‘The Boys’ Now Has Its Own Version of Dark Phoenix

Undoubtedly, ‘The Boys’ was always inspired by the characters of Marvel and DC as most of the supes we see in this series and its spin-off, ‘Gen V,’ have powers that make them similar to the heroes we see in other comic book universes. Of course, while we have parody characters of Superman, Wonder Woman, and even Captain America in ‘The Boys,’ the characters of ‘Gen V’ seem original and unique. Nevertheless, it is starting to look like ‘Gen V’ now has its own version of Dark Phoenix. So, who is the version of Dark Phoenix in the universe of ‘The Boys?’

The suppression of Cate’s powers

‘Gen V,’ a completely original spin-off of ‘The Boys,’ has further expanded the universe by introducing new characters with their own storylines seemingly independent of what is happening in ‘The Boys.’ Of course, while Marie Moreau is the star of ‘Gen V,’ she is flanked by other main characters. One such character is Cate Dunlap.

Cate was introduced as the girlfriend of Golden Boy, who ended up killing himself at the end of episode 1. Since then, Cate has tried to find the truth behind the things happening at Godolkin University because she was aware that whatever was happening inside the campus was one of the reasons why Golden Boy killed himself. And she herself is a powerful supe as she can make anyone do what she wants them to do whenever she touches them with their hand.

But as the series progressed, it became clear that Cate’s powers were actually quite powerful as she had abilities that some of the other main characters didn’t have. When Marie and her other friends had lapses in their memories, they investigated the matter. Eventually, they found out that it was Cate, under the orders of Dean Indira Shetty, who was responsible for making them forget. As such, it was clear that she was strong enough to affect the memories of powerful supes.

Then, in episode 6, she fell unconscious after overworking herself when she reversed the effects of her power on her friends. However, while unconscious, she subconsciously created a dream world that allowed Marie and the others to enter her mind. That was how they found out that Cate’s powers were suppressed by her family years ago because her mother was afraid of what she could do.

Dean Shetty met Cate years before the events of ‘Gen V’ and earned her trust by giving her drugs that allowed her to control her powers. Ever since then, Cate had been suppressing her powers by taking the drugs that Shetty gave her. She was still powerful because she could still control people by touching them. However, her true powers were kept under wraps due to the drugs that she regularly had to take so she wouldn’t lose control.

During this time, she was unconscious that her powers started to surface as she was strong enough to take other people into her mind while also opening doors that connected their minds with one another. As such, it was clear that Cate was a powerful psychic. Marie even said that maybe Cate was far more powerful than they originally thought.

This is similar to the fact that Jean Grey, who became the host of the Phoenix Force in the ‘X-Men’ comics and movies, was suppressing her true powers. She was also, in a sense, adopted by Charles Xavier, who worked tirelessly to control her powers. One more similarity to Cate and Jean is the fact that they both had familial issues. Jean was orphaned as a girl, while Cate was responsible for the death of her younger brother, which caused her to become estranged from her family and seek solace somewhere else with Indira.

In her suppressed form, Jean was a powerful psychic who could enter people’s minds at will and even use telekinesis on a limited scale. However, by tapping into the power of the Phoenix Force, she became an incredibly powerful mutant with cosmic-level powers.

So, in a way, Jean Grey and Cate Dunlap are very similar characters in the sense that they have psychic powers that are often suppressed. In Cate’s case, however, her powers were being suppressed by Dean Shetty by making her take drugs that kept her powers under control.

Like Phoenix, Cate has become unhinged

Of course, in the comics, Jean Grey became Dark Phoenix when her human emotions corrupted the Phoenix Force. She became unhinged as the Phoenix persona took over her entire personality. In the movies, Jean could hardly control her actions as the Phoenix Force was the one in control of her body. As Dark Phoenix, Jean became an instrument of death and destruction.

While we know that Cate doesn’t have a cosmic being living inside her, we still know that she is far more powerful than she originally was because she is no longer allowing the drugs to suppress her true capabilities. But she also became an unhinged character because she felt that Shetty and all of the other people in God U were simply trying to control her and the supes out of fear of what they were capable of.

In Shetty’s case, she was afraid of all of the supes after finding the truth behind what Homelander did to Transoceanic Flight 37. While she still loved Cate, she wanted to kill all of the supes in the world using the virus that Cardosa created.

This eventually pushed Cate to the edge as her emotions overtook her decisions. She used her powers to take control of Shetty to reveal the true nature of the woods and Godolkin University to Marie and the others. In a sense, Cate’s emotional state is at a point where she is willing to kill anyone looking to suppress or control her and the other supes of the world. And that was why she killed Dean Shetty.

While Cate is nowhere near the power of Dark Phoenix, we know that she plays the same role in the world of ‘The Boys’ and the events of ‘Gen V’ as she is now unhinged and is looking to try to start a revolt against the people who want to prevent her and the supes from becoming their true selves. And death and destruction would likely be left in the wake of Cate Dunlap’s new purpose.

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