8 The Black Noir Twist & Homelander's RebellionPerhaps the biggest absent comic book plot point in The Boys season 5's finale was the Black Noir twist.
In The Boys season 5's finale, though, a fourth character has a big part to play: Kimiko.
After the attempts to replicate the Russian experiments on Soldier Boy in The Boys season 5, episode 7's ending, it was revealed that The Boys succeeded.
This comes into play in The Boys' ending.
This change isn't part of The Boys' comic books, marking the final major difference between the original story's ending and the conclusion of Prime Video's adaptation.
Warning! This article contains major spoilers for The Boys season 5, episode 8.
The Boys has come to an end after five seasons, with its conclusion differing from the source material in several key ways. Concerning broader story strokes, The Boys' ending followed the original comic books; Homelander and Butcher have a big confrontation in the White House before the latter tries to release the Supe Virus and, as he puts it, end the whole notion of Supes. Hughie, one of The Boys' surviving members, puts a stop to Butcher's plan.
Although this overall story follows the comic books fairly closely, the nature of the show as an adaptation means The Boys has some big comic changes along the way. From big character twists being left out to the changing of fates altogether, the various directions the show has taken over five seasons allowed contained aspects of the ending to play out differently. With that being said, here are the eight biggest changes The Boys makes to its source material.
8 The Black Noir Twist & Homelander's Rebellion
Perhaps the biggest absent comic book plot point in The Boys season 5's finale was the Black Noir twist. In the original comic story, it is revealed that Black Noir is the true villain of the story. A clone of Homelander created as a contingency by Vought, Noir's sole purpose was to keep watch over the former should he ever step out of line. Eventually, Black Noir went crazy waiting for his purpose to be fulfilled, thus taking it upon himself to frame Homelander for several crimes and tipping the hero over the edge.
From the sexual assault of Becca Butcher to several other crimes, Noir's admission caused Homelander to form a rebellion and assault the White House in order to install himself as a new god. Eventually, after Billy got involved, Homelander was killed by Black Noir before the clone was destroyed by Butcher.
In the show, neither version of Black Noir was a clone of Homelander. Instead, Ryan somewhat filled this role, with the final confrontation in The Boys season 5 going down between him, Homelander, and Billy. Homelander remained the true villain of the show, with Butcher eventually killing him with a crowbar, a nod to how he killed Noir in the comic books.
7 Kimiko's Important Role In The Final Showdown
In the comic books, Homelander, Black Noir, and Butcher were the only three involved in the fight outside of the White House. In The Boys season 5's finale, though, a fourth character has a big part to play: Kimiko. After the attempts to replicate the Russian experiments on Soldier Boy in The Boys season 5, episode 7's ending, it was revealed that The Boys succeeded. Kimiko thus used her radioactive blast to burn the V-One from Homelander's blood, allowing Butcher to finish him off.
6 The Reason For Butcher's Snap
Butcher holding Terror in The Boys season 5
Homelander's death was not the end of the story, in both Prime Video's The Boys and its comic book counterpart. Afterward, Butcher tried to use the Supe Virus to destroy superheroes forever. In the comics, it was a general feeling of dissatisfaction after Homelander's, or, more aptly, Black Noir's, death that pushed him to make this choice. In The Boys season 5, Ryan disowned Butcher, saying he's not a good person, before Terror, Billy's dog, died.
This coincided with Stan Edgar revealing he will take control of Vought and make it what it once was, pushing Butcher to believe another Homelander will come along sooner rather than later. The Boys has made Butcher's more ruthless side clear since the beginning, with Ryan, Terror, and Edgar pushing him over the tipping point.
5 Vought's Rebuild
Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar holding a cigar in The Boys
Incidentally, Edgar's rebuild of Vought is a new element to the story's ending in The Boys. The comic books showed Vought rebranding into a new company altogether, with it and superheroes fading into relative obscurity. However, thanks to Edgar's scheming, Prime Video's show makes it clear that Vought is somewhat here to stay, likely to be explored further in one of The Boys' upcoming spin-offs, Vought Rising.
Whether Vought remains the hub of corruption in The Boys' universe beyond this point remains to be seen, but Edgar's reinstatement as CEO of the company is certainly a big way in which the show differs from the story on which it is based.
4 The Deep's Fate
The Deep looking at Homelander seriously in The Boys season 5
The Deep's ending is one of the more satisfying elements in The Boys season 5, with the character losing everything only to be killed by those he supposedly ruled over: sea animals. In the comic books, this goes down very differently. The character of The Deep himself is much different in the comics, with Chace Crawford's version being much more pathetically deplorable. As a result, in the comics, Deep is the only member of The Seven to survive the entirety of the story, even going on to form another team named True.
3 Butcher's Murderous Rampage & Death
Karl Urban as Billy Butcher looking worried in The Boys
As alluded to, both The Boys TV show and comic book story have Butcher attempt to wipe out all Supes after defeating Homelander. In the show, he leaves without telling anyone, leading Hughie to figure out his plan and track him down, leading to their confrontation. The comics make Butcher's arc much darker, with the entire team having superpowers at that point. This leads Butcher to murder Frenchie, Kimiko, and MM, before Hughie ends him after a fight at the Empire State Building.
As seen in The Boys season 5, episode 8, Butcher leaves the remainder of his team alive, with Frenchie dying at the hands of Homelander in episode 7. This gives the crew, Frenchie notwithstanding, a much happier ending than the comics. Finally, another big difference is that in Prime Video's show, Hughie vs. Butcher takes place in Vought Tower, rather than the aforementioned New York landmark, with the former shooting the latter, not stabbing him after being goaded to do so, as in the comics.
2 Hughie & Starlight's Fate
Jack Quaid as Hughie looking up in the final shot of The Boys
The Boys season 5, episode 8 has somewhat of an epilogue, showing Hughie and Starlight living in peace as a couple. The two own an audiovisual store, bringing Hughie full circle from season 1, while Starlight still goes out and helps people as a true superhero. In the final moments of the show, Hughie is offered the chance to lead the CIA's renewed Bureau of Supe Affairs, which he declines in favor of a quieter life.
Related The Boys Series Finale Review: The Ending Gets Its Big Calls Right After five seasons, two spinoffs, one whale carcass, and a whole lot of blood poured over Jack Quaid, The Boys' series finale goes out with a bang.
In the comics, Hughie accepts this role, vowing to lead it differently from how Butcher once did. Seemingly, Hughie balances his work with the CIA with his relationship with Starlight, which has a big difference in Prime Video's The Boys. As the show concludes, Starlight is revealed to be pregnant, a new addition that is not found in the comics.
1 Homelander's Personality
Homelander looking at a dead supe in The Boys
Finally, one of the bigger differences between The Boys and the comics is Homelander himself. The villain has become much bigger than he ever was in the comics, partly due to Antony Starr's performance. As a manchild with deep insecurities and trauma who uses his powers to intimidate others, The Boys' Homelander is much more than the "jock"-style character he is in the comics.
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This comes into play in The Boys' ending. In the comics, Homelander's main final arc is his anger and rebellion after Black Noir's manipulation is revealed, leading to his death. In the show, Butcher, Ryan, and Kimiko remove Homelander's powers, allowing the depths of the differences between him and his comic counterpart to shine through. Homelander quickly becomes the quivering, whimpering, pathetic man that was hidden beneath his "godhood." This change isn't part of The Boys' comic books, marking the final major difference between the original story's ending and the conclusion of Prime Video's adaptation.
