Gen V powers: every Supe's abilities explained, from magnetism to blood bending?

Gen V
(Image credit: Prime Video)

The Boys spin-off Gen V introduces a new crop of college-aged Supes – and each one comes with a pretty unique set of powers. From thermokinesis to shrinking abilities and gender-shifting, each new Supe is pretty damn cool – though said powers might have you scratching your head. 

Don't worry – we did a deep dive into each Supe's set of powers, from the blood-wielding Marie Moreau to the superhuman Sam Riordan. Scroll on to see each Gen V power explained...

Marie Moreau (Hemokinesis)

Gen V

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) is no doubt the bloodiest Supe in The Boys universe. She has hemokinesis, or, the ability to control and weaponize her own blood. After being injected with Compound V as a baby, her powers arrived when she had her first menstrual period – and accidentally killed her parents in the process. After this traumatic event, we see Marie spend countless hours training and learning how to use her powers effectively. Throughout the series, she's constantly surprised at the strength of her powers, making incredible (and terrifying) things happen without even meaning to.

  • Blood Manipulation/Hemokinesis: Marie can manipulate blood via open wounds. When she cuts her palms, she's able to extend her own blood and use it like a whip or tendril of sorts. Though this specific ability can be destructive (i.e. making male appendages explode), she can also manipulate blood from others and use it to save their lives (i.e. returning blood to a body that is bleeding out).
  • Blood Sense: Much like a shark or a vampire, Marie can sense blood on the people around her, whether it be blood under fingernails or the dropping of someone's pulse – as well as objects embedded within the body that are obstructing blood flow. Plus, she can sense when someone's about to start their period – which makes her a pretty cool college roommate to have.

Luke Riordan (Thermokinesis)

Patrick Schwarzenegger as Luke aka Golden Boy in Gen V

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Luke Riordan aka Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger) is sort of The Boys universe's version of Marvel's Human Torch or even Stephen King's Firestarter. Like the other supes in the series, Luke's parents happily accepted Vought's offer to inject him with Compound V shortly after he was born. A high-ranking and wildly popular senior Godolkin University, Golden Boy was a shoo-in for The Seven. However, his time is mysteriously cut short by a string of tragedies that unravel throughout the show.

  • Thermokinesis: While pyrokinesis is the ability to manipulate fire i.e shooting it from your palms like a Fire Bender in Avatar, Golden Boy's powers are a whole lot weirder. Sure, he can create whips of fire from his palms like Marie can do with blood, but he can also set his entire body aflame. When engulfed in flames, a protective thermokinetic aura appears – and anyone who stands too close can be instantly incinerated.
  • Superhuman Strength: Luke is able to overpower anyone in his path – and rip off a limb or two with ease. When engaged in combat with other supes, their powers seem to have little to no effect on him – making him one of the most powerful supes in Gen V.

Andre Anderson (Magnetism/Superhuman strength)

Gen V episode 4

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Andre Anderson (Chance Perdomo) can control metal – just like his superhero father, Polarity. Another high-ranking senior at Godolkin University, Andre is also a contender for The Seven – but Polarity seems to want this for his son way more than he does. Instead, Andre is more concerned with using his powers to both defend his friends and solve the mystery surrounding his best friend Golden Boy.

  • Magnetism: Andre is able to control magnetic fields and bend metal with his hands. His palms are like magnets: we see him "pick up" a metal water bottle and extract a cell phone hidden within a statue. Even more badass, he can crash cars into each other and launch household appliances into the air. But, like some of the other supes, his powers come with a downside. If not careful, Andre's powers can be unintentionally lethal – evidenced by a simple coin trick turning into a throat-slitting blood bath.

Cate Dunlap (Touch-based persuasion)

Gen V

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips) might just have the scariest powers out of any of the Supes in her cohort. Her power is one of persuasion, rather than just plain ol' manipulation. Much like Marie, her powers came unexpectedly a very young age – and ended in tragedy. We learn that an 11-year-old Cate grabbed her little brother's arm and told him to go away and never come back – and despite search parties and missing posters, he never did. A student at Godolkin U, she and Golden Boy are the hottest couple on campus before tragedy strikes – and her powers become part of the unraveling.

  • Telepathy: While she can't seem to read people's minds, Cate's telepathy is nothing short of terrifying, as the mere touch of her hand can wipe someone's memory or, as mentioned above, make them walk into the woods and never come back. We also see her use it for cool things like persuading a host to let her and her friends into a swanky club and humorous things like making one of the worst dudes on campus yell "Jumanji!" over and over. All it takes is one touch and one verbal command. Aware of the immense strength of her powers, she wears elbow-length gloves to shield her touch from those around her. She can also induce sleep, read minds, and astral project.

Emma Meyer (Self-Size Alteration)

Gen V trailer

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Emma Meyer aka Cricket (Lizze Broadway) is Godolkin University's very own Alice in Wonderland. She can shrink herself down to the size of a bug or grow taller than a building – but it all depends on her food intake, or the lack thereof. Her powers take a toll on her physical and mental health, though this doesn't stop her from being a great friend and roommate to Marie or kicking major ass and saving lives.

  • Self-Size Alteration: In the very first episode of Gen V, we learn that Emma can shrink herself down to the size of a small bug – but at a cost. In order to "get small," she throws up over and over, reducing in size with each purge. Her tininess allows her to explore locations undetected, stage pretend fights with her pet gerbil, and even commit some pretty cool kills (i.e. crawling into a security guard's ear canal and swimming her way out through the other side). She eats to return to normal size, and we learn later that eating a whole lot of food can propel her to giantess status – rivaling Thanos's 8'3 stature. 

Jordan Li (Gender Transformation/Indestructibility/Energy Blasts)

Gen V

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Jordan Li (Derek Luh and London Thor) is one of the coolest Supes in pretty much any universe, giving both Marvel and DC a run for their money. Much like their fellow students, they were injected with Compound V at an early age. This manifested in a uniquely complex set of powers – allowing Jordan to shift between male and female forms with ease. Each form has its own special abilities, and Jordan is able to use both by switching back and forth during combat. They identify as bigender, though their parents show disappointment in their reluctance to stay in their male form. Fortunately, Jordan is accepted by their friends and peers – and is one of the highest-ranking (and most powerful) students at Godolkin U.

  • Gender Transformation: Jordan can switch between male and female forms with little to no effort, something they do in everyday situations. They enjoy the flexibility – and the unique set of powers that comes with each form. Both forms have a natural athleticism that allows them to dodge everything from ordinary punches to powerful attacks.
  • Indestructibility: As a male, Jordan is immune to physical damage. This is evidenced by the episode 2 fight between Golden Boy, where they seem virtually unaffected by both his flame-throwing and thermokinetic aura.
  • Energy Blasts: As a female, Jordan is able to shoot blasts of energy from their hands – and use them to both stun and launch people into the air.

Sam Riordan (Superhuman Strength)

Gen V

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Sam Riordan (Asa Germann) might be the most troubled Supe of the bunch – but he's also the one that stole our hearts. The revelation of his disappearance and subsequent capture is what indirectly causes his brother Luke's demise – and throws the entire group into a messed-up mystery that only they can get to the bottom of. Sam is sweet and gentle, but the combination of increasing paranoia combined with his superhuman strength makes for one destructive Supe. (He also frequently hallucinates people as Avenue Q-style puppets, which isn't part of his powers but is still one of the funniest things in the entire series.)

  • Superhuman strength: Sam possesses a ridiculous amount of superhuman strength, so much so that it actually rivals his brother Luke's. In the first episode, we see him kill a security guard with a singular punch – and that punch goes through the guard's back and up out of his mouth. Gross, but pretty cool. He can send even the most powerful of supes straight into the air with a single punch, leap distances so great that he leaves craters behind, and bullets seem to bounce right off him. Unfortunately, Sam's deteriorating mental health causes him to use his powers at the wrong time – letting his anger determine the volume of his attacks. 

Gen V is streaming on Prime Video, with episode 7 set to premiere on October 27. For more, check out the rest of our coverage:

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.