The Boys: Why Vought Desperately Needs Soldier Boy In Season 3

Amazon's Vought CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) set to bring back the original Supe hero: Soldier Boy.

While the Soldier Boy depicted in Garth Ennis' original The Boys comic books is a cowardly, pale imitation of the superhero he professes to be, his live-action counterpart looks a different proposition entirely. Per The Boys' showrunner, Eric Kripke, Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy version is the "original superhero" revered by the general public, with the Soldier Boy war hero statue seen in The Boys season 2, episode 7, "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" backing up his character's pristine image. The live-action Soldier Boy's backstory has also been provided in The Boys, with Vought creating him as a super soldier to fight against Nazi and making him an all-American icon before his apparent death in the 1970s.

As a result, Vought desperately needs Soldier Boy in The Boys season 3 to help restore their tattered public image. Stormfront being revealed to the public as a Nazi was a massive blow to Vought's Compound V rollout plans and consumer-facing appearance, meaning the company needs a new face for the Seven to restore confidence in their brand. The perfect candidate is, therefore, Soldier Boy, an all-American hero and World War II veteran who stood in direct opposition to all of Stormfront's ideals during his time in the spotlight.

The revelation of Stormfront's origins as a member of the Third Reich was an unmitigated disaster for Vought at the end of The Boys season 2, with even the normally unflappable Stan Edgar forced to take a backward step amidst the public outcry. Vought's attempts to mitigate Stromfront's damage to their image included canceling the rollout of Compound V to the public (losing them billions of dollars) and being forced to reinstate Starlight as a leading member of the Seven despite her actions against several other of the Supe team.

Yet with the Seven a diminished force whose credibility is ebbing away at the end of The Boys season 2, Vought needs to make another power play of the same magnitude as bringing Stormfront into the fold was. Soldier Boy's confirmation for The Boys season 3 strongly indicates, therefore, that he will be replacing Stormfront given his status as a national icon in The Boys canon. It is highly likely that after having a Nazi on the Seven Vought wants to save face by reintroducing their first all-American hero, a WW2 vet who acts as a direct counterbalance to the Nazi ideologies that Stormfront spewed across The Boys season 2. Vought may still have many cards left to play for The Boys season 3 to turn the ire directed against them around, but they desperately need Soldier Boy to take them through this turbulent moment in the public eye.