The Boys Black Noir: Amazon’s Showrunner On His Backstory
Will The Boys' Black Noir be getting a backstory? EP Eric Kripke fills us in on the mysterious figure.
This article is more than 2 years old
The Boys‘ Black Noir has become one of the most mysterious and intriguing characters in the Amazon Prime Video series. His penchant for extreme violence and his refusal to speak have made fans go crazy for any info they can get about him. Is it possible that we could eventually get an origin story for this masked maniac?
If executive producer Eric Kripke has his way, The Boys‘ Black Noir will always remain an unknowable entity. “Every so often, it comes up like, ‘We should really learn who he is.’ And I’m like, ‘But should we know?'” said Kripke. “I think Noir definitely remains as mysterious as always.” The silent assassin kicked off season two with an extremely bloody mission and a moment of bizarre sympathy towards a young child.
There are a few other moments throughout the second season that add little touches of character to this strange character, but it sounds like The Boys‘ Black Noir will just remain an enigma for the entire run of the show. Kripke says that he likes having these odd little bits with the character and then turning him right back into a “completely still, horrifying Terminator of a character.”
Even if we don’t get an origin for The Boys‘ Black Noir, there is a definitive backstory for the character in the original comic book series created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. In the comic book, Black Noir was a clone of Homelander, the most powerful superhero on the planet. He was created as a failsafe plan in case Homelander went rogue and needed to be killed.
There is no evidence that The Boys‘ Black Noir will adapt this same origin or not. It sounds like Kripke is not interested in doing the comic book backstory of the character. However, that could all depend on how long the show will run. If it goes on for long enough and Black Noir is still a significant player in the ensemble, will fans demand an explanation for his character?
Origin stories are hit and miss, and The Boys‘ Black Noir has been incredibly enjoyable so far while staying very mysterious. His little moments in the series have all been great highlights, and if he continues to work as well as he has, there does not seem to be a good enough reason to spoil what is already working.
The Boys is off to a really strong second season and while we will be seeing a lot more of Black Noir, Kripke says that “…we don’t entirely learn a lot more about Noir this season.” If the series can continue to use the character in fun and exciting ways without spilling his entire life story, that sounds like the way to go.
It is pretty obvious that Amazon is very happy with The Boys as a third season has already been ordered. Let’s hope that Black Noir gets to stick around for the next season as well, but if we don’t end up learning a whole bunch about him, that’s okay. Just keep having him be an intriguing and amusing little exclamation point that pops up throughout the show.
