5 Biggest Gen V Plot Points to Remember Before The Boys Season 4

The Boys season 4 is just on the horizon. The popular Prime Original series is based on the comic book series of the same name and is a dark satire of the superhero genre that has become one of the most popular series on television. Despite mocking the idea of superhero oversaturation, the series itself has expanded greatly with its own spin-off series.

Gen V debuted in 2023 following The Boys’ season 3 finale in 2022. Gen V is very much The Boy‘s version of the X-Men, as it focuses on a college of superheroes being molded into the next generation of Vought puppets.

The Boys

Release Date: July 26, 2019
Seasons: 4
Studio: Amazon Studios

Despite the creators of The Boys saying Gen V is not required viewing for season 4, the presence of Gen V characters in the season 4 trailer shows there will be a fair amount of crossover. While The Boys will likely add context for viewers who skipped the spin-off, it will also make the viewing experience for season 4 richer, having seen or known some high-profile plot points.

The story for Gen V was unfolding in the gap between The Boys season 3 and 4, giving viewers a few sneak peeks at what was to come and what was going on in the world of the show. Here are the 5 biggest plot points for Gen V to remember before The Boys season 4.

5 Victoria Neuman is Running For Office…and Might Win

Victoria Neuman appeared to be a normal human senator when she was introduced on The Boys, one fighting to stop Vought and the unquestioned power of superheroes. Yet the series later revealed she is in fact a secret supe (the colloquial term for superpowered individuals on the show) and she is only presenting as human for the general public. Her powers are the same as Marie, as she can control blood but has more control of it.

Gen V

Release Date: September 29, 2023
Seasons: 1
Studio: Amazon Studios, Kripke Enterprises, Original Film

In fact, she is the one who sent Marie to Godolkin University (God U), as she saw a lot of similarities to herself. The Boys showed Neuman acting as the Vice President’s Running Mate to Senator Robert Singer (Jim Beaver) in The Boys, with her campaign being featured in Gen V.

A Killer Strategy

In Gen V, Neuman told Marie instead of exposing “The Woods” testing facility to the public; she should seek a position of power as a way to enact real change. This seems to imply Neuman’s overall goal, right now working with the likes of Homelander and Vought Industries while secretly plotting in the shadows. She was last seen being handed samples of a virus that was being developed by scientists in “The Woods” under God U that could neutralize a super’s ability.

Neuman killed the lead scientist, and with the virus in her possession, she now has a weapon that could keep every super in the world under her control, allowing her to go as far as possibly becoming President herself.

4 Homelander’s Trial

While it was not a major part of Gen V, mainly a background detail, it is worth noting that Homelander did show up in the season finale of Gen V and knocked out Marie and the other Guardians of Godolkin. Homelander is now finding more people like him who want to not hold back on their abilities, a large section of the population that is okay with being ruled over by supes.

The World Embracing a Monster

The trailers for season 4 of The Boys have put a lot of emphasis on Homelander’s trial, with a particular moment seeing Starlight and Homelander’s fanbase coming to blows in public. Regardless of the outcome, it calls into question if Homelander can even be tried.

An edited image of Homelander and Butcher together in The Boys

Everything to Remember From The Boys Before Watching Season 4

With Season 4 of The Boys on the horizon and two years since Season 3, it’s a good time for a refresher about where the story left off.

If he is found guilty, who can stop him? He appears to be building an army of powerful individuals who will follow him, and his fanbase likely won’t accept a guilty verdict. Gen V laid a lot of the groundwork for the world’s growing division in the superhero community and the general public.

3 The Guardians of Godolkin Have Been Labeled Villains

Season 1 of Gen V concluded with a massive X-Men-style battle, with supes who were feeling oppressed by humans and wanting to assert their dominance as the most powerful beings on the planet against supes who were upholding the image of superheroes they have been fed their entire life through the media as protectors, despite audiences of The Boys knowing that to be a lie. As is custom for the world of The Boys, the heroic characters are made out to be villains.

Previously known as the Guardians of Godolkin for stopping a star super student driven mad by the higher-ups at the school, the students who stop the bloody violent assault on the school are stopped by Homelander (Anthony Starr) in the season finale. Instead of being greeted nicely by Homelander, he is disgusted they used their powers to hurt their own kind while protecting humans.

They are incapacitated and wake up being held in a private prison with the media pinning the campus attacks on them. The characters captured are:

Heroes On The Run

With the four Guardians of Godolkin now captured and being held captive by Vought Industries, it is unlikely these characters will have a big appearance on The Boys. However, that does not mean they might not be referenced or that the season might end with The Boys rescuing these characters.

The media has them turned into villains to the general public, which would set the stage for season 2 or even a team-up with The Boys if they think they can use these superpowered individuals to help take down Homelander.

The major news hanging over this development, though, was the tragic passing of actor Chance Perdomo, who died on March 30, 2024, in a motorcycle accident. It is already confirmed his part will not be recast, and instead, the character will be written out of Gen V season 2, but it is unknown if he shot anything for The Boys season 4.

2 Cate and Sam Led a Super Uprising and Are Embraced by the Seven

The two figures behind the supes uprising in the season finale of Gen V were Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips) and Samuel “Sam” Riordan (Asa Germann). Cate is a powerful telepath who, when she touches someone, can make anyone do whatever she says. At the same time, Sam has superhuman strength and invulnerability and is the younger brother of Cate’s former boyfriend, Luke Riordan / Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger).

Both turned on normal humans, as Cate hated how she was made to use her powers, which led Golden Boy to go insane and want revenge on the humans who used her, while Sam was experimented on in a facility called “The Woods” underneath the school. Both led the uprising of supes on the campus, with Cate being neutralized by Marie by blowing up one of her hands and cutting off her power.

Cate and Sam Embraced by the Seven

The trailer for season 4 of The Boys showed both Sam and Cate standing in the Seven’s main base alongside A-Train (Jessie T. Usher). It appears that, following the events of Gen V, Homelander took a liking to two superpowered people who seemed to embrace his idea of supes being above humans and asserting their dominance over them.

Sam and Cate are seen as heroes to the general public while the actual heroes, The Guardians of Godolkin, are being held captative. Now that Cate is missing a hand, she now has only access to one hand for her powers, but it is possible the medics at Vought might find a way to give her a slight upgrade. It is unknown how big of a role they will have in season 2, but with Homelander’s trailer line of “not being a superhero, but vengeful gods,” it appears they will be right at home.

10 Ways Gen V Differs from The Boys Comic Storyline

Gen V takes a lot of liberties when it comes to baseline plots and stories from the original comic series of The Boys. Here are some big differences.

1 Billy Butcher’s Secret Weapon

In classic superhero tradition, Gen V had a mid-credit teaser. It showed Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) investigating the remains of “The Woods” facility under God U, the same one where Dean Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn) was developing a virus that would kill all supes after she lost her family on Flight 37, the flight that Homelander refused to save the civilians back in season one of The Boys.

A Virus Years in the Making

The trailer for season 4 has Billy explain to his team he found a virus that can kill all supes, the same one created in Gen V. It is clear that this will be The Boys’ secret weapon against Homelander and The Seven, who will be taking a more active role in trying to capture the team of supe killers.

While Dean Shetty did not live to see her creation used for its potential, as she was killed by Cate in Gen V, it appears that her legacy will live on through The Boys. The events of The Boys set up the virus plot in Gen V, and now Gen V will set up The Boys season 4.

Check out the trailer for season four of The Boys, debuting on Prime Video on June 13, 2024.