The following contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Season 3 of The Boys, now available on Amazon Prime Video.

One of the biggest mysteries in The Boys revolved around who was under Black Noir's mask. Fans wondered if it was a robot, someone as sadistic as Homeland or a person misguided by the ideals of the Seven. Of course, comic enthusiasts were patiently biding time, believing the series would follow the twist from the comics that involved Homelander's DNA.

However, while that bombshell would have certainly been enticing, the third episode of Season 3, "Barbary Coast," quashed it. Black Noir was given a totally new identity that wasn't in the source material.

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The Boys Black Noir Homelander Twist

In the comics, Black Noir was a clone of Homelander, shaped by the U.S. government as a contingency if Homelander ever betrayed them. He was made to be more powerful than Homelander, but Black Noir went insane waiting, framing Homelander for a bunch of atrocities. The finale eventually had Billy Butcher and the military take Black Noir down.

The show poured cold water on that premise when Billy confronted Grace Mallory, his CIA ally, his CIA ally, for intel on a Russian weapon that could kill Soldier Boy, and by extension, Homelander. Grace confessed to Billy and his team that during the Reagan era, she was in Nicaragua under Project: Charlie, with flashbacks showing her running drugs to make money for the CIA, so they could buy more weapons.

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The party was crashed by Payback, Vought's superhero team at the time, with a younger Stan Edgar as chaperone. Mallory's Central American coalition loved seeing these celebrities, but Mallory warned Stan that his team was undisciplined and that superheroes couldn't be brought in without proper training. The Black Noir reveal came when she spied in on Stan and the unmasked soldier revealed to be a Black man. Black Noir was complaining about how he didn't want to wear the mask, as he wanted to show America a Black man was fighting for their freedom. Stan made it clear, however, that the optics would look awful due to racism back home. Oddly enough, Black Noir mentioned his nut allergy, which is what Maeve used to incapacitate him in Season 2 via Almond Joys, confirming this is indeed the Black Noir in the present.

Black Noir without his mask in The Boys Season 3, Episode 3, "Barbary Coast." (DO NOT USE UNTIL AFTER JUNE 4)

Sadly, Swatto kept flying high, which drew enemy attention, causing a massive firefight that led to the camp being bombed and the egotistical Soldier Boy kidnapped. As Mallory surveyed the damage, she saw Black Noir reaching for his mask, with half his face scarred and an eye lost. His throat was also gurgling with blood, which explains why he doesn't speak or want to be seen.

Again, this ties into when Maeve shoved the nutty snacks down his throat and how scarred the bottom half of his face was. It wasn't because he was a failed clone, but a flayed soldier who had careless teammates and an ill-prepared squadron for the extensive rigors of war.

The Boys Season 3 is available on Prime Video, with new episodes releasing Fridays.