Queen Maeve

*For the Dynamite version of the character, see Queen Maeve/Comics.*

Associate of The Boys (formerly)

* Double Agent (formerly)
* V24 Supplier (formerly)

The Boys (formerly)

―Queen Maeve to Starlight[src]

**Margaret Shaw**, formerly known as **Queen Maeve** is a formerly superpowered human from the Amazon series *The Boys,* serving as a major anti-hero in Season 1, Season 2 and Season 3. She is a former superhero and member of The Seven.

As a warrior, a feminist, a humanitarian, and second most powerful member of The Seven, Queen Maeve is the ultimate role model for little girls all over the world. But to reach such astonishing heights, she's had to make sacrifices along the way. Embracing the image that Vought demanded she accept ironically meant abandoning the truths – and even some of the people – she held dear.

Disillusioned and cynical, she became a shell of the determined idealist she once was, although she eventually regained some of what she once was when she came to the aid of The Boys against Stormfront and Homelander.

## *The Boys* Series

### **Early Life**

Before Queen Maeve is first shown on screen, it is learned throughout the seasons and extra show content that Maeve attended and graduated at Godolkin University, where she would become the highest ranked student. She was then drafted into the Seven as its second member, which Homelander was the first. Homelander states in season two of the show that he had known Maeve the longest and that is how the two had grown so close prior to the show’s events.

Early in her superhero career, Maeve saved a school bus from falling off a bridge with her bare hands, breaking every bone in her right arm. It was a miraculous save that was in the national spotlight for weeks.

### Season 1

Throughout Season 1 of the TV show, Maeve is typically shown at Homelander's side. In the first episode, Maeve successfully stops an armored truck and the men inside. As she is about to subdue the final criminal, Homelander comes in and receives all the credit. In episode 3, it is revealed that Maeve and Homelander used to date one another, and there is still some lingering affection from the latter. However, in episode 4, when she fails to rescue a hijacked plane, she is psychologically broken.

In episode 5, we get more backstory when she, drunk, looks for a hookup and consolation in her ex, Elena. Furthermore, in episode 6, Elena shows up to Maeve's work, trying to care for Maeve. The newspeople take note that Elena is Maeve's ex and that she's interested in women. This could pose a problem for Maeve in the future. In episodes 7 and 8, Maeve seemingly builds her relationship with Starlight by defending her and preventing her from turning into a shell of herself.

### Season 2

In the second season, Maeve puts more effort into reviving her relationship with Elena, however, she increasingly becomes more cautious out of fear that Homelander may discover her secret relationship. During a talk show, Homelander outs Maeve as a lesbian. After the show, Maeve confronts Homelander about what just happened but Homelander admits that he overheard her call with Elena and that it sounds like they are more than just friends. Maeve claims that she ended the relationship before she joined The Seven but after some back and forth, Maeve admits to her relationship with Elena. After that Homelander has Maeve do movies in which she portrays a lesbian who struggles with her sexuality.

In order to get Elena and her to out themselves as a couple, Ashley and other Vought officials tell them what they should look like as a lesbian couple. Elena then makes it clear that Maeve is bisexual and also that she doesn't want to take part in that whole public relationship thing. Maeve convinces her to play along as she still is afraid Homelander will do something to Elena. Later she goes into a deal with The Deep in which she shall help him to get his image back, if he helps her find dirt on Homelander. This is later revealed that she hired Deep to search the sunken wreckage of Flight 37 to find a video recording of Homelander abandoning the passengers to die. The Deep returns with a damaged GoPro of a husband recording the incident of Maeve and Homelander debating on how to save the prisoners, showing Homelander threatening the passengers and ultimately leaving them all to die. Elena finds out about the video, and confronts Maeve with it, who tells her that it is their leverage against Homelander. Elena tells Maeve that she gets nightmares about that video, and has decided to go to her sister's house. She tells Maeve that she does not blame her for what happened on the plane.

At the end of the series, Maeve is given an opportunity to do right instead of wrong. She helps The Boys deal with Stormfront and Homelander and even threatens to upload the video of him leaving all of the people on Flight 37 behind to die if he doesn't give into the following demands: let Billy Butcher and Ryan walk away safely, stop hunting down Starlight, and leave herself and Elena alone. Homelander caves from his weakness in his desire to be loved by the world and gives into her demands. Maeve was right next to Starlight when Homelander begrudgingly welcomed her back to the Seven at a press conference, completing Maeve's victory over Homelander.

### Seven on 7 With Cameron Coleman

Queen Maeve was featured on the segments several times, as Maeve is frequently pushed to the headlines by Vought for the *Brave Maeve* agenda, depicting their support for the LGBTQIA+ community, including homeless ones and visiting inclusive summer camps. She also appears in advertisements along with The Seven.

### Season 3

Maeve starts to collaborate with Butcher to bring Homelander down, now that he's entirely unstable. She gives him some information about how Soldier Boy was killed with a secret weapon- one that might be able to kill Homelander. She tells Butcher not to let this information go to waste.

Maeve spreads rumors about herself that she's stopped training and has been drinking more- in the hope that Homelander will underestimate her when the time comes. She is still heavily training and preparing for the moment when she, Starlight, and the others will have to fight.

Maeve brings Butcher more V-24 doses and asks what he’s going to do with them. Butcher offers Maeve a drink and she tells him she’s been sober for 4 months. She ends up drinking with him. Butcher tells Maeve that every single last one of them has got to go, referring to Supes. She agrees and they have rough sex.

Homelander confronts Maeve about betraying him because he can smell Butcher all over her. She tells him he’s crazy and doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He asks her if their love was real and she tells him that from the start, she hated him - and beyond that, pitied him. However, the meeting is revealed to be a trap and she is ambushed by Black Noir.

She is later revealed to be detained in a high security cell below Vought, who publicize that she has gone on a remote retreat for betterment. Starlight, knowing that Maeve would never go after training to battle Homelander to her last breath, campaigns that Vought is covering up her disappearance and may be responsible for it. Homelander visits her after his battle with Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie, inquiring if she was responsible for the first's reappearance and the latter two's sudden powers. Maeve instead questions about his failure to cover his facial bruise with concealer, which he angrily deflects. He talks about envisioning a family between the two early in their relationship, and that he is keeping her contained in order to harvest her eggs in case something happens to her before he can conceive children superior to even Ryan. Shocked by this, Maeve tells him before he leaves that at least she got to see him scared.

Ashley and The Deep go to the basement where Maeve is. Ashley argues with The Deep, telling him someone is coming with a search warrant to look for Maeve. Gas floods in through the vent in Maeve’s cell and Ashley mouths “I’m Sorry” as Maeve starts coughing and collapses to the ground. Maeve gets taken in a truck to get moved to another location, but she wakes up and flights her way out.

Maeve goes to MM's house. She tells Annie where she was this whole time. She admits that her *#FreeMaeve* campaign is what saved her in the end.

Maeve and the rest of The Boys show up at Butcher’s, demanding to know where Soldier Boy is. Maeve throws away the dose of Novichok and tells them that Homelander needs to die no matter what. Butcher orders the group into the safe.

Maeve fights Homelander and he tells her now isn’t the time. She doesn’t relent. His nose bleeds, showing weakness. He gouges her eye out with his thumb and Maeve stabs him in the ear with a steel rod. She sees that Soldier Boy is about to explode and makes eye contact with Annie. She grabs Soldier Boy and jumps out the window with him while he explodes, saving everyone else and sacrificing herself.

The world thinks Maeve is dead and a number of monuments have begun being constructed in her honor. However, she escaped with The Boys' help, and lost her powers from fighting Soldier Boy. She reunites with Elena and the two go into hiding, pleased with having a chance at starting a new life far away from Homelander and Vought. Meanwhile, Anika recovers surveillance footage proving that Maeve survived the battle and shows it to Ashley, who, in a rare display of humanity, securely deletes the footage, protecting Maeve.

## Powers and abilities

### Former Powers

―Elena[src]

* **Superhuman Strength:**      One of Queen Maeve's primary abilities is tremendously enhanced superhuman strength, far greater than that of normal human beings. She was one of the most physically powerful Supes to have ever lived, only surpassed by Homelander and Soldier Boy. Her strength is so great that when she was younger, she punched a falling school bus, even though doing so broke her own arm in four places. Her feats include easily flipping a truck, breaking another speeding armored truck in half by standing still, effortlessly flipping a table across an apartment, and effortlessly snapping a man's neck after lifting him with one hand. During the filming of movie, she was able to lift a large hunk of metal. She also possesses the ability to leap great distances. She was shown to be able to put Black Noir in a head-lock long enough to force feed him an Almond Joy and overpower Stormfront, who both possess high levels of super strength and durability. Maeve is shown to be strong enough to give Homelander a nosebleed after hitting him directly in the face and take him on in single combat. Her strength also allowed her to jam a small metal rod into Homelander's ear, causing it to bleed and affect his hearing. Maeve's last act of strength was when she speed-blitzed into Soldier Boy, leaping out of Vought Tower with him as he prepared to unleash his radioactive blast. Homelander has even stated that she was the second strongest member of the Seven.

* **Superhuman Durability:** Queen Maeve is immune to nearly all forms of physical harm, her durability being the most similar to that of Homelander or Soldier Boy than any other known Supes. Maeve was durable enough to survive being hit by a speeding armored van, splitting it in half. She was shown to be bulletproof and her resilience is such that she can be carried by Homelander while flying at his top speed (sufficient to overtake a passenger jet several thousand miles away), and suffer no ill effects from friction or turbulence. During a training session, she was barely fazed from being struck across the face with a metal pole. Maeve was also able to take punches from Homelander and even briefly endured his heat vision on her chest before quickly blocking it with her armored wristguards. She managed to withstand a fully fledged energy blast from Soldier Boy and the subsequent fall from Vought Tower (albeit with injury).
* **Superhuman Speed:** Maeve is able to achieve speeds that allow her run along walls of buildings, defying gravity for short periods of time. Running in this manner, she was easily able to overtake and pass a speeding armored vehicle.
* **Superhuman Agility:** Queen Maeve's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are all enhanced to levels that are way beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete. On a mission with Homelander, she jumped high onto a wall and was even able to run across it.
* **Superhuman Stamina:** Queen Maeve's musculature produces considerably fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a human being or most other supes. She can exert herself at peak capacity for a long period of time without getting tired. She is able to defeat multiple attackers simultaneously with little effort.
* **Superhuman Reflexes:** Queen Maeve's reflexes are much more superior to humans and most supes, she can react and dodge objects traveling at high speeds, being able to avoid swings from several metal pole-wielding trainers. Maeve was able to easily dodge many of Homelander's attacks and counter him.
* **Superhuman Senses:** Queen Maeve has displayed some degree of enhanced senses. She was easily able to detect Translucent, although he was motionless and invisible in the ladies' room, much to his surprise. Furthermore, she was able to see that Homelander was wearing concealer to hide a bruise on his face.
* **Superhuman Hearing**: Queen Maeve, being a supe, has better hearing beyond that of ordinary humans, capable of hearing certain frequencies.

―Homelander[src]

* **Genetic Superiority:** According to Homelander, he and Maeve were capable of producing children twice as strong as Ryan. This, however can be called into question, as Soldier Boy's genetics, added with Compound V did not produce a Supe nearly as powerful as would have expected following Homelander's knowledge. Despite the genetical superiority of Soldier Boy and the Compound V boost, Homelander is still extremely similar to Soldier Boy in strength, albeit with different powers (which is almost certainly from the V). Thus, it can be concluded that simply having children with another Supe would not amplify their powers, since it is quite clear that Soldier Boy's superhuman strength did not genetically carry over instantly to Homelander, rather it is more likely that the strength was either given at birth, or from the Compound V, and thus did not produce a child twice as strong as Soldier Boy.

### Abilities

* **Master Martial Artist**: Queen Maeve is a formidable combatant and has been highly trained in hand-to-hand combat. She was able to defeat multiple opponents at once while training, as well as restrain the much more skilled Black Noir. In conjunction with Starlight and Kimiko, she managed to overwhelm Stormfront in combat. Maeve was able to push Homelander on the backfoot despite him being stronger than her. This is due to her training for months prior and increasing her fighting skills, whereas the latter underestimated her at first and mainly relied on his raw power.
	+ **Sword Proficiency**: Maeve is skilled at using a sword in combat.
* **Master Markswoman:** According to Homelander during a mission in Albany, Maeve flung a Bic pen accurately into a man's eyeball from 78 feet (23 meters) away.
* **Stealth:** During the battle with Stormfront, she was able to sneak in an open area and join the battle without the latter noticing.

## Weaknesses

* **Brute Force/Limited Durability:** Supes of extreme levels of strength can harm and kill her; however, few are at this level. Maeve has been afraid of Homelander, knowing that he is fully capable of killing her. Stormfront was able to stagger her with her blows, but it isn’t known if she could have beaten Maeve in a one-on-one fight, as Maeve had Kimiko and Starlight backing her up, overwhelming Stormfront. Homelander was able to both make her bleed from his attacks and crush her eye with his thumb.
* **People:** Despite being a member of The Seven, and being a hardened cynic, Maeve actually does care about people, and deep down wants to be a real hero. She wanted to save the people on the plane and it greatly haunted her to let them die. She also deeply cares for Elena, and Homelander has used this to bend Maeve to his whim. She also has a soft spot for Starlight and becomes increasingly willing to help her. Maeve seems to have overcome this weakness by the end of Season 2, and showing much more open admiration for the people she truly respects.
* **Vulnerable to Stealth:** Despite her enhanced senses, Maeve is still vulnerable to opponents with enhanced stealth capabilities, such as Black Noir, who was able to ambush her while she was distracted by Homelander.
* **Fear of Homelander:** Initially, Maeve never stood up to Homelander due to her fear of him or his retaliation on others, this prevented her from stopping him and also caused her to go along with some of his actions, such as abandoning a plane to crash. Maeve eventually overcame this fear and proved that she was strong enough to injure Homelander.
* **Loss of Depth Perception:** Because Maeve was blinded in one eye by Homelander, she now has diminished depth perception. While the human brain still processes visual cues to estimate distance in those with only one functional eye, monocular depth perception is still significantly impaired.

## Equipment

* **Queen Maeve's Sword:** Maeve's main weapon of choice is her iconic short double-edged sword.

## Personality

Queen Maeve's public image is that of a warrior, a feminist, a humanitarian and role model, but, in reality, is a generally depressed, broken, disillusioned and cynical person.

She was once a determined idealist, but has since become reluctantly complacent in the corruption of the Seven and the Vought corporation out of fear of her loved ones getting hurt by them, remaining quiet on the sidelines despite being the second most powerful member of the Seven behind Homelander. Maeve is also heavily implied to be an alcoholic, she also appears to sometimes have sexual encounters in her tower. Maeve believes that the only way to actually become bulletproof is to avoid personal relationships and stay away from people so that she doesn't get hurt.

Despite this she is, with the exception of Starlight, the least malicious super-powered individual seen so far in the series. She genuinely wants to save people even though her experiences have left her jaded and cynical, she at least tries to actually be heroic when possible. She has also shown to be more self-aware than the rest of her team, recognizing that she and the Seven are not true heroes. She also noticed Starlight's distress after her assault and offers some comfort.

Maeve credits Starlight with getting her to care for people again and to be a genuine hero, which she tells Starlight before leaving. Maeve's last act as a Supe was to save a tower full of people from Soldier Boy's nuclear blast, resulting in her depowerment and inability to recover from her eye injury from Homelander. Though despite this, Maeve took great comfort that she was now free of him and Vought, finding true peace.

## Relationships

Allies* Vought International
	+ The Seven
		- Mister Marathon - Former Colleague
		- Lamplighter † - Former Colleague
		- Translucent † - Former Colleague
* Elena - Girlfriend
* The Boys
	+ Billy Butcher - One-Night Stand
	+ Hughie Campbell
	+ Frenchie
	+ Mother's Milk
	+ Kimiko Miyashiro
	+ Annie January - Former Colleague, Friend, and Savior
* Supersonic †

	+ The Seven - Former Colleagues
		- Homelander - Ex-Boyfriend, Former Leader, and Attempted Victim
		- A-Train
		- Black Noir † - Attempted Victim
		- The Deep
		- Stormfront † - Attempted Victim
	+ Ashley Barrett
* Soldier Boy - Situational Ally turned Attempted Killer

Victims* Flight 37 hijacker † - (Intentional, snapped neck)
* Stormfront † - (Intentional, savagely beaten)

### Homelander

Queen Maeve is one of the few people to know Homelander's cruel, sadistic and murderous nature, in addition she is often treated more like a piece of property by him rather than a teammate, living under constant fear of what he would do to those closest to her if she were to fall out of line. She often plays a conservative role within The Seven, she is always portrayed at Homelander's side, and the two have past relationships. This relationship, however, becomes strained throughout season one. Queen Maeve first uses the relationship to sway Homelander in *The Female of the Species*, pleading with him to help save the hijacked flight, however she is unsuccessful in her efforts. The relationship is tested again, as Maeve tells Homelander to back off Starlight, with him remarking that he will because she asked. According to a deleted scene, the pair broke up due to Homelander "not being able to keep it in his tights". The two only grow more hostile towards each other in Season Two when Queen Maeve attempts to secretly revive her relationship with her former girlfriend and worried that Homelander will find out the truth and kill Elena. Despite her attempts, Homelander finds out the truth about Elena and Maeve so in an interview with Maria Menounos, Homelander "sets them both free" by revealing Maeve's relationship with Elena. However, this ends up being just a form of manipulation and humiliation, by Homelander. She begins to become fearful that he will kill Elena at any moment. With him forcefully outing her as a lesbian, even though she isn't one, it completely changed her image, with Vought now trying to completely change her and rebrand her, once again he takes power over her life.

Maeve was finally able to end Homelander's manipulation and control, by blackmailing him with the footage that was captured of their failed attempt to save the plane. She was able to end his control over her relationship, have him end the hunt for Starlight, and force him to let Butcher and Ryan flee to safety.

During Season 3, their relationship is distant as she secretly trains to fight him in the upcoming final battle, as well as supplies Butcher vials of Temp V and a folder on Soldier Boy to find a weapon that can kill Homelander. However, she is attacked by Black Noir under Homelander's orders after the latter realized her involvement, and is forced in containment under Vought with Homelander planning to use her eggs to create Supe children with their combined abilities. Despite her horror at the idea, Maeve still states that it was a good day, as she got to see Homelander scared following his encounter with Soldier Boy.

Later escaping Vought's custody, she teams up with Soldier Boy and Butcher to finally ending him. The two battle for the last time, with Maeve losing an eye and managing to stab Homelander in the ear, but, seeing that Soldier Boy was about to kill Starlight and The Boys, sacrifices her chance to kill him to instead throw herself and Soldier Boy out the window, faking both of their deaths. Now freed, she has decided to move on with her life in hiding with her girlfriend Elena.

### Elena

Queen Maeve is bisexual, which is revealed in episode five of season one. Her true love is named Elena, and it's revealed over the course of the show that the pair dated until Maeve moved onto Homelander. It is evident that Maeve still has lingering feelings for Elena, as she had a late-night hookup with her, rushed to the hospital when her appendix burst, and was prepared to attack Homelander if he hurt Elena (when he revealed that he found out the truth about them). Maeve and Elena's relationship was closeted until Homelander outed her, with Elena breaking up with Maeve upon learning about Flight 37 and her hesitance to reveal him to the public. However, at the end of Season 3, a depowered Maeve reunites with Elena, and decide to live in hiding together back in her hometown.

### Starlight

Queen Maeve is the only member of The Seven that Starlight has a quasi-positive relationship with. Maeve advises Starlight to be authentic in the first season after Starlight questions her membership with The Seven and Vought's morals. Maeve admits that she was once the same, however her time at Vought has changed her. She tells Starlight that she does not want to see the same thing happen to her.

Starlight admitted that she was once Maeve's biggest fan, having read her biography, cover to cover many times. Maeve saving the school bus by punching it was a huge moment for her in helping her wanting to be a hero. When Starlight learned how corrupt Vought is and assumed everything about Maeve was just marketing bullshit, however Maeve told her the bus was real, as a bone never healed in her arm after that.

Maeve ends up saving Starlight from being killed by Black Noir, after he discovered she was the traitor. When Starlight and Hughie went to see Maeve and ask for her help to stop Stormfront, Maeve grew angry. She told them that she had done enough for her already, and was tired of this life, and yelled for them to leave. Ultimately, she arrives to save Annie and The Boys, by helping them overpower Stormfront and blackmail Homelander.

Maeve later tells Annie that she helped save her when she first joined the seven, as it caused her to start caring about people again and to become a genuine hero.

## Trivia

* Queen Maeve is a parody of the DC superheroine Wonder Woman in that they're both feminist warriors with mythological ties. Ironically, Wonder Woman is one of Garth Ennis' favorite superheroes despite his disdain for the genre. Queen Maeve's armor is also inspired by the DCEU version of Wonder Woman.
* She has been shown to be much kinder and more sympathetic in the show than her comic counterpart.
* The scene where she rescues Starlight from Black Noir mirrors the comic, in which Maeve prevents Noir from forcing Starlight to wear her sexualized costume.
* The name Maeve is a female given name of Irish origin. Queen Maeve (Medb) was the queen of Connacht, her tomb can be seen on top of Knocknarea in County Sligo.
* Queen Medb appears in what has been referred to as Ireland's Illiad, *Táin Bó Cúailnge,* where a war is started over a dispute on whether her or her husband Ailill mac Máta was wealthier, so they go to war with Ulster to take the most prized bull in Ireland, the Brown Bull of Cooley.
	+ Mythologically, Medb was known for her ruthlessness and for her promiscuity: she had to sleep with 30 men each day to be sexually satisfied.
	+ In the mythology much like her namesake, Medb was known to be a fierce warrior.
	+ Interestingly, Queen Maeve's actress Dominique McElligott is actually Irish just like Medb.
* Maeve's hometown is Modesto, California.
* Queen Maeve's sexual orientation in the show has been revealed to be bisexual. She has a girlfriend called Elena and previously dated Homelander, and had sex with Butcher. In "Nothing Like It in the World", Homelander outs Maeve as lesbian, but, in "We Gotta Go Now", Elena finally made it clear that Maeve is bisexual.
	+ In the comics, it is Queen Maeve who has an affair with Stormfront (who is male in the comics), not Homelander, though this affair is superficial and short-lived, and has no major bearing on the plot.
* Like one of her enemies, Stormfront, she lost an eye in battle.
* Maeve has been the only member of the Seven that has called Homelander by his name, and one of the two characters alongside Jonah Vogelbaum in the entire series.
* Erick Kripke, show runner of the show, stated in an interview that if the fight between Homelander and Maeve in the final episode of season 3 had kept going she could have won it.

## References

1. ↑ Queen Maeve In Memoriam
2. ↑ Prime Video - The Boys: Season 2
3. ↑ Season 2 Episode 2 *Proper Preparation and Planning*
4. ↑ *The Innocents*
5. ↑ *You Found Me*
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 *The Name of the Game*
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker*
8. ↑ *The Female of the Species*
9. ↑ *We Gotta Go Now*
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 *What I Know*
11. ↑ *The Instant White-Hot Wild*
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 *Get Some*
13. ↑ Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed
14. ↑ Bob in *First Day*: *"Did you know Supes have a wider range of hearing than us? Like dogs."*
15. ↑ *Good for the Soul*