Black Noir is one of the most talented Supes in The Boys given his placement on The Seven, how do Black Noir's powers compare to other Supes? Viewers first met the mysterious non-speaking Black Noir in season 1 of The Boys. With an all-black costume that conceals what he looks like, Black Noir was largely an unknown. Season 1 didn't give the character too much to do, so it was up to season 2 to flesh out his story and strengths. The Boys season 3 has now taken an even deeper dive into the character's origins.
As a Supe, the Boys usually pose no threat to Black Noir when fighting, but he has always been held in check by Vought CEO Stan Edgar. The Boys' season 3's flashbacks provide more background about why this is, while also revealing more about just how powerful Black Noir is. The significant level of obedience Black Noir shows towards Vought is the only thing stopping him from using the full extent of his powers as he sees fit, and he's got plenty of superpowers at his disposal.
Black Noir is an expert fighter with all the bonuses of being a superhero. He has superhuman strength and is also incredibly durable, having survived powerful, close-up explosions on multiple occasions with only some burn marks on his face. What helps set Black Noir apart is his faster-than-normal healing, and he is seemingly immune from pain. With superhuman agility, hearing, and speed, as well as expertise in hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat, Black Noir's powers make him an incredibly powerful (and dangerous) hero.
Black Noir's Powers In The Show Vs. The Comics
Black Noir's powers are slightly different in The Boys than they are in the comics. The source material made Black Noir a clone of Homelander created by Vought to kill the leader of The Seven if needed. However, The Boys takes an alternate route. It also added a new weakness, as the lethal Supe is deathly allergic to nuts. This was inspired by the real-life allergy of Nathan Mitchell, who plays Black Noir in The Boys. As powerful as Black Noir is, this nut allergy ultimately brought him down in The Boys season 2. Queen Maeve shoved an Almond Joy into his mouth to stop him from attacking Starlight and kicked his EpiPen out of reach. The nut attack didn't kill Black Noir, but he was left in a vegetative state at the end of season 2. Still, Black Noir is alive in The Boys season 3, and his story is fleshed out further.
How Black Noir's Backstory In The TV Show Is Different Than The Comics
In the comics, Black Noir is a clone of Homelander, designed to kill the hero, in case he ever cracks, or his sadism gets out of hand. In the source material, Black Noir is very aware of this, and even gaslights Homelander into believing that he's a psychopath — which isn't that far off. Since Black Noir doesn't really have an illustrious backstory to bring to The Boys TV show, this left a lot of room for the writers to create something spellbinding in season 3.
Both The Boys seasons 2 and 3 have proven that the TV version of Black Noir is a very different character. In Amazon Prime's The Boys, Black Noir is no Homelander clone. Rather, he's a Black man named Earving who was pressured by Stan Edgar to hide his identity under a mask, as shown during The Boys season 3's flashbacks to the Payback team. After defying Stan and insisting on keeping his mask off during a mission to Nicaragua, he became disfigured due to an explosion and has since worn the mask to hide this. Black Noir's backstory, therefore, has much more depth in the TV show, with his mask symbolizing vanity, regret, and the fallout of institutional racism.
Why Can't Black Noir Talk?
In The Boys TV show, Black Noir is shown unable to form words after the explosion that damaged his face, and it's implied that the accident may have permanently damaged his vocal cords afterward. On a thematic level, his silence also fits well with Black Noir's backstory as another illustration of how Vought represses its heroes, and it offers a delightful, subdued expressiveness to the mysterious character. As The Boys season 3 continues to show Soldier Boy's payback on the Payback Supe team that betrayed him to the Russians – including Noir, who's currently on the run to avoid a painful vengeance – it's likely that Black Noir will continue to be an unpredictable player haunted by his past.