What comes to your mind when you think of superheroes? Strong and powerful beings with various abilities like super strength, telepathy, flight, super gadgets, and so on. That would be what most people would think.
Well, it is very true as from a very young age when we were introduced to superheroes, they were our idols, who would fight against bad guys and stop their oppression and wrongdoings.
However, out of all the characteristics that the superheroes must-have, the most important thing that they must possess is honesty and faithfulness towards their duty as the hero of the people So, what happens when they lose their morals and become corrupt, and arrogant? – They become Supes.
Emerging with the unique concept of showcasing superheroes as fouled, egotistic, and selfish maniacs, called Supes, and establishing a group to go up against these corrupted heroes, The Boys, a whole new series was released in 2019 and man was it something else.
The Boys is an American superhero television series, developed by Eric Kripke and was based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.
Let us remind you that although a superhero series, The Boys is nothing like the other superhero shows that you are used to.
Not only did it bring out the Superheroes in a whole new light, but it was also able to use the elements such as violence, gore stuff, and deft plots to attract more viewers.
It has been running for over two years now, and with its recent season, it has managed to collect the same hype or even more than the last two seasons. With the latest season not only did they bring out some quality content, but also introduced a whole army of new characters.
However, among the newly introduced characters, there’s one in particular that stood out the most and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he did steal the spotlight. Yes, you guessed it right, it’s none other than the Soldier Boy.
Here, we are going to talk about who this hyped-up Soldier Boy is and just how strong he is. So, if you want to know all about him make sure you read this article to the end.
Who was Soldier Boy?
One of the most prominent characters of the latest season of The Boys, Soldier boy was America’s first and greatest superhero before Homelander and the former leader of the superhero team Payback.
Real name Benjamin Gillman, Soldier Boy was the major antagonist of the series The Boys and served as the main antagonist alongside Homelander in Season 3.
Mostly compared to Captain America, because of his similar story and appearance, Soldier Boy was born in South Philadelphia in 1919, and people used to call him Ben as a nickname.
He was depicted as a poor boy, who grew up with difficulties and had to learn about life in a difficult way; by learning the values of hard work and bravery.
However, in reality, Ben was born into a wealthy family. He was basically born with a silver spoon in his mouth as his father owned half the steel mills in the states.
As a leader of Payback, Soldier boy was arrogant, macho, reckless and a womanizing bully who had sexist tendencies. Not only he was emotionally abusive to people who disagreed with him, but also he had no worry about using his status and power to manipulate and intimidate others for his own use, making him a perfect Supes.
When he was younger he was sent to a boarding school but he ultimately flunked out, which led his father to call him a disappointment and unworthy to carry on the family name. This deeply impacted him but didnt really change his attitude toward others.
As a young man, he was the one who helped good triumph over evil in World War II. With his superhero team Payback by his side, he fought for liberty and justice until he disappeared during a botched military operation in Nicaragua.
His disappearance was covered with the story that he heroically sacrificed his own life to protect America from a nuclear power plant meltdown.
TMI: Did you know, in the series, Soldier Boy was even shown as a public celebrity who was a successful actor and singer despite the quality of his performances? He also performed a cover of Robert Mitchum’s “From a Logical Point of View”, and shortly before his disappearance, Soldier Boy made a guest appearance on Solid Gold and performed a rendition of Blondie’s “Rapture”.
Now, Just like any other series based on the comics, there are sure going to be some differences between the two versions. So, while we are talking about the Soldier Boy, let’s take a look at his comics counterpart too.
The Soldier Boy in the comic version was very different from the series version. They were both the leader of Payback. However, the elected leader of the team, Soldier Boy, wanted to join The Seven and also fell victim to Homelander’s tricks out of desperation to join the Seven.
Just like in the series, he was believed to have fought in World War II. Butcher, the leader of The Boys didn’t really believe it and thought it off as an insult to those who really fought.
Also, in his fight with Butcher, Soldier Boy got his nose bitten in Issue #32 and was captured alive but beaten badly for information. Later at the beginning of Issue #39, the cover of a newspaper showed a funeral being held for Soldier Boy.
Unlike his series counterpart, the comic version of Soldier Boy maintained a very innocent approach to his role, not realizing the corruption around him.
He did have no problems with hurting others or abusing his powers but what set him apart from other Supes was that he was very dedicated to his job, and his patriotism wasn’t just an act.
It was later revealed that there had been two earlier versions of Soldier Boys to exist and that the Soldier boy was a legacy title. Both previous Soldier Boys were the leaders of their teams. The original Soldier boy decided to send his team to scout in war without any authorization or awareness of military tactics. They were all killed and the Soldier boy was wounded and killed by Mallory.
How strong was Soldier Boy?
Probably viewed as a parody version of Captain America, Soldier Boy was nothing like your normal superhero. With his foul mouth and attitude, he certainly didn’t fit the superhero criteria. However, despite his wicked personality, he was the original strongest superhero in the world.
It all began in 1944, Soldier Boy(Ben) joined the army and began to exploit his father’s connection in the military. He was able to get himself dosed with Frederick Vought’s field-tested version of Compound V.
Compound V was an alchemical super serum that was formulated to enhance the human body and mind and was intended to be utilized by the Germans during the Second World War in order to create super soldiers for Nazi Germany.
Soldier boy, after getting the serum had enhanced powers and with his new powers, he was able to send many German soldiers to their death.
He was mostly used for war propaganda instead of actually being sent to fight off enemies because he was a valuable asset to the company.
Even though he had become such a superstrong hero, his father was not even a little impressed by him and skeptically told him that all Soldier Boy did was took the easy way, and also stated that a real man wouldn’t have cheated the way he had.
Despite all these, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he was indeed a very powerful hero. Even after being brought to the present world, it was only the upgraded version of himself that was more powerful than him.
Well, he was not able to bring down Homelander even with the help of Hughie and Butcher along with his Compound V, he was still the only one to ever land an attack on Homelander.
His pure and raw strength was something to notice as he was able to create a radioactive burst that burned Compound V out of an enemy’s blood, which took away their powers.
This was all the series version of Soldier Boy, but what about his comic counterpart you ask?
Well, it might come as a blow, but his counterpart was nothing like him. Despite being one of the Supes, the Soldier Boy in the comics was not as strong as his series version.
He never even used any foul language or participated in things that would cause any damage to his image. Unlike in the series, Soldier Boy was very cowardly and always ran away from the fights as soon as he realized that his team would lose.
It just showed just how weak he was despite being a leader. He was easily manipulated by others and didnt have much courage to speak for himself. He was even beaten to death by Butcher and he couldn’t even fight back, which is not so superhero-like.
What powers and abilities did he have?
Well, as the original strongest superhero in the world, Solider boy had many powers and abilities that made him deserving of the title.
Here we are going to discuss some of his powers and abilities.
Powers
Superhuman Strength: First and foremost, because he was subjected to the super serum, he gained massive strength. He possessed superhuman strength and was deemed to be the most powerful superhero before Hoemlander.
Not only he was able to take on several trained soldiers all at once, but he was able to overpower the entire Payback team in melee combat and nearly killed Black Noir.
He also had a shield that was extremely heavy but he was easily able to lift and effortlessly wield it one-handed. According to Mother Milk, Soldier Boy was able to lift and throw a full-sized car as if it was a child’s toy.
Homelander himself stated that his initial evaluation of Soldier Boy’s strength concerned him, even before they went against each other in combat.
Superhuman Durability: Soldier Boy had great durability as he was able to withstand great and deadly attacks like, assault rifle rounds fired at point-blank range in his mouth, cutting by power saws, and so on.
He was also nearly invincible as he was even able to resist burning by oxy-acetylene flame and even blades being struck against his eyes. His excellent durability was believed to be because of the several decades he spent in the hands of the Russian scientists, who performed experiments on him.
He was able to defy Homelander’s punishing attacks almost with no visible wounds or signs of injuries. Also, he was able to withstand his own nuclear explosions, although it did cause him a great amount of pain.
When he went up against Butcher, he was subjected to a laser blast to the face by Butcher but instead of inflicting major damage, it only left a small cut on his cheek.
Superhuman Speed and Reflexes: With the serum, not only was his strength enhanced but also his speed and reflexes were equally heightened.
His impressive speed and reflexes allowed him to quickly take on several soldiers at the same time and even react instantly to shield himself before the enemy even started to open fire.
Although the full extent of his speed was not seen, just his scenes from the series were enough to give us a rough idea of just how quick Soldier Boy was on his feet.
Toxin Immunity: Since he was already dosed with such a superficial serum, he was very resilient towards any harmful substances and poisons. When he drank one of Bill Cosby’s spiked drinks, it had no effects on him.
While he was under Russian imprisonment, during the experiments he was given sulfuric acid, which he easily withstood, and also he was immune to Halothane gas. being able to casually take it in.
Even Novichok, the most dangerous toxin in the world, had no effect on him, which just indicated that he had built up a resistance to it.
Radiation Immunity: Not only was he immune to toxins but he was also able to withstand being exposed to 20 sieverts of radiation, which was far above the lethal radiation dosage for humans.
Also, he could withstand the amount of radiation produced by his own body and it was nearly equal to that of a nuclear reactor.
Psychic Immunity: Another thing that Soldier Boy was immune to was psychic attacks. During his fight with Mindstorm in Nicaragua, Soldier Boy was able to resist his mind control. He had quite an impressive level of resistance toward psychic and mind-altering attacks.
Regenerative Healing Factor: Another interesting power that Soldier Boy had in his possession was the regenerative healing factor. Even after getting a cut from Butcher’s laser on his cheek, he was able to heal it within a short amount of time.
Longevity: In the series, he might look somewhere in his late twenties to early thirties, but let us remind you that he is almost 103 years old. Yes! he was born in 1919 and because of the serum he has not aged at all since World War II, and still had the appearance of a man in his thirties.
Radiation Generation: Soldier Boy was exposed to high levels of radiation during his time in confinement, where the Russian scientists experimented on him. After such exposure, over time Soldier Boy’s body itself started to produce radiation on its own.
This made him turn into a walking nuclear reactor and because of this, his body emitted high levels of radiation at all times. The amount o radiation varied on his emotional state as seen when Hughie’s counter recorded an increased level of radiation when Soldier Boy was venting about his past.
On top of that, he also had PTSD and when triggered, his emotional state got out of control causing him to go crazy with his radiation.
Radioactive Aura: Well, not only was Solider Boy’s power as a walking nuclear reactor caused him pain but his radiations were equally dangerous to the people around him. Since he emitted massive amounts of radiation, which caused radiation poisoning in those in close proximity.
Radiation-Infused Energy Blasts: The radiation was certainly dangerous to Soldier Boy and those around him but with such power of a nuclear reactor, he possessed the ability to fire immensely powerful blasts of radiation-infused energy from his upper body.
He released energy as a forward-facing beam, creating a wedge-shaped that lasted several seconds before his energy depleted. With such a powerful attack, he was able to completely vaporize normal humans, kill dozen of enemies and even destroy entire skyscrapers.
Abilities
Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Even before getting the Compound V injected into him, Soldier Boy was a part of the military, which meant that he was a skilled fighter from the very start.
With his military training, he was a master at hand-to-hand combat and could easily take on special forces soldiers. Using his combat skills and shield attacks he was able to prove himself a challenging opponent to Homelander.
Intimidation: One of the most prominent and unique abilities that Soldier Boy had was his intimidating personality. He was very imposing and made everyone around him feel frightened.
People around him, who were aware of his fierce nature were always walking on eggshells as they knew, if they pissed Soldier Boy off, it could clearly mean their destruction.
Some powerful characters such as Butcher, adn even Homelander were scared of Soldier Boy and continued to remain wary of him after their first battle.
Shield Expertise: Soldier Boy was very skilled in wielding his one-of-a-kind shield. The shield that Soldier Boy carried was very heavy, any normal human wouldn’t have been able to lift it.
However, he was easily able to carry it one-handed and use it as a blunt weapon to bash opponents with it. With his shield, he was able to crush even powerful Supes and even shatter Balck Noir’s skull.
Knife Proficiency: Not only was he a skilled combatant and skilled shield user, but he was also highly skilled at using knives. He was very much experienced at throwing knives and hitting his enemies even from a long distance.
Expert Marksman: Do we even have to talk about just how much of a master he was at using his weapons with great accuracy? He was an expert with guns and shot both a brainwashed priest and a nun straight in their head with exceptional precision.
Singer: If something made Soldier Boy superior to Captain America was his ability to sing. What a singer he was. He performed the song “Rapture” by Blondie, during his guest appearance on Solid Gold. However, according to The Legend, he was not a good singer. Not so nice of him.
Actor: If you think Soldier Boy’s abilities end here, then think again as this man with many talents had another trick up his sleeve. Surprisingly he had participated in the production of many films and anti-communist propaganda, such as Red Thunder. Many of these films were considered classics, meaning that Soldier Boy was likely an actor of at least decent skill.
Was he the strongest?
Just by looking at his powers and abilities, we can say without any doubt that he was probably the strongest character in the whole series. Even though he comes second to Homelander, he was still very strong and a force to reckon with.
Even though, here we are going to compare his strengths with the other characters in the series, to really prove if he is the strongest or not.
Comparison between him and the other The Boys’ characters
1. Homelander
Homelander was a patriotic superhero and the most powerful character in The Boys’ live-action series, and also the leader of the superhero team, The Seven.
He was depicted as another version of Superman as he got many abilities like flight, superstrength, speed, and heat vision, very similar to that of Superman.
The Vought- American company created a cover story for him stating that he was an alien who landed in the United States as an infant. However, the reality was that Homelander was Soldier Boy’s son.
Jonah Vogelbaum tricked Soldier boy into giving his sperm so that they could study his genetics but Vogelbaum used it to create a baby, who grew up to be Homelander.
Now, both in the series and in the comic version, Homelander was depicted as the most powerful character and there was no doubt that he was much stronger than Soldier Boy.
However, Soldier Boy had a near to century of experience in actual combat and was able to go up against Homelander by evading and countering his attacks.
Just with his raw power, he was able to match Homelander in a brutal hand-to-hand brawl. while they were going up against each other, trading staggering blows and dealing great damages, Soldier boy was able to catch Homelander and throw him around like a rag doll.
Homelander is the Soldier Boy’s son and much stronger than him but still, but there is still a good chance that Soldier Boy might just be a better combatant than Homelander.
2. Queen Maeve
Considered to be one of the most powerful characters of the series, Queen Maeve was a warrior, a feminist, a humanitarian, and also a member of the Seven.
She was believed to be one of the strongest members of The Seven and was the ultimate role model for little girls all over the world.
She was often regarded as the second strongest being in the whole world just behind Homelander, and even her abilities were on par with Homelader’s abilities. She was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant and so was Soldier Boy.
However, because she was just behind the world’s strongest it also made her stronger than Solider Boy as he was not as strong as Homelander. So, if these two were to go up against each other, chances are Solider Boy wouldn’t last very long.
Despite that, because both of them were excellent fighters, and Soldier Boy had a century of experience, he might have the upper hand in the fight. But since Maeve also had a much harder body and was resistant to most attacks, she had better chances of defeating Soldier Boy.
3. Black Noir
Another strong character in the series was Black Noir. Coming just behind Homelander and Queen Maeve, Black Noir was an expert in hand-to-hand combat, just like Solider Boy, and highly trained in various forms of martial arts.
He was supposed to be a clone of Homelander, who had all his abilities and powers but was much more skilled in combat. He was occasionally bullied by Soldier Boy, which made him doubt his own abilities.
However, he was even stronger than Homelander and was capable of hurling a fighter jet with one hand and killing Queen Maeve with one punch. So, with such great strength and powers, he wouldn’t have any trouble going up against Soldier boy and actually even defeating him.
However, before he could even take a stand and fight Soldier Boy, he was murdered at the hands of Homelander. His death did shock many as it was very unexpected given his loyalty to his leader remained till the end no matter what.
4. The Boys
The Boys surely were a group of incredibly powerful individuals. The comic version depicted The Boys to be as strong as the Homelander, which meant that even if Soldier Boy were to fight them, he wouldn’t have been able to take them all down.
Regardless, in the series version, only Kimiko had superpowers. She had increased physical capabilities that allowed her to fight Black Noir and A train on an equal level.
Both Soldier Boy and Kimiko had regenerative factors; they could heal themselves if wounded by attacks. it was very much possible that in a one-on-one fight, Kimiko would certainly give a hard time for Soldier Boy because of her regenerative ability even though Soldier boy was much better and a stronger fighter than her.
However, during his fight against The Boys, he was able to overpower Kimiko with ease and effortlessly. He also defeated V24-empowered Butcher in melee combat using his superhuman strength to knock him unconscious.
So, it would probably be difficult for Soldier boy to go up against the Boys as a whole, but in one-on-one combat, he might be able to defeat them.
In the comic version, Soldier Boy had his nose bitten by Butcher and was captured, and tortured for information but he died because of the extreme level of torture and was pronounced dead.
5. Starlight
The girl next door with superpowers, Annie January or better known as Starlight, joined the Seven in hopes of saving the world from evil. While many people said the same thing, she really did mean it.
She had superpowers and her main power was her ability to absorb electricity and use them to create focused blasts that were strong enough to take down powerful opponents.
Although she was a member of the Seven, she wasn’t as strong as the other members and was also not much experienced in a fight. Soldier Boy on the other hand had more than a whole century’s worth of combat experience.
So, if these two were to ever go up against each other, chances are that Starlight might not even be able to hold up a candle against Soldier boy as he would easily defeat her as he was more experienced and physically much stronger than Starlight.
6. A-Trains
A-trains was another powerful character and a member of The Seven. He did leave the team for a bit, but later rejoined and was believed to be the fastest man in the world.
Underneath his identity as the celebrity superhero, he had a soul of a mortal athlete with deep insecurity about staying at the top.
Not only did he have super speed, but he also possessed superstrength that was far superior to that of any normal human being. Although he was a part of the Seven he was not as much as strong as Black Noir or Queen Maeve, which might give Soldier Boy a great advantage in a fight against A- trains.
Even if A- trains managed to speed-blitz Soldier Boy in combat, we highly doubt that he would be able to actually defeat Soldier Boy as not only Soldier Boy had great speed and reflexes, he was a very skilled combatant.
7. Stormfront
Known to be the first Supe in the world, after her husband, Frederick Vought gave her the first successful injection of Compound V, Stormfront was believed to be just as strong as Homelander.
Not only was she an experienced fighter but she also had the ability to manipulate plasma, which meant that she was able to manipulate the matters around her such as electricity, and create plasma blasts strong enough to take down her enemies.
Because she was so strong and her overall strength was as strong as Homelander, she could very well go up against Soldier Boy as she might be more powerful than him and defeat him in one-on-one combat.
8. The Deep
As the founding member of the Seven, The Deep was believed to be one of the strongest characters but surprisingly he wasn’t one.
After becoming a superhero and taking on the name The Deep, he rose to fame and stardom as one of America’s greatest superheroes.
His main power was that he could communicate with any aquatic lifeforms. Along with such a unique ability, as a superhero, he had massive strength and durability. However, being one of the weakest members, might not be able to go up against the Soldier boy.
Since Soldier Boy has greater strength, speed, and even his durability is unmatched, he is most likely to be stronger than The Deep.
So, while comparing to the other characters it is clear as day that there are only a few characters who have chances of defeating Soldier Boy, as most of them couldn’t even hold a candle against him, which just proves that Soldier Boy was no weakling.
Although he was frozen in time and revived in recent times, Soldier Boy was able to adapt to the new world and was deemed as the second strongest being on the planet, right after his own son, Homelander, which alone proved just how strong this guy was.
Now, Soldier Boy was just introduced in the latest Season 3. Just his presence made The Boys series so much fun and added that extra seasoning that the show needed.
Well, there are many things that are still unknown about this superhero and with the new season coming soon, we can expect that we will get to see more of him.
The rumor has it that the next season will be aired in the September of 2023. So, till then all we can do is wait. If you haven’t watched the series yet make sure you add it to your watch list and catch up with the series only on Amazon Prime Video.
