The Actor Behind One Of The Seven Will Play A 'Whole New Character' In The Boys Season 4

If you haven't seen the season 3 finale of "The Boys," read no further, because we're about to delve into some major spoilers for the fate of one character.

"The Boys" season 3 finale marked the end of the line for one member of the Seven, the decidedly unheroic superhero group sponsored by Vought International. The death of Black Noir, the silent but deadly Batman analog in this dark parody of the Justice League, is one that will have ramifications for the show going forward. For one thing, it seems increasingly likely that the narrative of "The Boys" will continue to depart from the Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson comic book series on which it is based since Black Noir's fate in that series was very different and he played an integral role in the final destiny of team leader Homelander as well.

Black Noir's death will also have ramifications for Nathan Mitchell, the actor behind the character's mask. Like David Prowse, the man who played Darth Vader, Mitchell never got to show his face this season even when Black Noir was unmasked. Instead, "The Boys" season 3 brought in another actor, Fritzy-Klevans Destine, to play the talking, unmasked version of Black Noir in flashbacks, where we saw the character as a member of an earlier super-team, Payback, led by Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles).

Showrunner Eric Kripke told Entertainment Weekly that this will enable "The Boys" to bring back Mitchell as "a different character who wears the Black Noir suit" in season 4. He said:

"It's definitely not the last we've seen of Black Noir as a hero. It's just that the guy who was inside [the Noir suit] in season 3, he's gone. But we have Nathan playing a really interesting and hilarious character who wears the suit next season."

In superhero comics, there's a long tradition of characters assuming the mantle of a previous hero or villain, even keeping the same name with added Roman numerals to distinguish them from their predecessors. Hopefully, when we meet the eventual Black Noir II, he'll be able to talk so that Mitchell's character isn't left mute like Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) and actually gets the chance to say some lines next season.

Until then, viewers of "The Boys" are left to mourn the tragicomic end of Black Noir I, a character they were just getting to know. Season 3 showed how Noir was left brain-damaged by Soldier Boy, only to wind up having his guts ripped out by Homelander (Anthony Starr), who felt betrayed that Noir had not told him he was Soldier Boy's son. Along the way, we got a glimpse inside Noir's mind and saw how it was populated by cartoon critters.

"Young Noir grew up going to this like pizza chain called Buster Beavers," Kripke told EW. "It's like a Chucky Cheese." That and the existing precedent of the animated spin-off "The Boys Presents: Diabolical" were the basis for Noir's cartoon friends.

The last thing Black Noir I sees as the light goes out of his eyes is a buck-toothed cartoon beaver, shedding a tear and stuttering while telling him he will soon be in the sweet embrace of Christ the Lord. "We are so proud of you," he says, and fans looking back on Noir's absurd yet strangely poignant arc in "The Boys" might feel the same way.