The Boys Offers First Look At Laurie Holden As The Crimson Countess In Season 3

"The Boys" are almost back, and they're bringing a new woman into the mix. The hit Amazon Prime show, based on the comic series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, will finally return for its third season after a longer-than-usual hiatus due to COVID-19. Production on the third season wrapped in September, and while there's no official release date yet, it's probably coming soon. 

Earlier this summer we got a first look at Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy, but now the studio has shared the first look of another new addition to the cast, Laurie Holden's Crimson Countess. 

Like Soldier Boy, the Crimson Countess is a member of Payback, a group of superheroes kind of like the Seven, just a little less prestigious. Also like Soldier Boy, it's a legacy title, meaning that there have been more than one Crimson Countess over the years. The first fought alongside the original Soldier Boy in World War II, but it's likely that the version we're seeing played by Holden is the second person to don the title. That said, it is entirely possible that she's still the original Crimson Countess and hasn't aged, similarly to Stormfront, because they're superhumans and anything is possible. 

On the streaming series, the only mention made of her so far is that she was in the running to join the Seven around the time Starlight was chosen. That could mean there's some bad blood between the two, which will probably only get worse given the rivalry between the Seven and Payback. If the Seven are the Justice League of "The Boys," then Payback are the Avengers. Soldier Boy is a direct spoof of Captain America, and Crimson Countess is a riff on Scarlet Witch. (You know, the character from Marvel's "Wandavision.") 

With Stormfront all but out of the picture, it will be interesting to see how the remaining women supes battle for supremacy. Sure, Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), Starlight (Erin Moriarty), and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) were Team Girl Power when it came to taking down Stormfront, but who knows how long that can last?

This casting is a perfect choice. Holden has already shown her genre chops in both film and television, kicking butts and taking names as Cybil Bennett in "Silent Hill" and fighting off hordes of undead as Andrea on "The Walking Dead." She's great at playing whip-smart, tough-as-nails women who get put through horrible situations, so she's a great fit for the brutal world of "The Boys." 

It's entirely possible that we'll see her show up in the "Herogasm" episode, based on one of the comics' most infamous storylines. Considering the Crimson Countess is known for her habit of cheating on her boyfriend, Mind-Droid, and that Homelander is flying solo again, episode 6 may be full of surprises.

"The Boys" season 3 will premiere on Amazon Prime sometime in the near future, and as far as I'm concerned, it can't be here fast enough.