Amazon's original series The Boys takes the typical superhero narrative and turns it on its head. Adapted from the comic of the same name created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, this tale isn't pretty or heroic. These superheroes are corrupted by their sense of fame and glory, a far cry from the Captain America types we know and love.
If there's one thing this show tells us, it's that this is proof you should never meet your heroes. The superheroes in The Boys each have their own powers that they don't always use for the general good. Here are a few of the most powerful characters on the show, ranked from least to most powerful.
Updated on January 1st, 2021 by Scoot Allan: Now that fans have finished binging the second season of The Boys following the series' weekly release schedule, discussions have continued regarding some of the new Supes that were introduced in Amazon Prime Video's hit adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic series of the same name. New members of the Seven were introduced who challenged some of the other Supes for the top spot as the most powerful and most popular, while other Supes operated in secrecy with their destructive powers to tease a greater threat in the upcoming third season.
15 Mesmer (Haley Joel Osment)
Reading minds is a powerful ability, but it's not necessarily good in hand-to-hand combat. However, if you're trying to manipulate someone, he's your guy. Reading minds through surface contact is incredibly useful when you're trying to predict someone's next move.
But that's only if you have enough time to see the information you need before they take you down. As we've seen, Mesmer is clearly not destructible, especially when facing off against someone like Homelander.
14 Popclaw (Brittany Allen)
We didn't see much of Popclaw before her untimely demise, but when we did, she was pretty deadly. Popclaw has extremely sharp, retractable cat-like claws that could easily rip through flesh, as well as extreme super strength.
She's basically like a combination of Wolverine and Catwoman, with an added drug addiction and a bad reputation. It takes a lot to crush a guy's head between your thighs until it explodes. However, Popclaw's love for A-Train is what ultimately gets her killed, and can be considered her biggest weakness.
13 The Deep (Chace Crawford)
Basically the alter-Aquaman, The Deep has underwater based powers that allow him to communicate with sea life and breathe underwater. He also seems to have increased strength and durability like the other superheroes in this show.
While manipulating water is awesome, it's not really the most practical skill to have when it comes to fighting villains on land. As a result, The Deep tends to get left out of the big missions because he just isn't that useful. The Deep's better suited to being a pretty face on land than he is at being a major threat.
12 Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore)
Lamplighter was teased in the first season of The Boys as a former member of the Seven who had a dark history with Butcher's former team of Supe hunters, though he debuted in full during the second season, played by Shawn Ashmore.
After Lamplighter was forced to torch a house filled with children using his ability to manipulate fire, he abandoned the costumed life and began working for Voght at the Sage Grove Center where they tested the effects of Compound V. While his work with Voght left him traumatized, he was still an incredibly powerful Supe.
11 Translucent (Alex Hassell)
We didn't really get to see a lot of the true extent of Translucent's powers before his death. But turning invisible is incredibly helpful, especially when you need a good sneak attack. However, we saw how much effort it really takes to kill this guy because he has a special carbon skin that is virtually impenetrable.
The only way that the Boys can even kill him is by inserting an explosive device inside his rear end, which Hughie was forced to detonate after Translucent was able to escape his specially designed cell.
10 A-Train (Jessie T. Usher)
Having super speed and intense stamina can be extremely beneficial. It's also deadly, as we've seen what happens when A-Train collides with someone at full speed. All he really needs to do to win in a close up fight is to just back up a bit and slam into someone.
However, he's beginning to show his weaknesses as he realizes he may not be the world's greatest speedster anymore. We also know he's not indestructible since Kimiko shatters his leg, and his ongoing heart difficulties after his abuse of Compound V has also lowered his speed.
9 Kenji Miyashiro (Abraham Lim)
The concept of a Supe Terrorist was introduced during the first season and expanded in a few ways during the second season, which also featured the introduction of Kimiko's brother Kenji Miyashiro, who had been experimented on by the Shining Light Liberation Army terrorist organization.
Kenji's exposure to Compound V gave him telekinesis, though his control of the powerful ability was focused through his hands, which led to his ultimate defeat when his wrists were broken and his neck was snapped by Stormfront.
8 Naqib (Samer Salem)
Homelander attempted to fortify society's need for the Seven in the military by taking it upon himself to release Compound V to a terrorist organization that was able to create the first Supe terrorist known as Naqib.
The first season saw Naqib take out an entire military base with his explosive detonation ability that released huge amounts of energy, which he would begin to accompany with the catchphrase of "Burn in Truth!" in the second season before he was ultimately beheaded by Black Noir.
7 Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell)
While fans didn't learn much about Black Noir in the first season beyond the fact that he had earned the respect of Homelander, he got his chance to shine in the second season when he set his sights on Billy Butcher and the rest of the Boys.
Black Noir is not only a skilled martial artist, but he is also a powerhouse with enhanced strength and durability and mediocre stealth skills, despite his own never-ending silence. Black Noir was able to survive a number of explosions, but he was able to be taken down due to a nut allergy.
6 Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott)
While she looks like Wonder Woman and has powers like her, Queen Maeve is a far cry from DC's Amazonian princess. At some point, she did have a strong sense of morality, but it's been slowly dissolving the more jaded she becomes by the Vought industry.
It's obvious she doesn't always agree with the decisions she has to make as one of the Seven. She is incredibly powerful, possessing super-strength, intense stamina, invulnerability, and impressive combat skills. Maeve is pretty hard to take down in combat, and pretty much a threat to just about anyone.
5 Starlight (Erin Moriarty)
Arguably one of the only genuinely good people on the show, Starlight has impressive light-based powers. She can manipulate light energy, which can be incredibly dangerous to just about anyone. Channeling light allows her to have super strength, and it also means she can basically turn herself into a giant laser and blind (or kill) people.
Another major bonus is that she can channel light energy for protection, helping keep herself and her allies safe from immediate harm. The only downfall she really has is that she can be naïve at times, which allows people to manipulate or take advantage of her. However, it seems as though she's coming into her own and starting to grow a major backbone, one that can only grow stronger with her powers.
4 Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara)
The female, whose name we later learn is Kimiko, is one of the most dangerous and powerful because she was trained as a terrorist fighter. That doesn't leave room for morals, and we've seen her take out an entire room of people bigger than her.
She was experimented on with Compound V, leaving her mute but with extreme power and strength. On top of that, she can heal herself so she's basically indestructible. Kimiko is the Boys' answer to their superhero problem. She is the ultimate killing machine, born and bred to rip apart souls and bodies. Everywhere she goes, she seems to leave a trail of blood behind.
3 Stormfront (Aya Cash)
The character of Stormfront was reimagined for the live-action series as a new female member of the Seven with incredible lightning-based abilities that she could use as offensive blasts, electrically-charged telekinesis, and even flight.
However, she is also almost as strong and indestructible as Homelander, though one of her most surprising abilities is the fact that her healing factor has stunted her aging and kept her alive for decades, making her one of the oldest and most powerful members of the Seven.
2 Homelander (Antony Starr)
Arrogant and soaking in a supremacy complex, Homelander is basically the show's take on a twisted Captain America or Superman. He comes with a lot of dangerous powers – X-ray vision, super strength, invulnerability, and most importantly, heat rays that come out of his eyes and burn anything in front of him to a crisp.
On top of all of that, he can fly and tell when people are scared or nervous due to his enhanced perceptions. There isn't much that can stop him when it comes to a physical confrontation, making him the most dangerous out of the Seven.
1 Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit)
The character of Victor Neuman was also reimagined for the live-action series as Victoria Neuman (played by Claudia Doumit) a congresswoman who publicly campaigned against Voght and the Seven while helping launch a congressional hearing about Compound V.
However, the hearing was interrupted by the bloody explosions of a number of important heads in the room that led to the revelation that Neuman was the mysterious Supe that had been killing off witnesses with her powerful ability whose limits have yet to be revealed in the series.