Here’s a pretty solid Gen V theory straight from your best friends at Reddit… Is Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) Marie Moreau’s (Jaz Sinclair) benefactor on the series?
In case that was a bunch of incomprehensible words, here’s what you need to know about the backstory before we get into the theory. On Gen V, Marie accidentally killed her parents when her powers first emerged. Subsequently, she was raised at the Red River Institute in Thornwood, New York. Ostensibly an orphanage for Supes, Red River is actually more of a prison facility for superpowered children nobody wants anymore. Usually, those kids stay in the system created by Vought International and are then sent to an adult facility later on. Marie, however, was accepted into Godolkin University, and given a free ride thanks to an unknown benefactor. She got out of the system. Go Marie!
Over on The Boys, Neuman is currently running for Vice President, and viewers know she’s secretly also a Supe, with the power to blow up people’s heads. She’s got murky morals and is incredibly ambitious. She also — and this is where you can start to see the theory forming — was raised in Red River. Like Marie, she also accidentally killed her parents when her powers emerged. And like Marie, she had a wealthy benefactor who got her out of the facility. After killing several foster families, Neuman, who at the time was named Nadia Neuman, was adopted by Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito). Stan, the head of Vought International, gave her a new name, a new identity, and wiped out all her past misdeeds (aka, murders). Go Victoria?
That backstory out of the way, over to Reddit user EffectiveSecond7 who aptly points out the connection between the two. Oh, and the fact that Neuman is making a cameo in Gen V Episode 7. But if Neuman is Marie’s benefactor then… Why?
Why Would Victoria Neuman Be Marie’s Benefactor? Top Theories:
There are a few solid ideas on Reddit behind the connection, other than the shared origin stories for Marie and Victoria. MeltingVibes posits, “My theory is that Neuman’s daughter had a bad reaction to the compound V and she’s hoping that Marie’s powers would be able to help.”
In case that doesn’t make sense to you, Neuman injected her daughter Zoe (Olivia Morandin) with Compound V, the substance that turns people into Supes, in The Boys Season 3. Other than Zoe screaming in pain, we have yet to see how that turned out.
Nicklovin508, meanwhile, has a less magnanimous suggestion: “Personally my theory is that Marie is Neuman’s scapegoat for the exploding heads – since Marie can blow up a dick, she can probably blow off a head too.” However, as several users mention, it doesn’t make a lot of sense since Marie wasn’t around when Victoria was blowing up heads in Seasons 2 and 3. That said when has something not being true ever stopped the spin in The Boys/Gen V universe? Never. That’s when.
There’s an entirely different theory, though, which is that Stan Edgar is the man behind Marie. Says Emergency_Argument29, “My money’s on Edgar. He seems like the guy that is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. Homelander may have outplayed him for a minute but I bet he’s got more than a few tricks up his sleeves.”
Given that Stan was also the guy to get Victoria out of Red River, it’s a possibility. But Stan has essentially been outplayed, as mentioned, and excommunicated from Vought. With Godolkin University’s tight ties to Vought, it may not make sense for Stan to have the clout to make the Marie move happen.
So if it is Neuman, what’s her connection to Marie? Good-hearted charity doesn’t exist in this universe, so it’s not that. There’s definitely something more nefarious at play here, and whatever it is we’ll likely find out in the next episode.
Gen V streams on Thursdays at 8 pm ET on Prime Video.
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