Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 4, episode 4!

The Boys season 4, episode 4 contains a tiny Easter egg, one that could be setting up Homelander’s replacement. Homelander clones have been a highly speculated part of Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys universe, with this storyline being a major part of the original comic series. While The Boys‘ showrunner, Eric Kripke, has confirmed the Homelander clone storyline won’t be adapted on TV, season 4, episode 4’s major Easter egg has ignited speculation that The Boys could be introducing Vought’s Homelander replacement sometime in the near future of the series.

The Boys season 4 is finally here, with the highly anticipated continuation of Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys now releasing on the streaming service. The Boys season 4 picks up right where The Boys season 3 ended, with the titular team attempting to kill Victoria Neuman before she can become Vice President of the United States while Billy Butcher secretly operates in the background as he attempts to kill Homelander. The Boys season 4, episode 4 highlights a disturbing Homelander storyline, although it also teases an even more significant one that could come in future episodes of The Boys.

The Boys Season 4, Episode 4 Teases A Secret Vought Project

But Details Are Still Scarce

In The Boys season 4, episode 4, Homelander revisits his old home, with that being a lab that he was held in by Vought. The lab was specially built to contain Homelander, with it being used to test his abilities and grow him into Vought’s premiere supe weapon. Upon his arrival, it is clear that the lab is still active, with scientists still hard at work on Vought’s secret projects. Interestingly, a Vought memo can be seen in this laboratory, with it mentioning a yet-unknown Vought initiative known as Project Odessa.

This is the first time that Project Odessa has been mentioned in The Boys so far, and since it isn’t part of the original comic series, it is a complete mystery as to what this project could be. Vought has worked on all kinds of secret projects throughout The Boys universe, such as Gen V‘s The Woods facility, but a few of the details in this memo and its connection to Homelander’s origins point to it being a significant storyline in the future of the show. Thus, it is entirely possible that Project Odessa is a mission to create the next Homelander.

Project Odessa Would Answer A Major Question About Homelander’s Old Lab

Why Are The Old Scientists Still There?

Although Project Odessa is still a mystery, it being a project designed to create a new Homelander would answer a major question about Homelander’s old lab. Despite it having been decades since Homelander was released from Vought’s lab, many of the same scientists are still working in the same location. It’s strange that these Vought figures haven’t had a change of employment in decades, and it seemed as if Homelander knew that he would find these scientists here.

However, if Vought is attempting to make an updated version of Homelander, it would make sense for them to utilize the same facility that led to the creation of the original Homelander. One counterargument is that the Project Odessa memo could be an old one from the times of the original Homelander’s creation. However, this memo specifically mentions social media, meaning that the creation of Homelander or even Soldier Boy would be too old for this memo to discuss them. Instead, Project Odessa has to be a new project utilizing the original Homelander technology.

Why Project Odessa Could Be Homelander’s Replacement

It Replaces The Comics’ Black Noir Story

It is entirely possible that Project Odessa could be Homelander’s replacement, as the hints within The Boys season 4, episode 4 seem to point to this. In The Boys comics, it is revealed that Black Noir is secretly a clone of Homelander that Vought created as a contingency plan. Although it was expected that the show would follow this storyline as well, Amazon’s Black Noir died in The Boys season 3, with it being revealed that he was not a Homelander clone. Because of this, the clone story will have to be told in a different way, and Project Odessa could follow that path.

The “Odessa” Name Has A Big Connection To Vought’s History

It Comes From A Real Nazi Organization

Interestingly, the Odessa name has a big connection to Vought’s history, hinting that this could truly be a major project. During World War II, ODESSA was the codename of a group of Nazis who had escape plans in the final days of the war, with them wanting to get out of the country before they could be captured and tried. Thus, it probably isn’t a coincidence that Vought’s founder Frederick Vought was also a Nazi who fled Germany after World War II, meaning that he could have been part of the ODESSA organization.

However, the aforementioned mention of social media means that Frederick Vought was dead long before Project Odessa was created. Interestingly, there is one other candidate who could be behind it. After all, a major Nazi villain who worked for Vought was around up until season 3: Stormfront. Disillusioned with Homelander’s increasingly erratic behavior, Stormfront could have created Project Odessa in an attempt to give Vought a new Homelander, with her overseeing the project up until Stormfront’s death in The Boys season 3.

It Makes Sense That Vought Would Want An Improved Version Of Homelander

They Could Finally Control Him

The creation of a Homelander 2.0 wouldn’t be a surprising move for Vought, as it actually makes perfect sense based on Homelander’s story so far. Homelander has become increasingly erratic and far more dangerous in recent seasons, with him essentially staging a coup and ousting Stan Edgar from Vought. Homelander is basically doing whatever he wants, and nobody can stop him – yet.

If Vought creates a Homelander replacement, then this better version could be used as a Vought weapon against the original Homelander. The fact that Vought was working on a virus that was intended to turn supes into obedient zombies at Godolkin only further supports this theory, as it would explain why Vought would be more confident in a Homelander replacement. While this storyline is just now starting to be teased, the idea of Vought developing a second Homelander in future episodes of The Boys is a scary possibility that could go wrong in so many ways.