Warning: Spoilers ahead for the new season of The Boys.
Amazon Prime’s The Boys released its fifth season, the final installment to the hit show that transformed superheroes into ruthless, selfish monsters focused only on fame and power. The much-awaited season finale features the main ensemble going against Homelander, the main supervillain, whom fans have attributed to a twisted version of the hero archetype. Defeating Homelander forms the crux of the show’s plotline; the characters themselves have branched out to have their own character arcs, the most important and captivating being none other than Homelander’s former colleague and superhero: A-Train.
A-Train is first introduced in season 1 as the superhero with incredible speed, but below the surface is an insecure man who fears being replaced. He was part of “The Seven,” the group of superheroes that Vought International produces to work with the government, serving as a front to disguise its corporate greed. A-Train’s fear causes him to overconsume Compound V. This chemical grants individuals superpowers, which leads him to form an addiction and be unable to control his own powers. His first scene in the show is when he runs through Hughie Campbell’s (the main protagonist of the show) girlfriend, killing her instantly. In season 1, it is apparent that his image is very important to him, and he doesn’t care who he hurts in the process of securing his spot on the team. This characterization sets up the very foundation of his arc.
While season 2 continued to emphasize his selfishness, the real turning point was when he was kicked out of The Seven halfway through the season. Homelander considers A-Train a liability, pointing out that his addiction to the Compound V was slowly killing him, leaving him with a heart condition that impaired his ability to speed through the streets as he had done before. A-Train is forced to confront his own actions, something he had never done before. He asks Homelander to make the press believe that it was his choice to leave, and not that he was fired. It isn’t until season 3 that A-Train finally realizes that his past moments of heroism were manufactured; when his little brother is left paralyzed by a superhero named Blue Hawk, who is infamously known for being racist and cruel, A-Train uses his last burst of energy to drag him to the ground before succumbing to his heart condition.
I believe this is the most important part of A-Train’s character arc. Even though he later undergoes surgery to replace his failed heart, this is the first time that A-Train realizes his powers are meant for something other than his image. While the act itself wasn’t as heroic as it could have been, it’s a first step, a realization about Vought’s true intentions. This is later expanded upon when Hughie asks him to apologize for killing his girlfriend back in season 1. A-Train knows he can no longer run from his past mistakes and chooses to own up and apologize for the pain he caused.
In that way, The Boys offered a different kind of superhero story; most superhero characters that have made it to mainstream media have either started out wanting to save civilians or have had something that changed them to devote their entire life to the cause. While he may have had that small epiphany, A-Train’s change to become a superhero was never guaranteed. His change came from forcing himself to confront his past and acknowledge the challenges that came with it. In season 4, he finds himself constantly going back and forth between Homelander and Hughie, trying to see where his heart truly lies. When he sees a boy looking up at him in awe as a result of saving someone’s life, the switch is imminent in A-Train. He realizes that this is what he had been searching for: to finally be the superhero the people needed him to be.
For the past four seasons, A-Train was always the coward who could never face his past or stick up for what was right. He was afraid to step in or to take the lead in any situation to cushion himself with the assurance that he was still welcome among the superheroes. In the very first episode of season 5, despite his previous requests to be left alone, he goes back to save Hughie’s life from Homelander.
The parallel that occurs in the last 10 minutes of the episode was what really highlighted his character arc. In season 1, A-Train runs through the street and kills Hughie’s girlfriend before running off without an apology. In season 5, he pushes Hughie out of the way of Homelander’s lasers, and as the villain chases after him, he dodges a girl to spare her life, which ultimately leads him to be captured and killed.
It’s symbolic in the sense that A-Train now values human life and no longer fears Homelander. His last words revealed his courage, and he died with the last laugh, staring down at the man who once caused him so much fear and insecurity. Instead of running from the consequences of his past as he had done countlessly before, he ran towards something greater, even if it cost him his own life. If anything, in a show where superheroes are self-centered and anything but what they pledged, A-Train died as the man he had always dreamed of being: a true hero.