Shape Shifter is The Boys’ gnarliest supe yet

The Boys Season 4 Episode 7 unveils a long-rumored new character: Shape Shifter, a supe with a nasty streak and especially grim powers.

And you thought it couldn’t get worse than Webweaver, a Spider-Man parody who – let’s call a spade a spade – ejaculates webbing from a hole above his butt, when he’s not taking drugs.

The Boys clearly takes inspiration from some of pop culture’s most beloved superheroes, whether it’s Homelander (Superman), Queen Maeve (Wonder Woman), or The Deep (Aquaman). But there’s always a catch – for the most part, they’re more Hyde than Jekyll behind the scenes.

Shape Shifter isn’t the first appearance-altering supe to show up in The Boys (more on that shortly), but they’re way more gruesome than anyone we’ve seen.

Who is Shape Shifter?

We don’t have much information about Shape Shifter right now; we don’t know their name, where they came from, their original form, or their gender.

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Season 4 Episode 7 follows Billy Butcher, Hughie, and Starlight as they sneak into the home of the person hired to kill Robert Singer.

After digging out a dossier of Secret Service files with details of Singer’s movements on January 6, they find a woman trapped in a closet. She’s cut, bruised, and burned, and she tells them she’s been locked inside for days.

As Starlight helps her up, she pulls out a knife and slashes Hughie’s hand before making a run for it. Along the way, she assumes the identity of the building’s cleaner. We see her again by the end of the episode… but no spoilers right now.

So far, we’ve only seen one other similar supe: Doppelganger, who mainly used his powers to sleep with people… until Homelander snapped his neck after performing oral sex on him(self).

Powers and abilities

Shape Shifter can assume the form of anyone they touch. Once they decide to transform into another person, they need to shed their current appearance.

That means they need to rip their skin and flesh off, piece by piece, until they’re born anew.

This is quite different from Doppelganger, who didn’t need to touch anyone – he could simply look at someone or even just remember them, and he could perfectly replicate their appearance and behavior.

Is Shape Shifter in The Boys comics?

Shape Shifter appears to be a brand-new character created for The Boys TV show.

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That’s not to say there aren’t similar characters in the comic. For example, there’s Malchemical, a villain capable of altering his form, material, and density however he pleases, whether he’s mimicking someone else or inanimate objects.

There’s also the fact that Shape Shifter isn’t necessarily their superhero title – it’s just all we can call them right now, given we don’t know their name or anything else about them. There’s likely others with similar powers – as Butcher says, “supe shapeshifters, hate those c**ts.”

What have they done in Season 4?

Shape Shifter was hired by Sister Sage to kill President Singer. However, there may be an even darker plan afoot.

She got away from Butcher and co., but Episode 7 ends with a shocking twist: the Shape Shifter transforms into Annie and has sex with Hughie, with the real Starlight locked away somewhere.

In The Boys Season 4 finale, this fake Starlight is put to task to try and kill President-Elect, Robert Singer. She fails, however, when Hughie notices she is sweating. Remembering his Annie is always too cold, he puts two and two together and realizes he’s been duped.

A fight ensues as Shape Shifter takes on Mother’s Milk and Kimiko, but the real Annie arrives at just the right time to put an end to the copycat once and for all. With that issue sorted, Annie scolds Hughie for agreeing to marry the fake version of her, but, all’s well that ends well.

Now the latest season of The Boys is over, you could read our rundown of the most shocking moments in The Boys, see what’s going on with Billy Butcher, or look ahead to The Boys Season 5. Also make sure you keep up with our guide to the TV shows streaming this month.