Recaps

John saved Jonathan by signing Lucifer’s contract, then returned to the world he had died in and built a network to recover Compound V and rescue Becca. After helping the Boys decode the formula and surviving Black Noir’s attack, he approached Cate about Shetty’s experiment and left her to choose whether to join him.

• John was reborn as a baby and was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him John Kent and raised him as their son.
• John’s powers emerged as he grew, and after he saved Jonathan from a tornado, Lucifer revealed that John had displaced Clark Kent and that the timeline was trying to correct itself by killing Jonathan.
• John signed Lucifer’s contract to save Jonathan, then returned to his original world and offered Hughie and Butcher a deal involving A-Train’s confession, Becca’s rescue, and the Boys’ analysis of Compound V.
• John recruited The Deep to find V1 records and A-Train to gather materials, while Black Noir uncovered The Deep’s investigation and learned that he had Heat Vision.
• With the Boys’ help, John rescued Becca and Ryan from Red River, and Frenchie later created two Compound V formulas as the team prepared a new base.
• Black Noir attacked the Boys’ garage, but John arrived and blasted him away after Black Noir stabbed The Deep, and John then ordered the team to relocate near Godolkin University.
• John told Cate that Shetty was using her mind control to support a virus experiment in The Woods, and after Cate’s attempt to read his memories exposed his Homelander face, he warned her and left her his number.

Cate and the Boys uncovered Godolkin’s experiments and Shetty’s Supe Virus while Homelander learned Ryan was his son and clashed with John. The arc ended with John heading to rescue Hughie and the others from Soldier Boy as Cate sought Shetty’s virus formula and test subjects.

• Cate infiltrated Mangrove, confirmed John’s account of the experiments, and helped reveal Godolkin’s role in creating Compound V1 and betraying Soldier Boy.
• Homelander traced Black Noir’s detour to Mangrove, learned that Becca had raised his son there, and killed Madelyn after she confessed to hiding them.
• Frenchie, Mother’s Milk, Kimiko, and Hughie fought Lamplighter at Godolkin’s laboratory, where Lamplighter revealed that Storm and Shetty were testing a virus against supes.
• Edgar ordered Soldier Boy thawed, and Soldier Boy escaped Siberia before agreeing to work with Vought and hunt the Boys and their allies.
• Homelander took Ryan from Becca, but John lured him away and nearly killed him in a fight that revealed John’s identity to the world.
• Soldier Boy killed Crimson Countess after learning she had hated him and joined the betrayal, while Sister Sage agreed to help Homelander find V1 records at Godolkin.
• Soldier Boy attacked Hughie, Frenchie, Mother’s Milk, and Kimiko, overpowering them and preparing to unleash his chest beam.
• John and Cate raided Shetty’s base, where John fought the test subjects and Cate learned Shetty’s virus database was on basement level two.
• After Hughie warned Cate that Soldier Boy had found the group, John sent Cate to obtain Shetty’s formula and recruit test subjects before leaving to rescue the others.

John recruited allies and organized a prison break to rescue Starlight while Vought pursued stronger Compound V formulas and expanded its preparations for war. The escape ended with John defeating Soldier Boy, Homelander receiving V1, and Edgar launching a manhunt for John's group.

• Soldier Boy learned that Liberty had arranged his capture, destroyed Gary's villa in a furious energy blast, and later recognized Stormfront on television.
• Edgar used Victoria Neuman's campaign to redirect anger against Vought while Sage and The Emissary worked on V1 and secretly reserved the original serum for Homelander.
• John persuaded Maeve to oppose Vought, strengthened Cate and Kimiko with improved Compound V, and stabilized A-Train after his injection.
• Maeve agreed to help rescue Starlight in exchange for Elena's safety, then released prisoners to cover Kimiko, Cate, and Frenchie's infiltration.
• Cate disrupted a psychic's control over Kenji Miyashiro, and John intervened when Kenji lost control and attacked the rescue team.
• John defeated Soldier Boy during the escape, survived his Chest Cannon unharmed, and discovered that his abilities had grown stronger.
• The Deep intervened when Vought agents seized Elena, while Homelander injected V1 and Edgar announced a five-hundred-million-dollar bounty on John and his allies.
• Stormfront threatened Zoe to force Neuman's cooperation, Sage and Godolkin confirmed Homelander's first-stage mental anchor had connected, and Hughie gained teleportation after taking improved Compound V.

After Edgar’s exposure stripped away Vought’s restraints, John and the Boys launched an assault on the White House to stop V2 and free the hostages. Godolkin took over Homelander’s body, killed Clara, and faced John as the arc ended.

• The Deep helped the Church of the Collective release Flight 37 footage and Edgar’s recording, prompting Congress to suspend Vought’s budget while Homelander claimed Vought Tower as his own.
• Storm pushed Neuman to pursue Vought’s military autonomy, while Sage prepared V2 production and The Deep destroyed most of the equipment before Torpedo nearly killed him.
• Neuman declared war on the Boys, arrested their allies, and offered a ten-billion-dollar bounty per member as the group prepared to rescue the hostages.
• John organized an assault on the White House, assigning The Deep, Kimiko, and A-Train to reach the underground facility while Starlight and Hughie joined him on the South Lawn.
• John fought Homelander through the White House and into a subway tunnel, while Starlight, Hughie, Frenchie, and Cate battled Vought’s forces and The Deep and Kimiko captured Sage.
• Godolkin defeated Homelander and took control of his body, then used Soldier Boy’s blast in an attempt to kill John, who survived and flew toward the stratosphere.
• John killed Private Angel and found Soldier Boy alive, while Godolkin revealed his possession of Homelander to Storm and killed Clara despite Homelander’s pleas.
• John returned from the clouds and hovered opposite Godolkin, who greeted him with delight.