The Boys: Is There Something to Those Recent Soldier Boy References? (2024)

Posted in: Amazon Studios, Opinion, Preview, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: amazon, Jensen Ackles, opinion, prime video, soldier boy, the boys

Maybe we're reading into things, but it seems like there have been a few Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) references from The Boys lately.

Now that we know for certain that the fifth season of Prime Video and Showrunner Eric Kripke's The Boys will also be its final season, we've been running under the assumption that we're going to see some familiar faces appear during the final run. Because if Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) doesn't grace our screens again, we're going to riot. Obviously, we have Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy on that list because we think his character has a lot more story left to tell, that he could be an interesting ally for Claudia Doumit's Neuman, and that we need there to be a chance for Ackles and a possibly-appearing Jared Padalecki to appear on the screen together in spandex. But is the hit streaming series already dropping ten-ton hints that a return is on the way?

We have the Season 4 finale, "Assassination Run," hitting this week, which would be ripe for some kind of Soldier Boy presence. We saw that close-up of Soldier Boy on the cover of the magazine that Kumiko (Karen Fukuhara) was reading in last week's episode. We also have two new featurettes released within the past two weeks – with Paul Reiser's The Legend (previously the Senior Vice President of Hero Management for Vought American who had a lot of intel on Soldier Boy and Payback) getting a spotlight before Solider Boy got yet another one (see below if you need to know what we mean). Could it be a bunch of false flags? Might it just end up being another Gen V-like mental manifestation? Possibly – but we just have this feeling… Here's a look back at the new compilation videos that were released over the past two weeks for both Soldier Boy and The Legend – followed by a pretty extensive look back at our previous The Boys/Gen V coverage of Ackles' OG supe:

The Boys/Gen V Soldier Boy Updates, BTS Looks, Theories & More!

First up, we have a look at some Soldier Boy-related posts that we've covered for The Boys and Gen V – including new behind-the-scenes looks, some teases about some possible future plans, and more:

Gen V: "Only 10%" of What Jensen Ackles Filmed as Soldier Boy Aired

Gen V PSA: Soldier Boy Has Plan For Dealing with Spoilers (Ouch!)

Gen V Preview: Vought Remembers Soldier Boy's Cinematic Adventures

Gen V: Astroglide Gets Lubed Up Over Jensen Ackles/Soldier Boy Return

Gen V S01E06 Trailer: Clues About Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy Return?

Gen V/The Boys Crossovers Ahead of Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy Return

Gen V S01E06 Trailer: Jensen Ackles Returns as Soldier Boy – But How?

The Boys Confirms Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy for Gen V (But How?)

The Boys S03E04 One Year Later: Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy Debuts

The Boys: JDM & Jensen Ackles Are Spoiler-Safe; Our Soldier Boy Theory

The Boys: Jensen Ackles Reportedly Teases Soldier Boy/Gen V Connection

The Boys Season 4: Jensen Ackles Soldier Boy Post Just Christmas Wish?

The Boys: Did Soldier Boy Make Vought's "2022 Voughtify Recapped!"?

The Boys: 1950's Soldier Boy Concept Art That's Ripe For Cosplaying

A Look Back at The Season 3 Journey…

And speaking of the third season, here's a look back at Soldier Boy's battles alongside & against Butcher (Karl Urban), Homelander (Antony Starr), Hughie (Jack Quaid), and Annie/Starlight (Erin Moriarty) – including that brutal "family reunion." Following that, we have the animated backstory on what went down between Soldier Boy and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell):

And from Vought International, we have a scene from the film Red Thunder, a look at Soldier Boy's Solid Gold appearance, and a look back at a PSA from 1982 (along with some "interesting" deleted footage):

In this edition of Superhero Club, DC comic writer Stephanie Williams offers a rundown of Soldier Boy's Season 3 run and how he compares & contrasts with his comic book counterpart: