(Warning: This post contains spoilers for Episode 206 of “The Boys,” titled “The Bloody Doors Off.”)
Friday’s episode of Season 2 of “The Boys” ends with a scene that some fans have been clamoring for (or complaining about) since Aya Cash’s version of Stormfront was introduced: the moment when she “catches up” to the Stormfront from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comics with the reveal that the decades-old superhero is actually a Nazi — literally, from the Third Reich — who also happens to be the first supe ever created using Compound V.
“Really, that’s a very similar backstory to the comic book: a real Nazi, really injected by the Nazis — one of the very first injections, if not the first,” “The Boys” showrunner Eric Kripke told TheWrap. “That was just something we always wanted in the backstory of this character — we just wanted to really hide it. So I remember there were a lot of fans of the comic shouting out when Stormfront first came out about, why even name her Stormfront? Why are you doing any of this? And in the back of my head I’m just waiting, because you’re going to see it’s actually exactly the character from the comic! She’s just wearing a very different mask.”
In a departure from the comic book version, a man, Cash’s Stormfront is a woman born in Berlin in 1919 who was later injected with Compound V by her Nazi scientist husband Fredrick Vought, the founder of Vought. She has outlived both him and their daughter and continued to spread hate for years while disguising herself as just superheroes, first as Liberty and now as Stormfront, the newest member of The Supes of the Seven.
“And that falls into line with really the point we’re making with her, which is she’s a very old evil wrapped up in really modern clothing,” Kripke says. “And I’m sad to report that’s happening quite a lot these days. I think it’s f—ing insane that I have to remind the audience, and make the slightly controversial point that Nazis are bad. But here we are in 2020 and I’m doing it! It was set up, there are clues throughout. Stan Edgar’s first speech to set up who Fredrick Vought was and where he came from, that was all part of laying the groundwork for this reveal in Episode 6.”
The big reveal of Stormfront’s origin comes at the end of the episode, when Homelander (Antony Starr) confronts her about what she’s been keeping from him. That’s when she gives a speech that reveals her backstory and leads to her saying they are in a “war for the culture” and she wants him to lead their race by fighting back “with an army of supermen millions strong.”
“And that’s a credit to Aya, it’s a horrific speech. But she plays it so sympathetically and emotionally that it’s pretty remarkable to watch. She’s such a good actor,” Kripke says.
“The Boys” showrunner says Homelander’s decision to kiss and makeup with Stormfront after that schpiel was because of what she wants for him to do.
“For us it was, she had him at, ‘You’re going to rule over the master race,’” Kripke told us. “He was kind of grumpy until she was like, ‘You’re going to be the leader of an Aryan race!’ And his ears prick up and he’s like, ‘Hm, that’s not so bad.’ That was it for him.”
A new episode of “The Boys” Season 2 launches next Friday on Amazon Prime Video.