Summary
- Homelander’s laser attack on Marie in Gen V’s Season 1 finale raises questions about her survival, as her powers do not typically involve physical resilience.
- One theory suggests that Marie was actually killed by the blast, aligning with the shocking twists and reveals seen in both Gen V and The Boys.
- This theory proposes that the ending scene of Gen V takes place inside Cate’s mind prison, where Marie appears as a construct of Cate’s powers to keep the other Supes contained.
One massive theory stemming from Gen V‘s season 1 finale concerning The Boys season 4 states that Homelander actually killed Marie Moreau. Gen V season 1’s ending was a huge cliffhanger regarding the set-up of The Boys season 4 after Cate and Sam unleashed a radicalized attack on the humans of Godolkin University. This attack saw the representatives of Vought reach straight for the big guns when Homelander was brought to the campus to defuse the situation.
The Boys‘ showrunner Eric Kripke has revealed that season 4 takes place only a few days after Gen V season 1. Gen V season 2 will then follow directly on from The Boys season 4 making for a clearly linear timeline that Kripke desired rather than a convoluted mess of prequels, sequels, and concurrent stories.
That said, Homelander’s appearance only made things worse for the heroes of the universe in a way that proved above all else that Gen V set up The Boys season 4. Given the major links between the two shows, many have begun to theorize how the ending of the spin-off will tie into the main show, specifically concerning the new Supes Gen V introduced into The Boys‘ universe. With that in mind, one of these many theories states that Homelander actually killed Marie in Gen V‘s finale with this plot point tying to another major character’s superpower going forward.
Gen V Doesn’t Explain How Marie Moreau Survives Homelander’s Blast
Undoubtedly one of the biggest questions going into The Boys season 4 is how Marie survived Homelander’s laser attack in Gen V. Despite Homelander being summoned to stop the violence of the Godolkin massacre, the Supe has shown a history of deeming himself – and other Supes – superior to humans in a not-so-subtle allegory for racial supremacy. As a result of this, Homelander chastised Marie for attacking Cate who is one of her own kind before blasting her in the chest with his laser eyes.
One thing The Boys has made evidently clear is that Homelander’s laser attacks are incredibly difficult to survive with only the strongest Supes like Queen Maeve, Stormfront, and Butcher after using V24 able to withstand them. Throughout Gen V, Marie’s main source of power was shown to be her blood-based abilities rather than her physical resilience meaning her survival of Homelander’s attack is left mostly unexplained. The only mention of this is Andre stating that Marie “took that blast like a champ” and that most other Supes would have been killed on the spot.
Theory: The Real Marie Moreau Was Killed By Homelander
Given that Marie’s survival of Homelander’s attack is left mostly unexplored, one theory is that Marie was actually killed by the blast. The many examples of the attack’s power within The Boys’ universe would support this as would the other aspects of Gen V such as the lack of focus on Marie’s tolerance of physical attacks. This plot point would certainly match with The Boys universe thus far as both shows in the franchise have had the tendency to include several reveals and twists in a bid to dial up the shock factor of the stories being told.
That said, the one aspect of Gen V‘s finale that seems to disprove Marie being killed is the very last scene of the episode. Marie is shown to awaken in a hospital room alongside Jordan, Emma, and Andre, with the latter implying she survived Homelander’s assault. However, this theory goes even further by linking to the superpowers of one specific Supe highlighted in Gen V season 1 and supports the idea of the real Marie being killed by Antony Starr’s villainous antithesis to Superman.
Gen V’s Heroes Could Be Inside Cate’s Mind Prison In Season 1’s Ending
The Supe in question is Cate with this theory stating that the ending scene of Gen V actually takes place inside Cate’s mind prison. Gen V episode 6 greatly deepened the capabilities of Cate’s powers by having her inadvertently trap Marie, Jordan, and Andre within her mind. During this episode, it became clear that Cate could create physical manifestations of dead people within her mind as evidenced by Luke/Golden Boy’s appearances. All of this could point towards Jordan, Emma, and Andre being alive only trapped inside Cate’s mind prison with Marie – the real one having been killed by Homelander – being one of these constructs by Cate herself.
While this theory is possible, the question remains over why it would be needed for the story. For one, it is unclear what happened to Cate and Sam outside of them being positioned as the heroes of the Godolkin massacre. It’s clear that Homelander agrees with Cate and Sam on their ideologies that Supes are superior to humans likely resulting in the latter two being recruited by the former. Cate’s powers could have grown to the point of being able to keep Jordan, Emma, and Andre confined in her mind prison with the construct of Marie being used to keep them unaware that they are not in the real world.
This would certainly be an effective method for keeping Supes contained as the trio now has no powers, something also established during Gen V episode 6. If the Supes Homelander opposed in Gen V were simply imprisoned, the possibility of an escape using their powers remains. With Cate’s mind prison though, these characters could be kept in check with little risk of escape. Furthermore, Cate could also be using the construct of Marie to glean information from Andre, Emma, and Jordan in a way that does not involve physical touch after her Gen V injuries.
If Marie Is Alive, She Could Be Badly Injured
While this theory is certainly possible, it remains exactly that, a theory. The other possibility is that Gen V‘s ending is precisely what it presents: Marie survived Homelander’s blast and was imprisoned by Vought alongside Jordan, Emma, and Andre. If this is the case, another small twist could be that Marie was critically injured despite surviving. The Boys showcased that powerful Supes like Stormfront can be gravely wounded by Homelander’s – or in that specific case, Homelander’s son’s – abilities be it loss of limbs or other serious injuries.
This possibility would also tie to Cate in that Marie could be injured and placed into a coma by Cate as was highlighted in Gen V episode 6. This is why Marie appears completely unharmed by Homelander’s attack in Gen V‘s ending as the version shown appears only in Cate’s mind prison. The Boys season 4 or Gen V season 2 could then focus on Marie, Andre, Jordan, and Emma escaping Cate’s imprisonment to fight back against Vought. Regardless, Gen V‘s ending sets up several intriguing possibilities for The Boys season 4, some of which could lead to a grim fate for Marie Moreau.
