The Boys Season 3: Every Major Plot Theory Explained

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Boys comic book series that may or may not happen in the Amazon show.

Amazon's The Boys has a penchant for delivering the unexpected, but what are some of the major plot theories for season 3? First released on July 26th, 2019, The Boys has received much acclaim across its first two seasons, with critics praising the Amazon series' dark brand of humor and biting social commentary alongside its gore-filled action sequences. The Boys season 3 is set to premiere on June 3rd, 2022, with series developer Eric Kripke stoking the rumor mill regarding exactly what season 3 will be about.

This fervent audience speculation regarding season 3's content is owed in no small part to The Boys season 2's climactic ending. Season 2, episode 8, "What I Know," sees Stormfront's (Aya Cash) Nazi affiliations displayed to the public, while Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) is revealed as Vought's head-exploding assassin in a whirlwind finale. These events, plus the fates awaiting Hughie, Butcher, and the remaining Seven members set up a highly engrossing third season of The Boys - with Kripke stating via Twitter that "people are not ready to watch it" due to its shocking content.

As a result, speculation has been rife regarding the major plot points of The Boys Season 3, with the Amazon series leaving several tantalizing narrative threads unexplored. Several of the major The Boys season 3 plot theories revolve around Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and his ability to deal with Becca's (Shantel VanSanten) untimely death, while two seemingly dead characters have also been touted for shocking returns to the fray. Here's every major plot theory for The Boys season 3 explained, as well as how credible each of them actually is.

Black Noir Is Now Homelander's Clone

One of the most prominent The Boys season 3 theories is ripped directly from the original DC comics, in which Black Noir is replaced by a secret Homelander clone. With the Black Noir of prior seasons remaining medically out of action in The Boys season 3, this theory states that Vought will utilize Homelander's DNA to produce an obedient, less emotionally fragile clone and secretly put the copy inside Black Noir's suit. A Homelander clone would easily be able to naturally replicate Black Noir's powers, and the fact that the character never removes his mask means not even the Seven would be aware of this deception. This theory is given major credence by The Boys season 3's early teasers, which show Starlight (Erin Moriarty) assuming joint control of the Seven alongside Homelander (Antony Starr), with Vought seemingly now un-concerned about upsetting their most dangerous and valuable asset. These events mirror Garth Ennis' original storyline in the comics, making this popular fan theory highly likely for The Boys season 3.

Lamplighter Isn't Dead

Lamplighter kills himself in front of Hughie in The Boys

Another theory taken straight from the original The Boys source material is the idea that Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) is still alive off-screen. During The Boys season 2, Lamplighter is set on fire by his own powers, seemingly killing the Supe as Hughie (Jack Quaid) and Butcher escape the compound. Yet in The Boys comics, Lamplighter is resurrected by an extra dose of compound V immediately following his death, bringing him back to life at a high cost. The revived Lamplighter in The Boys comics exists as a zombified version of his former glories restricted to a cell with minimal brain function and with Vought only keeping him alive to act as a warning to the other Supes that attempt to cross them. This dark comic timeline has given rise to the idea that Shawn Ashmore's Lamplighter will make a return in The Boys season 3, although whether it is in a horrific new capacity remains to be seen. Showrunner Eric Kripke has also stated (via TVLine) that he regrets killing off Ashmore's version of the character so quickly, meaning there is every chance Lamplighter could be brought back to help the boys against Vought once again.

Ryan Becomes A Villain

One of the biggest shocks of The Boys season 2 was Ryan's (Cameron Crovetti) vicious dismantling of Stormfront with his eye lasers, with the young boy also inadvertently killing his mother. These events have given rise to the popular fan theory that Ryan turns evil in the story, with Butcher dropping the boy off at a government facility at the end of season 2, furthering these claims. This theory states that for the first time in the show, Ryan will be alone, racked with guilt from killing Becca, and most likely experimented on by the government as an heir to Homelander's legacy. These events will coax psychopathy out of Ryan, already foreshadowed in his penchant for violence at the end of The Boys season 2, and mirroring his father Homelander's descent into darkness at the hands of Vought years earlier. This potential storyline would mark a stark deviation from the original comics, with Ryan dying at birth in the source material, but it also seems very plausible given Ryan's attack on Stormfront in the prior season of The Boys.

The Boys Become Supes

Laz Alonzo Karl Urban and Tomer Capon in The Boys on Amazon

Of all the major The Boys season 3 theories, the idea that the boys become Supes seems the most inevitable. The Boys season 2 makes several overt references to the fact that the boys cannot compete with The Seven unless they have powers of their own, with only Butcher vehemently opposing the notion when it is originally floated. This again harks back to the comics' storyline, where the boys inject Compound V and gain their own powers to combat Homelander's increasing threat, with Butcher eventually killing his nemesis by ripping his brain out of his skull. This original narrative, plus The Boys season 2's nods that Compound V is in Butcher and the company's future, makes this fan theory highly probable. The boys injecting compound V also sets up Butcher's final comic story arc, in which the boys' leader becomes the eventual big bad of the story, forcing Hughie and company to kill their former friend.

Stormfront Regenerates

The most recent theory to take on a life of its own is the notion that Stormfront has the potential to regenerate from the horrific injuries she sustained at the end of The Boys season 2. With Stormfront's inability to age displayed by her survival from the days of the Third Reich, this theory posits she may very well be able to recover from her wounds in some shape or form. Both Kripke and Stormfront actress Aya Cash have echoed as much, with Cash stating in a 2021 interview with EW that the showrunners have "left the door open" for her character to return, although she admits any potential scenes containing Stormfront in The Boys season 3 will no doubt be a highly changed proposition. This Stormfront regeneration theory is one that perhaps falls in the unlikely category, but do not rule out The Boys season 3 throwing a spanner in the works and restoring Stormfront to her former potency.