The Boys Just Revealed the Only Thing Worse Than an Evil Supe

Civilians in any superhero franchise have it rough. At any moment, some deranged villain can kick off a plot that could level a city or wipe out half of life in the universe. The only silver lining is that heroes are willing to put their lives on the line to save the day. Well, that goes for most franchises because there’s at least one where that doesn’t happen: The Boys. In the popular Prime Video series, Vought’s heroes are typically the ones making the messes, letting their powers get out of control and hurt people. Just ask Hughie Campbell what it’s like to be on the wrong end of a Supe outburst.

The Boys spends its first four seasons exploring what absolute power can do in the wrong hands. Sure, some bad guys don’t put on costumes and fly around, but they’re not nearly as terrifying as Homelander and his allies. However, The Boys spinoff, Gen V, is pushing back against that notion, introducing one concept that makes battling a rogue Supe seem like a walk in the park.

Cipher Is Finally Putting His Cards on the Table in Gen V

Returning to Godolkin University hasn’t been pleasant for Marie Moreau, Jordan Li, and Emma Meyer. The other students are unsure of how to react to them after the incident at the end of Gen V Season 1, and it’s difficult for them to go about their daily lives as if Andre Anderson hadn’t died trying to help them escape. To honor his memory, the group decides to expose what’s going on at their school by any means necessary. Their first target is the new dead, Cipher, who is pushing Marie to master her powers, as he believes she can be more powerful than Homelander. During one of their training sessions, Cipher pushes Marie to move some blood bags from one table to another, and as she’s completing the task, she notices something off about her teacher.

Marie heads back to her dorm and informs her friends that she couldn’t find any Compound V inside of Cipher, leading her to believe that he’s human. They take this information and run with it, setting up a camera in Cipher’s suite to catch him admitting the truth during the fight between Marie and Jordan. However, the dean catches onto the ruse and shows Cate Dunlap what he’s really capable of when he controls Jordan and makes them fight Marie. At first glance, it seems that Cipher is a Supe, but there may be another explanation for what’s happening, one that could have disastrous consequences not only for God U but also for the rest of the world.

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In addition to trying to bring down Cipher, Marie and Co. are also working to learn all they can about Project Odessa, a Vought initiative that the school is starting back up. Cipher has something to do with it, but that takes a back seat when it becomes clear that Marie is a product of the project. While the purpose of Odessa is still a mystery, it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that both Marie and Cipher can control Supes. Marie can control their blood, while Cipher can seemingly enter their minds. But the lack of Compound V in Cipher suggests that he’s different from Marie and something else entirely. One possibility is that Vought has found a way to control its creations and is allowing Cipher to test out the power on the students at God U.

It’s not exactly a secret that the humans at Vought have been losing influence ever since Homelander decided that he wanted to be more than a figurehead. That probably doesn’t sit right with Stan Edgar and anyone else who still wants to sit at the top of the tower. Releasing someone like Cipher into the wild would go a long way toward evening the playing field, especially if he can get Marie, who holds incredible power, on his side and willing to take the fight to Homelander.

Gen V Season 2 is streaming on Prime Video.

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