Where Is Soldier Boy in ‘The Boys’ Season 4?
As The Boys season 4 gets underway, viewers might need a refresher on one of season 3’s big reveals: the status of Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). Here’s what happened to Soldier Boy prior to the new season and what it means for his potential return.
Ben (a.k.a. Soldier Boy) made his debut in The Boys season 3 when Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and his vigilante team break into a high-security Russian facility in search of a rumored superweapon powerful enough to kill Homelander. According to legend, Soldier Boy was killed by a powerful Russian superweapon on a black ops mission with his superhero team and the CIA in Nicaragua during the Cold War. However, the United States allegedly didn’t want the public to know that a weapon capable of killing supes existed and, thus, created a cover story where Soldier Boy sacrificed himself to save America from a nuclear power plant meltdown.
In reality, neither story was quite true. The truth was that Soldier Boy was an abusive monster who treated his teammates, including Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), so terribly that his team, known as Payback, decided to betray him and sell him to the Russians. Vought CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) supported the decision due to his desire to replace Soldier Boy with a new powerful superhero: Homelander (Anthony Starr). Upon breaking into the Russian facility, instead of finding a superweapon, the vigilantes find Soldier Boy himself. It turns out he never died, but he was kept and experimented on by the Russians until they sealed him away in the pod.
What happened to Soldier Boy in The Boys?
In The Boys season 3, Butcher frees Soldier Boy, and the team is soon divided over what to do with the supe. They quickly learn he is very unstable, as he tends to lose control of his powers and emit blasts of energy from his chest that are powerful enough to level entire buildings. On top of his instability, Soldier Boys is almost as evil as Homelander, as he seeks to brutally murder all of his former teammates who betrayed him, and M.M. (Laz Alonso) accuses him of destroying his family.
Against the wishes of his team, Butcher decides to form an alliance with Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy agrees to kill Homelander if Butcher helps him track down his former teammates for revenge. However, the supe’s behavior grows more erratic as he begins drinking and taking drugs. He loses control of his powers multiple times, costing numerous innocent lives. The team is soon horrified to learn that Soldier Boy is actually Homelander’s biological father, as Vought utilized Soldier Boy’s DNA and an unknown egg donor to create Homelander.
When the final showdown between Homelander and Soldier Boy occurs, The Boys fear that he may decide to team up with his son. While Homelander is open to a relationship, Soldier Boy expresses disgust at the thought of being a family with Homelander and Homelander’s son, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti). Although it eliminates the fear of an alliance between the supes, it means that Soldier Boy has no qualms about also killing Ryan.
Soldier Boy’s attack on Ryan finally moves Butcher and the vigilante team to turn on him. Maeve (Dominique McElligott) sets about trying to defeat Homelander herself while the team is preoccupied with Soldier Boy and sustains several horrific injuries. Soon, Soldier Boy begins charging up to emit one of his blasts, which would likely be fatal for The Boys. However, Maeve decides to sacrifice herself, tackling him and hurling both of them through a window. Soldier Boy emits the devastating blast in midair before crashing to the ground unconscious.
Grace Mallory (Laila Robins) takes advantage of Soldier Boy’s temporary unconsciousness and reseals him within a gassed pod to prevent him from escaping again.
Will Soldier Boy be in The Boys season 4?
There’s no confirmation that Soldier Boy will be in The Boys season 4, especially since he was soundly defeated in the last season. At the same time, he managed to return for Gen V when he manifested inside one of the character’s minds because he was her imaginary friend. So, it’s possible he could have another unconventional cameo in The Boys season 4 or even return in a bigger capacity since he is still very much alive somewhere.
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