From a cowardly, weak guy, Soldier Boy had the opportunity to become a contrasting picture when he got into the hands of Jensen Ackles.
In an interview about the character he brought into the third season of The Boys, Eric Kripke, the person responsible for the series, admitted that he wanted an older actor with the classic features of John Wayne or Robert. Mitchum plays the role. But Jensen Ackles changed his mind and according to Kripke, it was the best decision he ever made. Soldier Boy of Ackles, who is famous for his role as Dean Winchester in the classic television series Supernatural, has made Kripke and viewers admire that this TV version of Soldier Boy seems to be tailor-made for Ackles. As for those who have been close to Dean Winchester, this change surprised them.
Up to now, despite not appearing much, this character still easily dominates the news. It’s hard to accept that the hero you once admired is gradually turning into a villain. In a dark series like The Boys, the villains can only be as bad as psychopathic. But the audience has to admit, this role is a perfect fit for Jensen Ackles. Perhaps it’s because he had roles to pave the way for a very unique Soldier Boy. It must be said that Ackles’s Soldier Boy is a gathering point for the actor’s previous roles, albeit with few qualities.
Compared to the original comics, The Boys season has a very different “Captain America”. Instead of a coward, what we get is a real soldier with decades of combat experience. With Compound V flowing through him, Soldier Boy is the best warrior in history. But in the same way that Homelander is Superman’s antithesis, Soldier Boy is a skewed mirror of the Captain America ideal. The Boys asks what if the super soldier serum amplifies a bad personality?The comic book version’s cowardice and innocent personality are completely missing, giving way to a more brutal Soldier Boy. Being bad is not easy to imagine in Jensen Ackles’s characters. The actor often plays a torn hero rather than a morally corrupt villain. But Ackles can still condense the “bad qualities” of the past into Soldier Boy. That and the reason why no one can hate his character – “the lovable bad guy”.
Ackles repeatedly described his new character as an old man from the past, imbued with old values with an outdated lens of looking at life. It is inevitable that Soldier Boy will be prejudiced against people of color, immigrants, look down on women, and discriminate against LGBT people. And these things have been somewhat shown. The fact that he was betrayed by both his teammates and his lover also proves that he is neither good at relationships. However, one thing that can be clearly seen is that Soldier Boy is very attractive with a natural smile and a humorous nature, with an extremely confident personality. And in the moment Soldier Boy witnessed a new world, knowing his lover sold him out, you thought, “This character isn’t that bad.”
That’s entirely thanks to Ackles. That’s the confident look of Boaz Priestly in Ten Inch Hero – a bright comedy and romantic movie with many messages ahead of its time, with the character Boaz being confident to the point of being silly, but has a strange fate. It’s worth mentioning that in Ten Inch Hero, Boaz is seen as a role model against toxic masculinity – something that abounds in Soldier Boy. The arrogance of a Soldier Boy at his peak comes from Jason Teague in Smallville.
As is an obvious principle of the V serum, it amplifies what is fundamental to the user. The final part of Soldier Boy Ackles is taken from two roles that are close to the genre he is playing but no one has seen his face, Batman in The Long Halloween and Red Hood from Batman: Under the Red Hood. Soldier Boy of the 21st century carries the unmistakable darkness of Batman and the aggression and hatred of his troubled disciple Jason Todd.
This darkness covers Soldier Boy’s entire current self, but lacks Batman’s control. As a statement of contrast to all the heroes of DC and Marvel, there is a “Captain America” with Batman’s vengeful rage using his iconic shield to turn the heads of his enemies into crushed tomatoes.
But Soldier Boys wouldn’t be complete with a big piece from the most iconic role of the actor’s career – Dean Winchester. Overall, it’s hard to separate Dean from this savage soldier.
It cannot be denied that being framed for Jensen is something that can easily happen when he participates in a television series that lasts more than a decade. 15 years is a very long time to stick with a role. Episode by episode, Jensen brought Dean Winchester to the small screen and turned the character into an indispensable symbol of Supernatural.
In Supernatural, Dean Winchester is a hero. Now, Soldier Boy is a villain (at least according to the producers). Being framed is not a good thing for actors, but in a few cases, like Jensen Ackles, this accidentally becomes the strength of the actor and his character.
Dean Winchester – a demon hunter captured the audience’s attention when appearing on Supernatural. He is a true “bad boy” who flirts, drinks beer and engages in behaviors considered masculine, such as wearing leather jackets and driving a classic Impala. But that’s a cover. Inside, Dean Winchester suffers from depression, the negative thoughts that come with a “career” that has chosen him. Dean is also quite calm, has a sense of humor, is smarter than many people think, resilient, sometimes hot-tempered, stubborn but very upright and chooses to protect the weak. Soldier Boy’s appearance can be said to be completely different, but is it really so?
Dean Winchetes is not exactly the hero of the Supernatural series. At the end of season 9, Dean was resurrected as a demon and bombarded the first three episodes of season 10 with unspeakable sexism, violence, and insensitivity reaching its peak. For fans of the series, Soldier Boy is no different from a mirror coming out of this version of Dean.
For fans of Supernatural, the greater the contrast and similarity, the clearer the image of Soldier Boy appears. But in the moments when this character shows his most vulnerable side, from torture to facing harsh truths from teammates and lovers, a Dean Winchester has the opportunity to emerge with his version. Similarly, Ben – the real person behind the nickname Soldier Boy. It can be seen that Soldier Boy has not completely lost his humanity like Homelander.
On the contrary, many viewers were attracted by the pitiful sadness he expressed. Along with that is the hope that this character can “live long” in The Boys universe. As for the comic version, believe the writer when he says that reading the story, you just want to punch him in the face, or pray that he gets promoted soon!
The Boys originally changed this character for Ackles, but it was still the actor who held the reins. This role may be collected from the roles he has experienced, but the common point they share is that they cannot make viewers hate him. It seems like Ackles himself has a superpower. Coming soon, Soldier Boy’s charm will be tested in the episode Herogasm which includes depraved scenes of “superheroes”. This could be the moment Soldier Boy proves his true nature. Maybe he’ll betray Butcher or do something terrible. At that time, I wonder if Soldier Boy can maintain his image? Honestly, the writer doesn’t mind him turning into a complete villain!
