In the explosive fourth season finale ofThe Boys, the Prime Video series brought back a terrifying character who had been missing for some time. She’s a Supe with incredible power, and she’s also mentally unstable. That’s a dangerous and deadly combination. It seems that as part of his big plan, Homelander (Antony Starr) will be using her as a weapon.
With every Supe on the show, fans canconnect the character with another superheroor fictional character. Homelander is, of course, Superman. The Deep (Chase Crawford) is a parody of Aquaman. A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) is The Flash. Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) pokes fun at Captain America. Tek Knight (Derek Wilson) was a much darker version of Bruce Wayne. It goes on. What about this mysterious character who has emerged from the shadows, much to fans’ delight? Some can’t help but compare her to a key character inStranger Things.
Remember Her? Who Is Cindy in The Boys?
Cindy (Ess Hödlmoser) first appears in the second season ofThe Boysin the episode entitled “The Bloody Doors Off.”She is a patient at the Sage Grove Center, which Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capone), and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) have broken into. Through the security cameras, they see Cindy sitting in the middle of her cell but don’t think much of it. When they have an altercation with Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore), who has been relegated to work there, Cindy’s cell door gets burned down, and she comes calmly to walk out.
Lamplighter appears terrified but begs Cindy to calm down and reminds her that he has done a lot of good things for her. He even says he likes her. It’s evident that whatever her powers are, even Lamplighter is scared. There’s a reason for that, as Cindy is also mentally unwell, hence why she was being kept in the facility and being used for testing.
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Cindy questions Lamplighter about the others, and MM claims he’s no friend of Lamplighter’s and even eggs Cindy on to kill him. Before they can see what Cindy can do, she is shot in the back multiple times. This doesn’t kill her but causes her to turn around to viciously kill the perpetrator, allowing the others to escape. Cindy uses her powers to free all the other patients, then goes on the run. When she destroys a gas container, it’s clear she’s more powerful than anyone realized. She’s electrocuted by Stormfront (Aya Cash), but later, she’s seen hitchhiking on the rod, confirming that she got away.
Cindy isn’t seen again until the finalepisode of Season 4, but there are some previous allusions to her whereabouts. On the Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman YouTube web series, a sketch of Cindy is shown, noting that she is wanted in connection with several violent crimes. It’s unclear what Cindy has been up to, but she has clearly been busy.
How Does Cindy Appear in Season 4, and What’s Her Stranger Things Connection?
Cindy surprises fans when she appears in the final moments of the last episode of season four, entitled “Season Four Finale.” While Annie (Erin Moriarty) and Hughie (Jack Quaid) are on the road about to get away, a sailboat drops in front of their car. Cindy moved this massive vehicle using her telekinesis power, which caused the pair to veer off the road.
Hughie is captured, and Annie finds herself looking face-to-face with Cindy. The woman hovers a piece of metal in front of her and crushes it by simply turning her hand near it. She’s about to kill Annie when Annie restores her powers and, as Starlight, shoots up into the air, escaping to safety.
Fans instantly drew comparisons between Cindy and Eleven(Millie Bobby Brown) fromStranger Thingsfor a few reasons. Most notable is her look, with an innocent face and shaved head. There’s also her non-descript outfit, similar to Eleven’s hospital gown when she escapes. Of course, there’s also the connection between the two, having both escaped from institutions where they were being held against their will and tested like lab rats.
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While Homelander remains the biggest villain in The Boys, in Season 5, he will face a new, more exciting, and powerful villain.
But it’s also her powers, including controlling, moving, and manipulating items with her mind. Cindy can crush objects and people, even lift large objects like the ship, similar to what Eleven has shown she can do with bothpeople and objects inStranger Things.Cindy outstretches her hand like Eleven does when using her powers. And like Eleven, she typically requires her hands to use her powers. If they were to be restricted in any capacity, Cindy might be easily overtaken, and the same could potentially be said for Eleven.
Before Eleven was named a potential inspiration for Cindy, some fans thought she might be a TV interpretation of Silver Kincaid of the G-Men fromThe Boyscomics. She, too, can manipulate pressure and is considered an outcast. However, inSeason 3 ofThe Boys, the actual character Silver Kincaid, played by Jasmin Husain, is shown. She was a Muslim Supe who competed in the American Hero competition to become a new member of The Seven. Thus, this eliminated any belief that Cindy was the TV version of Kincaid.
The Boyshasn’t parodied characters outside the superhero genrebeyond the obvious politically charged ones. Nonetheless, it’s entirely possible that Cindy is a satirical, much darker version of Eleven. If blood starts dripping from her nose the next time she tries to wreak havoc, fans can safely assume that Cindy is a satirical homage to one of the bestnon-Marvel or DCU super-powered charactersof the 21st Century.
Who Is Ess Hödlmoser, and What Is Her Story?
Part of what makes Cindy so intriguing is the convincing performance of the actor who plays her. Ess Hödlmoser does a lot more work on the show than they are given credit for since much of it is behind the screens. The native of Toronto, Canada is also a performance artist, contortionist, and aerial performer, as well as a stunt artist. They worked as a stunt performer onThe Expanseand did motion capture work for Pennywise in the 2017 movieStephen King’s It. They also worked as an assistant stunt coordinator for eight episodes ofThe Boys.
They have also done stunt work, including working as a stunt double, forTitans, Killjoys, Imposters, The Handmaid’s Tale, andThe Strain. Hödlmoser had a recurring role in the second and third seasons of the supernatural dramaMotherland: Fort Salemas well, playing a coven leader and sergeant. They will next appear in the upcoming action comedy movieDon’t mess with Grandma, which also stars Michael Jai White, Jackie Richardson, and Billy Zane.StreamThe BoysonPrime Video.
