The Countdown to the Finale
As The Boys barrels toward its ultimate conclusion with only three episodes remaining, fans are heavily debating how the Prime Video juggernaut will bow out. Television history is littered with massive shows—like Game of Thrones—that fumbled their final acts. Fortunately, as an adaptation, The Boys has a roadmap, but showrunner Eric Kripke has never been afraid to take massive detours from Garth Ennis's original comic books.
While the core premise of Homelander violently clawing his way to the presidency while Billy Butcher desperately tries to stop him remains intact, the exact mechanics of the finale have drastically changed. Specifically, the comic book's most infamous twist is now officially off the table.
The Infamous Black Noir Comic Twist
If you haven't read the original comics, the ending relies on a massive rug-pull regarding Black Noir. In the source material, Noir is eventually revealed to be a secret clone of Homelander. Vought created him as a walking, breathing contingency plan to kill Homelander if the patriotic Supe ever went rogue.
The twist gets darker: the wait to execute his mission drove Noir completely insane. To force Vought's hand, Noir disguised himself as Homelander and committed horrifying atrocities—including the assault on Becca Butcher—framing Homelander to push him over the edge. In the comics, Noir brutally kills Homelander, and Butcher then finishes off the heavily wounded Noir.
Season 5 Episode 5 Kills the Clone Theory
 |
| credit: Prime Video |
Heading into Season 5, fans were highly suspicious of the "new" Black Noir. After Homelander murdered the original Noir in Season 4, Vought hired an actor to take up the mantle. Early in Season 5, Noir II went completely silent and kept sneaking off, leading comic readers to believe the show was secretly setting up the clone twist after all.
However, Season 5, Episode 5 completely shut this down. The episode hilariously revealed that Noir II’s bizarre behavior wasn't the result of him being a homicidal Homelander clone. Instead, he was simply "method acting" and sneaking off to perform in a local theater production. With this revelation, the comic book ending is officially impossible to adapt.
Why Changing the Ending is the Right Move
While the Black Noir clone twist was a massive shock value moment in the comics, attempting to cram it into the show now would be a narrative disaster.
First, the original Black Noir is already dead. Pulling a clone twist with a replacement actor would feel unearned and confusing. But more importantly, taking this route would destroy Homelander's character arc. Antony Starr’s Homelander has cemented himself as one of modern television's greatest, most terrifying villains. If the show suddenly revealed that he didn't actually commit his most heinous crimes and was just being framed, it would completely strip him of his villainous agency.
The entire emotional backbone of The Boys is the deeply personal, blood-soaked rivalry between Butcher and Homelander. Denying audiences a final, definitive showdown between these two characters over a last-minute clone twist would be incredibly unsatisfying. By discarding the comic book ending, The Boys is ensuring that Homelander remains fully responsible for his own terrifying legacy right up to the bitter end.