How ‘The Boys’ Finale Sets Up ‘Vought Rising’
The Boys (2019) series finale marked the end of the satire superhero show after a seven-year run. However, it’s far from the end of The Boys universe. The series has spawned a full-fledged franchise and is steadily morphing into The Boys Cinematic Universe, boasting two spinoff series, Gen V (2023) and The Boys Presents: Diabolical (2022), and two additional series in the works. Before fans scarcely had time to process The Boys finale, Amazon Prime Video set its sights on the future, dropping the official first look for the upcoming prequel series, Vought Rising (2027).
Vought Rising will focus on the origins of Vought and feature several familiar The Boys faces, including Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), Liberty/Stormfront (Aya Cash), and Bombsight (Mason Dye). Although the prequel series is going back to the beginning, long before the boys vigilante group existed, The Boys finale still drops a few teases to set the stage for Vought Rising.
Soldier Boy’s Fate in ‘The Boys’ Series Finale
Since Soldier Boy is one of the stars of Vought Rising, many expected The Boys season finale to feature him. However, the supe doesn’t make a single appearance in Season 5, Episode 8, “Blood and Bone.” The last time we see Soldier Boy is in the prior episode, “The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother's Milk.” While Homelander (Antony Starr) enthusiastically tries to include his “father,” Soldier Boy, in his plans to take over the world, Soldier Boy rebuffs him. He has no interest in Homelander’s plans and instead intends to travel to Colombia to live out the rest of his days in peace, far away from his weird son and Vought politics.
Of course, Homelander, desperate for the parental love he never had, isn’t content with this plan. He chokes out Soldier Boy and returns him to cryosleep. Given that The Boys doesn’t revisit him, he presumably remains in the cryochamber in Homelander’s abandoned apartment in Vought Tower after the events of The Boys finale. Although the lack of closure is a bit frustrating, it may tell us something about Vought Rising.
The fact that The Boys leaves Soldier Boy’s fate ambiguous feels intentional, leading some fans to speculate that Vought Rising won’t just be a prequel, but also a sequel, to The Boys. In the vein of Better Call Saul (2015), it may start with Vought's origin story but then flash forward to the present day, where Soldier Boy’s story could continue. Not only does Soldier Boy’s ambiguous fate back up the fan theory, but so does the finale’s revelation that Stan Edger (Giancarlo Esposito) is back as Vought’s CEO, teasing that Vought Rising has plenty to tell about both the past and future of Vought.
‘The Boys’ Finale Teases the Cycle of Vought
The Boys finale draws attention to the history of Vought during Billy Butcher’s (Karl Urban) final scene. After defeating Homelander, Butcher suddenly decides to use the virus to kill all supes. He explains to Hughie, “As long as there’s Vought, there’ll be supes. Sooner or later, some c**t that’s already out there becomes the next Homelander, and you f***ing know it.” While he’s misguided in his extreme solution to the issue, he’s not wrong about the problem. As long as Vought exists and continues pumping out Compound V, the organization is destined to create and give power to another Homelander.
Given the intense focus on Homelander, it’s not often that The Boys gets into the root of the problem: Vought. Butcher’s candid acknowledgment of Vought's cycle is brief but raises interest in the organization. It makes you wonder about the origin of this organization and how it started the deadly cycle it appears to be stuck in on The Boys.
‘The Boys’ Season 5 Is Filled With ‘Vought Rising’ Teases
The Boys finale makes little mention of the Vought Rising characters, but that may be because the prior episodes already established their stories. As Soldier Boy and Homelander navigate their complicated relationship, it’s further strained when the former discovers his son had a relationship with Stormfront. Soldier Boy knows her better as Clara, revealing that he once loved her as well. While it’s easy to assume she was one of his many flings, The Boys’ final season reveals a deeper connection between the pair.
Soldier Boy is infuriated by the relationship between Homelander and Clara, so much so that Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) fully anticipates he will destroy the V1 just to get back at his son. In a shocking twist, though, he willingly gives the V1 to Homelander, acknowledging that creating a god-like supersoldier is what Clara would’ve wanted. He admits he loves her more than he hates Homelander. The whole sequence makes us wonder what really went on between Soldier Boy and Clara in the past. Additionally, The Boys' final season also introduces Vought Rising star Bombsight, who seems to have some beef with Soldier Boy.
As the past collided with the future in The Boys and its search for V1, it effectively laid the foundation to examine the roots of Vought, V1, and the first generation of supes.
