One year after The Boys Season 4 wrapped up, a mystery about Homelander is getting fresh details – and becoming more important. With Homelander now essentially in control of the United States and pushing an agenda that promotes Supe superiority over humans, finding ways to stop him is increasingly pertinent, and will be a huge part of The Boys‘ fifth and final season. One such way may lie in his past: when Antony Starr’s villain visited the lab he was born in during Season 4, Episode 4, aside from all the carnage that came with it, there was a memo that mentioned something called “Project Odessa.”
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No other information was provided about it, but the location of it in the lab, and it being marked as something of the highest security, made it a curious detail. That’s now being built upon in Gen V Season 2, which turns that one tease into a major part of its story. It’s connected not only to Homelander, but to Godolkin University and Marie Moreau. While there’s still more to be uncovered, what we’ve learned so far could already have major implications for The Boys Season 5. Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Gen V Season 2, Episodes 1-3.
What Is Project Odessa & How Could It Help Beat Homelander?
Project Odessa is featured right at the very beginning of Gen V Season 2, and it shows how far back its origins go: at a Vought lab in 1967, we see a fire break out where Odessa experiments were being carried out, with Thomas Godolkin involved. Shortly after that, in the present day, Starlight turns up to save Marie… and to recruit her. She needs her to go back to God U to investigate Odessa, which they believe to be a weapon of some kind that is vital in the fight against Homelander.
The subsequent episodes put more pieces together: Odessa was a series of experiments in which several people died, and it’s also connected to Marie’s origins. We hear that she “is Odessa,” and it’s later revealed that her parents went to Vought in order to conceive her. Clearly, Marie is a product of Project Odessa, which featured experiments to provide some kind of superpowers in a way that is different from (and presumably better than) standard Compound V.
Ever since Season 1, and it’s something that Gen V Season 2 doubles down on, there’s been the idea that Marie could be as powerful as Homelander, if not even stronger. It was assumed that it was due to her blood-bending abilities, which could even surpass those of Victoria Neuman, but that may not be the case. Instead, it’s likely something from her Odessa origins that means she’s special. There’s a mention of her being the “Chosen One,” though she scoffs at it, which could be what gives her greater abilities than Homelander. It also suggests there’s a link between them, with both presumably survivors of Odessa.
That could explain how Marie was able to survive a laser blast from Homelander in the Gen V Season 1 finale, because her powers match his own on their base level. It might also mean we are going to see Marie fight Homelander in The Boys Season 5. This has been a popular theory for some time anyway, but with Starlight recruiting her, and the apparent importance of Odessa, it makes it much more likely. However, there’d presumably have to be more to it, as it’s hard to imagine him being defeated by a character who originated on a different show, as powerful as she is. Still, she could be part of it, and if they can uncover the secrets of Homelander’s origins, they might find the key to killing him.
Could Project Odessa Be Used To Create More Supes Like Homelander?
The other side of Project Odessa is that it isn’t just potentially something to be used against Homelander, but to be used by him. It’s suggested that this was the real reason Thomas Godolkin created God U in the first place and, while most of the experiments failed spectacularly, they might not have entirely given up on the idea. That could be why Starlight is so concerned about it, and it might be how the mysterious Dean Cipher fits into the story.
So far, we don’t know a lot about him – but he’s pretty chilling and, obviously, not to be trusted. When Marie attempts to uncover the truth from her Aunt Pam, she finds pictures of herself as a baby, including one of her being held by Cipher, under the guise of being a doctor. If Cipher were involved in Odessa, and is now suddenly at God U with a focus on training Supes to be as strong as possible, then it might be because they’re going to carry out more of these experiments. They could be looking to create more people like Homelander as they bid for control of the world, which might further set the stage for the war to come in The Boys Season 5.
Gen V Season 2, Episodes 1-3 are now streaming on Prime Video. New episodes will release weekly on Wednesdays. All four seasons of The Boys are also available on Prime Video, with Season 5 expected to air in 2026.
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