8 Burning Questions We Have to Get Ready for The Boys Season 4

Nearly two years after the third season finale, The Boys is returning to Prime Video later this week for its fourth season. The show was inspired by the comic book series by Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, but Prime Video's The Boys has gone off in its own direction for most of the main characters.

One thing that's constant between the series and the comic book is that Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and his team are ideologically opposed to The Seven, a Justice League-like group led by Homelander (Antony Starr) that is controlled by a corporation called Vought. The Seven may present themselves as superheroes, but the Boys know the truth. There are very few supes in this world who are actually heroic, and almost all of them are scared of Homelander. 

The third season really shook things up for this series, which is why we've been left with eight burning questions as we head into The Boys season 4 on June 13. And the answers to those questions are anyone's guess at this point.

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Will Victoria Neuman become the next President of the United States?

Congresswoman — and head-exploding supe — Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) has been steadily amassing power since her first appearance on the show in Season 2. Neuman was secretly Stan Edgar's (Giancarlo Esposito) adoptive daughter and loyal to Vought despite calling them out in congressional hearings. But now that Neuman has made an alliance with Homelander, she's one step closer to becoming President.

In the third season finale, Neuman was named the running mate of Presidential candidate Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver). She only got that position because The Deep (Chace Crawford) murdered her political rival. And if Neuman is willing to murder her way to the top, how long will it be before Singer meets an untimely end? If Singer dies, then there's no one standing between Neuman and the highest office in the land.

Is Starlight going to be the new leader of the Boys?

Butcher finally lost the trust of his team in Season 3 after keeping too many secrets from the Boys, which is why Butcher is no longer the leader heading into Season 4. And with Butcher on the outs with everyone, the most likely person to replace him may be Starlight (Erin Moriarty). 

Annie January/Starlight publicly resigned from The Seven last season and openly denounced Homelander and Vought. We don't know yet if Annie will maintain her Starlight identity now that she's on the team with the Boys. This is uncharted territory for the show, and a drastic change from the source material. 

Will Queen Maeve reclaim her powers?

Most of the characters on The Boys aren't fated to get happy endings. Yet Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) may turn out to be an exception. During the Season 3 finale, Maeve apparently lost her powers while fighting Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), and she seemingly sacrificed herself to stop him. In reality, Maeve survived and she managed to reunite with her lover while the general public believes that she died.

If Maeve never returns, then she got what she wanted out of life. But since Maeve had such a personal stake in bringing Homelander down, it's hard to picture her staying out of the fight for the remainder of the series. It all depends on whether Maeve's powers can return on their own, or if she needs another dose of Compound V to make that happen.

What happened to Soldier Boy?

The only supe to date who has shown the power to actually hurt or even kill Homelander is his biological father, Soldier Boy. Unfortunately, Soldier Boy is mentally unstable at best and homicidal at his worst. Instead of teaming up with Soldier Boy to finish off Homelander in the Season 3 finale, Butcher had to side with Homelander to prevent Soldier Boy from murdering Homelander's son Ryan (Cameron Crovetti). 

In the aftermath, Soldier Boy was left unconscious as he was taken into custody. The real question now is who has Soldier Boy: Vought or the government? Because if Soldier Boy's ability to depower supes can be replicated, then it could be a game-changer for humanity.

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Will Stan Edgar reclaim control of Vought from Homelander?

As the CEO of Vought, Stan Edgar was one of the few people who could tell Homelander to his face that he was a "bad product" and not be instantly killed. Edgar was all but untouchable until Homelander made his deal with Victoria Neuman, who helped him force Edgar out of power at Vought.

Is that an outcome that Edgar is willing to accept forever? We doubt it. Giancarlo Esposito is an actor who is always in demand. And even if Esposito doesn't return for The Boys season 4, Edgar could always attempt a comeback in Season 5.

Can Ryan be saved from Homelander's influence?

One of Butcher's many mistakes last season included alienating Ryan, the young son of his late wife, Becca (Shantel VanSanten), and Homelander. Because Butcher pushed Ryan away from him, Homelander was able to find and reconcile with his son. Now, Homelander is able to raise Ryan as he sees fit, and that spells trouble for everyone. Homelander is the most-powerful supe alive, and Ryan inherited his powers. If Ryan truly follows in his father's footsteps, it's game over for the world. 

Fixing this may come down to Butcher, if he can convince Ryan to forgive him. However, the longer Ryan stays with Homelander, the less likely he is to turn back from his current path.

How unhinged will Homelander be in Season 4?

Until last season, Homelander was desperately afraid to show his true personality to the public. Things changed pretty rapidly in Season 3, especially when Homelander openly murdered a man in full view of everyone... and he was then cheered by his adoring crowd.

The Boys' social media accounts have been depicting snippets of Homelander's murder trial between Seasons 3 and 4. If Homelander is found guilty, what power could compel him to comply with the verdict? And if Homelander is found not guilty, how much farther will he go when he realizes that he can essentially do anything he wants? 

Can Butcher find a way to save his life?

Last season, Butcher gave himself superpowers by using the experimental compound V24 to give himself powers and even the playing field with Homelander. For a while, it worked. Unfortunately for Butcher, it may cost him his life. Butcher was warned that excessive V24 use would be fatal, which is why he prevented Hughie from taking another dose. But Butcher made one last attempt to kill Homelander, and he failed. Now, he has to live with the consequences. 

Butcher's grim medical diagnosis only gives him a few months to live, and none of his teammates know how bad his condition is. Since Butcher is the main character of the series, there's more than likely some way he can cheat his fate or at least prolong his life. For now, the clock is ticking for Butcher, and he doesn't have much time to find a solution.

The Boys Season 4 will premiere with three new episodes on Thursday, June 13 on Prime Video.