10 Best Supes From The Boys (And Who Their Marvel Counterpart Is)

Created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, The Boys first crashed onto the scene as a comic book series in 2006. 13 years later, The Boys was transformed into a live-action series on Amazon Prime, becoming one of the best shows to binge on that platform. The show is set in a world where superheroes, known as “supes,” are not the noble protectors of humanity as they might seem at first glance. Instead, they are corrupt, reckless, and often outright evil in their own twisted ways because there is nobody willing to tell them no. That is, until a secret CIA-backed group known as “The Boys” is formed to keep the supes in check by any means necessary. But that isn’t always an easy task. Since not all supes are created equal, some are much more powerful than others. But which supes are the best on The Boys?

From supes that are built with super speed to others who can communicate with certain animals, The Boys has a collection of crazy characters with even crazier backstories. Even better, the comic book series was first developed as a bit of sharp-witted commentary about the world of superheros and the unadulterated worship of our real-life celebrity culture. Because of that, many of the best supes on The Boys have very clear Marvel counterparts. But which ones made the cut?

Homelander

The absolute best supe from The Boys is Antony Starr’s Homelander, that is a given. There’s just no way around this. Although his powers have gone straight to his massive head, Homelander has the best abilities and the most “All-American” star power. There’s not much that he isn’t able to do, except form a healthy and normal personal relationship with anyone else, but Homelander is the most iconic supe for a reason. He is an unstoppable force that can shoot laser beams out of his eyes and fly. It’s tough to compete with that. The homicidal rage and CVS receipt-length list of crimes against humanity? That’s a different story.

Homelander is a satirical take on Superman, let’s not pretend otherwise. But you can argue that for his Marvel counterpart, Captain America is the leading choice (the case could also be made for Hyperion). However, unlike his psychopathic and sadistic narcissist counterpart, Captain America has an endless supply of empathy and desire to positively impact the country he has sworn to protect. Thanks to Homelander’s horrific birth, he never really had a say in his life, Captain America signed up for the superhero life. Yes, he was granted with freakish strength and otherworldly abilities, but he stays humble through it all. He may be Captain America on the outside, but he will always be Steve Rogers on the inside.

The Deep

There’s a weak link on every team, but that shouldn’t always be taken as an insult. The same way not everyone could be Michael Jordan on the Dream Team, not every supe can be Homelander and have the best abilities in The Seven. So being a supe on the most impressive team on Earth shouldn’t be anything to scoff at. The Deep (Chace Crawford) doesn’t have the same impressive abilities on land as his strongest teammates, but he automatically becomes one of the best supes on The Boys when a fight ventures over some troubled waters. Not to mention how cool it would be to be able to talk to a shark.

The best and more accurate comparison for The Deep would be Aquaman without question. But to keep in line with the Marvel theme, Namor the Sub-mariner is also a strong choice. While Namor lacks the mainstream appeal of Aquaman, they share a lot of similarities. However, the biggest difference between The Deep and Namor are their relationships with marine life. While The Deep likely needs to be banned from any aquarium in the world, for obvious reasons, Namor lacks the ability to connect with fish on the same level.

Starlight

When we are first introduced to Starlight, she couldn’t be any more wholesome. She is a blonde-haired and soft-spoken girl from a religious family in the Midwest that just wants to help people. From an early age, she was raised to become a superhero who would always do the right thing. With a somewhat limited view of the world, Starlight could be described as naive when she joins The Seven. Equipped with a couple underrated superpowers, it doesn’t take for Starlight to get a better understanding of the way things in the modern world.  

A good comparison to Starlight is Dazzler. It might be a little unfair to compare Starlight to a superhero that lacked the ability to fly, but the similarity to each of them is too hard to ignore. Both superheroes have the ability to manipulate energy and convert it into powerful projections and forceful beams. Not only that, each one is a well-trained athlete that is more than capable of defending themselves when dropped into a fight.

Stormfront

If you just look at her abilities in a vacuum, Stormfront (Aya Cash) is one of the best supes in The Boys. Not only does she have super humans strength and durability, but her longevity and ability to manipulate charged particles is almost over-powered. In addition to her extraordinary powers, she is also extremely charismatic and capable of manipulating just about anybody under the sun. She is also an unapologetic Nazi that wants nothing more than to usher in the horrific goals of the Third Reich.

Focusing solely on her abilities, Storm and Thor each come to mind. Yes, all three characters might offer wildly different approaches to their powers, but their ability to conjure electrified beams is too hard to ignore. Matched up against an opposing force, all three of these characters would be able to wreak havoc from a distance before they even break a sweat.

A-Train

[RELATED: The Boys Almost Cast Fan-Favorite Marvel Star as Major Villain]

If you need a job done and you need it done now, who do you call? A slow-moving supe that needs some time to get to the job or the fastest person on Earth who can be there in a blink of an eye? A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) may not be the most adept fighter on The Boys, but when you move at lightning speed, who needs to learn how to properly throw a punch? Like most of the other supes, A-Train is also a troubled person who has let the powers get the better of them. However, when focused on only being a force for good, the A-Train can’t be stopped.

If you organized a race that included A-Train, Quicksilver, and The Flash, who do you think would win? While all three characters are each designed around the need for speed, A-Train is a brilliant satirical look at what would happen if someone like Quicksilver became too corrupted by their power and instead used it for their own personal gain. When we first see A-Train, he runs straight through Hugh’s (Jack Quaid) unfortunate girlfriend, turning her into a human slushie. While that event helps jumpstart the entire story of The Boys, it’s a defining moment for A-Train that sets him apart from other speedsters like Quicksilver.

Kimiko

Stuffed neatly in a short little package, Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) may seem like a sweet and harmless person, but you don’t want to get on her bad side. Blessed with superhuman strength, incredible regenerative powers, and a seemingly insatiable desire to kill, Kimiko was designed by Vought to be nothing more than disposable meat for The Seven to cut right through and score some points with the population. But like any admirable character, she is able to fight through her primal urges and channel them into becoming a force for good.

When you unleash an animal that’s been unfairly caged for a long time, you would normally expect that animal to thrash around and defend itself. That’s what makes Kimiko and Wolverine so similar. While Kimiko doesn’t come equipped with those deadly adamantium claws like her counterpart, she does share his thrill for pulverizing her enemies. And like Wolverine, Kimiko also has a gentle soul buried deep down inside them.

Soldier Boy

What better way to make sure people know that you’ll always fight for their country than adopting the name Solider Boy (Jensen Ackles). The most iconic supe before the rise of Homelander, Soldier Boy is jam-packed with superhuman strength and lightning speed. As the main vehicle for Vought’s propaganda machine, Solider Boy was credited with being a leading force in the victory over the Axis of Evil in World War ll. But following the betrayal of his men, he was forced to undergo years of experimentation by Russian scientists, skewing his world view and altering his life.

Joining Homelander, Solider Boy’s direct Marvel counterpart is Captain America. The similarities are striking and purposeful. Solider Boy is a cautionary tale of what happens when figures like Captain America are used for hidden agendas. But besides Captain America, another accurate comparison for Solider Boy would be Bucky Barnes, the Winter Solider, who was also subjected to brutal experimentation by nefarious scientists.

Black Noir

Silent and stealthy, Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) is the supe that you call when you need a large group of people taken out without anyone knowing. Equipped with super strength and enhanced senses, Black Noir is a modern day ninja with a license to kill anyone. Despite his ferocity on the battlefield and ability to expertly lurk in the shadows, Black Noir’s mental capacity has been greatly diminished after a brutal beat down at the hands of Soldier Boy. But that didn’t seem to stop him from becoming a ghostly killing machine for Vought.

This comparison will take a little time to process, but Black Noir is most like Deadpool, just not the good Deadpool. Black Noir is perhaps closest to the Deadpool from X-Men Origins: Wolverine that was mutilated, muted, and absolutely nothing like his comic book inspiration. Not only was that Deadpool stripped of his ability to talk, but he was transformed into a seemingly remorseless killing machine that lacked the distinctive personality of his former self.

Queen Maeve

Don’t you hate it when you’re out with some friends and while everyone else is going crazy and maybe having too good of a time, you’re the one who is tasked with reeling them in and being the voice the reason? That’s kind of what Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) is to The Boys. In her heyday, she was a formidable fighter and relentless agent of justice, hellbent on stopping crime and making a real difference in the world. As one of the few people who were able to go toe-to-toe with Homelander, Queen Maeve is certainly one of the best supes from the series.

Queen Maeve’s most obvious comparison is Wonder Woman. It’s pretty easy to connect the dots to both superheros. But for her Marvel counterpart, the best option would be Captain Marvel. The two share a hefty amount of similarities. While Captain Marvel also has the absurd strength, blazing agility, undying stamina, as well as the ability to fly, she is also a superhero who has a strong desire to help people. Both characters are equally headstrong and resistant to being told what to do and how to do it. With that said, they ultimately know how and when to do the right thing without hesitation.

Billy Butcher

As the most diabolical character on this list, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) is about as multi-layered as possible. When he is first introduced, there is hardly anyone in the universe that hates supes more. After grieving over the loss of his wife at the hands of a supe, Butcher made it his sole mission in life to keep them in check and stop them from wreaking havoc on the human population. But after being pushed to the brink, Butcher continuously injected himself with V24 and he acquires superhuman strength and durability. But as a result, he is subjected to a rapidly deteriorating health issue. Desperate, he finally pumps himself full of Compound V where he finally reaches his final form.

While he never acquires any superhuman ability, Frank Castle aka The Punisher is perhaps the best comparison to Billy Butcher there is. As a one man army, The Punisher uses his inner torment to help fuel his rage and guide him on his mission, no matter the cost. The same can be said for Butcher, who can hardly contain his pure hatred for supes, just ask the Vought version of this Marvel hero. There is nothing that stands in their way. Not friends, not family, not even a calming voice of reason. And each character usually goes about their mission with an emphasis on being as loud and violent as possible.