Soldier Boy: The Villain Nobody Wanted to Lose

Should probably clarify the whole “Soldier Boy is gay” thing bc a couple of y’all are a lil confused- so this is just my interpretation of the information Butcher was given from MM at the beginning of season 3 (ep. 2). This was regarding Gunpowder and the abuse leveled at him when he was SB’s sidekick. It’s never explicitly stated that this abuse is sexual. Butcher makes a joke alluding to this, but it is Butcher…so who knows? Gunpowder does deny it. People in the comments have reminded me that this is not a sure or confirmed thing (except for the comics version, apparently). I do think it is rather open-ended though. It could’ve happened, but it’s not an absolute certainty. Either way, should not have said that he was gay. (Even if he did sleep with men, which he most likely didn’t, he does still sleep with women in the show so technically he’d be bisexual.) Just some extrapolation on my part and I apologize for the confusion! Thanks to everyone who pointed this out to me! P.S. *No*, I didn’t assume he was gay just bc he’s hot.

I think fans like Soldier Boy because he never switches sides or lies. He is 100% consistent.

Another reason why people like him is because he was the only character with more than 2 brain cells in the finale.

Counterpoint, Jensen Ackles is a very attractive man

Not to discredit soldier boy at all, but I think part of the reason we love him so much is because we hate homelander so much(mostly because Anthony Starr as homelander is God tier acting), that we are willing to put up with soldier boy just to finally kill homelander

It honestly felt like half way through the season they realized “ah shit, we made him way too likable” and started editing the script to make him more of a piece of shit but the damage was already done by that point

Another reason is that he wasn't enhanced by the Russians He was TORTURED For years And after he came out he did seem different and somewhat emphatic of his past Him not joining homelander and even agreeing to take down homelander down was enough for the fans to hope he might become somewhat good Butcher turning on soldier boy cost them an opportunity and now there is a stronger mini version of homelander that's growing up to be evil.

So crazy to think that Jensen Ackles considered playing Captain America for the MCU at one point, Jensen is literally Soldier Boy, he was literally BORN to play him. I can’t see anyone else play Soldier Boy.

Soldier Boy is liked because he feels flawed but redeemable, unlike Homelander. We see several examples of him caring for others. For one, he seems genuinely remorseful when he accidentally blows up in New York. He also seemed to care for Crimson Countess, looking devastated when she says she hates him. The next time we see him, he's angry about what happened in Afghanistan after having presumably served there, further showing some semblance of care about what he was fighting for. After being tortured for 30 years, he's disgusted upon coming into contact with Homelander because he realizes how Homelander is a reflection of the horrible person he himself used to be.

to add to his complexity, he seemed to have genuine remorse for killing a bunch of people when he exploded in the streets after his PTSD episode

it’s hard to hate jensen

While morally grey characters can be interesting, there is something refreshing about an unrelenting piece of work as a villain that makes them a palate cleanser for people who are tired of mushy characters who won't own their behavior or give excuses. The man is a jerk and he makes no bones about it

At a few Supernatural conventions, Jensen Ackles has been asked the difference between playing a hero like Dean Winchester and a villain like Soldier Boy, and he said an inspiration for his performance was Lee Marvin's response to a similar question: that he has "never played a bad guy in his life." Soldier Boy genuinely believes he is a good guy. That sincerity is hilarious and awful in one so wrong-headed, but a strong performance can make it almost sympathetic. The audience might end up rooting for such a character to become the good guy he believes he is, and maybe part of the tragedy of the character's story is that mismatch between the audience's hopes and the character's reality. Who doesn't love a good redemption arc, but what happens if the character in question tramples all over that arc? Makes me wonder where Soldier Boy's story is headed, if he even returns at all (I hope so).

Soldier boy is liked because he does not care. He does not try to hide anything, he act the way he is. In a show where nearly every character is manupulative he stands out as different.

I don't think Soldier Boy knew about the Bill Cosby arrest. He was just bringing up someone he thougt he knew from before he was captured. Also with how strong Soldier Boy is he probably didn't realize the drinks were spiked. Huey said there is a lot to unpack there. Also yes he is a bad person but he at least isn't an active threat to civilians as long as his PTSD doesn't trigger. Even when he saw people doing stuff he doesn't agree with he didn't go over beat the hell out of them he just rolled his eyes or said some jab while watching the TV.

I think you forgot to mention, Soldier Boy was technically Right. Many people would still be alive if Butcher didn’t turn on him. Homelander would be dead and yes Ryan too but with what is happening to Ryan now it may have been better that way.

I think the reason people were upset about Butcher turning on Soldier Boy in the finale is that its shown his powers remove compound V from supes and it doesn't usually outright kill them. Ryan and Homelander likely would've survived the blast but been left powerless. Ryan could've gone on to live as normal as a life as a kid put in such a horrible situation could and Homelander could've been taken off the playing field for good.

Reasons no one wanted to lose soldier boy: 50% because Jensen Ackles aka dean winchester plays him 50% he isn't scared to run the fade with HL

Whenever Soldier Boy was on screen I was always entertained

MM's family was a mistake, and Ryan is a second homelander in that fight. No where is it clear that he "loves" killing children, and compared to the rest of the superheroes he's not THAT bad.