The Boys season 4 has the opportunity to truly showcase the extent of Starlight's powers after the events of the season 3 finale. Throughout the series, Starlight's powers are rarely displayed and when they are, it's rather a quick few beams of light or a threatening stare as her eyes begin to glow. It's a shame as she is one of the few morally balanced supes in the show, and she holds a great presence when on screen. Now, The Boys can do right by Starlight as alliances are changing and plots are thickening.
Leading up to the very end of The Boys season 3, Starlight is in very few fight scenes, and when she is, she usually doesn't stand a chance on her own. As a member of the Seven and Vought, one would think that she could hold her ground against a fellow supe, but the show never gives her the chance. In season 1, episode 8, "You Found Me," she and Hughie fight A-Train for a brief moment. Starlight gets knocked to the ground as A-Train easily avoids her beams of light and attacks her. Before he can do more damage to her or Hughie, A-Train ends up having a heart attack. In season 2, episode 7, "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker," Starlight has a brief fight against Black Noir and almost loses until Maeve comes in to save her. Then in the finale episode of The Boys season 2, Starlight fights Stormfront but is only able to do major damage with the aid of Maeve and Kimiko. It isn't until the season 3 finale that viewers finally see Starlight's powers at a stronger level.
Throughout season 3, Starlight begins to lose faith in Vought and ends up leaving the company and the Seven as she realizes that she doesn't need them to be an actual superhero. She takes back her regular identity as Annie January and begins to become more confident in herself. Toward the end of the season finale, the Boys, Maeve, and Annie end up fighting the formidable duo of Soldier Boy and Homelander as their plans go sideways real quick. When things start to look bleak for the protagonists, Hughie turns up all the lights and electrical currents in the room for Annie to draw more power against Soldier Boy. She starts to levitate off the ground, forming a huge, blinding ray of light around her. She is able to knock Soldier Boy to the ground and stun him briefly before he sets off his nuclear powers, but this is the first time audience members are able to witness Starlight's powers reach a new level. Now that Starlight is an official member of the Boys leading into season 4 and has a greater sense of self-worth, the sky is the limit with her powers.
Could Starlight Gain New Powers In The Boys Season 4?
After her seeing her fly a little in the season 3 finale, it is very likely that Starlight will try to harness her new ability as it is a very useful skill to have. In The Boys comics, flight is one of her powers as well as enhanced strength, superhuman durability, superhuman hearing, electricity absorption, and energy blasts. All of these can be seen throughout the first three seasons of The Boys, but season 4 will most likely focus on enhancing her current abilities and creating new moves with them. Superhero movies and shows tend to make changes to their protagonists' power levels compared to the comics, so anything is possible, but it would be foolish for such a smart show to waste the opportunity given with the season 3 finale.
The Boys has to take this opportunity to give Starlight her missing powers and do justice to them moving forward. There have been so many scenes where the other supes have shown off their powers and strengths, while Starlight hasn't had that chance yet. Filming for season 4 is currently underway, so perhaps there will be some behind-the-scenes footage and leaks about what's to come for Annie in the upcoming season.