How The Boys Managed To Make This Horrible Character Likeable (And It’s Not Homelander)
He was supposed to be the biggest threat the show introduced, but ended up being one of the most popular characters in the series for many fans.
The Boys creators have always had a fascinating ability to make even the most despicable characters incredibly charming and charismatic, just look at Homelander (Antony Starr ), Stormfront (Aya Cash ) or Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito ), but Season 3 took it a step further.
Soldier Boy, portrayed by Jensen Ackles, has become the favorite character in the entire series for many fans and is somehow likeable and even sympathetic despite being an absolute jerk and a generally horrible person. So how did the writers achieve this effect?
While he is portrayed as a bigger threat and more of a villain than Homelander, aside from being a sexist, a homophobe, and having a disturbing fetish for old women, this hasn't stopped the majority of fans from liking him.
Of course, a large part of this is due to the fact that Jensen Ackles himself is incredibly handsome and charming, and many fans already adore him after his portrayal of Dean Winchester in the TV series Supernatural.
But besides that, most of his kills in the third season seem to be deserved, like his ex-teammates who betrayed him or depraved supes at the Herogasm, or at least accidental, being collateral damage from his intense post-traumatic stress disorder.
Speaking of PTSD, it also adds some "likeability points" to him, as Soldier Boy has been tortured for years, hoping that the Crimson Countess would come to save him, not knowing that she was part of the betrayal.
Finally, he is the first person capable of destroying Homelander, who fans have come to despise (while being fascinated by Antony Starr's charisma) after all the atrocities he has committed throughout the series.
Soldier Boy just had to humble him permanently, and he even kept his word to Butcher after learning that Homelander was actually his son.
All of this makes him seem more like an anti-hero than a true villain, as he is unquestionably evil, but not as much as some of the other characters in the series, like his son or a literal Nazi Stormfront.