The Boys' Most Boring Villain Is, Sadly, Here to Stay
There's no shortage of villains in Amazon series, but one of them is far less entertaining than the others.
While earlier Victoria Neuman was perhaps the most intriguing new addition to The Boys, in Season 3 she became, according to some fans, a complete "bore."
When we first met Victoria Neuman back in Season 2, she appeared to be The Boys' AOC analogue – a young, cheekboney political firebrand whose position as a congresswoman allowed her to fight against the juggernaut of corporate America.
In spite of the danger posed by the malignant and seemingly unstoppable Vought, Neuman began to rally the public after the truth about Compound V came to light. She pushed the U.S. House Judiciary Committee into a hearing about Vought's crimes, and when retired scientist Jonah Vogelbaum was convinced to speak as a witness to Congress, Neuman seemed finally about to make a significant dent in Vought's armour.
Of course, we all know what happened next: heads rolled. Or rather, popped. Or, more precisely still – exploded, showering the House Judiciary Committee in blood, bone, and brains. And just when we wondered why Neuman didn't get taken out, we learned that she was the head-popper all along. Whether the secret supe was working for Vought or under her own steam was unclear at the end of Season 2, but we knew one thing for sure… The Boys had a new Big Bad to contend with.
And then Season 3 happened and… Victoria Neuman just kind of did a bunch of politics? It's probably not a great sign most of the fans can't even remember much of her this season. She got a standard-issue Boys backstory (lost her family in a tragedy before being raised by Stan Edgar) and an even more standard-issue humanizing element (like so many characters before her, she's got a kid! Who she cares about! So she can't be totally villainous, right? Right?!)
But other than some back-room manipulations and ominous glaring, Victoria Neuman remained bland through most of Season 3. This may be down to the fact that there were so many plot threads and characters to follow that there just wasn't enough time.
More likely, Neuman's being held on the back burner until she becomes President of the United States. Because then she can be interesting, apparently? A secret superhero pretending to be anti-superhero while murdering her enemies should have warranted a ton of action this season, but instead, the character was kept bogged down in politics and barely held our attention.
Neuman surviving into Season 4 of The Boys currently feels like a total shrug, plot-wise. Here's hoping she gets to do something entertaining once the new season starts rolling.