The Boys/Black Noir

**Black Noir** is a darkly-costumed superhero, pilot, and a member of the Seven. Silent, stealthy, and enigmatic, Black Noir is the Seven's superpowered ninja. His super strength and heightened senses are matched only by his proficiency in the martial arts. Criminals run in terror at the mere mention of his name. Little is known about this lethal warrior, other than having trained with a master sensei to become the death dealer he is at present.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Enhanced Regeneration:** Black Noir's body is capable of healing injuries and wounds at a much faster rate than normal humans can. He can heal from multiple explosions, fire, heat, point-blank gunshot wounds, getting pelted with shrapnel within hours or days.

**Enhanced Strength:** Black Noir possesses significant superhuman strength. He was able to trade blows with and significantly harm Kimiko in their confrontation (and even disemboweled her), whereas A-Train failed to do so, even when he rapidly slammed her head against concrete many times. During his mission to assassinate Naqib, he ripped a man's head open by prying his jaws apart. He later knocked Billy Butcher back several feet with a single swipe and held him up against a wall with one hand. His strength allowed him to completely overpower Starlight, who can punch through brick and easily lift a car, throwing her around like a rag doll and smashing her through concrete.

**Enhanced Durability:** Black Noir is more resilient than normal humans, which notably allowed him to withstand the superhuman strength of Kimiko without issue, whereas she was able to significantly damage A-Train and even give him a compound fracture. His sturdiness also allowed him to survive Naqib's self-detonated explosion at point-blank range without even being moved and only suffer burn marks to half his face and chest. He later survived several explosions in Judy's home. That being said, Black Noir is not invincible, as Hughie was able to shoot through the palm of his hand with a pistol at point blank.

**Enhanced Speed/Reflexes:** According to Mother's Milk, Black Noir can outrun a car. He was able to quickly slit a woman's throat and catch a glass she was holding before she dropped it.

**Enhanced Agility:** Black Noir has also displayed impressive, borderline superhuman acrobatic skills, as displayed when he confronted Frenchie and Kimiko. He climbed on top of a roof without any effort.

**Enhanced Hearing:** Black Noir possesses highly acute, superhuman hearing that aids him in his fight against crime. He tracked Butcher from Becca's house and detected the Boys in a hidden room when Terror barked, giving away their position.

**Pain Resistance:** Black Noir is either completely immune to pain or has developed a great tolerance for it, as he did not react when Naqib used his self-detonation, leaving him with severe burns on his head and chest, or when Hughie shot through his hand at point blank.

### Abilities

* **Hand-to-Hand Combat:** Black Noir is an expert hand-to-hand combatant, highly trained in various forms of martial arts. According to his biography, he is a ninja and a lethal warrior who is proficient in martial arts, having been trained by a sensei to make him a dealer of death. He defeated Kimiko during their confrontation, placing his power-level well above thugs and trained policemen. During his mission to assassinate Naqib, he stealthily eliminated several terrorists. He later held his own against the majority of the Boys and easily beat Starlight in a fight and would have knocked her out if Queen Maeve had not intervened.
* **Knife Proficiency:** Black Noir has great skill in throwing daggers and using them in close combat. This allowed him to harm Kimiko. During his mission to assassinate Naqib, he took down numerous guards by slicing their throats and impaling them. He also decapitated Naqib and stopped Mother's Milk with a single throw of a blade.
* **Intimidation:** According to his biography, criminals run in terror at the mere mention of Black Noir's name. Little is known about him, and whatever lies behind his mask is a complete mystery - which only makes him more terrifying.
* **Stealth:** Black Noir is usually used as a spy. He killed Naqib's men without making any sound.
* **Aviation:** Black Noir is an experienced pilot.
* **Piano:** Black Noir is a highly-skilled, if not concert-level, pianist. He is able to play Chopin's Minute Waltz from memory.

### Weaknesses

* **Extreme Brute Force:** Supers of extreme levels of strength can harm and kill him; however, few are at his level. Queen Maeve has demonstrated that she can subdue him to force-feed him something without too much difficulty. This could, however, be attributed to her catching him by surprise.
* **Allergy:** Black Noir has an allergy to tree nuts. Queen Maeve used this to her advantage by force-feeding him an Almond Joy, giving her and Starlight an opportunity to escape. When fed something with tree nuts, he immediately goes into anaphylactic shock and requires an epipen shot to stabilize himself. If not administered in time, Black Noir could suffer severe brain damage. As seen when he was fed an Almond Joy and was prevented from using his epipen, Black Noir suffered brain damage and was reduced to a vegetative state.

## Equipment

**Knives:** Black Noir carries several types of blades, including two curved combat knives on each thigh, throwing knives, and four folding knives strapped to his upper arms.

**Gas Grenades:** Black Noir has been known to use different gas grenades such as smoke grenades to flush out the Boys from hiding and a knockout gas grenade on a diner while ambushing Starlight.

**Armor:** Black Noir wears durable armor that can resist fire, explosions, and shrapnel.