The Boys: What are Black Noir’s powers? Details explored

The Boys has given the audience several colorful characters over its 4 seasons run. But the one character, which is shrouded in mystery yet continues to be a strong part of the superhero group is Black Noir. He is part of the superhero team called the Seven, led by Homelander. He is fast, strong and has some lethal moves, making the masked superhero a force to reckon with.

Erving aka Black Noir in The Boys gained his special powers, thanks to Compound V, which was administered to him as a baby by Vought International. His powers include super strength, extreme endurance, super speed, extraordinary healing powers and exceptional hearing abilities. It is also to be noted that Black Noir has been in service from 1970s and he continued to display the same strength even after years, showing no signs of aging.

As we get ready for the fifth and final chapter of The Boys, expected to release in 2026, we take a look at what makes Black Noir one of the more interesting characters on the series.

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Who is Black Noir in The Boys and what are his powers?

The audience were first introduced to Black Noir in Season 1 of The Boys as an elite member of The Seven. The other members of the team include Homelander, Queen Maeve, the Deep and A-Train.

Before joining The Seven, Black Noir was part of the team Payback in The Boys. He was required to hide his face for racial reasons. He along with the Payback team would go on to betray Soldier Boy to the Russians. During the confrontation, Soldier Boy will damage Black Noir’s face and disfigure him forever. Black Noir and Homelander will later form a close alliance after the former will help the new superhero cover his violent tracks and establish himself as the next big supe at Vought.

In The Boys, the audience first see Black Noir in action when he fights another supe Kimiko in Season 1. Black Noir appears to be quick on his feet, has ninja like moves and is stealthy. In Season 2, Black Noir is assigned to kill the terrorist, Naqib. What follows is a bloodbath as he beheads the villain easily with his effortless strength. During an explosion, a part of his mask comes off. Even though his skin is burnt, he does not appear to be in discomfort.

Later, it is revealed that Black Noir was given Compound V as a baby, which gave him extraordinary abilities. This upsets him greatly.

In Season 3 of The Boys, Black Noir will accompany Homelander, when he confronts Maeve about her plan to betray him. They later learn that Soldier Boy has been released, and Black Noir is seen stabbing himself to take out the tracking chip, before disappearing from the scene.

He is at an abandoned pizza restaurant, where he is interacting with imaginary cartoon friends. He is traumatized by Soldier Boy’s return. But his imaginary friends will ask him to face his fear. Back at Vought, Black Noir insists to Homelander that he should be the one to kill Soldier Boy. Initially, Homelander appears to be happy to have him back on his side.

Black Noir knew that Soldier Boy was Homelander’s father. This makes Homelander greatly upset and he instantaneously brutally kills him, ripping out his body parts. Before he dies, Black Noir will see his imaginary friends, who tell him they are proud of him. Vought will go on to cover up the incident by getting another super to take on the role of Black Noir.

In Season 4 on The Boys, the new Black Noir is seen struggling to fit into the role. His job was to continue being a supe, while keeping the image of the original superhero alive. Therefore, he refrains from any verbal communications in public. He does not want to continue with the job, but The Deep will advise him against it. The new Black Noir will ultimately find joy in killing and stays on.

The reason Black Noir in The Boys is one of the more interesting characters is because of the mysterious air around the person behind the mask. As far as his powers are concerned, he is tremendously strong, has brilliant fighting skills and is unbreakable, as we see him standing tall despite the explosion in Season 2. His lonely wolf act is overshadowed by his lethal powers. It is understood that he has chosen to be selectively mute, as understood from his flashbacks. He also happens to be one of the very few people who got along with Homelander. How the new Black Noir takes shape in the final season remains to be seen.

All seasons of The Boys are available on Amazon Prime Video. Season 5 of the series is expected to premiere in 2026.

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