Is Black Noir 2 dead? The Boys Season 5 behavior sparks clone theory

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Black Noir is behaving strangely in Season 5 of The Boys. It might just be a dedication to his role, but a new fan theory suggests Homelander is somehow involved.

Just as a reminder, Black Noir was originally part of the team Payback. He later joined the Seven, but a mission with Soldier Boy went terribly wrong, leaving him severely injured, disfigured, and with limited ability to speak.

During the third season, it’s discovered that Black Noir knew Soldier Boy was actually Homelander’s father, but kept it secret. Homelander eventually finds out and brutally kills Black Noir.

After the original Black Noir is defeated, Vought attempts to replace him with a new supe in Season 4 of The Boys. However, this new Black Noir has some significant flaws – he frequently falls asleep and talks much more than the previous version. Be aware, this contains spoilers!

Is Black Noir 2 dead in The Boys Season 5? 

Currently, it doesn’t appear that Black Noir 2 is actually dead on The Boys. However, his behavior in the first episode of Season 5 is reminiscent of the original Black Noir, leading to speculation that the show is mirroring the comics. The theory is that Black Noir has been replaced – once again – by a clone of Homelander.

In Season 5, Episode 1, Black Noir 2 battles Starlight before she reveals the airplane footage. Later, he’s shown quietly helping with Deep’s podcast, which resembles content from the “manosphere,” by operating the soundboard.

The situation escalates when Homelander summons Deep and himself to his office, scolding them for failing to capture Starlight. Homelander focuses his anger on Deep, who then attempts to seek help from Black Noir, but Black Noir remains silent.

Man, I was so annoyed when Noir didn’t have my back as we were leaving. I kept waiting for him to say something, anything, and he just stayed quiet. Finally, I just snapped and told him, “Dude, you’re not the Noir I know, are you? You can talk when you want to… I understand you have your ways of doing things, but this is too much.” It was seriously frustrating.

Interestingly, Noir remains silent throughout, a noticeable change from the character who took over in Season 4. One fan on Reddit wondered about the reason for this shift in behavior.

In the first episode of The Boys Season 5, the new Black Noir remains silent and behaves like the original, and The Deep dismisses it as method acting. The writers then presented two potential explanations for this behavior.

There are two possibilities: either the original Black Noir somehow lived and took the place of the current one (though that seems unlikely), or, as happened in the comics, the current Black Noir is actually a clone of Homelander.

According to a Reddit user, Vought (or its subsidiary, Sage) might have anticipated Homelander’s increasing instability. Their solution could have been to eliminate the original Black Noir and replace him with a Homelander clone, disguised to look like Black Noir, as a backup plan.

They could use this clone to kill Homelander whenever necessary, much like a similar plot point sometimes appears in the comic books.

The trailer for Season 5 of The Boys features Homelander inside the Oval Office. This echoes a similar scene from the comics, and is also reflected in one of the show’s posters which depicts him in front of the White House.

Fans are wondering if Homelander will have the same fate as in the comics: a battle with Black Noir, Butcher, and ultimately, Butcher unleashing a virus intended to eliminate all superheroes.

Homelander faces a grim choice: either a violent death, or losing his powers and becoming irrelevant. A-Train essentially tells him that without those powers, he’s nothing, and that outcome seems like a fate worse than death for Homelander.

Right now, this is just a guess, but it’s noteworthy that Prime Video’s marketing team recently had a funny “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit with the character Homelander, who claimed Black Noir is his favorite member of The Seven.

A fan asked who the speaker’s favorite member of the Seven is, excluding themselves. They were curious to know, as it must be great working with dedicated teammates like the Deep and Black Noir, as well as the newer members, Firecracker and Sister Sage.

“You wouldn’t ask a parent to choose a favorite child, right?” Homelander responded, “But if I had to, it’d be Black Noir.” It’s curious that he’d choose someone who’s essentially a masked copy of himself, especially if the clone theory is correct. Still, it’s likely Vought just wants to present a favorable image.

What happens to Black Noir in the comics?

The comic book series ‘The Boys’ reveals that Black Noir isn’t simply a member of the Seven; he’s actually a clone of Homelander. Vought secretly created him as a backup plan, just in case Homelander ever became uncontrollable.

But the situation quickly worsens when it’s revealed that Black Noir was actually behind many of the terrible acts Homelander thought he’d done. Black Noir intentionally drove Homelander toward a breaking point, hoping to create an excuse to kill him and take his place.

After the truth is revealed, a violent confrontation erupts between the two at the White House. Black Noir defeats Homelander, but the win is fleeting. Black Noir, left severely injured, is then fatally shot by soldiers.

Even though some fans believe Black Noir’s storyline in Season 5 will follow the comics, others disagree. One fan pointed out that the comic book version of Black Noir being a clone was specifically to avoid establishing Homelander as a violent killer and to protect Butcher’s wife from assault.

Homelander’s descent into madness stemmed from disturbing visions of himself committing atrocities he had no memory of. While he remained fundamentally a villain, these visions seemed to lessen his control. The show makes it clear he’s directly responsible for everything bad that happens, making the idea that a clone is to blame pointless.

Someone else pointed out that the show won’t use the cloning storyline from the comics for the character Noir, leaving fans to wonder who the character actually is.

The first two episodes of The Boys Season 5 are now available on Prime Video, and the third episode will be released on April 15th. In the meantime, you can learn more about the new characters, the Teenage Kix, and stay updated on the upcoming shows Vought Rising and Season 3 of Gen V.

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2026-04-09 14:50