‘The Boys’ Creator on Why Major Supe Was Killed off So Quickly in Season 5

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Be warned: the following contains spoilers for season 5 of The Boys. The first two episodes of the show’s final season are now streaming on Prime Video, and they kick things off with a bang. Just in the premiere, Starlight exposes a particularly awful act by Homelander, the heroes raid one of his prisons, and a major character meets their end.

A-Train, played by Jessie T. Usher, is a speedster who first appeared in the very first episode of the series. He was originally part of ‘The Seven,’ a superhero team created by Vought International for publicity. For years, he followed the orders of the ruthless Homelander, but began to question things in season four, ultimately leaving Vought. In the season five premiere, A-Train emerges from hiding to rescue Hughie, Frenchie, and Mother’s Milk from a prison camp, but Homelander spots him and gives chase. A-Train swerves to avoid hitting a bystander – a direct reference to the show’s opening scene where he ran through someone – and crashes. This leaves him defenseless, and after confronting Homelander, he is killed.

Eric Kripke, the showrunner for The Boys, admitted he was hesitant to kill off a major character so early in the series. He explained to The Hollywood Reporter that they had even started developing storylines about the character’s life after the initial plan, exploring how he could continue to contribute to the show. However, the creative team ultimately decided that this character would be the first significant casualty, and they were initially considering making it happen around episode three.

The writers were the ones who strongly pushed for a major character death early on – you could say it was their idea. They challenged us, pointing out we kept saying anyone could die at any moment, so we needed to prove it by actually killing off a significant character in the first episode. They believed this would create genuine suspense for the rest of the season, making viewers feel like no one was safe. I ultimately agreed it was a compelling argument.

The plan all along was for A-Train to die, though not as quickly as it happened. According to Kripke, several storylines – including a reunion with his brother and his transformation into a true hero after initially being a selfish character – were originally meant for a three-episode arc. They condensed those ideas into a shorter story to give him a fitting farewell in the premiere episode.

Killing off A-Train so soon aligns with early reviews suggesting Season 5 won’t shy away from major consequences. While The Boys has killed characters before, it’s unusual for someone as central as A-Train to be eliminated, especially considering past instances where the show softened the blow – like the season 3 finale with Queen Maeve, where her apparent death turned out to be a deception. With the series nearing its conclusion, it seems no character is safe.

There are eight episodes of The Boys Season 5 in all. New ones drop Wednesdays on Prime Video.

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2026-04-09 18:34