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 is about to bring into the third season of The Boys, Eric Kripke, the person in charge of 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.
Ackles repeatedly described his new character as an old man from the past, imbued with old values with an outdated lens of looking at life.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.”
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 an easy thing to 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?
Many of Soldier Boy’s “qualities” are exaggerated from some of the “bad qualities” of the elder Winchester brother. They are both charming and flirty. But Soldier Boy certainly pushes these qualities a notch further with the character’s misogyny. While Dean gradually abandoned his teenage boy temperament in season 5 onwards, Soldier Boy, who has been on the battlefield since World War II, has not given up on them – which is understandable since Soldier Boy always wants attention, Dean no.
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.