The first look at Jensen Ackles in The Boys season 3 hints that the hit series will include Soldier Boy's comic twist — but will make it even better. Ackles' take on the character is highly anticipated, thanks in part to his upcoming involvement in the controversial Herogasm event, which (among other deviant behaviors) involves Homelander manipulating Soldier Boys for his own personal gain. However, based on the first looks of Ackles in costume, his take on the character will be grittier and darker than the comics version — which will actually improve the reveal of Soldier Boy's true nature.
Amazon's adaptation of Garth Ennis' comic The Boys changes various elements of the source material, updating the characters and plotlines to be more diverse and inclusive. The Boys season 2 introduced gender-swapped versions of the Stormfront and Victoria (in the comics, Victor) Neuman, giving the villains new stories to suit their live-action characterizations. In both cases, the updates also allowed the show to insert contemporary ideas into the narrative, with Stormfront leveraging social media popularity and Neuman sporting a liberal, activist spirit clearly inspired by real-life politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The first look at Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy in The Boys season 3 suggests that showrunner Eric Kripke will continue the trend of updating characters from the comics. Ennis' original version of Soldier Boy was revealed to be a legacy hero whose title transferred to new supes when the previous died (the third iteration is the one involved in the Herogasm arc). Furthermore, despite being the leader of the team Payback, Ennis' Soldier Boy is weaker than most other supes, is a coward, and lacks the intelligence needed for his position. As a result, he makes disastrous decisions and is easily manipulated. Kripke, however, looks to be going in a totally different direction with the character.
Based on the appearance of Ackles' Soldier Boy in The Boys season 3, he is older and more mature than his comics counterpart. The silly bright-blue costume has been replaced with a more militaristic (and flattering) dark green uniform that looks less like a costume and more like combat gear. The shield has even been updated to be less garish. Overall, Ackles presents a more serious and believable take on the character — but this could all be a misdirection. Although Soldier Boy's appearance is less buffoonish, this doesn't mean that the character will be. In fact, the twist that the "super soldier" is actually an inept coward who is desperate to join The Seven would be made better if audiences initially expect him to have the cool, calculated confidence and abilities of Homelander or Black Noir.
It's also possible that Kripke is misdirecting audiences ahead of season 3 by hyping up Ackles' Soldier Boy, but hiding the fact that he would be in flashbacks only. Ackles' costume strongly resembles the original Soldier Boy who fought in WWII (before the events of The Boys takes place). If Ackles is playing the first Soldier Boy, he may not ever encounter Homelander or Butcher at all. Another option could be that the show changes the character to be long-living, much like Stormfront. Ackles could then both portray the original version as well as the contemporary version, who gets tricked into participating in Herogasm by Homelander. Since Kripke already revealed that his versions of Stormfront and Soldier Boy have a shared past, this could work. Regardless of what direction Kripke takes with the source material, The Boys season 3 is looking to be a worthy continuation of the hit Amazon series.