With The Boys heading into season 4, the show must break its main villain trend that has been an issue for the past few seasons to avoid repetition.
After three successful seasons, The Boys has become one of Amazon’s biggest shows, but it must break its main villain trend. While Homelander has been the main antagonist of the show, there have always been other villains to help carry each season. With Homelander clearly being the main threat the group is looking to take down, he can’t be the only one, otherwise, things would quickly become stale. The Boys’ villains have all been strong and memorable characters that have helped take the show to the heights they have reached, yet there is still a common trend that the series should break.
Most shows on TV will hype up their next season with trailers and teases that give away some of the upcoming stories to the audience. Some might try and keep things subtle and let people create theories, but The Boys tend to be a little more transparent. There has already been a tease about Homelander being on trial in The Boys season 4, highlighting that the show doesn’t mind giving away some key story elements. The same can be said for their villains, as they tend to give an idea of who the main threat will be before the season airs, something that the show must avoid this time.
The Boys Season 4 Hasn’t Unveiled Its Main Villain Yet
Unlike previous seasons, The Boys season 4 is yet to unveil its main villain. This could still happen closer to the time with trailers and promotional material but keeping this a mystery would be a nice change of pace. Stormfront was teased for season 2, and Soldier Boy was front and center of season 3’s marketing. This made their pivotal roles far more obvious and meant that the finales involving their big fights were inevitable. Information on The Boys season 4 has been limited, with little information on who the main villain will be. While it could be Homelander, given this isn’t the final season, it seems unlikely.
Homelander being the main villain for season 4 would only make sense if the series was coming to a close. However, Eric Kripke’s update on The Boys season 5 seemingly confirms there will be more to come. Having a new villain for The Boys season 4 seems more probable as a pre-existing character doesn’t make much sense. Outside of Ryan, Homelander’s son, there isn’t anyone who feels like an obvious choice. Those who are already villains, like members of The Seven and Victoria Neuman, don’t work to be main antagonists, and therefore going in a new direction works best.
The Boys Season 4 Should Introduce A Surprising, Fresh Villain
Having a surprise villain for The Boys season 4 would be the best way to keep things fresh and exciting. Homelander will always be a looming threat but like previous seasons, there should be another threat alongside him. Rather than reveal this in advance, it would be better to keep things a bit of a mystery until the next season airs. With The Boys season 4 cast updates, there are a bunch of new names joining the show, allowing for an abundance of potentially new main villains. Tek-Knight is one character rumored to appear in season 4 who could take this role, but even he could be a little obvious.
With Hughie’s mother cast for The Boys season 4, it would be an interesting twist for a surprise villain. Outside the Vought executives, most villains have been supes, meaning someone closer to home and more personal to the show’s protagonists could make for a change of pace. It could even be revealed that Hughie’s mother is a supe, as she left when he was younger and could have done so for this reason. Sister Sage and Firecracker are two new characters who could also take the mantle of the season’s main villain, perhaps even having both take this role with them being potential allies.
Homelander And Victoria Neuman Are Too Predictable
Going down the Homelander or Victoria Neuman route is too predictable for the next main villain. With season 3’s finale showing Homelander murdering in public alongside how important he is to the franchise; he will obviously play a major role going forward just as he has done in every season. Despite this, he has always had other villains around to become the immediate problem that needs solving. Soldier Boy’s arrival only happened to help take down Homelander but ended up becoming a bigger threat himself. Until the final season, Homelander should always have someone else stealing his thunder as has been the case so far.
Victoria Neuman’s big reveal came at the end of season 2, which means The Boys season 3 should have been her season to be the main villain. Now that her true intentions are clearer, she remains more of an antihero or wildcard. Neuman isn’t a straight-up villain like Homelander and wants a better world, however, that world involves her being in power and she’ll go to extreme lengths to get it. Neuman works far better as a morally gray character with her own methods and goals, much like “The Boys” themselves. There are other main villain candidates for The Boys season 4 that would be a better fit,
Billy Butcher Can’t Be The Boys’ Biggest Problem Yet
Billy Butcher has always been the most immoral of all The Boys, but he can’t become their biggest problem. With The Boys season 3 drawing similarities between Butcher and Homelander, there is potential to have Butcher be the series’ next big villain, especially if it follows the comic book twist. The show has deviated from a lot of its source material and would be wise to do so in this instance to avoid Butcher becoming an antagonist. Even if they did follow this story, it would have to be set up and couldn’t possibly happen this season. With Butcher supposedly dying from Compound V, he may become more unhinged but shouldn’t descend to being the main villain of The Boys.
