15 Things Only Comic Book Fans Know About Black Noir

Summary

• Black Noir is a Homelander clone, meant to take out the powerful Supe if he ever goes rogue.
• Black Noir’s original purpose was to kill Homelander, but he ends up framing him for crimes.
• In the comics, Black Noir was the one who assaulted Becca, leading to a feud between The Boys and The Seven.

The following includes mentions of sexual assault and images depicting violence.

The Boys has been one of Amazon’s most successful shows, and part of this success is because of their willingness to stray from the source material. While this is usually a bad thing, with the sheer amount of absurd violence and other things in The Boys comic, a TV adaptation simply had to change a few things. One of the biggest changes that the TV Show has made is with the character Black Noir, who has a ton of differences between the show and comic.

Black Noir first appears in The Boys #1 – The Name Of The Game, Part 1 and is last seen in The Boys #65 – Over The Hill With The Swords Of a Thousand Men, Part 6. Black Noir is much more evil on the pages than he’s been on the screen so far. He engages in debauchery and vile acts at a rate that even Homelander can’t match.

Black Noir Is A Homelander Clone

Black Noir Only Existed To Kill Homelander

While his face hasn’t been seen in the series yet, Black Noir is revealed to be a clone of Homelander in the comics. This is confirmed in The Boys #65 when he takes off his mask for the first time.

There is a good reason why the higher-ups at Vought International decided to make a Homelander clone. The company’s star Supe is too powerful. They were afraid he might grow frustrated by their policies and go rogue someday. If that ever happened, they’d have someone that’s equally strong, if not stronger, to deal with him.

Black Noir Is The Strongest Member Of The Seven

Black Noir Easily Overpowered Homelander

On-screen, no one matches Homelander when it comes to powers and useful abilities. He generally doesn’t have much work to do because everyone fears him.

In the comics, Black Noir is more powerful than him. This is despite the fact that his only powers are Superhuman Strength (described as enough to stop a dozen Mack trucks), Superhuman Durability, and Superhuman Speed. In the series, he also has additional powers like Superhuman Hearing. According to a simulation shown in the comics, Black Noir is the only member of The Seven who can defeat all of The Boys at once.

Black Noir Kills Homelander

Black Noir FInally Fulfilled His Purpose

Unfortunately for Black Noir, Homelander enjoys being a puppet of Vought International, so he never goes rogue in the comics. This makes Black Noir frustrated as he has been looking for the day when he’ll fulfill his purpose of killing the Supe. He thus begins framing Homelander for crimes such as cannibalism and robbery.

Black Noir eventually reveals the real reason why he was created. This angers Homelander who tries to kill him. Instead, it is Black Noir who ends up killing him. Black Noir is then attacked by the US military and The Boys, who kill him too.

Black Noir Only Has A Nut Allergy In The Show

Black Noir Had No Weakness In The Comics

In Season 2, it is revealed that Black Noir’s Kryptonite is nuts. When Queen Maeve force-feeds him a couple of nuts, he goes into anaphylactic shock. That’s new to comic fans as it never happens on the page.

The inspiration for the storyline comes from Nathan Mitchell, the actor who portrays the character. Mitchell is allergic to nuts in real life and the writers felt it would be a good idea to make that part of Black Noir’s storyline too. It is, of course, highly plausible that Vought created him with the allergy so that they can kill him in case he goes rogue too.

Black Noir is Also Guilty of The Incident With Starlight

Black Noir Was Part Of Starlight’s Worst Moment

Black Noir is all brawn in the series and he rarely even interacts with other characters. In the comics, he’s different. For example, he is part of the trio that sexually assaults Starlight when she becomes a member of The Seven along with Homelander and A-Train.

In the series, it is The Deep alone who assaults Starlight. He is eventually forced to make a public apology and is later booted from the group. The Deep is also much nicer in the comics.

The Feud Between The Seven And The Boys Traces Back To Black Noir

Black Noir Orchestrated Everything In The Comics

Fans of the Amazon series hate Homelander for sexually assaulting Billy Butcher’s wife Becky. The incident results in her having a son who Homelander finds out about and insists on being there for.

Comic fans know a very different story. In an effort to make Vought sanction a hit on Homelander, Black Noir assaults Becky while disguised as Homelander. This turns Billy into a vengeful person. Together with the rest of The Boys, he vows to take down Vought International and everything it stands for.

Black Noir Is Butcher’s True Rival In The Comics

Homelander Never Did Anything To Butcher

In the comics, during a meeting between Homelander and Butcher, Homelander points out that he can see, on a chemical level, just how much Butcher hates him. Homelander questions why Butcher hates him, because, from Homelander’s point of view, he’s never even met Butcher. It turns out that Homelander isn’t wrong for feeling this way. While Butcher spends the majority of the comic hating Homelander and trying everything he can to destroy him, it’s eventually revealed that since Black Noir is the one who assaulted Becky, Butcher never really had a reason to hate Homelander.

Black Noir Is Responsible For Homelander Becoming A Villain

Homelander Didn’t Start Out Evil In The Comics

As described above, Black Noir’s original purpose was to kill Homelander if he ever went rogue. But the Homelander of the comics seemed to be a genuinely good guy. While the TV show version of Homelander has always been deeply evil, the comic book version seemed like a really good person at first. Frustrated at his inability to fulfill his purpose and kill Homelander, Black Noir begins framing him for crimes, such as raping Becky or killing children. When Homelander was presented with pictures and videos of these crimes, he was driven insane.

Black Noir Is The Father Of Ryan, Not Homelander

Black Noir Was The One To Assault Becky

In the TV show, one of the biggest reveals was the existence of Ryan, the son of Becca and Homelander. The first natural-born Supe, but this wasn’t the case in the comics. Instead of Homelander being the one to assault Becca, it was Black Noir, Ryan was also killed by Butcher seconds after bursting from his mother’s womb.

This is a major change from the comics. In the comics, Ryan was technically the son of Black Noir, but this plot point never really got to develop as it has in the show. While this change doesn’t really amount to much, it is an interesting distinction from the show.

Black Noir’s True Level Of Ruthlessness

Black Noir Was WAY More Evil Than Homelander

There is no heinous act that the comic book version of Black Noir won’t do. His attitude towards children isn’t admirable either. There have been moments when a bored Black Noir has been seen cannibalizing children just for fun.

This is in contrast to the series’ version of Black Noir who spares the son of a terrorist who has been powered up by Compound V. Black Noir is sent on a mission to take out the terrorist at his base. There, he rips everyone else apart but spares the little boy.

Black Noir Only Speaks At The End

Black Noir Only Revealed Himself At The Very End of His Life

Like in the Amazon series, Black Noir doesn’t say a word during most of his appearances in the comics. He only makes strange sounds. This personality makes him seem nicer than he actually is.

In the comics, Black Noir only speaks at the very end before he kills Homelander and gets himself killed too. He makes a confession stating that all the heinous acts that people thought were committed by Homelander were actually committed by him. It’s a shock to everyone but not as shocking as his death.

Black Noir’s Original Costume is More Sinister

Black Noir’s Original Costume Was A Lot Creepier

Black Noir has a complete head-to-toe black suit in the comics. It doesn’t have any special designs or compartments. It’s basically what Spider-Man would look like if he fell in a pool of black ink.

His appearance in the series is a little different as he has a shade-like device in front of his eyes. There are also pentagon-like designs on his chest area. Sections of his costume also appear grey-ish rather than black.

Black Noir Wasn’t Killed By Homelander In The Comics

It Was Billy Butcher Who Finally Get His Revenge

In the TV Show, it’s Homelander who kills Black Noir. Black Noir and Homelander seemed like actual good friends, or at least the closest thing that Homelander could have to a friend. Homelander was genuinely distraught over killing Black Noir, but when Homelander learned that Black Noir had kept a major secret from him, he just couldn’t let Black Noir live.

In the comics, Black Noir actually succeeds in killing Homelander. Then, Black Noir is brutally attacked by both The Boys and the United States Military, ending with Butcher crushing his brain with a crowbar, finally getting his revenge.

Black Noir Was Originally The Son Of Stormfront

Stormfront Was Much Different In The Comics

It’s no secret that the TV show has changed a lot of characters from the comics. One of the biggest changes was Stormfront. In the TV show Stormfront is a secret Nazi who acts as a love interest for Homelander, trying to push him further down the path of darkness. In the comic, Stormfront was still a Nazi, but there was nothing secret about it.

Instead of being a woman, Stormfront was a man, and he was the genetic template used to create Homelander. This makes Stormfront the biological father of Homelander and by extension, the father of Black Noir. In the TV Show, Black Noir and Stormfront have no connection.

The Extent Of Black Noir’s Regenerative Healing Factor

Black Noir Couldn’t Heal In The Comics

Black Noir might be strong but he doesn’t heal as quickly as a superhero should. This has been hinted at in the series. During a confrontation with Queen Maeve and Starlight, part of his lower face becomes severely burned and doesn’t heal.

Comic fans know just how bad Black Noir is when it comes to healing. Homelander once burns his arm with the laser from his eyes and it takes forever to heal. Also, during a confrontation with Homelander at the White House, he is left disemboweled, with several parts of his body heavily burned.