- For the Dynamite version of the character, see Mr. Edgar.
| “ | Eventually, probably soon, the world will recognize you for the pitiful disappointment you are. You are not worthy of my
respect. You are not a god. You are simply bad product.
―Stan Edgar mocking Homelander.[src]
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” |
Stanford Edgar, better known as Stan, is the overarching antagonist of the Amazon series The Boys. Serving as the overarching antagonist of Season 1 and Season 2, and a major antagonist of Season 3.
He is the former CEO of Vought International and the superior of Madelyn Stillwell. Although he initially keeps to himself while conducting business, he decides to take a more direct approach in managing Vought and its assets, such as The Seven, following Stillwell's death.
He began his career as an associate for Vought American in or before 1984 and eventually rose up to become the chief executive of the modern-day Vought International due to his calm, collected, and ruthless personality. As one of the few people who shows no fear towards Homelander, Edgar is the cool-headed puppet-master with a shadowy past; he pulled the strings that move Vought forward, no matter the cost.
The Boys Series[]
Background[]
| “ | I don't want the details, just do what you need to do.
―Stan Edgar giving green light to take out Soldier Boy.[src]
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” |
By 1984, Stan Edgar was already known to have some influence within Vought. When Soldier Boy was recording a PSA for drug prevention, he asked who approved of the script, which prompted someone to mention Edgar's name.[1] In late 1984, Vought America dispatched Payback's Supes to Nicaragua to aid the U.S. government in Operation Charly as an attempt to implement Supes in the military and Stan Edgar accompanied them. While there he gave Black Noir and the rest of Payback the greenlight to take out Soldier Boy and hand him over to the Russians as Vought had found a replacement for him: a child more powerful than Soldier Boy.
The Boys Presents: Diabolical[]
Stan Edgar is seen introducing Homelander's for Vought News Network, welcoming him as a newest member of The Seven. During Homelander's speech, he is seen standing in the shadows with Madelyn Stillwell.
Season One[]
Stan Edgar approaches Madelyn Stillwell at a company event and tells her that her budget for the Supes joining the army has been approved and that she is getting a promotion. He tells her to be very pleased with herself and walks away. Madelyn believes that he is grooming her to take over his position when he moves to "Belize" (he references Belize as a simple joke, although he could be serious).
Season Two[]
| “ | I'm on page 134. Chain of command doesn't apply to other military contractors in the field; I don't see why it should apply to us."
"Well, when they're in actual combat, whom exactly do your heroes report to?" "Same person as always. Me. ―Stan Edgar and Robert Singer discussing the implementation of supes in the military.[src]
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After Madelyn Stillwell's demise, Stan decides to step into the limelight and becomes more directly involved in Vought International and its assets. He continues the push for incorporating Supes in the military, holding a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert Singer, where Stan discusses the chain of command, secret designations for Compound V and logistics for collateral damage.
Sometime after Translucent's funeral, Stan hires Stormfront as Translucent's replacement in The Seven behind Homelander's back. Homelander confronts Stan about hiring Stormfront without consulting with him. When Homelander claims himself as Vought's most valuable asset and threatens to leave the company when his contract expires, Edgar proceeds to give a brief history of Vought's founder, Frederick Vought. Stan explains that Homelander is under the impression that they are a superhero company when in fact they are a pharmaceutical company and Homelander is not their most valuable asset, but Compound V is. He reveals that he is well aware that Homelander gave Compound V for terrorists around the world and says that Homelander is not as significant as he thinks he is, neither is obligated to inform him of any decision regarding Vought or The Seven, before dismissing him.
Following the leak of Compound V to the press, Stan is questioned by a nervous Ashley about the authenticity of such revelations, to which he says the PR team is investigating it and orders her to keep the heroes grounded on the 99th floor until they have answers. The leak takes its toll on Vought's image and stock value, with the lawyers stating they could get arrested for over a dozen crimes. Stan, however, is unmoved, more focused on the news that a super-terrorist was spotted on the coast of New Jersey. He attempts to convince the Seven to help Vought clear up their image, only for Homelander to remind him that "they are not Vought", a reference to their earlier conversation. After Stormfront kills Kenji, and 56 people living in the projects, he holds a press conference, denying knowledge of Compound V, and claims he will carry out a full investigation into it. He blames it on Madelyn Stillwell and vows to get to the bottom of it. He introduces Stormfront as the savior of the day, and the crowd goes wild in admiration.
After Black Noir is able to find Butcher, following his breach of the safe-house where Becca and Ryan are kept, and is about to kill Hughie, Butcher reveals that he has incriminating pictures of Ryan's existence, and if he or any of his friends die, these pictures will be sent to Ronan Farrell, and expose Homelander as the rapist monster he is. Stan contacts him through Noir's phone, revealing that he saw the whole action unfold through a camera on Black Noir's suit, and questions the existence of these pictures. Butcher says he will have to play along and hope that they are not real. Stan makes his only offer: if he calls off Noir, the pictures will never see the light of day. Butcher agrees and Stan orders Noir to retreat.
Stan is later seen talking with Alistair Adana at The Collective's headquarters and discussing the return of Deep and A-Train (who, unknown to both, is listening to the conversation while hidden in a closet). He agrees to bring Deep but not A-Train, since he has to "please Stormfront". When questioned about Adana, Edgar reveals that he is aware that Stormfront was one of the first followers of his grandfather, back when the Collective was in its early days. Adana neither confirms or denies this, to which Stan says that the church's Internal Research Department knows very well about her past and why A-Train can't come back.
Butcher contacts Stan in order to find Ryan. They meet at an empty restaurant, where Stan is at first, unwilling to help him. Butcher reminds him that Ryan is his only contingency against Homelander, and it won't work if he is raised by him and Stormfront. He states that Stormfront is good at getting people angry and angry people are more willing to buy Compound V and increase stock value. Butcher reminds him of Stormfront's racist tendencies, and that he can't really control her, which leads to one of the few times where he shows to be really annoyed and angry, but Stan simply puts that "he can't just rage out like an entitled maniac. That is a white man's luxury." Stan agrees to send a team to give Ryan's location in order for a security team to take him and Becca to a safe location, but Butcher refuses to let Becca go and tells him to find a new mother for the kid and if Becca shows up begging to see Ryan one day, Stan should simply say that it is the only way to keep both safe from Homelander, and she will accept because a mother will do anything to protect her child. Stan agrees. Once Stormfront's past and ties to the Nazi Party are exposed, Stan leads holds a press conference, and she is blamed by the attack on Washington and informs that the release of Compound V to the Armed Forces has been put on indefinite hold.
Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman[]
Edgar is mentioned by Cameron Coleman on the show, both directly and indirectly. In the August 7, 2021, segment, Coleman reports Compound V has been halted for further testing. An audio of Edgar's voice addresses the aftermath of the product, saying the recent claims have been unfounded and promised that Vought would be committed and deliver the best for its customers.
Season Three[]
Stan wants things at Vought to change- he no longer wants it to be all about the Supes, who require a lot of "handling", but rather about what Vought could do for the military with new technology such as V-24. He is starting to make moves to handle these changes. Stan also announces that he's thrilled about the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs involvement at Vought, overseen by Victoria Neuman.
It's revealed that Stan adopted Victoria Neuman, formerly known as Nadia, and raised her. They still have a close relationship and Stan often watches her daughter.
At Vought, Stan decides to make Starlight co-captain with Homelander because of her wholesome appearance. He wants the image of The Seven to change.
To teach Homelander a lesson, Stan asks Victoria to make an announcement about how Homelander can't get away with anything. He suggests the FBSA slaps a few fines on Homelander and Vought to make an example out of him. However, when the time for the press conference comes, Victoria instead announces that Homelander has come forward as a whistleblower of crimes committed by CEO of Vought, Stan Edgar. Stan is shocked and takes off his glasses. He is forced to take a temporary leave of absence from Vought, to the pleasure of Homelander, who points out that such a development could easily turn permanent. Stan however warns Homelander that he's not going to like not having anyone to cover his tracks anymore.
Later, Vought officially announced that it would be severing its ties with Stan Edgar, supposedly appalled by his actions and praising Homelander for his bravery. Vought also announced that it would be conducting a thorough investigation into his actions.[2]
Life After Retirement[]
During The Cameron Coleman Hour, it was reported that classified documents containing proprietary trade secrets had been found lying around his vacation home in the Bahamas under a Singer/Neuman political ad. Vought International tweeted out the news on their official Twitter account.[3]
Personality[]
| “ | ” |
Stan Edgar is a stoic, serious and imposing man. He's a cutthroat, bossy and ruthlessly pragmatic businessman who despite being polite and friendly, mostly interacts with people for business reasons. Unlike Madelyn Stillwell, he has no intention of working with the assets of the company like The Seven, it was only after Madelyn's death that he decided to work closely with them. He has a very complicated and tense relationship with Homelander, he is one of the few people who is not afraid of him, and he even mocks him by calling him "man-child" but even with that he considers Homelander his friend. Despite knowing that Homelander is the world's most powerful superhero he doesn't see him as their most valuable asset, explaining that would be the Compound V's secret formula.
Stan is also a very practical man who always prefers to dialogue and make deals with people as long as he gets some benefit in return, being able to double-cross Homelander and promise Billy Butcher to help him rescue his wife and escape with her while he compromises to give him Ryan in return. He explains to Butcher that he can't "lash out like some raging entitled maniac" arguing that's "a white man's luxury" showing that while he's in a position of power there are still societal limits on how he's allowed to behave, and act based on his race that don't exist for people like Butcher or even Homelander.
As the CEO of Vought International his word is law and does not tolerate any kind of doubt or complaint about his decisions, such as hiring Stormfront. He's aware of Stormfront's past and her true identity, because of this he's a bit condescending with her.
He cares about the publicity and actions of Vought more than anything else and he's capable of lying and denying information to keep the public image of the company, when the public learned about the existence of Compound V he denied knowing about its existence and simply blamed Madelyn Stillwell for everything.
He's a cold-hearted businessman who doesn't hesitate on making unethical plans as long as it benefits Vought and himself. Although he is able to do so, he never gets his hands dirty and instead, makes others to the dirty job while he stays behind pulling the strings. He is also a very calculating and cunning man, demonstrated when he meets Butcher in a fancy restaurant and admits he has more than one sniper prepared to make a clean shot to make sure he and Butcher could talk civilly and peacefully. He also says that he uses Stormfront to make people angry, even if somewhat bothered by her rhetoric, so they eventually buy Compound V, increasing their stock price. The reason he hides Ryan from Homelander in the beginning was that he uses Becca's son as contingency plan in case Homelander becomes a threat.
Despite this, Stan does have a kind and gentle side. He adopted Victoria Neuman, and he promised her that he'll always protect her; evidently by erasing all the evidence of her murders. He also loves his adoptive granddaughter whom he reads stories to.
Stan is a very mature man as he envisions Vought’s potential as the world’s most powerful and influential company but despises his job at Vought, claiming that he is tired and disillusioned with how it is being characterized, believing that it should be a serious defense and pharmaceutical business dedicated to creating drugs and providing national defense instead of a superhero business. He loathes how Vought essentially functions as a kindergarten for spoiled super-powered kids that cleans their scandals and greatly desires retiring from it as soon as he can, demonstrating that he is a very mature, serious and no-nonsense kind of man who sees the true potential in things that may seem beyond repair (in Vought’s case the superhero business and their scandals) despite his willingness to leave. He isn’t above making mistakes as he underestimated Victoria and her capacity to do anything in her power to get whatever she wants, so when he asks her to denounce publicly Homelander's behavior in TV she instead denounces him, which greatly surprised and shocked Stan since he did not expect it from his adoptive daughter, but despite this he instead of feeling betrayed or disappointed he feels proud of her because he taught her how to use all her possibilities in her hand and take advantage of it.
Abilities[]
- High Intelligence: As the CEO of Vought, Stan Edgar is a very intelligent individual, capable of making others do the dirty work for him while he stays behind pulling the strings. He is also a very calculating and cunning man, demonstrated when he meets Butcher in a fancy restaurant and admits he has more than one sniper prepared to make a clean shot to make sure he and Butcher could talk civilized and peacefully. He also says that he uses Stormfront to make people angry, so they eventually buy Compound V, increasing their stock price. He knows how to take advantage of situations to always get away with anything he wants. Right after Vought's actions downfall, Stan decided to use the fact The Boys had kidnapped a super-terrorist, so he sent Homelander and Stormfront to eliminate him, saving Vought's public image by using him and Madelyn Stillwell as a scapegoat, convincing people they need Compound V to defend people, which increased its demand and stock price.
- Charisma: While not as charming as Homelander or Stormfront, Stan possesses a decent level of charisma. He's highly skilled in PR and is able to convince both the media and the public with his words.
- Acting: Stan can easily pretend to express empathy, remorse or happiness. His acting skills are very useful to make his words more believable.
| “ | I used to be intimidated by you"
―Homelander to Stan Edgar
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- Intimidation: Stan is an intimidating man, commanding an imposing presence. He was even able to intimidate Homelander himself.
- Fearlessness: Stan has never shown any signs of fear even when confronted by Homelander, who can tell people's emotions by listening to their heartbeat. His lack of fear allows him to make decisions with a clear state of mind.
Quotes[]
| “ | What do you know about Frederick Vought?"
"Excuse me?" "Frederick. Vought. Our Esteemed founder." "Well, I don't know, um, not a lot, probably. I only read his autobiography...five times?" -(chuckles softly)"Not the self-serving bullshit that we peddle to the shareholders, the real story." "-Enlighten me." "-Got his doctorate from Munich. Ahead of his time in genetics. Such the rising young star that in '39, Hitler appointed him chief physician at Dachau, where he enjoyed a ready supply of human subjects on which to test his earliest iterations of Compound V. For which we condemn in the strongest of possible terms. Early in '44, he felt the winds change, got spirited away to the Allies. When Oppenheimer was flailing with the bomb, Dr. Vought already had practical applications of Compound V tested in the field. Heroes like Soldier Boy, killing Germans by the dozen. So, Roosevelt pardoned him, and he became as Wonder Bread American as Disney and Edison." "Well, this is a truly fascinating, if not slightly condescending lecture, but uh...I don't really see the point Stan." "The point is that you are under a misconception that we are a superhero company. We are not. What we are, really, is a pharmaceutical company. And you are not our most valuable asset. That would be our confidential formula for Compound V, which you, man-child that you are, released into the wild. ―Stan Edgar lecturing Homelander[src]
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| “ | I can't lash out like some raging, entitled maniac. That's a white man's luxury.
―Stan Edgar to Billy Butcher[src]
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Trivia[]
- His comic book counterpart does not physically appear in the comics and is only ever referred to as "Mr. Edgar". He dies early on due to a heart attack and it is revealed that James Stillwell was actually the one controlling the company from the shadows but never took the position of CEO as to avoid being a part of the public eye.
- His character takes heavy inspiration from James Stillwell, with both being stoic ruthless masterminds who intimidate Homelander.
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