Very little is known about Zoe Neuman's upbringing, except that she was raised by her mother, Victoria Neuman, and her adoptive grandfather, Stan Edgar.
Zoe is seen being read to by Stan Edgar. When Stan is finished, he asks her if he wants him to read it again, but Zoe jokingly tells him that she's too old. Stan laughs and tells her to go upstairs so he can speak with her mother.
In the morning, Zoe is seen watching TV and eating cereal while Victoria Neuman and Stan Edgar talk about Homelander.
At night, Zoe tells her mother that she is afraid of being injected with Compound V. Victoria comforts her, explaining that they did the same thing to her when she was younger and that it will make her strong and safe. Zoe, now reassured, lies down and gets injected with a dose of Compound V. Victoria tears up as the V takes effect on her daughter, hugging and comforting her as she screams and cries in pain.
Zoe went to get ice cream with Ryan when Butcher appeared and told her to go off. She later saw Kimiko and Frenchie trying to get classified information and attacked them.
Zoe appears with her mother while the latter arranged a meeting with Sister Sage and Homelander during a practice of Vought on Ice. She is seen using her phone while waiting for Victoria.
Zoe is first mentioned by her mother when Victoria contacts and asks Hughie for help, explaining how she wants to cut loose from Homelander and his plan to keep her daughter and her safe. She is then seen with her mother and a Secret Service bodyguard arriving to The Boys’ warehouse as per her mother’s deal with the team. She briefly has an interaction with Kimiko, showing mutual dislike between the two.
As Butcher enters the warehouse, Hughie attempts to calm him and gain his trust in his plan with Victoria. However, Butcher pushes him out the way and grabs Neuman with ‘Joe Kessler.’ In retaliation, Zoe unleashes her tentacles towards Butcher, proving ineffective as the latter throws and knocks her out with his parasite, before ripping her mother in half, killing her, much to the shock of the rest of the team.
With her mother dead, Zoe is devastated and last seen during the end of the episode, being escorted to the Red River Institute, being left to grow up in the same system her mother once did.
At some point after her incarceration in Red River Institute, Zoe was rescued by Stan Edgar. Later, Zoe appears suddenly during Vikor’s assault and kills him with her tentacle powers. She is accompanied by her grandfather, Stan Edgar. Later, inside Stan’s bunker, she befriends Annabeth, and the two bond over shared grief as orphans.
Zoe wakes up when Annabeth starts screaming and searching for Marie in the bunker after having her vision. Zoe helps look for Marie. She later goes to get her grandfather, Stan Edgar, so the group can use his car to find Marie at Godolkin.
Zoe was originally a very closed off and guarded girl; especially after getting her powers. But in Season Four of The Boys, Zoe has shown no qualms with taking lives, as to date she is currently responsible for three murders. After her mother’s death and spending a few months in the same orphanage her mother grew up in, Zoe has seemed to harden even more. But she doesn’t seem to show it, as she is constantly smiling and seems cheerful, even when she just killed someone and is covered in their blood. Whether this is a facade to hide her pain, or Zoe has taken on a more psychotic persona due to killing people is unknown.
Regardless, Zoe has shown to deeply care for her family and would do anything for them. As shown when Zoe had attempted to defend her mother from Butcher. Zoe has shown to deeply miss her parents after their deaths/disappearances, and wishes that she could have done something to protect them. After being taken in by her grandfather, Zoe has shown to become highly protective of him as her last family member and keeping him safe became one of her primary motivators.
Due to how Marie Moreau's similarities to her mother and having overcome the same hardship that she had to endure, Zoe had developed a level of admiration towards Marie. Excited as the prospect of her agreeing to side with her family and asking Annabeth Moreau what it was like to have her for a big sister.
Like her mother and grandfather, Zoe has also shown to be intelligent and devious. As shown with how she fights and uses her powers, being aware that she lacks any powers that works in long range and her powers only being effective if she was in close proximity to her victims, Zoe developed the skill of pretending and passing herself off as a normal/defenseless child to get in close to them to use her nested eel mouths on them. Zoe is also noted to be aware of the limitations of what she can do alone and like her grandfather, understood that she needed allies to protect him and help him regain control of Vought. Hinting that her attempts to get close and endear herself to Marie might also be a strategic move to convince her to help her family in their conflict.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Nested Mouths:
Zoe unleashing her eel mouths
Zoe possesses the ability to unleash four eel-like mouths with razor-sharp teeth from her own mouth. These appendages can rapidly and violently tear through both humans and Supes. She used them to rip apart the heads of two CIA agents and tear off Kimiko's arm. Zoe even used them to internally decapitate Vikor in a matter of seconds.
Regenerative Healing Factor: Zoe possesses a regenerative healing factor, allowing her to recuperate from fatal injuries that would kill humans and some Supes. She fully regenerated from numerous gunshot wounds after being shot by Frenchie.
Superhuman Strength: Zoe possesses superhuman strength, which makes her stronger than humans and some Supes. She completely overpowered and killed two CIA agents before they could escape, and she also managed to briefly pin down Kimiko.
Superhuman Durability:
Zoe being attacked by Butcher
Zoe possesses superhuman durability, making her more durable than humans. However, her durability only applies to blunt-force trauma. She endures being slammed into a wall by Kimiko, shrugging it off shortly after. Zoe also survived an attack from Butcher that sent her into metal beams, bending them in the process.
Superhuman Hearing: Zoe possesses superhuman hearing, allowing her to hear better than humans. Like all Supes, she can hear higher frequencies that humans cannot.[1]
Abilities[]
Acting/Cunning: Zoe is a capable actress, as she can appear to be innocent and inconspicuous. As shown, due to her lacking long range powers, Zoe has shown to have developed the skill of passing herself off as harmless little girl to get close enough to her victims to use her powers on them. With her having easily dispatched the agents accompanying Frenchie and Kimiko by pretending she was a defenseless child. Later, she managed to fool Vikor into thinking she was a regular innocent human girl and catching him completely off guard before killing him using her eel mouths.
Indomitable Will: Zoe has a strong force of will. She will do anything to protect her family and loved ones. After losing her mother and possibly her father, she is willing to risk her life in order to protect her grandfather, Stan Edgar, the only family member she has left. Zoe also doesn’t show any fear towards powerful and intimidating people like Billy Butcher and Vikor.
Weaknesses[]
Biological[]
Brute Force/Limited Durability: Despite being more durable than humans, Zoe can still be stunned, knocked unconscious, and killed by extreme force. Billy Butcher knocks her unconscious by slamming her against metal support beams.
High Frequencies: Due to being a Supe, Zoe is susceptible to high frequencies. When a high frequency is playing, it can induce immense pain and temporarily neutralize her.
Originally, Zoe wasn't supposed to have braces. Prosthetics Supervisor, Zane Knisely, suggested it during pre-production.
In a deleted scene from Season 4, Zoe is seen wearing makeup, which Victoria disapproves of, and is promptly asked by Victoria to wash it off before going out.
References[]
↑Bob in First Day: "Did you know Supes have a wider range of hearing than us? Like dogs."
