After the third season of The Boys, the A-Train subplot has come to a major tipping point. After the conclusion of a season-long conflict with Blue Hawk, A-Train woke in a hospital bed with a new outlook on life — and even more ties to Vought than he would have wanted.
But, despite A-Train's story being an incredibly serious one, there have been fans who have been more than happy to make light of the events. Given that fans are always happy to make memes, they set about poking fun at the character. While they are funny, some of those memes just happen to be perfect descriptors of A-Train's overall characters.
Not Always The Wisest
A-Train has never actually been the most principled character. His desire to continue to be paid as an athlete and supe has always come before his desire to do justice for those who aren't in his immediate circle. That's why, when asked to shoot a commercial, A-Train was more than happy to.
Even when he wanted to fight for social justice, A-Train was more than happy to shoot a disingenuous commercial with an A-Train energy drink. This is, of course, in spite of his heart condition, which could exacerbate his heart condition. It just shows his willingness to do whatever Vought wants and his unwillingness to actually stand up to them in any meaningful way.
Not His Fault
After A-Train's girlfriend, Popclaw, threatened to unveil his Compound V addiction, he decided that the only way to resolve the situation was to kill her himself. Despite Popclaw being one of the worst superheroes in The Boys, A-Train still felt the need to cover up her death by pretending that she overdosed.
Then, in a very confusing moment, A-Train elected to pin the blame on Hughie. Rather than taking responsibility himself, he elects to throw it on the nearest enemy he could, even though Hughie wasn't involved at all. As a character who struggles to take responsibility for his own actions, it made sense for A-Train, even if he could have blamed Homelander instead. After all, it gave him someone to take revenge on.
Hits Harder Than A Train
The Boys is well known for its many shocking deaths, but none were more surprising than Robin's. Fans who weren't sure what to anticipate from the show found themselves as surprised as Hughie was when A-Train killed Robin by running right through her.
Given how horrible a sight it was, it was especially surprising that A-Train hardly seemed to react at all. It just showed his lack of care for his fellow human beings, and his inability to empathize fully with Hughie. He ran as hard as a train, and it led to an innocent woman's death as clear as day.
Needs The V
For A-Train, a major plot of the first season was his inability to stop relying on Compound V. The drug helped him move more quickly, helping him maintain his place as the fastest superhero alive — and his place among the Seven. Given how poorly he reacted when he was being removed from the team, it makes some sense that he would turn to V.
But the abuse led to a plot that has lasted throughout the series for him, as it gave him the damage to his heart that nearly took his place in the Seven from him. The V showed that A-Train's confidence was feigned, as he was always too paranoid about a lost race to really accept his status on the team or in the world.
Remorseless
Even after killing Hughie's girlfriend, A-Train really didn't care about the consequences of his actions. After all, right after her death, A-Train just checked his sunglasses, told Hughie that he couldn't stop, and ran off. Never once did he come back to make up for his deeds, nor did he even want to.
While he wasn't smiling when he did it, thanks to his fears about his addiction, he certainly didn't seem like he cared. It was easily possible to imagine him doing it again, just like Spongebob would in this meme. A better man might have, but — as a superhero in The Boys — he wasn't exactly a heroic character.
Doesn't Mind A Quick Betrayal
After countless rejections, moments of bullying, and threats to his life, the supe found himself recruited into a mission to take down Homelander. Of course, like most supes, his courage didn't last very long in the face of an increasingly powerful Homelander, and A-Train turned on his recruiter, Supersonic.
Like always, A-Train desperately wanted the respect of those around him. This time, it ended with Supersonic's death, and it didn't even get him what he wanted. It just shows that the character can't truly be redeemed, as he turns on his tail each time he attempts it.
Happy To Hurt
Despite being a man who routinely kills to make life more convenient for himself, A-Train was utterly abhorred that Blue Hawk would hurt his brother. Yet, after being called for his hypocrisy, A-Train realized that he was the same type of person and one who could easily harm those around him on a whim.
Though it led to A-Train trying to redeem himself by killing Blue Hawk, it isn't likely that his turn will stick. After all, he has had several chances to reach the point of redemption and abandons them each and every time. A-Train is happy to accept the help of Vought, even when it's clear they don't respect him.
Bit Of A Heart Condition
A problem that has plagued A-Train since the first season is the conflict between his nature as an athlete and as a man with a heart condition. The contrast has left him desperate to try to find a way to stay in the Seven, while also balancing his need to stay alive.
While the supe managed to stick around when he needed to, his heart condition caused constant problems in his life and even helped to strain his relationship with his fellow supes.
False Apologies
Robin's death was a gruesome scene, and A-Train hardly seemed to actually care about any of it. But when A-Train finally found himself confronted by Hughie, he finally offered an apology for the death of Robin. Though it was a genuine apology, Hughie didn't exactly accept it.
After all, it took A-Train three seasons to apologize, and it was only after he experienced the same thing that he was finally able to empathize. It also didn't help that he was entirely abrasive as he offered the apology, which certainly didn't help make Hughie forgive him.
Cold Hearted
A-Train expected to die after killing the racist Blue Hawk, and he was perfectly satisfied to have done it. But, after waking in a hospital with Blue Hawk's heart in his chest, A-Train was utterly surprised and horrified to find out that he would have to rely on the heart of a racist to keep himself alive.
Though it did mean that A-Train could run without having to worry about his heart disease, it would have meant freedom from Vought, a true redemption, and a way to avoid Homelander's wrath. Instead, trapped once more, A-Train is forced to deal with life as a Vought supe.
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