WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Boys Season 3, Episode 3, "Barbary Coast," which aired June 3 on Amazon Prime Video. The Boys Season 3, Episode 3, "Barbary Coast," revealed what Black Noir looks like without his mask.
In "Barbary Coast," Grace Mallory tells The Boys about her time working with the superhero group Payback in Nicaragua in the '80s. In her story, Mallory sees Black Noir talking to Vought International CEO Stan Edgar about not wanting to wear a mask anymore. Edgar essentially tells Black Noir that Vought wants to avoid revealing that he's a Black man and threatens to demote him if he does start operating without his mask on. Later in the episode, Black Noir receives a major injury to his face, which leads to him always wearing his mask.
Introduced in Season 1 of The Boys, Black Noir is a major member of The Seven. However, in Season 2, Black Noir ended up in the hospital due to a tree nut allergy, which is referenced in "Barbary Coast." Actor Nathan Mitchell normally plays Black Noir on The Boys. However, Fritzy-Klevans Destine -- who has appeared on such shows as Batwoman and Superman & Lois -- is credited as playing a young Black Noir in the episode.
The reveal of Black Noir without his mask seemingly confirms long-standing theories the character majorly departs from his comic book counterpart. In Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's series, Black Noir is a clone of Homelander created to destroy the leader of The Seven if he ever grows too uncontrollable. However, Black Noir becomes unstable and actively tries to frame Homelander for crimes. While this reveal makes it unlikely that Black Noir is a clone of Homelander, it's still entirely possible Vought intends him to act as some sort of fail-safe against the supe if he goes rogue.
Based on the comic book of the same name, The Boys debuted on Amazon Prime Video in 2019. A second season followed in 2020. Despite an early renewal, production on The Boys Season 3 was delayed, resulting in a longer-than-average delay between seasons.
Created by Eric Kripke, new episodes of The Boys are released Fridays on Amazon Prime Video. The next episode of the season, "Glorious Five Year Plan," hits the streaming service on June 10.
