Thanks to a new trailer for The Boys spin-off Gen Z, we've got more insight than ever into the highly-anticipated latest entry into the brutal superhero series. Set in the newly created Godolkin University — named after the comic book character John Godolkin, the leader of the superpowered group known as the G-Men — the show looks to continue the grotesque and violent adventures of The Boys, but with one very interesting twist. While the "heroes" that we met in the original series were all already deeply corrupted and conflicted thanks to the corporate ownership and impact of Vought, the young supes in Gen V have the potential to actually become the first actual heroes in the franchise.
That seems even more likely after the new trailer revealed that a group of students will have to go up against Vought and Godolkin U after discovering a dark mystery at the center of the school and its quest to find the next heroes for the elite team known as the Seven. (A team that is, if you recall, currently down a few members.) This gives Gen V a rare and subversive opportunity to give viewers characters that we can actually root for and heroes that might actually live up to the word, something that goes against everything that has made The Boys so popular and radical in the superhero saturated world that we live in.
With that in mind, we're going to have some fun digging into the characters at the center of Gen V's violent delights and doing some very scientific ratings — based on what we know so far and what we saw in the trailer — of just how heroic or villainous the new characters will be. We'll be predicting their alignment on this definitely real scale: Hero, Anti-Hero, Could Go Either Way, Anti-Villain, Villain, True Evil. So strap in and get to know the people who inhabit the wild world of what might just be your new favorite superhero show.
Marie Moreau
Played by Jaz Sinclair
Powers: Can control, weaponize, and wield her own blood.
Predicted alignment: Hero
Being a main character in the world of The Boys doesn't in any way promise that you'll end up a hero, anyone who's watched the original show knows that well. But in the case of Marie — who is essentially The Boys' universe version of a Blood Bender — it's looking like she might be a rare heroic figure in the bleak landscape of Vought and its supes. From what we know so far, Marie plays a large role in trying to uncover the truth of what's going on at Godolkin U, immediately pitting her against Vought and their evil schemes. While we're sure that she'll still be a complex and likely conflicted character —this is The Boys after all — right now it seems like Marie could be leaning into heroism as she aims to takedown whatever Vought is up to in The Woods. Though it seems unlikely at this point, seeing as she's dreamed her whole life of joining the Seven, maybe we'll be shocked by a sudden heel turn for that place on the team...
Andre Anderson
Played by Chance Perdomo
Powers: Magnetism
Predicted alignment: Hero
Though he's best friends with Godolkin's literal Golden Boy — no really that's his hero name — and the son of a famed hero Polarity, we think that Andre has big hero potential. The trailer shows him as a clear ally to Marie after the pair witness a young man escaping the mysterious location known as The Woods. In even more of a hint that he'll be on the right side of history, we see his father threatening him to stay quiet. That'll probably be a big source of conflict this season, seeing as Andre is supposed to take over the Polarity mantle from his father when he retires. Hopefully he doesn't bow to familial pressure and does the right thing becoming a hero in his own right. If anywhere needs them, it's the world of The Boys.
Emma Meyer
Played by Lizze Broadway
Powers: Shrinking
Predicted alignment: Hero
Rounding out our leading trio is Emma, a young supe with Ant-Man / The Atom style powers that allow her to shrink really tiny, earning her the nickname "Little Cricket." Now, as with all of these rankings, heroism is relative. This is still a world where the murderous Homelander is a beloved supe, after all. Do we see Emma definitely crawling out of someone's ear after killing them? Yes. But do we know why she did it? No. And in the context of The Boys there are plenty of people who need to be killed, so perhaps Emma was murdering for the greater good. Either way, the fact that she's on the side of Marie and Andre and fighting against Vought and whatever evil they're enacting at Godolkin and The Woods makes us think she's good... for now.
Indira Shetty
Played by Shelley Conn
Powers: None
Predicted alignment: Villain
Sorry, but if you are a teacher at Godolkin University we're absolutely assuming that you're evil. Seeing as Indira is the Dean of the school, we're guessing that she's going to be in on whatever terrible shenanigans Vought are doing under the cover of educating young supes. The fact that she's not-powered could work in favor of either a villainous or good path: She could be resentful about not having powers and be interested in creating ways to gain them — think of Compound V in The Boys — making her a great contender for an evil overseer. But, in fairness, it could also mean that she might be anti-Vought and actually want to care for the kids at the school. That's all hypothetical right now though, so she's currently firmly in the predicted villain camp.
Luke Riordan
Played by Patrick Schwarzenegger
Powers: Pyrokinetic
Predicted alignment: Villain
Entering The Boys' universe as a maniacal Johnny Storm archetype, Golden Boy is a fiery supe who also happens to be the most popular and high-achieving hero at Godolkin. He's at the top of Professor Brink's Crime Fighting class, and is almost destined to become a part of the Seven. Based solely on the rules of college / high school movies, it's extremely likely that he'll be a big bad simply because he's popular and the trailer definitely adds to the villain theory as we see him tearing through the teaser setting stuff on fire. Seeing as he's so close to becoming a part of the Seven, perhaps he's trusted by Brink and the teaching staff and knows what's going on in The Woods. Heck, maybe he was even there for a while himself? Adding more fuel to the villain fire is our theory that he could actually be a sort of attack dog for Vought, shutting down anyone who tries to uncover their nefarious deeds, which would pit him against Marie and her crew.
Cate Dunlap
Played by Maddie Phillips
Powers: Control of emotions and actions via touch
Predicted alignment: Could Go Either Way
Sneaking in as one of the most powerful characters in the show is Cate, who has the ability to make anyone do whatever she wants via a simple touch. Though we don't get to see much of her in the trailers, the fact that she's dating Golden Boy and is desperate to rise to the top of Godolkin no matter the cost makes her a clear contender for a villain. But,as we see her with Marie in certain moments, we're leaving her in the morally gray / could go either way camp. The big question is whether or not the top students at the University are aware of what's going on in The Woods? As we mentioned above, it seems like Golden Boy might be acting as an attack dog for the school and Vought, but it's unclear what Cate knows.
Sam
Played by Asa Germann
Powers: Super strength and invulnerability
Predicted alignment: Anti-Hero
Another student at Godolkin is Sam, who on the surface seems to have it all. His powers are the most Homelander/Superman-like, but he also struggles with destabilizing hallucinations. Those visions mean he struggles to tell the difference between what's real or not, placing him in an incredibly vulnerable situation. We're hoping that Gen V offers a nuanced take on what is clearly taking from real mental illness, so we're putting Sam in the Anti-Hero class. His struggles will probably push him into extreme behaviors, but he definitely has the potential to do good.
Jordan Li
Played by London Thor and Derek Luh
Powers: Can switch genders and each gender has a different powerset: As a female she's agile and can shoot energy blasts, as a male he's indestructible and super dense.
Predicted alignment: Anti-Villain
One of the most unique power sets in the show comes from Jordan Li. We don't know too much about them yet, but they're a competitive student (read: might be willing to ignore Vought's evil for success) and they're well known for their unique powers in Brink's class. This is all pointing towards them being a Villain, but we're going for an Anti-Villain designation — think Magneto or Catwoman — because with everything that we don't know there's a lot of scope for Jordan to turn on Vought and become an unexpected ally to Marie and Andre as the series goes on.
Polarity
Played by Sean Patrick Thomas
Powers: Magnetism
Predicted alignment: Villain
Following the logic of The Boys here, we're lumping any old guard heroes into the villain role until they prove otherwise. We literally see him threatening his own son about speaking the truth about what's going on with Vought in the trailer, which is very bad dadding. Any good horror story needs evil and useless adults, and it seems like Andre's dad is one of them.
Professor Rich “Brink” Brinkerhoff
Played by Clancy Brown
Powers: Unknown
Predicted alignment: True Evil
The man who taught most of the supes you know and hate from The Boys, Coach Brink, is the man behind Vought's hero program. That basically makes him one of the most evil people on television no matter what we see when the show hits screens. Then there's the fact that he's clearly in cahoots with Vought and helping out with whatever is happening in The Woods. So, if you're looking for Gen V's biggest bad, then look no further.
Dr. Edison Cardosa
Played by Marco Pigossi
Powers: Unknown
Predicted alignment: True Evil
Speaking of true evil, if there's one person who is absolutely in on whatever is going on in The Woods, that would be Dr. Edison Cardosa. The trailer showcases him on the phone to Vought's Ashley Barrett discussing whatever nightmares are in The Woods. Plus he talks about other evil things that they've been doing at the University that we haven't even gotten into. And he's a doctor who is clearly using his degree for evil which is a classic big bad trope!
Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.
