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SYFY WIRE The Boys

Jensen Ackles channels Captain America through the lens of Arrow in first look at The Boys' Soldier Boy in S3

By Josh Weiss
Jensen Ackles Soldier Boy

He can do this all day... Amazon has revealed the first official look at Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy in Season 3 of The Boys. While he may seem like a direct parallel of Marvel's Captain America (his scruffy beard and angular shield recall Steve Rogers' look in Avengers: Infinity War), fans should know better at this point.

The Boys is all about flipping superhero archetypes on their head, and Soldier Boy — who we know was created via sadistic Nazi experiments during WWII — is not immune to that comic book subversion. In the source material by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, he's depicted as a yellow-bellied brown-nose, who may not have actually fought in the war (if Butcher is to be believed). Despite a strong desire to join The Seven, Soldier Boy never became a member of the team. However, he did lead another group known as "Payback" (the title of the Season 3 premiere).

"Soldier Boy is the original bad ass," Laura Jean Shannon, who designed the character's costume alongside concept artist Greg Hopwood, said in a statement. "Our goal was to highlight a bygone era of overt masculinity and grit. With that pedigree, we dove headfirst into baking in an all-American quality grounded in a military soldier’s practicality with a heavy dose of old school cowboy swagger. We knew that the actor had to have Steve McQueen looks and chops with a John Wayne attitude, luckily Jensen Ackles embodies all of that."

Take a look below:

Soldier Boy Jensen Ackles The Boys

“When I cast Jensen as Soldier Boy, the first thing I said was, ‘I’m most excited for you, because of the amazing process you’ll go through with LJ, our Super Suit designer.' It took six months but the experience surpassed Jensen’s expectations," added showrunner Eric Kripke, who previously worked with Ackles on Supernatural. "LJ has made a work of art that tips its hat to the WWII Soldier Boy from the comics, while taking it in a sleek new direction. And if you think the photos are cool, just wait till you see Jensen in action. It’s one of my very favorite suits. Also, now you can quit clogging my Twitter notifications with demands to see it."

Last month, Karl Urban (Billy Butcher) shared a selfie featuring Ackles and Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell). Based on Soldier Boy's appearance in the photo, we'd say he's fallen on hard times. He also may have dipped into Oliver Queen's closet after the end of Arrow, at least judging by the color scheme.

Season 3 of The Boys is expected to premiere on Amazon sometime next year.