The Blink-and-You’ll Miss It ‘Supernatural’ Easter Eggs in ‘The Boys’

The Big Picture

• Supernatural fans will find plenty of Easter eggs and nods to the show in The Boys, including a cameo by the Winchesters’ iconic Impala.
• Jensen Ackles and Jim Beaver from Supernatural have joined The Boys, along with other familiar faces from the show, creating an exciting creative reunion with Eric Kripke.
• The Boys pays homage to Supernatural with references like the use of classic rock songs and iconic shots, showcasing Kripke’s love for his former hit series.

It’s not exactly a secret that there’s been some recent crossover between Supernatural and The Boys. These two shows share a series creator after all, and though they’re vastly different from each other, Eric Kripke has been sure to include plenty of nods to his original hit series in his latest one. Of all the shows out there deconstructing the superhero genre, The Boys is probably the most provocative and certainly pushes every boundary that exists within the fictional universe. But don’t be alarmed Supernatural fans, because there’s plenty of material for you in here too as Kripke has been sure to include a treasure trove of Easter eggs for your enjoyment and delight.

Of course, Supernatural co-lead Jensen Ackles ended up joining The Boys as Soldier Boy, a far cry from his work as Dean Winchester, prompting an exciting creative reunion between Ackles and Kripke. “There’s little Supernatural Easter eggs in a bunch of Jensen’s scenes,” Kripke explained just after the show’s Season 3 premiere. “When you think of the amount of people on this show on the creative team who come from Supernatural… …we sort of couldn’t help but drop some stuff in because that show was such a huge part of our lives.”

‘Supernatural’s Baby Comes Back and Runs Over Some More Baddies In ‘The Boys’

Probably the most iconic object from the entire Supernatural universe has got to be the Winchesters’ trademark Impala, which Dean affectionately nicknames “Baby.” The ’67 Chevy has been in the family for decades and was sort of the show’s unofficial third character throughout its fifteen-season run. No wonder then that Kripke had a real attachment to the muscle car, which eventually made a quick cameo appearance on The Boys. Unlike the Impala’s appearance on The Winchesters, it’s not so much a part of The Boys‘ mythology, though it carries some weight of its own.

After Stormfront (Aya Cash) is outed as a white supremacist, the internet (which had once been entirely on her side) quickly turns against her. In the Season 2 finale, “What I Know,” a video can be seen on social media showing a ’67 Chevy Impala running down Stormfront for her Nazi-sympathizing ways. What might be dismissed as just a fun nod to Kripke’s former show actually means so much more when you consider that Dean Winchester actually killed Hitler in the Supernatural Season 12 episode “The One You’ve Been Waiting For,” making this feel just perfect. And let’s not forget that this is somewhat foreshadowing Jensen Ackles’ appearance as Soldier Boy–whose procedure date of January 24th happens to be Dean’s birthday, as well as Kripke’s wife’s–the following season.

‘Supernatural’s Bobby Singer Goes From Washed-Up Hunter to Secretary of Defense in ‘The Boys’

Jensen Ackles isn’t the only Supernatural alum to appear on The Boys; there’s also Robert Singer — no, not the Supernatural producer of the same name, but another Bobby Singer, played by none other than Jim Beaver himself. After first appearing at the end of the first season, Beaver returned as Secretary of Defense Robert Singer for a number of episodes in the subsequent seasons, though he’s nothing like the Winchesters’ surrogate father.

Given that Supernatural confirmed that Chuck (Rob Benedict) created a multiverse full of possibilities (with various Sams and Deans to boot), this has led some to speculate that the politician Robert Singer may just be another universe’s version of the Bobby we all know and love. After all, an alternate Bobby from an Apocalypse World was introduced near the end of Supernatural, and given that The Boys‘ version of Singer also hails from Sioux Falls, South Dakota (the same place Bobby lived on Supernatural), it seems like a real possibility.

REO Speedwagon Makes More Waves On ‘The Boys’ Than It Did ‘Supernatural’

One of the things that Supernatural was particularly known for in its time on air was its classic rock soundtrack. Icons like AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult, Styx, Jethro Tull, Def Leppard, and Bob Seger were regularly played on the series, and the Kansas song “Carry On Wayward Son” was even the show’s unofficial official theme. So when REO Speedwagon’s “I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore” played in The Boys episode “Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed,” complete with an uncomfortable moment brought to you by Ackles’ Soldier Boy himself, fans couldn’t help but think back to Supernatural.

On Kripke’s first hit series, “I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore” pops up in the Season 2 episode “Simon Said” after heartbreaker Jo Harvelle (Alona Tal) plays the track on the jukebox at the Roadhouse. Not only does it highlight the unspoken attraction between the two (something that would never be fully realized), but Dean even sings along after he and Sam (Jared Padalecki) drive away from the Roadhouse to work a job. You can take the Kripke out of Supernatural, but you can’t take the Winchester out of Kripke. Something like that.

‘Supernatural’s Iconic Trunk Shot Re-Appears in ‘The Boys’

Over the course of fifteen seasons, Supernatural didn’t often revisit iconic shots from its past, but when it did, it meant something. One such moment comes from the end of the Season 2 two-part finale “All Hell Breaks Loose,” where Sam and Dean close the trunk of the Impala as Dean utters the words “we got work to do.” Meant to signal their continued battle against the forces of darkness, the same shot and line combination is repeated at the end of the show’s 200th episode “Fan Fiction.” No wonder The Boys did a Supernatural trunk shot of their own.

In fact, The Boys did it more than once, which makes sense when you consider that former Supernatural director Phil Sgriccia (who also directed “Fan Fiction”) followed Kripke over to his new Amazon project. Furthermore, the show’s official X (formerly Twitter) account even quoted the corresponding Supernatural line verbatim. This wasn’t the only time though, later on, the series’ official Instagram was quoted as saying, “There’s a Winchester in that trunk but it ain’t the kind you’re thinkin'” when paired with a similar image (this one including Ackles’ Soldier Boy to boot). Even if you don’t watch The Boys, you can’t help but appreciate a callback like that.

Dean Winchester May Have Fired His Grenade Launcher in ‘Supernatural’, But Soldier Boy Failed to Ignite on ‘The Boys’

One of the most unfortunate running gags throughout Supernatural‘s later years (and especially throughout Season 12) was that Dean always wanted to use a grenade launcher. So after a season of pestering Sam, his brother finally gives in during a life-and-death scenario and Dean uses the weapon to blow a hole in the wall and save their lives (“Who We Are”). Years later, in the final season, Dean is seen with the grenade launcher again in “Last Holiday,” implying that yes, he did get to use it at least one more time.

So when Soldier Boy upgraded to a Car G. rocket launcher in The Boys episode “Barbary Coast,” fans were elated. To make things even more hysterical, Soldier Boy is pointing the darn thing the wrong way, and, like Dean early on, is unable to fire this massive weapon he’s way too excited to use. It probably worked out for the best though, and ended up being a funny nod to Dean’s own struggle with firearms later on in Supernatural‘s run. At least Dean finally got the chance to use his weapon though, Soldier Boy never quite got back to it.

Since He Couldn’t Kill Them on ‘Supernatural,’ Eric Kripke Was Sure to Take out a Nun on ‘The Boys’

In The Boys episode “Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed,” Soldier Boy–who isn’t so different from his son Homelander after all–murders a priest and a nun, something that Dean would’ve never done on Supernatural. Well, unless they were possessed, that is. But even so, the Winchesters usually fought for the lives of every human being, so taking one isn’t something they’re willing to easily do. But this brutal moment is actually a deeper callback to Kripke’s time on Supernatural, particularly when he was forced to massacre a band of nuns off-screen in the Season 4 finale “Lucifer Rising.”

“When I was a young child growing up, I thought, ‘If only I could make it to Hollywood and murder some nuns,'” Kripke joked during an interview when asked about the connection between these events. Jokes aside, there’s no way the TV censors would’ve allowed Kripke to film a brutal horror show that would’ve been the struggle between the show’s trademark Yellow-Eyed Demon and the band of nuns huddled in St. Mary’s Convent, but here on streaming, there are no rules.

Familiar ‘Supernatural’ Faces Return Again On ‘The Boys’ (And Not Just Jensen Ackles)

Jensen Ackles and Jim Beaver might be the most obvious faces to make the jump from Supernatural to The Boys, but they’re certainly not the only ones. Alexander Calvert (Jack Klein on Supernatural) appears as Rufus in The Boys spin-off Gen V and even reunites with Maddie Phillips’s Cate Dunlap. Phillips had previously played Harper Sayles in Supernatural‘s Season 14 episode “Optimism.” Additionally, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played Sam and Dean’s father John Winchester, and Rob Benedict (who played Chuck Shurley) are set to make their The Boy debut in Season 4.

That’s not all though. Aside from the ever-growing list of names associated with both shows, The Boys brought back one-time Supernatural guest star Gattlin Griffith, who once played Jesse Turner aka the Anti-Christ on Kripke’s long-running series. On The Boys, Griffith plays Soldier Boy’s sidekick Gunpowder, at least the younger version, which is arguably a more interesting role. Given that Supernatural‘s Anti-Christ was never fully developed, it’s nice to see Griffith still get some work in Kripke’s circles.

The Boys is available for streaming exclusively on Prime Video, while Supernatural can be streamed on Netflix.

Watch on Amazon Prime

Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.