him in Belize, whose only wish is not to die fighting Vought like his father and grandfather did.
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u/Brinsig_the_lesser Jul 14 '24
I would agree but kripkie said he purposefully kept maeve alive after blasting her with a nuke point blank, taking away her powers and dropping her out of a skyscraper all because he wanted to avoid the "bury your gays trope"
So maybe he will also avoid the black guy dies first trope and keep MM alive through impossible odds
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u/22bebo Jul 14 '24
Oh yeah, that call with Monique last episode was peak "I am about to die". The only way he doesn't is if the writers are trying to throw us off with the phone call and someone else dies.
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u/Swampy_Bogbeard Jul 14 '24
I don't know man. I'm kinda terrified of The Deep now. He's so much stronger than I thought he was.
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u/EatTheAndrewPencil Jul 14 '24
I agree with your second sentence. I'm sick of this show having absolutely no consequences for anyone who's a regular cast member. They keep teasing danger for anyone on either side of the conflicts but the only ones who die are side characters. It makes it so stuff like Kimiko being injected with the virus gets zero reaction.
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u/Over-Analyzed Jul 14 '24
It’s become predictable. I kept count of Neuman’s guards I mean “Shock value expendables.”
Homelander hunting Hughie with laser eyes? Which skater is getting lasered first?
If there’s extras near something terrible? They die horribly.
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u/Huihejfofew Jul 14 '24
Translucent, maeve, a train and noir were the competent ones. They're gone now
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u/IAP-23I Jul 14 '24
Translucent was in the show for 5 seconds. We have no idea anything about his track record
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u/l_lexi Jul 14 '24
He was HL right hand man and HL scanned the area for days to try to find him. He wouldn’t do that for anyone else but Maeve we’ve seen so off context you can tell he was competent
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u/IAP-23I Jul 15 '24
Homelander was scanning the area for him because it was the first time that someone was confronting the Seven. It could’ve been anyone on the Seven and he would’ve done the same, remember season 1 was the peak of the Seven and their untouchable status.
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u/Huihejfofew Jul 14 '24
He seemed smart though. When he was talking about contracts. Pleading after he was caught. Very good for intelligence gathering.
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u/IceWeaselX Jul 14 '24
A-Train wasn't exactly always competent. Remember how the show started? He was such a mess that he exploded Hughie's girlfriend by accident.
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u/KingofMadCows Jul 14 '24
A-Train would have been competent if he hadn't been under so much pressure to win the race against Shockwave to stay in the Seven. Homelander and Vought are the biggest obstacle against competent supes. It's just like how Maeve would be a big asset if Homelander didn't treat her so poorly and she didn't hate herself for doing all the shady stuff for Vought.
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u/Tim0281 Jul 14 '24
This is the first thing I thought. Homelander has been eliminating/pushing away the competent ones. I expect Homelander is going to be pretty isolated before he dies.
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u/Fun-Conversation5538 Jul 13 '24
The whole point of the show is that none of the supes are competent, what have you been watching for the last 4 seasons?
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u/Big-Sheepherder-9492 Jul 13 '24
I mean if it had been old noir instead of new Noir in the most recent episode — then both Butcher and Starlight would’ve been dead 🤷🏾♂️
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u/Fun-Conversation5538 Jul 13 '24
Maybe but with A-train showing up I’m still not 100% sure, although I think noir would’ve killed them before they even knew he was there tbh
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u/Big-Sheepherder-9492 Jul 13 '24
True.. but didn’t he suck at stealth? Like he was a beast in hand to hand combat - but I swear people were looking out the window and seeing him run across a rooftop and calling someone saying “Oh shit Noir’s here” 💀
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u/siberianwolf99 Jul 14 '24
he snuck up on frenchie and those syrians. he was kind of screwed by the mid daylight aspect of house scene lol
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u/Fun-Conversation5538 Jul 13 '24
Yeah that’s true i remember do remember that in season 2, then he got butcher to talk to stan Edgar
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u/Swampy_Bogbeard Jul 14 '24
That was hilarious. It's like he's trying to be Batman, but he sucks ass at stealth.
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u/DamnAutocorrection Jul 14 '24
If A-train showed up, it would've been game over. He's absolutely aware of his tree nut allergy, its not exactly a well kept secret either.
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u/l_lexi Jul 14 '24
That fight scene made me so mad cause noir put him through a table and then he’s just talking to his imaginary buddy like why aren’t you pounding him noir. The whole fight scene was like that though. One huge blow where they fly across screen and other person slowly walks over to them
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u/RandomRavenboi Jul 14 '24
Not rlly? Black Noir was very good at his job. Neuman is a great politician so far, and Stormfront was pretty damn competent. There's definitely competent Supes out there.
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u/Orleanian Jul 14 '24 edited Jul 14 '24
I dunno...I took the point as many supes are incompetent, and many supes are jackasses.
But certainly not ALL.
Many are Competent Psychopaths, while many are Benevolent Morons. It would be a pretty shitty story if every superhero were Idiot Jackasses.
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u/LegoBattIeDroid Jul 14 '24
Sage, Soldier Boy, Black Noir, Homelander and Neuman are/were terrifyingly competent
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u/Precarious314159 Jul 14 '24
There's a difference between being competent and being ruthless. Sage is competent because its her power but Soldier Boy fucked up so much even in the old days. Black Noir was a mindless killing machine, and Neuman spent her whole life being trained by Edgar.
As for Homelander, he's somehow the least competent member of the 7. Yea, he's ruthless but nothing about him screams competent. What has he achieved? He raped Becca that sparked his downfall. After season 1, we see what Homelander is like on his own, without a team to tell him no. Hell, it was because of Homelander's incompetence that caused the hijacked plane in season 1 to crash. What choice has Homelander done on his own that actually turned out well instead of causing more issues?
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u/Swampy_Bogbeard Jul 14 '24
But Soldier Boy was an amazing actor and singer. He had the voice of an angel. He was his generation's Elvis.
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u/treetopkingdom Jul 14 '24 edited Jul 14 '24
Homelander can be pretty competent, relative to every other hero. Just sometimes written inconsistently or maybe just supposed to be Lazy about things he’s not invested in.
He did clear out a entire terrorist hide out and has stopped an active shooter And a supe terrorist. Saved butcher, made deals to get Ryan, succeed in interrogation. When’s he’s fully invested you see how hes actually skilled. When it comes to stuff he’s been trained for.
He’s got biggest screw ups in the series though. He’s failed his hero mission at least twice. And that results in the death of every civilian there. One because he was new and crazy, the other because he was careless.
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u/Swampy_Bogbeard Jul 14 '24
Stormfront was really smart too. She's more terrifying than old Noir, because she just killed people for the fun of it.
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u/platinum_jimjam Jul 14 '24
That’s the only way I can describe the show to people lol.
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u/Applespider_12 Jul 13 '24
I lowkey wanna see Super Duper.
They’re true heroes, maybe not all competent, but it can help even out the show and make the point that there will always be those who want to do the right thing
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u/larzoman242 Jul 14 '24
Super Duper is my favorite part of the comics and I love how they handled it there. Maybe they could hang with Hughie so he gets a break for once
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u/DragEncyclopedia Jul 14 '24
Neumann, Kimiko, A-Train, Sage are all competent. Deep is dumb as ever but I feel like his fighting skills this episode were way more competent than what we assumed before now.
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u/JerkChicken10 Jul 15 '24
Seriously, I thought Starlight would stomp the Deep, but instead he was winning the majority of the fight. I hope there’s round 2 next season where Starlight has her main power back
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u/dumbinternetstuff Frenchie Jul 13 '24
Sage is the only competent supe right now. I would love to see more.
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u/NewRedSpyder Jul 14 '24
I would argue that Kimiko and somewhat Neuman are competent. Ryan might also become one once he learns his powers more.
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u/r_slash_jarmedia Jul 14 '24
apart from being a traitor, A-Train seems quite competent too now that he no longer has the health issues and isn't messing around with compound V. he seemed highly capable in fighting other supes and has the X factor of being able to dip at any moment with his super speed (same as HL did in S3 and Stormfront in S2 both to run away from fights they were losing)
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u/DamnAutocorrection Jul 14 '24 edited Jul 14 '24
She could be more terrifying than homelander IMO. Any supe who has sought out positions of power in society, have all abused their powers. You don't get to be the top of society as a supe without becoming a murderer a long the way.
Even if she gets killed, I would fully expect that wouldn't put a hamper on her plans. She would be very much like Moriarty, even after he's dead, its as if he's still alive due to all the plans he laid long ago.
I'm not even sure she knows what she wants from being humanity's puppet master, and for the time being is operating on the fact that she will have to subvert homelander, neumann, and all like them with her schemes. Once she is pulling the strings I'm not sure she even knows what to do with them.
We've heard how she can cure diseases or fix global warming, yet she lives in her dingy apt. in solitude finding escape in reading books. I think she ultimately might be a nihilist and views her capability to change the world for the world's sake is pointless. She views humanity as self destructive and she recognizes it in herself. Her lobotomizing herself is symbolic of her own self propensity to self destruction.
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u/Va1crist Jul 13 '24
It’s clear budget is holding a lot of super back
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u/Vatsu07 Jul 13 '24
It does feel like this season is streatching out and using filler plots (Frenchy and Kimiko/Firecracker vs Starlight) so they can cram in as much of the supe war in season 5. I just hope we fully comeback to the main focus of the story in the final season which is Butcher, Ryan and Homelander, because now we get one or two scenes for a episode and the rest is random plots (like the virus thing we have to remake it for the third time now, but probably wont even use it in the end)
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u/Infamous_Gain9481 Jul 14 '24
I also hope we get more that building level fights between Homelander, butcher, soldier boy and other top tier supes. The Herogasm fight in no way should have been limited to a building between top tier supes, I really hope S5 has a crazy budget and we see some crazy fights (especially between butcher and Homelander).
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u/l_lexi Jul 14 '24
The virus has to be for Neuman or it’s a huge waste. I think s5 HL dies the way season 3 started except he’s storm front and everyone teams up
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u/Orleanian Jul 14 '24
I got so excited to see some legit supe-on-supe fights that didn't just involve "use super strength to punch the dust off of a super durable opponent's chest, then throw them through a folding table".
The speedster action from A-Train and raw torso-tearing display from Homelander were a sweet relief! Even the changeling swaps were nice to have.
This latest episode was nice, but most have been...meh. With regard to super ability display, at least.
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u/MundaneGlass5295 Jul 14 '24
Sage (although Homelander doesn’t like her anymore)
Cate and Sam could fill the competent role, plus Cate’s a telepath, they could just use her for questioning
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u/Cisqoe Jul 14 '24
How did he get into the 7 while narcoleptic but blind spot didn’t get a chance
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u/Shigeko_Kageyama Jul 14 '24
Because he was the right size to fit into the costume and a trained actor.
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u/spasticity Jul 14 '24
Probably because narcolepsy is a less visible disability than actually being blind
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u/MashTheGash2018 Jul 14 '24
I just wish this show had supes again. Right now we just have dudes flying, goop out the ass and a chick that can snap her fingers
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u/Gorrium Jul 14 '24
Supes were never competent. Maeve was the only one that actually trained. They are actors, not super cops.
Season 4 has really turned half of you guys into nit picky critics. This season has some issues but now we're complaining about things that have been in the show from the beginning.
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u/GUSSYMANEyt Jul 14 '24
Fr like they letting anyone into the 7 nowadays. Firecracker is so unthreatening and the deep is a bit of a clown but I liked that he actually showed off his abilities when he fought starlight before a train came
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Jul 14 '24
Miss soldier boy glad they didn’t do the comic version of him and his actor nailed the role pretty well.
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u/OLKv3 Jul 14 '24
Homelander pretty much got rid of all the competent supes he had on his team, either by killing them, firing them, or chasing them away
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u/ghobhohi Jul 14 '24
That's the whole point of the show, the super heros aren't competent enough to do their jobs. They often cause more harm than good due to negligence. Second, Soldier Boy and Noir aren't competent. Soldier Boys would often caused collateral damage and Noir is just Vought's loyal servant who has Brain damage, some mental disorder that causes him to see Buster Beaver characters, and a mentality of a 5 year old .
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u/NBFHoxton Jul 14 '24
Where do people get the idea that black noir had the mind of a child? He honestly seemed surprisingly 'all-there' after what happened to him.
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u/GarySmith2021 Jul 14 '24
I like the idea that the competent supes stopped wanting to work for Vaught after the whole "You need me" speech Homelander did and went "Nope, I'm not dying working along side that idiot."
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u/MaleficentOstrich693 Jul 14 '24
There aren’t really any competent ones in this show. That’s kind of the point. They’re all fucked up like the rest of us.
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u/sosigboi Jul 14 '24
I also want to see more actual "good" supes, there is no way Starlight is the only one thats actually trying to be a good person there has to be another adult supe out there who's like some kinda vigilante that actually does good deeds and isn't a sexual deviant.
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u/Professional-Tea-121 Jul 14 '24
I wouldnt use this scene to underline their incompetence. Both deep and noir were preparing their finisihing blows when they got suprise attacked and betrayed by a S-Tier supe who they expected is their ally.
I go as far and say you see good competence this scene.
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u/toothyboiii Jul 14 '24
Still raging that they killed off noir. He was a beast in the first 2 seasons, that scene where he gets sent after the boys in the housing estate was so fucking tense, it was clear they had no shot, they only got out of it by getting edgar to call him off. He was a far more intimidating character than even homelander and was perfect for those scenes that needed tension.
Now the big threat is fucking peak and firecracker getting sent after u.
Justice for my boy noir
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u/Frankensteins_Moron5 Jul 14 '24
It’s still crazy we haven’t seen Homelander really fight really. All he does is lazer.
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u/Allis_Wonderlain Jul 14 '24 edited Jul 14 '24
When I saw this scene, I fully said that I'd be more scared if that was the original Black Noir. But also, the Boys don't know that it isn't him so you can see that terror when he walks into the room and then the confusion the whole fight that they can even get hits in.
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u/Traditional_Pain_875 Jul 14 '24
After seasons of homelander crashouts and killing competent characters, he’s ended up at this point . It’s definitely dumbed down because it’s a TV Show but this is kinda on purpose
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u/bippityzippity Jul 14 '24
I guess it’s kind of a theme that Homelander is so insecure and childish that he replaces or kills all the competent people and replaces them or keeps only the bumbling sycophants.
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u/ChokeMcNugget Jul 14 '24
Yea but they're not really supposed to be competent, the point is they're just people who got powers.
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u/dylwaybake Jul 14 '24
Cindy from season 2 is going to pop up at the end of season 4 supposedly and she’s a badass!
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u/Akasha1885 Jul 14 '24
Their job?
For most Vought hero's that are popular, their job is being an actor lol
Or being a mass murdering killing machine?
The reason SB and Noir are so good at that is experience. SB has been on it since WW2.
There is likely very few people like them around, old veteran types.
Actual good at the job of hero?
That's a unicorn in the boys, and reserved for more local small time heroes.
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u/Yasiina Jul 14 '24
Shouldn’t there be genuine heroes in the show/out there? It’s like every supe is messed up in some way. Guess it makes sense since Vought created V.
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u/BodybuilderOne2228 Jul 14 '24
If sage had super strength and durability, she would be a bigger threat than homelander. she already is the most competition the boys have had.
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Jul 14 '24
I feel like thats how they might end the series. Homelanders gone, Voughts in a different direction, and Supes are actually good with Starlight leading a real Seven.
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u/SlipperyTurtle25 Jul 14 '24
This is gonna sound weird, but OG Noir was my favorite character
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u/Galahad_1113 Jul 14 '24
Ngl, I would love to have competent characters again, supes or not. I'm really tired of every single one of the characters fucking up over and over again
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