Sam Riordan

―Sam Riordan to Emma Meyer.[src]

**Sam Riordan** is a main character-turned-antagonist of the Amazon series *Gen V*, a spin-off series of *The Boys*, where he served as the secondary antagonist of "Guardians of Godolkin." He is a troubled test subject of the Woods trying to escape his unfortunate circumstances.

## Background

Very little is known about Sam's early life; however, shortly after his birth, his parents accepted Vought's offer to inject him with Compound V, subsequently transforming him into a Supe and granting him superhuman powers and abilities.

Likely due to a combination of Compound V and his mental health condition, Sam was transferred to the Sage Grove Center. 3 years ago, after the reveal that Supes were created, Sam grew angry and started punching the walls in his room. With a group of armed guards, Luke and Cate visited Sam and attempted to calm him. Sam was angry that their parents injected them with Compound V, which worsened his schizophrenia. Luke calmed his brother, but a guard makes the fatal mistake of shooting Sam with a taser round as the brothers attempted to hug. The angered Sam punch through the guard's chest and killed him. Sam pushed Luke aside before Cate touched Sam's shoulder and told him to go to sleep.

## *The Boys* Series

### Gen V: Season 1

#### "God U."

At night, Sam runs through Godolkin University, having escaped from The Woods. He runs past Marie then swiftly eliminates a few security personnel and destroys a car. However, before Sam can get far, Marie trips him with a whip formed out of blood, costing Sam valuable time from escaping and forcing him to engage in more security. In a fit of rage, Sam turns to Marie and exclaims that he's not going back to the Woods. Suddenly, before Sam can react, Andre slams a dumpster against him, pinning him against a car, which allows the guards to sedate and restrain him.

Later that night, Sam is taken back to the Woods and thrown into a cell. He pleads to the guards not to leave him there.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Superhuman Strength**:     Sam possesses tremendous superhuman strength, which makes him incredibly stronger than humans and most Supes. He has strength just barely comparable to Queen Maeve's, being slightly below her, establishing him as a far more powerful Supe than those at Godolkin University. Sam can fling cars, effortlessly throw humans and Supes, and kill humans with a single punch.
	+ **Superhuman Leap**: As a result of his superhuman strength, Sam is capable of leaping great distances, leaving giant craters in his wake. Andre Anderson notes that Sam's leaping ability is similar to that of Queen Maeve's.
* **Superhuman Durability**:     Sam possesses superhuman durability, making him more durable than humans and most Supes. His durability allows him to endure the weight of his own superhuman strength. Furthermore, Sam can withstand point-blank gunfire and attacks from top-ranked Godolkin University students with superhuman strength, emerging completely unharmed.
* **Superhuman Hearing**: Like all Supes, Sam has better hearing beyond that of a humans. He is able to hear certain frequencies that humans cannot.

## Weaknesses

### Biological

* **Blunt Force/Limited Durability**: Despite being one of the more durable Supes, Sam can be briefly stunned and staggered by sufficient force. Additionally, he can be restrained by extreme force; a gigantified Emma was able to hold Sam down and completely prevent him from moving. Furthermore, like most Supes, Sam's internal organs are identical to those of a normal human's, which means Supes with immense physical strength, such as Homelander, can circumvent his durability and destroy his internal organs.
* **Electricity**: Sam has an immense weakness to electricity. He was swiftly knocked unconscious several times, once by the guards at the Woods and once by Andre.
* **Anesthetic Gases**: Even with Sam's superhuman durability, anesthetic gases can affect him and render him unconscious. Before Sam could escape fully, the Woods guards sedated him, rendering him unconscious.
* **High Frequencies**: Due to being a Supe, Sam is able to hear certain frequencies that humans cannot. When a specific frequency is played, it can induce immense pain and temporarily neutralize him. While participating in a murderous rampage targeted towards humans at Godolkin University, he would be momentarily neutralized through the use of high frequencies.

### Psychological

* **Schizophrenia**: Sam suffers from schizophrenia, which results in him having hallucinations and delusions that make it difficult for him to differentiate between what is and is not reality. Sam perceives people as puppets when he is hallucinating, including people who aren't actually with him, such as a puppet version of Emma and his late brother, Luke.

## Relationships

* Janet Riordan - Mother
* Luke Riordan - Brother †

Allies* Godolkin University
	+ Cate Dunlap - Attempted Victim
	+ Rufus
	+ Cute Supe
* The Woods
	+ Sweaty Supe †
	+ Distressed Supe †
	+ Shredded Shirt Supe †
	+ Bleeding Ears Supe †
* Homelander

	+ Richard Brinkerhoff †
	+ Indira Shetty †
	+ Edison Cardosa †
* Godolkin University - Former Allies
	+ Emma Meyer - Love Interest and Savior
	+ Andre Anderson - Attempted Victim
	+ Jordan Li
	+ Marie Moreau
* Adam Bourke - Attempted Victim

Victims* Sage Grove Guard † - Victim (Intentional; Punched through chest, electrocuted him)
* 7 Woods guards † (Intentional; torn apart, tried to stop his escape)
* 6 Woods guards (Intentional; Eviscerated, tried to capture him)
* Bob † - Victim (Intentional; Punched through head, imprisoned him)
* Campus Security officer † - Victim (Intentional)

## Trivia

* Sam's favorite movie is *Waterworld*.
* As stated by Luke, Sam suffers from Schizophrenia. This makes him the first Supe known to have Schizophrenia in *The Boys* universe.

## References

1. ↑ Bob in *First Day*: *"Did you know Supes have a wider range of hearing than us? Like dogs."*

## Quotes

―Sam Riordan to Edison Cardosa and his family members[src]