Cipher is well one of the vital mysterious characters in The Boys universe, however some intriguing developments surrounding the Gen V character have left sufficient room for theories surrounding who he’s and what he needs.
Gen V season 2 has completely raised the stakes for its younger superpowered characters by introducing a complete new supe villain, Cipher. In Gen V season 2’s opening episodes, Cipher solely got here off as one other overambitious Goldolkin College dean who wished to meet his supe supremacist agenda.
Nonetheless, as season 2 has progressed, it has turn out to be evident that there’s extra to him than meets the attention. He isn’t solely extraordinarily overpowered but in addition appears to need to obtain one thing excess of a supe-dominant world. Cipher’s historical past additionally connects him to Marie’s previous, which leaves a variety of room for hypothesis surrounding what his motives really are.
Cipher Is Not Truly A Villain
Gen V season 2 has been attempting to painting Cipher as a villain since episode 1, however some issues about him simply don’t line up with that picture. For the reason that starting, he has been attempting to encourage Marie to succeed in her true potential as a supe and even instructed her she might turn out to be stronger than Homelander.
If he solely cared about making a world dominated by supes, why would he even evaluate Marie with the strongest supe as an alternative of embracing Homelander for who he’s? He even avoids responding to Marie when she asks him if Vought or Homelander can be okay with him attempting to create somebody so robust.
Each time Cipher catches the younger supes spying on him and attempting to show him, he appears extra disillusioned by their underwhelming efforts than by their intentions. This, too, means that he may genuinely care about their well-being and is seemingly attempting to assist them.
Cipher Is A Pure Mutant & Needs To Create Extra Supes Like Himself
Gen V season 2’s episode 4 surprisingly reveals that no Compound V flows by means of Cipher’s blood. This initially makes Marie and her mates consider he’s not a supe, however he later proves them flawed by mind-controlling Jordan. Owing to this, it’s arduous to not consider that Cipher may really be one of many few or the one “pure supe.”
Most or all supes in The Boys‘ universe, together with Homelander, have Compound V flowing by means of their our bodies. They acquired their powers by means of Vought’s experiments and weren’t born with them. Ryan is maybe one of many few exceptions to this. The issue with most Compound V-fueled supes is that they usually have limitations or expertise main negative effects.
For example, each Homelander and Soldier Boy present psychological instability, whereas supes like A-Practice have coronary heart points. Cipher, in distinction, is likely to be a pure supe with no Compound V negative effects as a result of he was born along with his powers. He seemingly hopes that after Marie learns to regulate her blood-manipulation powers, she is going to finally be capable to assist him create extra pure and pure supes like him.
His need to create a extra pure superpowered human race would additionally clarify his previous Nazi connections.
Cipher Is Secretly Working For Stan Edgar
Since Homelander has been rising from power to power each politically and socially, figures like Stan Edgar may need realized that it’s time to finish his reign. Seeing how a number of younger supes have the potential to beat him, Edgar should have employed Cipher to assist supes unlock their true capabilities.
If this holds true, Mission Odessa doubtless entails the creation of a prefect Homelander substitute who can finally restore steadiness to Vought’s energy construction. This might align with The Boys‘ comics, the place a Homelander clone, who attire up as Black Noir, is requested to kill Homelander when the red-caped supe grows more and more unhinged.
Cipher Killed Andre
Gen V has already established that Cipher has the flexibility to totally thoughts management different supes. Cipher additionally beforehand instructed Marie that he has been watching a variety of them, suggesting that he has had his eyes set on them because the battle of Godolkin from Gen V season 1’s ending.
Since Cipher’s purpose has been to gauge the potential of youthful supes, it appears attainable that he began going out and in of Marie and her mates’ minds once they had been imprisoned after the Godolkin battle. He was doubtless impressed by their resistance towards different supes and was attempting to know who amongst them was the strongest.
He seemingly pushed Andre to his absolute limits to both check his powers or deliberately kill him earlier than shifting his focus to Marie. In any other case, it is unnecessary for Andre to push his powers to some extent the place he dies, particularly after he knew how the identical skills harmed his father.
Cipher Is Nothing Extra Than A “Meat Puppet” For Thomas Godolkin
Gen V season 2 begins with a sequence through which Thomas Godolkin collapses to the bottom in a burning lab after failing to cease a gaggle of fellow scientists from experimenting with an early model of Compound V. In season 2’s episode 4, Cate finds a burnt man in a hyperbaric chamber in Cipher’s house whose important indicators monitor reveals he’s nonetheless alive.
Connecting the dots, it’s arduous to not consider the person in Cipher’s house is Thomas Godolkin. A preferred principle means that Cipher, as we bodily know him, is nothing however a “meat puppet” for Thomas Godolkin. Thomas Godolkin is the one with mind-controlling powers and is merely internet hosting Cipher’s physique.
As convincing as this principle could seem, it doesn’t clarify how Hamish Linklater’s Dr. Gold/Cipher has not aged since Marie’s beginning. If he’s not a supe, his physique ought to have aged like a traditional human.
The Hamish Linklater character was a traditional human earlier than Godolkin took management over his physique, which might clarify why he has no Compound V in his blood. Godolkin’s physique was broken past restore throughout the lab hearth, however his supe powers are so robust that he may even thoughts management others by means of his host, explaining how Cipher controls Jordan.
In line with this Gen V season 2 theory, Thomas has been attempting to coach Marie by means of Cipher to turn out to be the strongest supe on this planet as a result of he hopes to host her physique subsequent. Since he sees people and supes as mere meat puppets, it might clarify why Cipher tells Marie that individuals are nothing however luggage of blood.
