IN A WORLD full of superheroes, who are the villains? One only needs to look up in the sky.
Since 2019, the Emmy-nominated streaming television series The Boys , on Prime Video, has taken our collective obsession with superhero popular culture to task. Now in its fourth season, The Boys isn’t quite done making sure “supes” get what’s coming to them.
An adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s gritty comic book series (published by Dynamite), The Boys follows a group of clandestine vigilantes–led by brash Billy Butcher, played by Karl Urban–who sew chaos among The Seven. This powerful alliance of pampered corporate superheroes, fronted by the sociopathic supe Homelander (Anthony Starr), inhabit the hallowed halls of injustice belonging to mega-conglomerate Vought International.
Dynamite Entertainment The Boys Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (BOYS OMNIBUS TP 2018)
The equally riveting spinoff series Gen V , which premiered in 2023, takes place at fictional Godolkin University, an institution of higher training for tomorrow’s superheroes. Its story centers on a group of students who are determined to unmask the dark truth beneath their prestigious campus.
With a vast ensemble of ass-kickers, bone-breakers, and wise-crackers, The Boys (and Gen V) feature some of the best characters found in all of television right now. Whether newcomers need a primer on who’s who, or returning fans need a refresher, fret not. Men’s Health is here to catch you up on 30 of the best characters (some living, some dead) on The Boys and Gen V.
(Warning: Spoilers for The Boys seasons 1-3 ahead—and this list will be updated when Season 4 comes to an end.)
30. Cate Dunlap
Amazon Prime
Going into Gen V, it’s too easy to just write off Cate (played by Maddie Phillips) as a factory-issued mean girl who is no more than “the girlfriend” to Golden Boy. But Gen V is a very smart TV show that knows how to throw viewers for a loop. Through strong character-driven storytelling and equally strong performances by Phillips, Cate grows into an effective protagonist with quite the imagination for her psychological manipulation powers (activated via physical touch). It’s hard to stand out in a show like Gen V, being a show overrun with textured and fully dimensional characters, but Cate just has a way with changing your mind.
29. Blindspot
Amazon Prime
Justice for Blindspot! In one of the most harrowing instances of Homelander’s abject cruelty in season 2, this one-time The Seven candidate—a blind Asian American martial arts master and parkour expert with razor reflexes, clearly based on Marvel’s Daredevil—is needlessly deafened by his idol Homelander, all so Homelander can make a point. What’s more haunting is that Blindspot’s eventual death from his injuries were covered up by Vought, with a fake story involving a mission in Argentina. Kudos to actor Chris Mark, whose piercing screams are hard to forget after all these years.
28. Adam Bourke
Amazon Prime
The hack director of Dawn of The Seven with an embarrassment kink, Adam Bourke, has a hilarious recurring presence across The Boys universe. P.J. Byrne makes his series debut in season 2 as pre-production begins on Vought’s big budget tentpole. (We later find out Dawn of The Seven was finished by Tony Gilroy, a nod to the troubled production of Rogue One.) In Gen V, Bourke resurfaces as a teacher at Godolkin University, having been exiled from the industry for harassing Minka Kelly. A composite of several real-life Hollywood figures, especially the canceled ones, Bourke proves you don’t need vision to be a visionary. #ReleaseTheBourkeCut
27. Crimson Countess
Amazon Prime
Some heroes fall from grace, and others burn out. You can count Crimson Countess among the latter. Once a key member of the 1980s team Payback and a supe movie star, Crimson Countess, played by The Walking Dead’s Laurie Holden, falls into mediocrity as a sideshow act at Voughtland who moonlights as a camgirl. She appears and dies in season 3, killed by energy discharge from her own ex Soldier Boy. No one still understands what her thing was with apes.
26. Professor Richard “Brink” Brinkerhoff
Amazon Prime
A dignified performance by Clancy Brown masks the darkness inside the late Professor Brink of Godolkin University and his supervision of the top secret underground facility known as “The Woods.” While Professor Brink is alive for only the first episode of Gen V (excluding later flashback appearances), his memory casts a long shadow over the entire Godolkin student body. But our heroes in Gen V are right to be suspicious of the widespread hero worship, discovering for themselves that not all heroes wear masks—and neither do villains.
25. Ryan Butcher
Amazon Prime
You have to sympathize with Ryan Butcher. The living result of Homelander’s assault on Billy’s wife Becca, Ryan is an otherwise normal kid (with a knack for Lego stop-motion animation) who stands alone in the war between Billy Butcher and Vought’s overpowered freaks of science. For a time, Ryan is practically the only innocent soul in all of The Boys. But after the events of season 3, Ryan is beginning to take after his biological father in uncanny ways.
24. Supersonic
Amazon Prime
Not all with absolute power are corrupted absolutely. Supersonic, played by Miles Gaston Villanueva, is a well-adjusted supe and ex-boy band member who grows up into an all-too-brief member of The Seven. Because of his friendship with Starlight dating back to their teen years, he initially comes across as a threat to Starlight and Hughie’s happiness before proving himself to be genuine and kind. Too bad this is The Boys we’re talking about. When Starlight finds his head split open as a warning from Homelander, we all learn the meaning of no good deeds going unpunished.
23. Serge, aka “Frenchie”
Amazon Prime
The black market arms dealer “Frenchie” is a longtime loyal member of The Boys and follower of Billy Butcher, and his many talents make him too useful to not use in almost every episode. But if there’s one member of The Boys who seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to season-long story arcs, it just might be Frenchie (well, until season 4. And while it’s early, it’s looking like a bit of a misfire). Practically sewn to the hip of Kimiko, Frenchie, for all his talents, is basically just a communication translator for non-verbal Kimiko. Still, he’s not hard to like thanks to a watchable Tomer Capone.
22. Luke, aka “Golden Boy”
Amazon Prime
With a name like “Golden Boy,” one might think this Homelander-to-be would be just as cruel and arrogant as the rest of them. But a fully dimensional Patrick Schwarzenegger inhabits a compassionate soul, a disarming young man and loving brother who fully believes in his power to do some good in the world. While he’s personally groomed by Brink into the next member of The Seven, his dedication to his sick brother leads him to kill his mentor, and then himself in a stunning act of self-super immolation. Even now, his shocking death in Gen V’s first episode still leaves fans asking the question: Why?
21. Victoria Neuman
Amazon Prime
As the saying goes: Keep your friends close, and your enemies close enough to pop their heads off. Victoria Neuman, played by a locked-in Claudia Doumit, first appears in The Boys as an anti-supe who heads the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs. But The Boys blows everyone’s minds, quite literally, when Victoria reveals herself as not only being a supe herself, but the adoptive daughter of Vought International’s Stan Edgar who raised her into his own asset. In season 4, Victoria Neuman embarks on a run for Vice President, which positions her to be truly one of the most powerful people on the planet.
20. The Deep
Amazon Prime
On some level, the words “greatest” and “The Deep” should never be in close proximity. Manipulative, self-serving, cowardly, and most damning of all, a rapist, the aquatic member of The Seven is such lowlife scum that you almost want to begin advocating for offshore fracking. But it’s a credit to actor Chace Crawford who makes The Deep so watchable and so entertaining in his futile attempts at redemption only to shoot himself in the gills. From getting involved with cults to relying on stronger women who only put up with him, The Deep has, unfortunately, some of the best story arcs in all of The Boys.
19. Soldier Boy
Amazon Prime
If Captain America didn’t have a moral compass, he would be Soldier Boy. Emerging in season 3 of The Boys (and played by Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles), Soldier Boy is Homelander’s predecessor and the world’s first and greatest superhero who called the shots on Payback in the 1980s. Reawoken in the present day, he ends up with Billy Butcher and The Boys, and being a supe whose power to zap away Compound V in the bloodstream make him a useful if unstable living weapon against Homelander. His abrasive personality and abhorrent personal politics make him one of the most unlikable individuals to ever be on The Boys, but it’s hard to argue that he isn’t still one of the best.
18. Indira Shetty
Amazon Prime
The Dean of Godolkin University, Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn) appears to be a kind, even maternal figure over the superpowered student body. But over time Indira shows her true colors, including her real ill-will towards supes and what role she plays over “The Woods.” While all characters on The Boys are complex, Indira is the picture definition of paradoxical; a behavioral scientist by trade, Indira takes an interest in specific students, especially those she can use to her benefit. In the end, her true feelings on supes are revealed, and the reasons why make it hard to argue against her. By the time you reach the end of Gen V, you can’t help but wonder if Indira might be the only reasonable one.
17. Jordan Li
Amazon Prime
Jordan Li, a dual part played by an impressively unified Derek Luh and London Thor, is at first the steely overachiever that Gen V fans might think to be the show’s recurring bully. But over time, Jordan proves to be far more than Ashley Barrett’s reductive description of “a bi-gender Asian with pronoun fuckery.” Driven by their parents’s inability to accept their fluid self and their own determination to be number one, Jordan—who can not only change gender at will but open 24-oz cans of whoop-ass with enhanced strength—flips the script on Asian American student stereotypes to be a person whose bad side you never want to be on.
16. Madelyn Stillwell
Amazon Prime
Madelyn Stillwell never had powers, but she was still one of the most powerful executives ever in the high-rise offices of Vought International. Memorably played by Elisabeth Shue, Stillwell was Vought’s Senior VP of Hero Management, a rare title in which she was tasked with overseeing The Seven—including their public profile and quarterly profits. It takes a woman of steel to lie to Homelander about his own son, and Madelyn indeed took that risk for the sake of everyone else, and especially on behalf of Vought. Though it was none other than Homelander who killed her, it speaks to her legendary ruthlessness that even he found himself missing her.
15. Black Noir
Jan Thijs/Prime Video
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Alternate text: Silent but deadly, Black Noir was and still is the most enigmatic of The Seven, a supe whose identity was repressed against his own wishes. At first glance in season 1, Black Noir is no more than the dagger in The Seven’s cloak. But Black Noir’s sad origins are finally revealed in season 3: He was once the lone Black member of Payback, a historic role that was concealed from a racist American public. While Black Noir was ordered to stay silent—and brutally bullied by Soldier Boy into staying in his place—he was vocal about his frustrations to Stan Edgar. A mostly successful mission to betray Soldier Boy in Nicaragua resulted in Black Noir suffering horrific wounds that destroyed his vocal cords and severe facial burns that ultimately made his mask necessary. In the end, Black Noir kept his mystique and enjoyed the respect of his peers, even Homelander, at least until the end. Too bad he never got to relish any, ahem, payback against Soldier Boy.
14. Stan Edgar
Amazon Prime
Ever since Breaking Bad, Giancarlo Esposito has enjoyed a prolific career playing the baddest of bad guys. The Boys is no different, featuring Esposito in the role of Vought CEO Stan Edgar, the only one with more power than Madelyn Stillwell in season 1. Stan’s presence in The Boys grows throughout seasons 2 and 3 before he’s ousted and betrayed by his own adoptive daughter Victoria Neuman. (Though there’s a part of Stan that is proud of the ruthless woman his “daughter” has grown up to be.) Towards the end of season 3, Stan Edgar walks out of Vought, disgraced and under federal investigation—but also free. It quickly dawns on Homelander that even the most powerful needs to be protected.
13. Marie Moreau
Amazon Prime
Her blood is her weapon, and in Gen V, Marie has it in her to succeed. Arising from a tragic origin story that resulted in the accidental murder of her own parents, Marie Moreau, played by a magnificent Jaz Sinclair, enters her freshman year at Godolkin University determined to be the greatest student supe of all time—all so she could reunite with her estranged sister. Marie is quickly thrust into the spotlight when a night out with some of the other top students goes bad. Throughout Gen V, Marie discovers the finer points of her macabre powers as she embarks on an investigation into the underbelly of God U. If there’s anyone in The Boys shared universe with main character energy, it’s Marie, whose supe name is sure to come in due time.
12. Kimiko Miyashiro
Amazon Prime
She might be as cute as a button, but you never want to cross Kimiko. A deeply expressive Karen Fukuhara stars in The Boys as Kimiko Miyashiro, a deadly supe who sides with The Boys and especially Frenchie, whose liking to her evolves into something more meaningful. Deprived of a real childhood, Kimiko is briefly reunited with her long lost brother until Stormfront brutally murders him before her eyes. Though she doesn’t say a word (except for that time she broke out into song), Kimiko proves that action speaks louder than words. And in her case, Kimiko’s actions have the ear-bleeding sound of a heavy metal concert.
11. Emma Meyer, aka “Little Cricket”
Amazon Prime
Oh, you thought Emma was just going to be “the roommate” in Gen V? You thought wrong. Lizze Broadway practically steals the show as Emma Meyer, aka “Little Cricket,” a supe whose Ant-Man-esque size-shifting abilities only happen through painful purging or binge-eating. (She also has a side hustle as a mid-range YouTube personality, but Gen V is smart enough to know that in 2024, YouTube creators are just as burnt out pumping content as the rest of us.) But there’s more to this tiny heroine than meets the eye, as Emma is just as eager to get to the bottom of “The Woods” and help Luke’s mentally ill brother, whom she develops feelings for. There’s a lot of budding romance in Gen V, but Emma’s story arc is arguably the most meaningful.
10. Queen Maeve
Amazon Prime
If there’s anyone in the original roster of The Seven who might have a proper conscience, it’s Queen Maeve (a moniker lifted from Irish mythology). Played with aplomb by Dominique McElligott, Queen Maeve is the Wonder Woman analog in The Boys. But wrap the Lasso of Truth around her, and she might tell you how being in The Seven is a drag. Besides being subjected to Homelander’s crap, Maeve has her personal happiness ruined when her lesbian relationship is outed on live television, and then co-opted by Vought to score cheap points in diversity. Outside Vought, Maeve is held up as a role model for young girls everywhere–and maybe if things were different, she’d be proud of that. But in this reality, Maeve wants nothing more than to disappear. Good thing she got her happiness in the end.
9. M.M.
Amazon Prime
One of many The Boys characters who underwent major changes from the original comic book series is M.M. Played by a focused Laz Alonso, M.M. is the true rock of The Boys, a former military medic (hence the nickname “Mother’s Milk”) who operates as the hard-assed second-in-command behind Billy Butcher, and virtually the only one capable of reorienting Billy back to Earth when the latter’s darker impulses start to take hold. M.M. has his own share of problems, ranging from diagnosed OCD to his own obsession for vengeance against Soldier Boy over the collateral damage that killed his family. But there’s no question that The Boys would fall apart without M.M. around to keep them together.
8. Stormfront
Amazon Prime
To be absolutely clear: A decades-old Nazi with a skincare routine and lightning superpowers isn’t “the best” anything. But a delirious Aya Cash rocks The Boys like a hurricane in season 2, being a disruptive but welcome presence who really kicks the show into high gear. With cement-footed self-assuredness and extremely far-right politics that are not at all subtle–including her all-time chilling quote: “People like what I have to say. They believe in it. They just don’t like the word Nazi, that’s all”–Stormfront is a true shock to the system who elevates The Boys season 2 into, maybe, the best season of the entire series.
7. Andre Anderson
Amazon Prime
The late Chance Perdomo outshone all his peers in the first season of Gen V. Blessed with the power of magnetism manipulation, Perdomo’s character Andre maintained a true sense of right and wrong even when the whole world–including his overbearing, ex-supe father–pushed him into the pathway of an ineffective celebrity. At the start of Gen V, Andre scoffed at any notion of taking the number one spot away from his number one bro Luke. But after Luke’s death, Andre admirably tried to use his sudden position at number one to actually act like a hero. The loss of Perdomo is not only a maddening case of a bright, budding talent gone too soon, but for Gen V, a wonderful story about integrity and principles that will never see its true resolution.
6. Ashley Barrett
Amazon Prime
Evolving from bullied publicist to bully CEO of Vought is quite the journey for Ashley Barrett, a character inspired by the comics character Jess Bradley. Played by an always entertaining Colby Minifie, Ashley impossibly survives the wrath of Madelyn Stillwell to eventually find her way to the top of Vought in season 3, though her corporate power still pales in comparison to Homelander’s. While Ashley is so stressed at the job of managing The Seven to the point of embarrassing baldness, she has her moments of triumph in The Boys season 3, such as telling A-Train off and asserting dominance over certain men at Vought. What does it actually mean when we root for someone like Ashley to be as ruthless as Homelander?
5. A-Train
Amazon Prime
The day A-Train joined The Seven, smiling in front of the cameras, baseball hat in hand, was probably the happiest day of his life. Because things have only gone downhill from there. With actor Jessie T. Usher in the role, A-Train shines on The Boys as a celebrity supe whose real self falls terribly short of his desired image of a superhero superstar and portrait of Black excellence. His carelessness at the start of The Boys is what ropes Hughie into the show’s main plot, and his repeat instances of selfishness and myopia cost him everything–including his own loved ones. In the end, all A-Train has is himself, and these days, he’s just about running on empty.
4. Billy Butcher
Amazon Prime
Karl Urban has stepped foot in countless fictional universes, but he seems right at home in the world of The Boys. Billy Butcher is arguably the premier TV anti-hero of the 2020s: a hard-edged, bitterly sarcastic agent of chaos whose gritty outfit of anti-superhero vigilantes all see through Vought’s propaganda. Beneath his spiky British exterior lies the heart of a softie; he’s a broken family man, a dyed-in-the-wool Wife Guy who can be protective of the ones he cares for. Ultimately, Billy wants nothing more than to sock Homelander in the jaw. Though he’s done so numerous times at this point, for Billy, he’s still winding up for the real one.
3. Annie January, aka “Starlight”
Amazon Prime
America’s supe sweetheart is much scarier than her girl next door looks let on. Played by Erin Moriarty, Starlight arrives in The Boys a doe-eyed, starstruck rookie member of The Seven who is immediately shattered by the true nature of these A-list A-holes–especially The Deep. In striking up a relationship with Hughie, Annie/Starlight seeks to dismantle The Seven from within, though of course, that’s easier said than done. Thankfully, Annie is tough enough to take it and even dish it back out in return. Butcher and The Boys may be the dream team, but let’s be real: They couldn’t even scratch Homelander’s chin without Starlight on their side.
2. Hughie
Amazon Prime
Even in a world of supes, the real “hero” of The Boys is still Hughie, portrayed by Jack Quaid. Drawn into the main narrative after his girlfriend is killed by a runaway A-Train, Hughie is taken in by Butcher to join him and The Boys on a crusade to equalize the field between mankind and superheroes. While the show’s story thrust may be Butcher’s and Hughie’s personal vendettas against The Seven, the true story of The Boys lies in Hughie: When you become like your enemy to defeat your enemy, who are you really? While darkness surrounds Hughie due to constant influence by Butcher, there’s at least Starlight to balance things out. Kind and slowly courageous, Hughie is all about learning to stand up for oneself. It’s how he finds out he’s actually taller than Homelander.
1. Homelander
Amazon Prime
Every generation needs a villain. Dracula, Darth Vader, Voldemort, The Joker, Walter White. Without a doubt, this era’s defining bad guy is Homelander, designated leader of The Seven and cruel would-be tyrant if he could get away with it. (And he gets close to, quite often in fact.) Antony Starr’s piercing glares and uncanny valley face make up just the top half of a now-iconic silhouette; the rest of Homelander is a baroque monument to American exceptionalism fitted onto a gaudy action figure. Artificially designed to be the perfect (and perfectly marketable) superhero, Homelander is actually the perfect villain: A morally bankrupt, unstoppable freak of dangerous science. You simply cannot summarize America better than a first-world superpower endowing a monster to hold even more power. And no one will notice its horrible deeds, so long as you give it some good PR spin. Simply put, there is no The Boys without Homelander, and it’s a miracle that the character has only gotten more interesting since he first flew in.
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