Warning: The article contains spoilers for The Boys season 3

Soldier Boy actor Jensen Ackles says he didn't read any of The Boys comics prior to playing the character in the show. Ackles is best known for his role as Dean Winchester in the long-running CW Supernatural series, as well as for playing Jason Teague in Smallville. The actor recently voiced Batman/Bruce Wayne for WB Animation's adaptation of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween before making his Soldier Boy debut earlier this year.

In The Boys comic book, Soldier Boy is a very different character than the one that Ackles portrays in the show. The comic has two versions of Soldier Boy; one that was a strong-willed psychopath that was killed in WWII, and a newer version that is more of a cowardly and naive Supe who has sex with Homelander in the hope that he'll become a member of The Seven. In The Boys show, Soldier Boy is more of a darker twist on the MCU version of Captain America, providing a fresh representation of what writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson first created.

Related: How Maeve Actually Hurt Homelander In The Boys Season 3 Finale

While most actors tend to research their comic-book roles by diving into the source material, Ackles took a different approach, one that was suggested by showrunner Eric Kripke. According to The Wrap, Ackles was told to avoid the comics so as to not affect the choices he might make in playing the retooled version of Soldier Boy. The actor said that doing so allowed him to trust his instincts, as well as the writers crafting the story. Here's his full quote:

Honestly, Kripke and his crew, they write such colorful dialogue and descriptors that, you know, I even asked him, I said, ‘Do you want me to read the comics and brush up on who this guy is?’ And he steered me away from that and said, ‘No, don’t do that. I don’t want that to affect any choices you might make.’ So he encouraged me just to kind of trust my instincts, but largely it comes off the page in such a beautiful way and we’re, as actors, very fortunate to have such amazing writing and we trust it and then they trust us to perform it.

soldier boy the boys season 3

In the comics, Soldier Boy is taken out by Billy Butcher, who bites his nose off before The Boys capture and torture him to death. In the show, Soldier Boy is recruited to help destroy Homelander, as he developed a new power that delivered a deadly energy blast ability while in hibernation. Soldier Boy proves to be far too difficult to control, which forces both Butcher and Homelander to take him down in the The Boys season 3 finale. His fate is left somewhat ambiguous, as he's basically put back in storage, which means it may not be the last time Ackles plays the role.

Ackles did an outstanding job of playing a darker Captain America in The Boys season 3, adding a new threat for the characters in the show to eventually face. While it wasn't the same persona that was featured in the comics, the satirical take on Chris Evans' Captain America made for a fun performance that served the overall purpose of the part as intended in the comic, which is to make a mockery of the super soldier mythos. It was also good ground to break for Ackles, showing that he's capable of much more beyond the realm of CW shows, which will hopefully lead to more compelling roles in the future, and possibly a return as Soldier Boy down the line.

Next: Everything We Know About The Boys Season 4

Source: The Wrap