- For the Dynamite version of the character, see Lamplighter/Comics.
| “ | I just wanted to make my dad proud.
―Lamplighter's last words[src]
|
” |
Lamplighter was a recurring character in the Amazon series The Boys, serving as a supporting character in Season 2. He was a supe with pyrokinetic abilities and Starlight's predecessor in The Seven. After his "retirement", Lamplighter became an orderly at Sage Grove Center, a psychiatric hospital where Vought would experiment on patients in an attempt to stabilize Compound V. Despite still keeping a position in working for Vought, Lamplighter is very disappointed with his demotion from Seven member, to "clean-up".
The Boys Series[]
Background[]
Childhood[]
Lamplighter was 4 years old when his powers activated, in which he accidentally burned his own house down. Despite this, his dad was immensely proud of him and said he was destined for greatness by being a Supe.
Hero Career[]
At some point, he became one of the original members in The Seven and eventually struck a friendship with The Deep. However sometime before the start of Season 1, Lamplighter was "demoted" from his position due to unspecified reasons (possibly the very same one The Boys used to blackmail him 5 years ago). While still maintaining connections with Vought he is now simply tasked to "clean up" disobeying patients at the Sage Grove Center, with his member status being taken by Starlight. From now on in his own admission, his father was wrong about him, he's just a guy watching from the sidelines while the real "heroes" do the work.
Season 1[]
He does not appear in any of the episodes in Season One; however, he is frequently mentioned by other members of The Seven. There is also a mural of him painted on the ceiling of The Seven's headquarters at Seven Tower. S1 E4, The Female of the Species, Mother's Milk mentions that Frenchie was supposed to tail Lamplighter, and because he didn't, Mallory's grandkids were killed. In You Found Me, Grace Mallory mentions that Lamplighter killed her grandchildren, forcing her to leave the CIA.
Season 2[]
Lamplighter makes his first real appearance in Season 2's We Gotta Go Now, where he is seen at the Sage Grove Center where he is working as a supposed orderly, but serves to cover up experiments gone wrong. He is talking on the phone with Stormfront discussing a super-powered boy. Stormfront orders Lamplighter to incremate the boy, but Lamplighter is hesitatant, saying the boy is only 17. Eventually, Stormfront convinces him to go through with it.
After The Boys break into the center in The Bloody Doors Off, they are shocked to see Lamplighter there. In a series of flashbacks it was revealed that Lamplighter, while still a member of the Seven at the time, was blackmailed into being a spy for The Boys. In retaliation Lamplighter attempted to kill the leader of The Boys, Grace Mallory, but unintentionally killed her grandchildren instead.
While working at the Sage Grove Center, Lamplighter makes eye contact with Frenchie and recognizes him, because they had met years before after Mallory blackmailed him into working for The Boys. Lamplighter attempts to incinerate Frenchie but misses and eventually they have a stand off. However, Lamplighter's stray fire-jet burned down a door to a detainee's cell, allowing one of the patients, Cindy, to escape and release all the others, so Lamplighter ends up partnering with M.M, Frenchie, and Kimiko to get out.
After Frenchie calls him an animal for killing Mallory's grandchildren, the latter reveals that it was unintentional; as the children were hidden under her bed, he mistook them for their grandmother, and by the time he realized he was burning the wrong targets, it was too late to save them. Frenchie also reveals that the reason he stopped trailing Lamplighter and therefore unable to save Mallory's grandchildren, was due to going to save his friend from a drug overdose.
While Frenchie is making a bomb to knock out the patients, Lamplighter later tells the Boys that the patients at the center weren't attempts to create more Supe-Terrorists, but to in fact stabilize Compound V so that adults could take it without any repercussions, though he doesn't know why despite all the marketing problems it would cause, Vought is so interested in creating possibly hundreds of Supes at once.
After the bomb fails to knock Cindy out, Stormfront arrives and shocks her unconscious, Lamplighter saves the Boys by luring her away and blaming another doctor for unleashing the patients, ensuring that Stormfront was unaware that the Boys had been at the facility at all. Lamplighter later goes voluntarily with Frenchie, M.M, and Kimiko to see Grace Mallory. When she arrives and points her gun at him, Lamplighter reveals his remorse for what he did to her grandchildren and offers her the chance to kill him and give herself closure but Frenchie thinks he sees good in Lamplighter and convinces Grace to spare him.
Lamplighter takes a stand[]
Lamplighter reappears in Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker. Grace wants him to speak at the hearings and confess what Vought has done, but in the meantime he must wait for them to return with "supporting evidence". Hughie is forced to stay with Lamplighter due to his injury. The two watch pornographic superhero films, while they sit back and wait for the other members of The Boys to return. Hughie is disgusted with Lamplighter's choices, but Lamplighter states his indifference because he's going to die if he goes to that hearing. Lamplighter and Hughie both open up to each other about how worthless they both feel, with Lamplighter repeatedly stating he's a failure in his dad's eyes and his life is forever ruined.
As they continue, Hughie grows uncomfortable with the most recent film and changes the channel. On the news, they see Homelander addressing Starlight as a traitor, to Hughie's horror. As a former member of the Seven who is familiar with the layout of Vought Tower, Lamplighter guesses she's probably being held on 42D if she hasn't been killed yet. Hughie suggest they go rescue her, but Lamplighter says it's pointless and she's already dead. A persistent Hughie then tries to guilt Lamplighter into stopping Vought from ruining another life, however, Lamplighter still refuses, stating his life is already over. Hughie then tries to convince him by referencing the film, telling Lamplighter to stop watching from the side and do something. It seemingly works, as Lamplighter stands up and agrees to go with Hughie.
Suicide in Vought Tower[]
The two arrive at a "back door" to the Seven tower where Lamplighter and Mr.Marathon used to sneak college girls in and make it inside. From there, a moment of truth arrives in the form of a security lock. To their fortune, Lamplighter is still in the system and can override the security with his handprint.
As they continue deeper, Lamplighter tells Hughie they're getting closer and opens a door onto another floor. Hughie then realizes they're at the Seven conference room and not at the holding cells. Hughie then sees Lamplighter staring at The Seven mural, remarking that they got rid of his statue and he wanted to do "it" in front of his statue. A confused Hughie looks on as Lamplighter says he just wanted his dad to be proud of him, before he turns around and lights his lighter, setting himself on fire. Shocked and horrified, Hughie can only watch as Lamplighter is consumed in flames. The sprinklers activate to put out the fire, allowing for Starlight to escape her holding cell via the emergency light. Hughie stares at the now charred body of Lamplighter and runs away disappointed, but quickly returns to his body once he remembers that he needs Lamplighter's hand to bypass the locks. Using a broken bottle, Hughie cuts off the hand and uses it to free Donna January. The two then meet up with Starlight and escape the tower.
Grace and M.M are disappointed with Hughie's actions. Remarking their eyewitness is now dead when Hughie only had to sit and wait. Hughie protests that he didn't know Lamplighter would kill himself. Meanwhile, Starlight hugs him and is grateful to Hughie for rescuing her.
Legacy[]
After his death, Vought continued to use his name for their own purposes via avenues like the Lamplighter School of Crimefighting run under Godolkin University.[2]
Personality[]
At first glance, Lamplighter seemed as corrupt as the other members of the Seven, and before the accident, most likely was, given how Mallory was able to blackmail him with various pictures which instantly shook him up. And years later, it was shown that outside of slight hesitation, he still burns patients at the Sage Grove Center when they become unable to be controlled.
Lamplighter is also addicted to pornography, and is particularly obsessed with porn that includes characters based upon members of The Seven. He seems to view himself as a "cuck" or voyeur, someone who looks on while someone else has sex instead of participating. After killing Mallory's grandchildren, he became depressed and self-loathing, doubting his effectiveness, not just as a Supe, but as a human being.
However, Lamplighter later reveals that not only did he not know that Mallory's grandchildren were in the room he targeted believing Mallory herself was in there, but he genuinely felt heavy remorse for doing so. After revealing these things to Frenchie, M.M and Kimiko, Lamplighter goes out of his way to help them, telling them the true purpose of the center, then preventing Stormfront from learning of their presence or role in the patients escaping. Then he willingly goes with them to offer his life to Mallory to give her closure, showing that despite knowing she would kill him, he wanted to make things right. Despite this, Lamplighter grows increasingly despondent and fatalistic in the short time he spends in the Boys' custody, believing that he is as good as dead after he testifies against Vought, and reflects upon his failed career. He felt real regret and pain over his past, as a boy his father used to hold him in high regard, and told him he'd do great things, which obviously he didn't accomplish. This culminates in him committing suicide in the Seven's headquarters, he originally wanted to do it in front of his statue, but was heartbroken to find his statue had been replaced by Starlight's. Regardless, Lamplighter proceeded as planned, with his final words being that he only wanted to make his dad proud.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Pyrokinesis: Lamplighter has the ability to control fire with his mind. He is possibly the strongest Pyrokinetic in existence, being able to become a member of The Seven. Despite being able to control fire, he is vulnerable to his own flames and he can't create fire, making him dependent on pre existing fire sources.
- Fire Enhancing: Lamplighter can enhance the heat energy produced by the flames around him, allowing him to turn his fire blasts bigger and stronger. Even as a little child he was already powerful enough to burn a house down.[3] As an adult, he can create blasts of fire to burn normal people to ash (it takes 300 kwh of energy to completely ash a human body, that would be around 1 gigajoule or 0.24 tons of TNT) and even kill other supes by burning them to death (Lamplighter was deployed regularly to incinerate unruly patients at Sage Grove). However, his greatest feat was when he destroyed a metal door that was being used on Cindy's cell, despite the door being strong enough to withstand Cindy's telekinesis, and since no shrapnel could be seen inside the room, it can be assumed that Lamplighter managed to melt and evaporate the metal rather then just blowing it up.[4][5] It is worth noting that Lamplighter did most of the feats above just by using a lighter and he likely could create more powerful fire blasts if he had access to a bigger and more powerful fire source.
- Superhuman Durability: He was more durable than normal humans, after being hit by the acid vomit from one of Sage Grove's patients he only displayed minor injuries afterwards, despite the acid being strong enough to melt flesh.[6] It's implied that he was able to tolerate high temperatures.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Lamplighter was able to recover almost instantly from a discharge to the face from the Acid-Vomiting Patient. Despite the acidic vomit being strong enough to melt flesh, Lamplighter only gained minor burns after being hit and these injuries healed in a very short period of time.
- Superhuman Hearing: Like all Supes, Lamplighter has better hearing beyond that of humans. He is able to hear certain frequencies that humans cannot.[7]
Abilities[]
- Acting: Lamplighter has participated in the production of the Y2KOS film. The movie was made by Vought Studios and is available at Vought+.
Weaknesses[]
Biological[]
- Blunt Force/Limited Durability: Although he has a slight enhancement due to being a Supe, he is fairly weak on the Supe spectrum. Using a broken glass bottle, Hughie was able to remove one of his hands.
- Fire: Although he can control fire and likely possess some form of resistance towards heat, he still is vulnerable towards fire. He was able to incinerate himself with his own flames.
- Water: Water can put out any fires Lamplighter has created. Places with high humidity can likely damage his fire powers.[8]
- Lack of Fire Generation: Unfortunately for Lamplighter, he isn't able to generate fire of his own, forcing him to rely on pre existing fire sources, such as a lighter or his lamp staff.
Equipment[]
- Hero Costume: Like most supes, Lamplighter had his own superhero uniform. A cloak that is probably fireproof, which grants him increased protection towards heat and other kinds of damage.
- Protective Goggles: Lamplighter used to wear a set of protective goggles, he probably wore these goggles so that he could protect his eyes from the heat, smoke and light created by his fires.
- Lamp Staff: Lamplighter's main weapon was a metal staff designed to look like a lamppost. It was able to produce a constant flame, which he could freely manipulate. After leaving The Seven, Lamplighter would stop using his lamp staff.
- Zippo Lighter: After his retirement from "The Seven", he also retired his cumbersome lamp staff in favor of a Zippo lighter to provide a more portable, less conspicuous source of flame for him to manipulate.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
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Enemies[]
Victims[]
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Trivia[]
- Occasionally, he will linger on his "s" pronunciations at the end of a sentence; this is reminiscent of the sound fire makes as it dies. This may be a developed tic due to hearing the sound so often or a mere thematic quirk.
- Lamplighter was credited as "Man in Scrubs" in We Gotta Go Now.
- As implied by The Deep, him and Lamplighter were close friends.
- He also had a close friendship with Mister Marathon.
- Lamplighter is one of three characters to be recast in Season 2 after their first appearance in Season 1. The other two are Naqib and Ryan Butcher.
- Lamplighter's comic book name and appearance are a parody of DC's Green Lantern, although their powers are quite different. The comic book version of Lamplighter is more of a minor character, a psychopath who knowingly set Mallory's grandchildren on fire after getting sick of being underestimated by both The Boys and The Seven. In the comics, the Boys killed him before Hughie joined them. As a cover-up Vought-American reanimated his corpse with Compound V and announced he would leave Earth to fight crime in outer space while in reality, the now-animalistic Lamplighter would be kept in a cell in The Seven headquarters eating feces for the rest of his life. He's seen for the last time when Starlight and A-Train are sent to clean his cell as a punishment and presumably died for good after Homelander's failed superhero uprising.
- He's also a parody of Pyro from Marvel Comics since pyro can control fire but for some unexplained reason can't create fire.
Commentary[]
- Lamplighter's taste in pornography is a reflection of his depression and self-loathing, hence why he identifies with voyeurs (who watch without participating) and cuckolds (who are humiliated by their wives by being put in the position of voyeur while the wives commit adultery). The gay film of the superhero "taking it" from a group of men also follows the theme of deserving humiliation.
- Shawn Ashmore, the actor who plays Lamplighter in season 2, previously played Iceman in 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, making his appearance in The Boys a meta-joke, as his powers on The Boys are the opposite of his powers on X-Men.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ X-Men star Shawn Ashmore joins The Boys Season 2 as Lamplighter
- ↑ Godolkin University Website
- ↑ ("Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker")
- ↑ How Powerful are The Seven? (Part 2)
- ↑ ("The Bloody Doors Off")
- ↑ ("The Bloody Doors Off")
- ↑ Bob in First Day: "Did you know Supes have a wider range of hearing than us? Like dogs."
- ↑ ("Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker")
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| TV series The Seven members |
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| Current Homelander • A-Train • The Deep • Black Noir II • Sister Sage • Firecracker Former Mister Marathon • Translucent † • Lamplighter † • Stormfront † • Supersonic † • Starlight • Black Noir † • Queen Maeve Associates Madelyn Stillwell † • Ashley Barrett |