The promotion for the upcoming third season of The Boys is in full swing, and one of the latest teasers for the show’s much-awaited return comes in the form of an anti-drug public service announcement (PSA) starring Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy.
Soldier Boy’s anti-drug PSA
Released on Memorial Day, the retro-style PSA shows the new character reminding the youth that taking drugs is not cool.
“Did you know drugs and drug-related crime have become a nationwide problem? All across America, drugs are destroying people’s lives,” Soldier Boy says to the screen. “But you don’t have to be a superhero to fight back. Because your superpower is just saying ‘no.’ So when someone offers you drugs, you tell them Soldier Boy said ‘Taking drugs is not cool, and anyone who does is a loser.’ Remember, real heroes don’t use drugs.”
Soldier Boy vs. Captain America
Soldier Boy’s anti-drug PSA is reminiscent of Captain America’s (Chris Evans) PSAs in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that is no coincidence, as Soldier Boy is a riff on Captain America the way Homelander (Antony Starr) is a riff on DC’s Superman.
In The Boys comics, Soldier Boy is a 1940s superhero conceived using Compound V. After killing more than his fair share of Nazi soldiers in World War II, he becomes a mainstay of American culture and is hailed as the first celebrity supe. Soldier Boy is also the leader of Payback, the premier group of superheroes before the Seven was formed.
Soldier Boy in The Boys season 3
The Boys season 3 trailer, which dropped earlier this month, suggests that viewers will be seeing Ackles’ character in flashbacks and in the show’s present timeline.
At the start of the trailer, an armored-up Soldier Boy is seen brutally killing someone using his shield. But at the end of the trailer, a long-haired Soldier Boy with a beard is seen coming out from a chamber, stunning Frenchie (Tomer Capon) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) who both appear to be looking for him.
The latter scene confirms Ackles’ previous statement about how his character will be introduced in the show. “What happens is they kind of find me, and I’ve been essentially in captivity for a while,” Ackles said of how his character will cross paths with the show’s titular group, during a recent appearance on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast. “And so, when they do, I’m bearded and I look like Cast Away, but then they clean me up and I get my superhero outfit back on and I go to town.”
Ackles continued: “He’s a grandpa. He’s from the ‘40s. He fought in World War II, and he’s just this curmudgeon, bigoted a–hole. He doesn’t age, so he’s this young, 40-year-old superhero who’s really 80 years old or 90 years old. There’s just so much material there, you’ll see what I mean when you see the show but he has a taste for people who were of his era.”
The Boys season 3 release date
The eight-episode season 3 of The Boys is set to premiere on June 3rd on Amazon Prime Video.