For the Amazon versions of the character, see Black Noir and Black Noir II.
| “ | Told me. To kill you. But they wouldn't let me do it, wouldn't say do it, wouldn't say. So lonely. So scared. So excited. For so long. Got the little people, got your silly suit, got my camera. Then I got my pictures but it's scary. So big so scary. Keep my pictures, keep them then we hear about Him. Send him my pictures. He knows what to do. Hheeeennnhh.
―Black Noir gleefully revealing to Butcher and Homelander that he was the one who raped Becky and then framed Homelander for it.
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Black Noir is the main antagonist of the controversial 2006 comic book series The Boys, and the posthumous overarching antagonist of its sequel/spin-off miniseries The Boys: Dear Becky.
He was a silent and emotionless member of the Seven. He served as the secondary antagonist until it was revealed that he was the true mastermind of the rape of Billy Butcher's wife, Becky, and the sexual assault on Hughie's girlfriend, Starlight, as also the true archenemy of Billy Butcher.
History[]
Black Noir was a direct clone of Homelander, created by Vought as a fail-safe to kill Homelander if he ever overstepped his bounds. However, years passed and Black Noir was unable to fulfil the one purpose he was created for as Homelander was implied to have been a generally good person. Black Noir grew increasingly psychotic as he waited to realise his purpose. He then decided to orchestrate Homelander’s descent into villainy by framing Homelander for various crimes, including rape and cannibalism.
Seeing pictures of himself committing horrific crimes which had no memory of drove Homelander insane, turning him into a violent sociopath who eventually attempts to overthrow the United States government. At the White House, Noir revealed his true purpose to Butcher and Homelander. Homelander snapped and fought him, but Noir overpowered and killed him. Though victorious, Noir received heavy damage during the battle - having been disembowelled, missing part of his skull and sustaining heavy burns all over his body. The US military intervened, attacking him with tanks and gunfire which further weakened him and, by doing so, allowing Billy to crack open his skull with a crowbar and crush his brain; finally killing him.
Appearance[]
Black Noir is a man wearing a black skin tight suit. Behind his mask he looks identical to Homelander, sharing his blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes.
Personality[]
Black Noir is silent, stoic, and utterly unemotive on the outside. However, beneath this veil of silence is a stone-cold psychopath who delights in every form of depravity imaginable, including rape, cannibalism, torture, manipulation, and murder. When revealed for what he truly was, he was gleeful - boasting about what he did to manipulate and frame Homelander, and otherwise accelerate events so that he may fulfill his primary purpose for existing.
Powers and Abilities[]
As a clone of Homelander, Black Noir likely has all of the former's powers, albeit at a higher level. Noir is one of only two Supe who would certainly survive and ultimately win an encounter with The Boys according to a simulation.
Powers[]
- Superhuman Strength: Black Noir is strong enough to kill Homelander, needing just one punch to completely destroy his jaw. He is stronger than Homelander, who could hurl a fighter jet with one hand and kill Queen Maeve with just one punch.
- Superhuman Durability: Black Noir can withstand Homelander's heat vision and multiple anti-supe bullets. Noir survived after losing multiple limbs, an eye, and being disemboweled. Butcher had to break his skull open and destroy his brain to finally kill him. During The Seven's attempt to stop 9/11, Black Noir ended up falling from a great altitude when his teammates accidentally let him fall. However, not only did he manage to survive but he was completely unharmed.
- Superhuman Stamina: Black Noir has greater stamina than Homelander. He can perform superhuman feats for extended periods of time without getting tired or becoming weak.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Black Noir has a healing factor, like Homelander who healed from a slightly damage on his face with a prop sword by Queen Maeve. Supes specifically have Compound V inside their brain, if the brain is destroyed, the healing factor will not work
- Longevity: Black Noir ages more slowly than a normal human, due to Compound V.
- Resurrection: Compound V can bring life back to a dead brain, but limits the cognitive abilities of the user. Only works if the user has a functioning brain, when Billy Butcher destroyed his brain with a crowbar; Black Noir was finally killed.
- Superhuman Speed: Black Noir can move far faster than the average human, being faster than Homelander.
- Heat Vision (Tentative): Similar to Homelander, Black Noir should be able to emit heat beams from his eyes. These beams are powerful enough to cut through most objects and can easily melt human flesh and bone causing people to burst into gore. Black Noir's son post birth immediately used the heat vision - thus implying that his father Black Noir must have the same power.
- X-Ray Vision (Tentative): Similar to Homelander, Black Noir should be able to see through any object and surface.
- Superhuman Hearing: Black Noir possesses tremendous auditory awareness, allowing him to detect sounds from miles away. He can also use this power to detect a person's heartbeat.
- Superhuman Smell: Similar to Homelander, Black Noir's sense of smell has been heightened far beyond normal human capabilities, allowing him to smell things others could not.
- Superhuman Voice (Tentative): Black Noir's vocal cords should be 20 times more powerful than the ones of a regular human. He should be able to rupture people's eardrums just by screaming.
- Flight (Tentative): As a Homelander clone, Black Noir should be capable of flying - however during the 9/11 incident his teammates had to carry him and wound up dropping him. It is possible he did this to hide his similarities to Homelander, or he believed that the bungling of the rescue attempt would benefit his goals. Becky's diary states very clearly she saw the "supe" float over her window.
Abilities[]
- Pilot Skills (Tentative): During the 9/11 incident, Queen Maeve states that Black Noir knows how to pilot an airplane. He was meant to be the pilot, however, during the mission his teammates failed to prevent him from falling from the aircraft. The presence of personnel for his flight training hints that it might be an elaborate agenda, because none of the Seven can fly a plane to show his difference.
Weaknesses[]
Psychological[]
- Lack of Training: He has no formal training in the use of his powers, or in handling dangerous situations. Along with the rest of his team, these inadequacies led to disaster when they attempted to stop a terrorist hijacking of a plane.
- Mental Illness: His unstable mind causes him to lose control and reveal his true colors. This eventually leads to his downfall at the hands of Butcher and the military after being greatly weakened by Homelander.
- Obsession: Black Noir has an uncontrollable desire of fulfilling his purpose of killing Homelander. This causes him to become self-destructive and go to extreme lengths to create a situation where he can fight against him.
Biological[]
- Blunt Force/Limited Durability: Despite being more powerful than Homelander, Black Noir is not immortal. After his fight against Homelander at the White House, Black Noir was extremely weakened. This ended up causing his death, when the military and Billy finished him off by firing multiple anti-supe bullets at his body and then destroyed his brain with a crowbar.
- Absence of fulcrum (Tentative): During the "I Tell You No Lie, G.I." storyline, the events of 9/11 seem to suggest that Homelander is unable to use his full strength in flight, requiring a solid surface to take full advantage of his power. As a clone, it is very likely that Black Noir also shares this weakness.
Relationship[]
Family[]
Allies[]
Enemies[]
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Trivia[]
- He is a villainous homage and parody of Batman. He may also be a parody of Bizarro, due to being a clone of Homelander who's even darker than he is and has limited speech patterns.
- Despite much as Black Noir's role as one of the main antagonists of the comic series, he was completely silent until the end of the series, when he revealed himself as Homelander's clone and confesses to orchestrating the events which led to Homelander's downfall and eventual death.
Gallery[]
