Amazon Prime’s hit superhero television series The Boys has taken the wholesome view of crime-fighting, cape-wearing super-humans and turned it into one of the craziest and most graphic series available to stream. The series was developed by Eric Kripke and based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darrick Robertson. The series follows a team of vigilantes as they fight against super-powered, highly publicized individuals who abuse their power on a broad scale. The show, now in its third season, has garnered favorable critiques and even several Emmy Awards nominations.
As the seasons continue, the show keeps getting larger than life. With increasing tension-filled and graphic episodes, audiences have learned that you must have a strong conscience and probably stomach just to watch the show. But that doesn't mean the show has no heart. The series has a cast of incredible characters that have charmed fans everywhere — a cast that now includes actor Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy.
Who Is Jensen Ackles?
Ackles is an American actor, producer, and director, best known for his time on Supernatural as Dean Winchester. The show ran from 2005 to 2020, making it the longest-running American live-action fantasy TV series to date. He also has lent his talents to shows like NBC’s Days of Our Lives, WB/CW’s Smallville, and even Dawson's Creek. Ackles has quite the resume.
He also has lent his voice to several animated caped-crusaders like Jason Todd in Batman: Under the Red Hood and Batman in Batman: The Long Halloween. The actor, most recently, has worked in the second season of ABC’s drama Big Sky and has been cast as a series regular in the third season.
Who Is Soldier Boy?
Soldier Boy was introduced in the third season of The Boys and is quickly becoming one of the best parts of the show. Although first mentioned in the second season as a test subject for Compound V in WWII, fans first glimpse Soldier Boy in a flashback in season 3. It is believed that he was since killed by a Russian superweapon. However, the vigilante crew headed by Karl Urban’s William Butcher discovers that he is, in fact, alive. He was tortured for years and experimented on, which gave him the ability to launch radioactive energy blasts and negate other superhuman powers.
The team, which also includes Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), MM (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capone), and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), decide to team up with Soldier Boy and get him to help them take down Homelander (Antony Starr). Homelander is the leader of the superhero group The Seven and the poster boy for Vought, the company controlling all the superhumans and super-powered entities. He is also a raging psychopath.
However, although Soldier Boy is thought to be the solution, the old supe is not acclimating to the modern world, so to speak. Ackles commented on the supe’s views on the modern world, saying:
"He has different shortcomings… [and many] faults.” His views don’t align with Homelanders, but they don’t’ go against them either, “which only makes the dynamics between the other characters that much more interesting.”
What The Boys Fans Are Saying
Since Ackles appeared as America’s first super-human, the response has primarily been in Ackles' favor. This may have to do with the fact that the supe’s original team sold him to the Russians and abandoned him, so his vengeful mission seems, at least to most, justified. One fan tweeted:
Do they want us to hate this guy? Pain and tears in the eyes, broken and betrayed?? Lied to by the people he loved? He might have been a total [jerk] 40 years ago but all i see now is someone who [is] justified to be pissed. Jensen is brilliant as always.”
Fans are certainly on their way to understanding the character, even though he does garner several unfavorable opinions, which are shown throughout the last couple of episodes of the newest season.
Many fans of Ackles’ days on Supernatural have also begun showing their support. One fan tweeted:
“Jensen Ackles getting the recognition he deserves.”
Another wrote:
“[the Supernatural fandom] always knew @JensenAckles was something special. Now the rest of the world gets to fall in love with him.”
The outpouring of love the fans have shown Ackles is something to see. The actor has even had support from Supernatural alum Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played the actor's father in the show. The Walking Dead actor tried to pry details from the newly minted super-actor. Ackles stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that Morgan would text him, “ ‘Give me spoilers.’ And I was like, ‘No, stop it.’”
Needless to say, the overall reaction to Jensen Ackles as the dishonorable Soldier Boy has been one of praise and love. Even if the character itself is not the best of them, the actor’s portrayal certainly has been. One fan even tweeted:
“The way @JensenAckles can convey a million emotions without saying a single word. The depth and nuance of his facial expressions and body movements is the finest caliber of acting.”
Fans only hope Ackles keeps up the good work throughout the rest of the third season on The Boys, which is available to stream on Amazon Prime.