Black Noir

For the Dynamite version of the character, see Black Noir/Comics.

Black Noir
Real Name	Earving
Alias(es)	Black Noir Noir Ninja Cunt (by Billy Butcher) Gimp Cunt (by Billy Butcher) Silent Knight (by Cameron Coleman) Walking Tumor (by Queen Maeve)
Physical description
Species	Supe
Gender	Male
Hair	Black
Eyes	Brown
Height	6'2" (1.88 m)
Weight	Unknown
Biographical Information
Status	Deceased
Age	50s
Date of birth	Early to mid 1960s
Date of death	2022
Cause of death	Disemboweled after Homelander punched him through the stomach
Ethnicity	African-American
Social life
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Spy Assassin Superhero Member of The Seven Member of Payback (formerly)
Affiliation	Vought International The Seven Payback (formerly)
Series Information
Season(s)	1, 2, 3, Diabolical
Episode count	20
First seen	"The Name of the Game"
Last seen	"The Instant White-Hot Wild"
Portrayed by	Nathan Mitchell Fritzy-Klevans Destine (Younger Self)

“

"So, listen, if I'm gonna take a more central role on the team, then I want to lose the mask." "Silent ninjas score extremely high with boys seven to ten years old. The mask lends a certain mystique." "Well, fuck mystique. People don't even know it's me under this thing. I got to wear it just to get a cab." ―Black Noir and Stan Edgar

”

Earving, better known as Black Noir, was a major antagonist in the Amazon series The Boys. Serving as a supporting antagonist in Season 1, the secondary antagonist in Season 2, and a major antagonist in Season 3

He was a mute, darkly costumed superhero and a member of The Seven. Silent, stealthy, and enigmatic, Black Noir was The Seven’s superpowered ninja. His super strength and heightened senses were matched only by his proficiency in the martial arts. Criminals ran in terror at the mere mention of his name. Little is known about this lethal warrior, other than having trained with a master sensei to become the death dealer he used to be. To the public whatever lies behind Black Noir’s mask is a complete mystery – which only made him more terrifying.

Noir lost his ability to think properly and speak after Soldier Boy violently beat part of his brain in and stuck his face on top of a burning car and after the explosion in the campsite. This left Noir horrifically disfigured, rendering him with the same mental age as a 7 year old child. This damage to his brain also caused Noir to experience constant delusions of the cartoon mascots of Buster Beaver's Pizza Restaurant, whom he imagines as his best friends.

Curiously, despite his brutality, Noir displayed a great deal of solicitude for innocent lives and had displayed profound sensitivity.

The Boys Series

Early Life

Childhood

Born in the late 1950s to early 1960s, Earving grew up imagining Buster Beaver and his friends comforting him when he went through highly emotional moments. Such as at age 9, Earving hid in a ball pit of a pizza restaurant after he paralyzed someone named Lewis Frankel; or getting an erection in the 7th grade, and his imagination continued into the present.

Little is known about his past, other than his having trained with a master sensei to become the death dealer that he is today.

Career in Payback

Black Noir alongside Payback

“

The guy is supposed to be funny. You're not funny." "Well, I could've been." "You're not good enough. ―Black Noir on his abusive relationship with Soldier Boy

”

Later in life, Earving landed membership on the superhero team Payback, starting his career as Black Noir. Much to his displeasure, he was forced to conceal his face by Vought American due to his race, in order to make him more marketable. One attempt to break out as an unconcealed star was to audition for the movie Beverly Hills Cop, but due to Soldier Boy's interference, he lost out to Eddie Murphy. Earving confronted his leader about this, to which Soldier Boy beat him in retaliation, much to the rest of Payback's protests. He told the bloodied Earving that he would be the only star on the team, and that if any other team member attempted to outshine him, he would kill them, fueling Earving and the team's resentment towards him.

Stopping Soldier Boy

“

What the fuck is this?" "Something we should've done a long time ago, you piece of shit. ―Soldier Boy and Black Noir

”

In 1984, Black Noir was present alongside the rest of Payback in Nicaragua in order to assist the CONTRA fighters against the Sandinistas. There, Stan Edgar approached him with an offer to betray Soldier Boy to the Russians, as Vogelbaum was developing a young Homelander to replace Payback's leader as the face of Vought. Tired of Soldier Boy's abuse, Black Noir and the rest of Payback (minus Gunpowder) agreed. During the same conversation, he tried to persuade Edgar to allow him to take off his mask, but was shot down. Black Noir stated he would go without the mask, not knowing what would happen next without it.

Earving scarred by Soldier Boy

When their military camp is attacked, Black Noir and the rest of Payback cornered and attacked Soldier Boy. Before Mindstorm and Crimson Countess could subdue him, Soldier Boy pinned Black Noir's face to the hood of a burning Jeep and bashed his head in with his shield, severely damaging and even removing a part of Black Noir's brain, leaving him brain damaged and scarred forever.

Career in the Seven

Meeting Homelander

Eventually, after Soldier Boy's "death", Payback fell through as Vought's #1 superhero team, breaking up either prior or at the beginning of the new team, The Seven. During this period, Black Noir became something akin to the face of Vought by the time Homelander was introduced to the public. After the new superhero's welcome event in 1999, Black Noir witnessed Homelander and Madelyn Stillwell's conversation about him taking Homelander out if he does not follow Vought's instructions.

Later, the two would be called to take care of a hostage situation at a chemical plant. Black Noir, arriving to the scene a bit after Homelander, comes across him covered in blood after losing his composure during the mission, slaughtering most of the hostages and terrorists. Homelander, believing Black Noir will turn him over to Vought, attempts to kill him, but is unable to keep up with the experienced superhero's quick reflexes. As a distraction, Black Noir ties up the last terrorist to a large fuel tank, which Homelander lasers in half, accidentally causing an explosion. The two and the remaining hostage survive, but before Homelander can murder the two to cover his failure, Black Noir snaps the hostage's neck. He then writes on a paper pad, instructing Homelander to lie to the news that he tried covering a bomb the terrorists had with his body, failing to prevent the explosion. The plan worked, gaining sympathy for the superhero newbie, securing his place at Vought, and cementing a sort of alliance between him and Black Noir.

Season 1

Search for Kimiko

“

It means that lately, some of you have been, eh, a little out of sorts. Erratic. Unreliable. Downright sloppy. Not you, Noir. You've been great. ―Homelander

”

Black Noir appears in a recurring capacity. While searching for Kimiko, Frenchie spots Noir on the rooftops. Correctly deducing that Noir is searching for him, Frenchie attempts to hide, but Noir quickly finds him. Before Noir can attack, however, he is blindsided by Kimiko, who knocks him into a dumpster, giving Frenchie the opportunity to escape. The battle between Noir and Kimiko is swift and brutal, but Noir quickly gains the upper hand. He then slashes her across her chest, then leaves her for dead. Kimiko, however, recovers within seconds due to her phenomenal regeneration factor.

Season 2

Rising tensions on Vought

“

Today I can report to the American people that Black Noir has conducted an operation killing the Super Terrorist known as Naqib. ―Homelander

”

Near the beginning of the series, Black Noir is sent to assassinate the Super terrorist, Naqib. He sneaks into Naqib's hideout, brutally slaughtering several people in his path, including one by ripping his head from his jaw.

Using his explosive power, Naqib attempts to kill Noir, but Noir easily survives and beheads Naqib. Still carrying Naqib's head, Noir encounters Naqib's son as he leaves. Noir picks up the son's teddy bear/bunny and briefly plays with it to entertain the son, then places the bear/bunny back onto the bed and leaves.

Noir is then seen to be with the rest of the Seven as they encounter The Deep, who attempted and failed to stop The Boys, mortally wounding a sperm whale in the process. Seeing the dead whale (whom The Deep had named Lucy), Noir places a hand to his heart in an expression of sympathy.

Noir is later seen in the Vought tower, sitting near a wall and crying in the middle of the hallway while holding his phone, watching the news story on Vought and their 'Lab Made Heroes' realizing he was lied to his whole life.

A Butcher to Slaughter

Black Noir tracking Butcher

In "Nothing Like It in the World", Black Noir approaches Anika and wants her to track down Billy Butcher. Initially hesitant, Anika is eventually coerced from Black Noir's silent intimidating presence. By the end of the episode, Anika runs a facial scanner and finds surveillance footage of Billy Butcher climbing the wall to Becca's homes, Black Noir uses this to hunt down Butcher. With the information he obtained, Black Noir stalks Butcher and tracks him down to his aunt Judy's in We Gotta Go Now. M.M is able to stall Black Noir by calling in a fake gas leak in the area, buying them time to prepare. After their distraction is over, Black Noir enters the house and repeatedly triggers the makeshift bombs created by the group, however the bombs don't faze him. Black Noir then gases the group out of their safe room. The group attempts to flee, then Butcher decides to stay behind after realizing that Black Noir is only after him. Butcher confronts Black Noir, but Noir easily beats him, until M.M and Hughie return to help Butcher, although Noir easily beats them too. Butcher then blackmails Noir, that he will expose the truth about Becca Butcher and Ryan Butcher. Black Noir ignores the threat and chokes Butcher against the wall, but then Noir's phone rings. Noir answers it and hands it to Butcher, Stan Edgar speaks to Butcher and makes him an offer: Butcher doesn't expose the truth about Becca and in return, Edgar will call off Noir. Butcher takes the deal and Noir drops him and walks away.

Noir and Light

When Vought tricks Donna January into luring Starlight out, Black Noir is sent to capture them both. Everyone at the café is knocked out with gas, while Noir enters and knocks out Starlight with brute force. Black Noir appears one more time, where he attacks Starlight while she's attempting to escape. Noir apprehends Starlight and begins choking her, however before she blacks out, Queen Maeve intervenes and pulls Noir off of her. Maeve then lifts up Noir's mask and force feeds him an Almond Joy, taking advantage of his severe tree nut allergy. Noir, entering an anaphylactic shock, struggles and reaches for an EpiPen on his person but Maeve throws it aside to buy themselves long enough to escape. Maeve and Starlight run off leaving Noir crawling for his pen.

It was confirmed by Stormfront in What I Know that Noir is still alive, albeit in a vegetative state from his allergic reaction.

Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman

Black Noir is featured on the show several times. In the October 2021 segment, Cameron Coleman revealed that Noir is currently hunting an unnamed serial killer, but did not give a response except for polishing his knives. The December 2021 segment revealed that Black Noir had recovered and begun selling bulletproof backpacks to children.

Season 3

Return of Soldier Boy

“

He wouldn't. Not Noir. He wouldn't run. He wouldn't do that to me. He wouldn't run. ―Homelander

”

Homelander and Black Noir worried about Soldier Boy

After Homelander suspected that Maeve had been hatching a plan with Butcher, he confronted her about her betrayal, bringing Black Noir with him. Noir eventually attacked Maeve per order of Homelander after she confessed that she never really loved him. Noir was also mentioned by Grace Mallory when she talked to The Boys about the Nicaragua incident, back when Noir was a member of Payback.

Black Noir was later present with the Deep, Homelander and Ashley while they watched security footage of Soldier Boy, who had been released from his imprisonment, after killing Crimson Countess. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Homelander asked for Noir's advice and later thanked him for being with him during their crisis. After this, Black Noir went into an elevator and stabbed himself in the wrist to remove his tracking chip before going AWOL. When Soldier Boy went after the TNT Twins, they claimed that Noir was the one that hatched the plan to get rid of him and sell him to the Russians, though Soldier Boy didn't believe them due to Noir's unwavering loyalty to Vought.

Making a Decision

“

Why didn't you tell me? You should've told me. ―Homelander's last words to Black Noir

”

Noir visited an abandoned Buster Beaver pizza restaurant where he started to imagine Buster and his friends again. His imaginary friends tried to make him confront his fears stemming from Soldier Boy's return. He relived the moment when he was scarred after attempting to stop Soldier Boy with his team. After reopening that painful memory, Buster Beaver told Noir that real bravery was about confronting the dangers in spite of fear, this left Black Noir contemplating his next decision.

Noir returned to the Vought Tower and reunited with Homelander, who was at a meeting with Ashley and The Deep, after they were left alone, Noir showed Homelander a paper where he wrote that they would kill Soldier Boy. Homelander seemed happy to have his partner back and the two hugged.

Black Noir gets eviscerated by Homelander

Later, Noir was seen sharpening a sword when Homelander arrived, telling him that no matter how many times he sharpened it he would still be unable to pierce Soldier Boy's skin. Homelander asked Noir how was Soldier Boy like, to which Noir wrote on a paper that he was bad. Noir found out that Homelander knew that Soldier Boy was his father and was now unsure about killing him.

When Homelander asked Black Noir if he knew Soldier Boy was his father, Noir nodded which made Homelander cry in sadness. Noir was then eviscerated by Homelander when he punched into his stomach and ripped his intestines out; after he fell down, Noir saw Buster and his friends one last time, in which they comfort him, telling him they are all proud of him for trying to do the right thing.

Shortly after this, Noir's hallucinations cease, and he dies alone on the floor.

Cover-up

Following Black Noir's demise, Vought fabricated a story, stating that Black Noir was conducting a critical mission overseas.

Personality

“

Noir wouldn't take a shit without Vought's say-so. ―Soldier Boy

”

Black Noir is perhaps the most feared member of The Seven (other than Homelander), often dispatched for his lethal combat skills, ruthlessness, near-indestructability and extraordinary strength. His reputation is such that the mere mention of his name is able to strike fear into the hearts of the public. He has, for instance, put Frenchie and Cherie into a panic after they noticed him outside of their flat.

Of all The Seven members, Black Noir is the most loyal one to Vought, as he always does the tasks and orders given by Vought. Black Noir appears to be the silent loner type and is somewhat socially withdrawn from other members of the Seven. He never speaks but is apparently very in touch with his emotions as he was shown to be very distraught with the revelation that he and all the other supes weren't born with their powers causing him to sob through his mask.

While being completely ruthless towards his opponents, he appears to have a soft spot for innocent life. Upon eliminating Naqib, on his way out, Noir finds a little boy in his pajamas and grabs a nearby stuffed animal and plays with it to entertain the boy. His compassion also extends to animals and was genuinely distressed to see a whale beached and killed at the hands of Billy Butcher.

Despite showing the capacity for compassion towards others, Noir shows he has no hesitation when it comes to using deadly force to take out targets or killing any witnesses that could pose as potential problems. Additionally he can become extremely ruthless when on missions, such as tearing a mans head apart to stop him from screaming, cutting Naqibs head off and violently strangling Starlight after brutally beating her for several minutes. In many ways, Noir behaves less like a superhero and more like a soldier, following the orders of Vought as he perceives them without question in order to defend Vought and its interests.

Black Noir is apparently mute, but this may not be the case. In the first episode, during a meeting of The Seven, Homelander calls for the various members to share who they saved this week, asking Black Noir to begin. Although Black Noir's testimony (whatever it may have been) was not seen in the episode, it would suggest that Black Noir can speak when called upon to do so. Although it is also possible that he uses some other form of communication that the remaining members of The Seven can readily understand such as writing. Still when he was force fed an Almond Joy by Queen Maeve he was able to produce several weakened groans, further suggesting his mutism is more a conscious choice than a disability. In addition, as seen in a flashback in season 3 when he was a member of Payback, Black Noir used to be much more social, being seen talking to a young Stan Edgar about not wearing his mask, and appearing somewhat energetic while doing so.

Noir is shown to be so far the only member of The Seven to actually get along with Homelander, while most of them fear or hate him. This is probably because of being able to eliminate innocent people and covered it up with a fake story, as seen in Diabolical when he mercilessly killed a hostage and chose to cover up that Homelander murdered every person in a lab, including the hostages he was supposed to rescue, with a cover story to the media causing Homelander to be loved and approved of by the public keeping safe his promising future in The Seven. Despite not interacting with each other, Homelander seems to genuinely like Noir, which is proven when in a reunion between every member of The Seven he says Noir "has been great". Noir also seems to be blindly loyal to Homelander, when Homelander confronted Queen Maeve for betraying him, Noir immediately attacked her following his orders. However, Noir's fear of Soldier Boy is surprisingly bigger than his loyalty to Homelander. When Noir escaped from Vought due to the news of Soldier Boy returning, Homelander was genuinely distraught over the news as he believed Noir always had his back.

Noir, deep down, is a traumatized and scared little boy, feeling ashamed about his past with Soldier Boy due to the abuse he inflicted on Noir, to the point he chose to run and hide leaving behind Vought and Homelander. He developed an emotional armor to keep himself safe from the world. He usually doesn't open emotionally with anyone. Most people don't know what's going on with him and wonder what's behind the mask he wears literally and symbolically.

Noir is also apparently a Christian. After he was disemboweled by Homelander and laid dying, Buster Beaver appeared with his tearful animated friends (who are known to be figments of Noir's imagination), assuring him that he would soon be "in the sweet embrace of Christ the Lord."

Despite his serious demeanor, there was a point when Noir was similar to other Vought heroes, being more interested in becoming a famous actor and star and having his unmasked face be admired by people across the country. This also served as a reason why he hated Soldier Boy who intentionally interfered in his attempts to star in Beverly Hills Cop.

Powers and abilities

Powers

“

Noir has wasted no time since his recovery, as the Seven's superpowered assassin surprised students at JFK Elementary last week with an early Christmas gift of Vought's new super safe bulletproof backpacks for kids. ―Cameron Coleman

”

• Superhuman Strength: Black Noir possesses significant superhuman strength. During his first mission with Homelander, he easily snapped a woman's neck. He was able to trade blows with and significantly harm Kimiko in their confrontation (and even disembowel her), whereas A-Train failed to do so, even when he rapidly slammed her head against concrete many times. During his mission to assassinate Naqib, he ripped a man's head open by prying his jaws apart. He later knocked Butcher back several feet with a single swipe, and held him up against a wall with one hand. His strength allowed him to completely overpower Starlight, who can punch through brick and easily lift a car, throwing her around like a rag doll and smashing her through concrete. In Dawn of the Seven, he cracked pavement with a superhero landing.
• Superhuman Durability: Black Noir is more resilient than normal humans, which notably allowed him to withstand the superhuman strength of Kimiko without issue, whereas she was able to significantly damage A-Train and even give him a compound fracture. His sturdiness also allowed him to survive Naqib's self-detonated explosion at point-blank range, without even being moved and only suffer burn marks to half his face and chest. He later survived several explosions in Judy's home without being deterred. That being said, Noir is not invincible, as Hughie was able to shoot through the palm of his hand with a pistol at point blank.
• Superhuman Speed: According to Mother's Milk, Black Noir can outrun a car. He was able to quickly slit a woman's throat and catch a glass she was holding before she dropped it, and even avoid Homelander's heat vision during their first mission.
• Superhuman Agility: Black Noir has also displayed impressive, borderline superhuman acrobatic skills, as displayed when he confronted Frenchie and Kimiko. He climbed on top of a roof without any effort. During his first mission with Homelander, he was able to acrobatically evade the latter's heat vision.
• Superhuman Reflexes: Noir was able to catch a glass before it hit the ground just after he sliced a woman's throat with his dagger, all at great speed.
• Superhuman Hearing: Black Noir possesses highly acute, superhuman hearing that aids him in his fight against crime. He tracked Butcher from Becca's house, and detected the Boys in a hidden room when Terror barked, giving away their position.
• Regenerative Healing Factor: Noir's body is capable of healing injuries and wounds at a much faster rate than normal humans can. From multiple explosions, fire and heat, point-blank gunshot wounds, getting pelted with shrapnel, whatever the injury, it seems to heal within hours or at maximum, days. He also recovered from Soldier Boy cracking his skull open but it appears that he lost his ability to speak. However it is unknown if the hallucinations are a result of this.
• Pain Suppression: Black Noir is either completely immune to pain, or has developed a great tolerance for it, as he doesn't react when Naqib uses his self detonation, leaving him with severe burns on his head and chest, or when Hughie shoots through his hand at point blank. He also did not show any discomfort when he cut out his tracking chip from his wrist.
• Longevity: Black Noir has been active since the 80s. He is older than Gunpowder and is likely somewhere around his 50s or 60s, however he shows no signs that his age has affected his physical condition and he even appears to be even stronger than he was forty years prior.

Abilities

“

That ninja cunt's here for me, isn't he?" "Yeah, but you can't go out there--he'll kill you. ―Billy Butcher and Hughie Campbell

”

• Master Martial Artist: Black Noir is an expert hand-to-hand combatant, highly trained in various forms of martial arts. According to his bio, he is a ninja and a lethal warrior who is proficient in martial arts, having been trained by a sensei to make him a dealer of death. He defeated Kimiko during their confrontation, placing his power-level well above thugs and trained policemen. During his mission to assassinate Naqib, he stealthily eliminated several terrorists. He later held his own against the majority of the Boys and easily beat Starlight in a fight, and would have knocked her out if Queen Maeve had not intervened.
  • Expert Assassin: Noir is a highly skilled assassin. He is very proficient in killing whoever Vought orders him to assassinate. He effortly killed Naqib decapitating him. He also overpowered The Female and if it weren't because of her regenerative healing factor Noir would've killed her.
  • Knife Mastery: Black Noir has great skill in throwing daggers and using them in close combat. This allowed him to harm Kimiko. During his mission to assassinate Naqib, he took down numerous guards by slicing their throats and impaling them. He also decapitated Naqib and stopped Mother's Milk with a single throw of a blade. On his first mission with Homelander, he accurately threw his knives to intercept the latter's heat vision.
• Intimidation: According to his bio, criminals run in terror at the mere mention of Black Noir's name. Little is known about him; and whatever lies behind his mask is a complete mystery – which only makes him more terrifying. According to Homelander, everyone thinks that Black Noir is an unreadable sphinx.

“

Vought has offered the Seven's assistance in bringing this violent criminal to justice, with Black Noir volunteering to to deal with the situation as quickly, and obviously as quietly, as possible. Luckily I don't think Black Noir can be anything other than quiet. ―Cameron Coleman

”

• Master of Stealth: Noir is usually used as a spy. He killed Naqib's men without making any sound. On his first mission with Homelander, he approached from behind without being detected by the latter's superhuman senses, only being noticed when a hostage saw him. He was later able to sneak up on Queen Maeve, who also possesses superhuman senses.
• Expert Pilot: Black Noir is a very experienced pilot.
• Skilled Musician: Black Noir is a highly-skilled, if not concert-level pianist. He is able to play Chopin's Minute Waltz from memory.

“

I was... I was born to play Axel Foley. ―Black Noir to Soldier Boy

”

• Acting: Like most Supes, Black Noir has participated in the production of many films. In the 1980s, Noir attempted to make it big as a comedy actor in Beverly Hills Cop. These dreams were ruined due to Soldier Boy spreading false information about Noir to Don Simpson.

Weaknesses

Psychological

• Brain Damage: Despite his healing factor, Black Noir can still find difficulty in healing brain damage. During his fight with Soldier Boy, he received extreme head trauma which would end up causing a variety of mental problems, including: Amnesia, loss of speech and hallucinations.

Biological

• Tree Nuts: Black Noir has an allergy to tree nuts. Queen Maeve uses this to her advantage by force feeding him an Almond Joy, giving her and Starlight an opportunity to escape. When fed something with tree nuts, he immediately goes into anaphylactic shock and requires a EpiPen shot to stabilize himself. If not administered on time, Black Noir could suffer severe brain damage. As seen where after he was fed an Almond Joy and prevented from using his EpiPen, Black Noir suffered severe brain damage and was reduced to a vegetative state. However through extreme medical care and with the help of his healing factor, Black Noir would eventually be nursed back to full health.
• Blunt Force/Limited Durability: Supes of extreme levels of strength can harm him; however few are at this level. Queen Maeve has demonstrated that she can subdue him, and even force-feed him something. Though this could be attributed to her catching him by surprise, Homelander couldn't beat him in their first common mission even though Black Noir was not attacking him but was only protecting himself. The fact that Noir fled instead of going with Homelander to face Soldier Boy indicates that his former team leader has the strength to hurt him as well. Indeed, Noir's reminiscing of 1984 showed Soldier Boy decisively overpowering him and nearly killing him.
• Limited Regeneration: Though Noir does possess a healing factor, it's shown to have considerable limits to what it can heal, as he is not able to restore organs and bones. In Nicaragua, Soldier Boy horrifically maimed Black Noir by burning his face and partially destroying his brain. Later, Homelander punched through Noir's stomach, slowly killing him.

Equipment

• Hero Costume: Like most supes, Black Noir has his own superhero uniform. His uniform is a durable armor similar in appearance to the clothes most commonly associated with ninjas. It can resist fire, explosions, and shrapnel while allowing Black Noir to move without any issue.
• Twin Combat Knives: Black Noir carries two curved combat knives on each thigh, most notably using them during his fight against Kimiko.
• Throwing Knives: Black Noir carries various throwing knives over his suit, which he used during his fight with Kimiko and used to wound M.M.
• Folding Knives: Black Noir has four folding knives strapped onto his upper arms, though is never seen using them.
• Ninjato Blade: Black Noir is seen sharpening a Japanese blade while preparing to face Soldier Boy.
• Gas Grenades: Black Noir has been known to sometimes used different gas grenades such as smoke grenades to flush the Boys out of hiding and a knockout gas grenade on a diner when ambushing Starlight.

Relationships

Allies

• Vought International
  • Stan Edgar - Former boss
  • Madelyn Stillwell - Former boss
  • Ashley Barrett
  • The Seven
    • Homelander - Team Leader, friend and killer
    • Stormfront † - Former Colleague
    • A-Train - Colleague
    • The Deep - Colleague
    • Supersonic † - Colleague
    • Translucent † - Former Colleague
    • Lamplighter † - Former Colleague
  • Payback - Former Team
    • Crimson Countess † - Former Colleague
    • Gunpowder † - Former Colleague
    • Mindstorm † - Former Colleague
    • Swatto † - Former Colleague
    • TNT Twins † - Former Colleagues
  • Seth Rogen - Co-star
• Buster Beaver and Friends - Imaginary Friends

Enemies

• The Boys
  • Billy Butcher - Attempted victim, target
  • Hughie Campbell - Attempted victim
  • Mother's Milk - Attempted victim
  • Frenchie - Attempted victim
  • The Female - Attempted victim
• The Seven
  • Starlight - Former Colleague, traitor and attempted victim
  • Queen Maeve - Colleague and Subduer
• Naqib † - Victim (Intentional; decapitated, killed on the orders of Vought International)
• Payback
  • Soldier Boy - Former Hostile Team Leader, Betrayer and Attempted Killer

Trivia

• Unlike his comic book counterpart, the TV series version of the character is shown to be a tragic being. He is also not a clone of Homelander and did not rape Billy Butcher's wife, Becca.
• Black Noir is a parody of Snake-Eyes and Batman, the "silent ninja", from G.I. Joe. He also has similar features akin to Snake Eyes. He has a severely scared face, which he hides under a full covering mask, and no voice.
• Black Noir's tree nut allergy was inspired by his actor, Nathan Mitchell, who has a real-life tree nut allergy.
• Black Noir is the only supe to be a member of both Payback and The Seven.
• Black Noir's name is a joke. "Noir" is simply the French word for black, so his name could be translated to "Black Black," a hint that his name was picked without fully thinking through the meaning, similar to how Translucent's name sounds better than it is.
• A line from Buster Beaver prior to Black Noir's death seems to imply he may have been a Christian.
• The sword that Black Noir is sharpening in "The Instant White-Hot Wild"is a Honshu Boshin Wakizashi, which is made by United Cutlery.
• There are speculations that Black Noir may return in Season 4, some scenarios include:
  • He survived Homelander's fatal blow due to his healing factor.
  • Stan Edgar takes him in to heal his injury and task him to assassinate Homelander.
  • Is reanimated from a secret Compound V experiment to raise the dead.
• Eric Kripke confirmed in July 2022 that Nathan Mitchell will portray a replacement Black Noir in season 4; describing the character as a "whole new" and "really interesting and hilarious character".
• Black Noir is one of three former member of Payback to not been murdered by Soldier Boy, other than Gunpowder and Swatto.
• Black Noir's age is unknown; however, it is stated that he hid in a ball pit at the age of nine after accidentally knocking someone out. Ball pits weren't around until 1976, and Nicaragua took place in 1984, meaning that Black Noir was likely somewhere around 17 when he went to Nicaragua, though this could be a minor anachronism.
• His apparently frequent hallucinations of various talking cartoon animals and heavily scarred face concealed by a full-body costume may be a reference to Marvel's Deadpool, a similar scarred ninja anti-hero.
• According to Homelander, Black Noir doesn't identify himself with any race ever since "the accident" that scarred his face and damaged his brain.
• Black Noir was featured in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III as a playable operator.

Gallery

Promotional

Screencaps

Videos

The Boys Season 1 - Black Noir - Prime Video