Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) has spent most of the first three episodes searching for "BCL Red," a Russian weapon that killed the superhero Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). If he can find this weapon, he can use it to kill Homelander (Antony Starr).
What Were the Russians Doing to Soldier Boy? Episode 4 shows Butcher leading his team in an assault on a Russian base, hoping to uncover the secret of a weapon codenamed "B.C.L. Red." Butcher believes this weapon is what killed Soldier Boy, making it the team's best option for finally taking Homelander off the table.
In fact, he was captured and studied like a lab rat to discover the source of his invulnerability. The Russians ran tests on his physical structure by shooting him in the mouth, burning his neck with a blowtorch, or forcing him to drink sulfuric acid cocktails.
His powers are standard leading man abilities in the comic world: superhuman strength, superhuman speed, and superhuman longevity. He can move as quickly, punch as hard, and age as slowly as Homelander. In the comics, he can also generate powerful energy blasts.
Even though Soldier Boy could not take down Homelander with the help of Hughie and Butcher (Karl Urban) using temporary doses of Compound V, it was abundantly clear that he is still the closest anyone has been to the individual strength of Homelander.
Superhuman strength: Soldier Boy is not as strong as Homelander, Stormfront, or any other supes. However, he is still relatively strong, similar to a super-soldier. Superhuman Speed: Soldier Boy is able to dodge bullets as well as punches and blows easily.
In combat between the two, they are fairly equal, but Homelander's heat ray vision cannot cause the same level of destruction as quickly or easily as Soldier Boy. Another aspect that makes Soldier Boy a worse villain than Homelander is his unprocessed trauma.
The superhero Soldier Boy was given a shield with an eagle emblem sometime after World War II, during which he preferred to carry a submachine gun. The shield is very heavy, as normal humans cannot lift it, while he can wield it with ease. In 1984, Soldier Boy and Payback were stationed in Nicaragua.
However, Noir's fear of Soldier Boy is surprisingly bigger than his loyalty to Homelander. When Noir escaped from Vought due to the news of Soldier Boy returning, Homelander was genuinely distraught over the news as he believed Noir always had his back.
While there, Stan Edgar schemed to betray Soldier Boy to the Russians, with Countess and the rest of Payback being tired of Soldier Boy's abuse and agreeing to the plan.
Just like the other supes, Black Noir was tired of Soldier Boy's abuse, but the turning point came via an offer from Stan Edgar. In another flashback, we learn that Edgar asked Black Noir to make Soldier Boy “fade away” as Vought scientist Jonah Vogelbaum had a “replacement” for him.
Its use has now outlived both the Tsar and Soviet communism. The antique weapon design is still popular because it's easy to use, easily modified, and fires a standard 7.62x54mm cartridge that's been used in Russia since 1891.
The grand finale of The Boys comic book series confirms that there is only one hero who is actually stronger than Homelander, and that's his (even more) evil clone, Black Noir. Created to be an upgraded version of Homelander, Black Noir proves his superiority in the final battle between these two deranged powerhouses.
In theory, Soldier Boy should be able to kill Homelander, assuming his power affects Homelander the same way it affected Kimiko. But there's no guarantee; Homelander could get wind of the attempt and kill everybody before they try something.
Additionally, rumors started to spread that Soldier Boy molested Gunpowder under his care, but the latter states that his mentor didn't touch him like that. Despite being abused, Gunpowder idolized Soldier Boy, and was the only member of the team to remain loyal.
Soldier Boy was also categorized as a coward and extremely weak-willed, a fact emphasized by Soldier Boy wetting himself on the cover of The Boys #33. Eager to join The Seven, he was tricked into having sex with Homelander — believing it to be a recruitment test.
Trivia. Soldier Boy is a villainous parody of the Marvel comics superhero Captain America and antihero The Winter Soldier.
Soldier Boy would win in a fight against Captain America. Although Captain America has the experience and fighting skills, he doesn't have Soldier Boy's strength and durability. On top of that, Soldier Boy recently obtained the powerful ability to release nuclear energy blasts from his body.
As a result, he gained strength and enhanced reflexes, as well as a healing factor that allows him to keep fighting even after sustaining injuries that would take down a normal human. He's not, however, immortal or totally immune to harm.
Since he hates himself, Soldier Boy cannot help but despise Homelander for being "a disappointment" just like him, which explains why he refuses to join forces with him.
Blunt Force/Limited Durability: Supes such as Homelander, Soldier Boy, Black Noir, Queen Maeve, and Stormfront possess strength greater than hers and can overpower and even kill her.
Superhuman Strength: One of Queen Maeve's primary abilities is tremendously enhanced superhuman strength, far greater than that of normal human beings. She was one of the most physically powerful Supes to have ever lived, only surpassed by Homelander.
Kimiko Miyashiro
With superhuman strength, durability, and agility, Kimiko is a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention, Kimiko has insanely powerful regenerative abilities, as we first see in Season 1 where she is able to survive fatal dagger wounds from Black Noir in just a matter of minutes.