With season three debuting on June 3, Amazon Prime's The Boys will introduce Soldier Boy for the first time, and Supernatural alum Jensen Ackles will play the newest member of The Seven. While he may be new to the show, Soldier Boy is well known in the comics, though perhaps not for what one would expect.
The Boys may at first glance look like a typical superhero series, but anyone who has flipped open the cover of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic can tell you it is anything but. Rather, it's a brutal depiction of what the world could look like if people with superpowers truly existed. Soldier Boy follows suit and presents fans with a twisted alternate take on a Captain America-style character.
He Was Created During WW2
Soldier Boy is The Boys' version of Captain America in a number of ways. He was one of the earlier Vought-American superheroes created using Compound V, the serum that is used to give people superpowers. Along with Stormfront and a handful of others, he was created to help fight the Nazis during World War 2.
Soldier Boy and company were members of a team called the familiar-sounding Avenging Squad, which would eventually go on to become Payback. The new superheroes were gifted with a variety of powers, which of course included super strength, but they were not gifted with an understanding of tactical maneuvering, which would make their debut a disaster.
The First Soldier Boy Was Killed By Mallory
Fans of both the comics and the Amazon Prime version of The Boys should remember that Mallory was the founder of The Boys. As a young captain stationed in Germany during WW2, Mallory witnessed first-hand the damage that could be done by an untrained superhero as his entire platoon was wiped out during the Battle of the Bulge, thanks largely to Soldier Boy.
Of course, most of the Avenging Squad was killed as well, but considering it was their carelessness that broadcast their location to the Germans, that didn't pack quite the same punch. When the battle was over, and Soldier Boy lay with his body nearly ripped in half, Mallory calmly dropped a grenade on him and ended the charade, or so he thought.
Soldier Boy Is A Legacy Title
It turns out there isn't just one Soldier Boy, but several. In an effort to perhaps make him seem immortal (or possibly slow-aging like Stormfront), Vought continued the use of Soldier Boy's name, even after the original was blown up in a German forest.
The newest Soldier Boy is introduced to comic readers during Herogasm, though it isn't immediately known that he isn't the original until later on in the series. It is never explicitly said how many iterations of Soldier Boy there have been; Vought clearly intends on keeping the hero affectionately dubbed "America's A**hole" around for a long time.
He's The Elected Leader Of Payback
No matter which version he is, Soldier Boy is always the leader of Payback - The Boys' answer to The Avengers - even if he's terrible at it and everyone knows that Stormfront is the strongest. Soldier Boy himself admits that only Tek Knight and Eagle the Archer are even nice to him.
In the comics, Soldier Boy states that he was elected as the leader of Payback, though Stormfront talks over him without hesitation. It's more likely that Soldier Boy is considered the leader because he is as close as they come to the original superhero, and with Vought, image is everything.
He Desperately Wants To Join The Seven
Soldier Boy is not satisfied playing the leader of the second-fiddle team. He wants to move up in the world, and since the only team higher than his is the Seven, that's where he's set his sights. His dedication to rising in the ranks is on full display during Herogasm when he sleeps with Homelander as a so-called test of his readiness.
Unsurprisingly, he doesn't pass the test, with Homelander assuring him that maybe next year he'll make it, making it clear this is not the first time Soldier Boy has been with America's number one superhero. While not the most shocking thing written in The Boys, it certainly wasn't a plot twist that everyone saw coming.
Intelligence Isn't Soldier Boy's Strong Suit
As evidenced by the events at the Herogasm, Soldier Boy repeatedly shows that he's gullible and easily outsmarted. In addition to being taken advantage of by other supers, even The Boys use him to get information on their super-powered targets.
While some of his behavior could be chalked up to naivety or even a certain innocence, it's clear that Soldier Boy simply doesn't learn from his mistakes or show any inclination to grow into his super-powered potential.
He Genuinely Believes In His Mission
Regardless of his shortcomings, Soldier Boy is one of the few superheroes in The Boys who actually believes in the superhero ideals that he promotes. Despite being a modern-day person, he still utters throwback phrases, refusing to swear even when bearing witness to the depravity and violence that often surrounds him.
Better yet, while in the middle of a fight, Soldier Boy will shout out the names of random states as though declaring the land of freedom he is currently fighting for. Despite committing rather heinous acts himself, Soldier Boy believes himself to be the ultimate patriot, and there is nothing he won't do to defend his country.
He Is A Coward
Counter to his patriotism, Soldier boy is far from brave in the face of adversity, frequently wetting himself in the face of anyone more powerful than him. This habit was brilliantly illustrated on the cover of The Boys #33, which shows him hiding behind his shield while urine puddles at his feet.
After Billy Butcher plays the part of the proper villain by biting Soldier Boy's nose off, the hero's team has to talk him into fighting back. Once Billy starts to pick them off one by one, however, Soldier Boy is having none of it, and runs away, eventually hiding behind his shield when Billy corners him.
He's Strong, But Not As Strong As Homelander
Soldier Boy is strong - he can lift tanks and throw a vicious punch - but even with his shield he would be no match for an angry Homelander. Soldier Boy was created when Compound V was still new and experimental, while Homelander is the result of years more research and development.
If the two ever came to a head, Soldier Boy would be nothing more than blood splatter. Soldier Boy would have to defend against the borderline-immeasurable strength, flights, and eye beams possessed by the leader of The Seven. Soldier Boy has no comparable powers to hit back with.
Amazon Prime's Soldier Boy Will Be Different From His Comics Counterpart
The Boys is a binge-worthy superhero show, and some of its success may be due to the deviations the show has taken from the comic series. They've gender-swapped characters, brought Becca back from the dead, gave The Female a backstory, and painted Homelander as even more unstable than he is in the comics.
If the recent trailer is any indication, Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy is angry, aggressive, and a potential nemesis for a spiraling Homelander. Soldier Boy's character was amusing, if spineless in the comics, but with more power and more personality, he seems like a much more formidable antagonist for those in his way in the series.