Funniest Detail About "New" Black Noir in The Boys Season 4 Everyone Missed
The actor seems to be playing himself!
Summary
- Black Noir's story differs significantly from his comic book counterpart.
- Season 4 introduced a new character to take Noir's persona.
- However, fans missed an important detail that makes The Boys even more satirical.
The Boys is full of over-the-top irony and meta-humor. We all know that the narrative is largely built on criticizing capitalism, right-wing ideologies, and traditional media representations of superheroes, which are a product of that very capitalism and right-wing ideologies.
Sometimes, however, Eric Kripke and the writing team not only mock the real world, but also their own story. For example, Black Noir II appears in the new Season 4, and his arc not only satirizes original Noir, but also lightheartedly pokes fun at the actor himself.
Black Noir's Fate in the Show Is Different than in the Comics
During the events of the live-action show, we learn that the original Black Noir was once an associate of Soldier Boy, part of his Payback team. He was a black man named Earving who dreamed of a public career and a crowd-pleasing image as the first black superhero. For his desire to be more of a media personality than a war criminal (well, besides his intention to eliminate Soldier Boy, of course), he forfeited his face and sanity.
In the comic series created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, however, Black Noir's history is strikingly different. As revealed in #65, the real identity of Noir is a Homelander clone created by Vought American as a means of controlling the powerful Supe. And while it was a pretty good plot twist, it lacked the same self-aware irony as the series.
After all, the main focus of The Boys is a mockery of neoliberalism and how the individual can become nothing more than a commodity in the hands of corporations without the will or ability to speak out.
Eric Kripke and Co Made Noir Much More Meta (And Tragic)
While in the comics Soldier Boy was just an inherited title, and one of the iterations was nothing more than a public figure used for propaganda films, in the series this aspect of the plot was borrowed specifically for Black Noir. Because now, instead of Earving, there's someone else behind the mask, and someone who's obviously not content to stay silent all the time.
And this is an incredibly ironic plot twist, which was hardly noticed by many fans. The thing is, both Black Noir I and Black Noir II are played by the same actor — Nathan Mitchell. Season 4 turned out to be the first season where he was actually allowed to speak (in the flashbacks, Noir without his mask was played by another actor, Fritzy-Klevans Destine).
So it's a great meta-irony that pokes fun at the actor's lack of lines in previous seasons, but also shows how much public interest is generated by marketing. Because let's face it, Vought is actually so disinterested in Black Noir that even letting words leak out of the wordless character during The Seven's public events doesn't generate any audience interest or even conspiracies. Unfortunately, there is a bitter irony here, because Black Noir dreamed of becoming an actor, but in reality, the actor became Black Noir.
The Boys Season 4 Release Schedule
Black Noir II might finally get closer to the real Black Noir being more than just a public figure. However, character development and maybe even his real identity (who knows, maybe he really is a clone of Homelander?) remain to be seen. Now, there are only two episodes left:
- S4E7, The Insider — July 11, 2024
- S4E8, Assassination Run — July 18, 2024
Season 5, announced for May 2024, is already in development and will be the final season of The Boys.