Homelander meets his match in The Boys' new season 3 villain: "You don't forget Soldier Boy"

Soldier Boy is The Boys’ answer to Captain America. Vought’s super soldier was created during World War Two to give the Allies the edge in the conflict – but while Steve Rodgers' anachronistic nature makes him mild-mannered and easy to blush, Soldier Boy takes a different tact… "He’s come out of World War Two," show creator Eric Kripke tells Total Film. "So he’s been around a really long time and he’s exactly as racist and misogynist as you would expect someone from the mid-1940s to be."

He’s also incredibly powerful. Jensen Ackles’ superhero is introduced in the trailer by beating someone to a pulp with his shield before leveling an entire building. This all makes him a formidable foe – and perhaps the only one who can take down Antony Starr’s psychopathic leader of the Seven. "He’s the only one as powerful as Homelander," Kripke confirms. "He's the very first superhero – he was Homelander before Homelander."

How we meet him remains a mystery, though Kripke promises "twists and turns" as we find out exactly what his backstory is. Although, the creator teased he’ll play a big part in The Boys’ plan going forward to take down Homelander once and for all.

"The Boys get on the mystery of what happened to Soldier Boy because he hasn’t been around with the hope that maybe through that is an answer of a way to take down Homelander," he says. "So it's interesting to have Homelander potentially be up against somebody as strong as him. He's not a guy who has to deal with his own mortality very much – so when you put him into that situation, it's pretty interesting."

We’re also set to find out a bit more about his backstory – and the origins of Vought – as Payback is brought into the series. The superhero team was created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson in the comic book series but in the show, they’re billed as the original Seven. And one of their members was Black Noir.

Actor Nathan Mitchell, who plays the enigmatic masked hero, is reluctant to give anything away about their connection, he did admit they have "history". He says: "They have a history together, they were on the same team. And Noir knows Soldier Boy – and you know you don't forget your time with Soldier Boy."

While we’ll have to wait and see just how much carnage Soldier Boy brings to The Boys, the cast and crew have been vocal over their love for Ackles in the role. 

For Mitchell, working with him was a bit of a dream come true after admiring him on Smallville when he was younger. "When I got into Smallville that reawakened my love of superheroes as a teenager and that was when Jensen was on that season of Smallville. So it's super surreal and cool now to be on the same show as him, doing a superhero show. And then Noir and Soldier Boy are on the same team together." Claudia Doumitt, who plays head-popping congresswoman Victoria Neuman, adds: "Jensen fits in so insanely well with everyone. It’s been an absolute delight."

Ackles' introduction to the diabolical world of The Boys also marked a Supernatural reunion with Kripke, who created that show back in 2005. "It's been so many years of every single thing I've thrown at him, he handles beautifully," Kripke shares. "I need him to be scary, he's scary. I need him to be charming, an Action Hero, emotive… Like whatever I need him to do, he's just so good at it. I didn't have any doubts that he would bring something completely fresh and unexpected to the role because that's just what he does to every role."

As for working together again? "It was a blast to work with him again. I mean, it had been a decade since I'd really worked on Supernatural so it had been a minute. To be able to just be with him and have that sort of shorthand again and be able to write dialogue for him and it was really fun. So yeah, it was like a family reunion."

The Boys season 3 will premiere with the first 3 episodes on Friday, June 3 on Prime Video. New episodes will be available each Friday, leading up to the season finale on July 8. Looking for more to stream? Check out our guide to the best shows on Amazon Prime Video to watch right now.