The Boys creator reveals why infamous comic book twist got cut from the show

The Boys creator Eric Kripke revealed why he decided to cut an infamous plot twist featured in the source comic book.

Before becoming the smash hit Prime Video series fans know today, The Boys began as a comic book series by Garth Ennis.

Like many adaptations, Kripke tried to stick to the source material when it came to big things like Homelander and other Supes, but some characters, subplots, and pacing had to be changed in order to fit into the TV landscape.

One of those changes had to do with the comics’ most infamous plot twist surrounding Black Noir, but Kripke candidly told Variety that he was “never interested at all” in adapting that story for television.

Warning: spoilers for The Boys comics and Season 4 below!

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In the comics, Black Noir is a clone of Homelander and acts as the main antagonist of the series. It’s revealed he was the true mastermind behind the most horrific events showcased in the story.

This is one of the biggest twists in the comics, as readers were led to believe Homelander was the most dangerous threat against The Boys, much like in the show.

However, Kripke wanted to go in another direction, telling the outlet, “It’s a hell of a twist. But it’s like, well wait, the villain I’ve been following isn’t really the villain. And mileage varies, and I’m sure fans are mad I’m not going that way, but that felt not as satisfying to me. I’m like, if I’m going to follow this villain, I want this guy to be the villain. So I was never really into the clone idea.”

The showrunner went on to explain that the idea of cloning would also be “too silly and magical” for the series, adding, “We try to say that superheroes are the only slippery banana, and that everything else we try to make as grounded as possible.”

While the Black Noir viewers can see in Season 4 may not be a Homelander clone, he isn’t the same character featured in earlier seasons, either. It’s become very obvious another person put on the mask after Homelander killed him in one of Season 3’s most shocking moments.

For more from the show, dive into all The Boys theories. You can also find out whether Homelander can die, what Sister Sage did to her brain, and if Mother’s Milk was recast.