| NOTE: his article is for the TV version of Lamplighter. To see the article for the original version of him, go to Lamplighter. |
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| “ | Maybe I just like watching people burn. | „ |
| ~ Lamplighter to Mother's Milk. |
| “ | They moved my statue. I wanted to do it in front of my statue. I just wanted to make my dad proud... | „ |
| ~ Lamplighter's last words before he kills himself. |
Lamplighter is a supporting character in Season 2 of the 2019 Amazon TV series, The Boys.
A superhuman with pyrokinetic powers, he was a member of The Seven prior to the series and was replaced by Starlight after his retirement. He was also responsible for unintentionally killing Grace Mallory's grandchildren, intending to kill Mallory instead, and was haunted by it for the rest of his life.
He was portrayed by Konstantin Shaburov in season one and Shawn Ashmore (who also portrayed Eric Summers in Smallville) in season two.
Biography[]
Background[]
Just like the rest of The Seven, Lamplighter was injected with Compound V as an infant and received powers in return. His power is the ability to manipulate fire, as long as there's a source of fire around him. He discovered that power after he burned down his house as a child, much to his father's delight as he frequently abused him to manipulate him into using his powers as he believed his son was destined for greatness.
In adulthood, he would eventually join The Seven and become one of the most popular members of the group. However, just like his fellow teammates and leader, Homelander, he was awfully corrupt and enjoyed burning his victims alive when on missions, as well as indulging in the fame and fortune that came with being a superhero.
In 2015 however, The Boys (Billy Butcher, Frenchie, Mother's Milk, and Grace Mallory) arranged a meeting with Lamplighter himself at a secluded warehouse where Mallory blackmails him into spying on his teammates, primarily Homelander for information so that a video of Lamplighter himself committing questionable acts wouldn't get leaked to the media by Mallory herself.
Angered, Lamplighter informed The Seven about it and was presumably ordered by Homelander to burn Mallory alive. After attending a movie premiere, Lamplighter quietly broke into Mallory's home and into her bedroom. Upon seeing a silhouette underneath the bed sheets, he assumed that Mallory herself was sleeping and proceeded to let out his flames, but soon realized that he was in fact burning her grandchildren as they started screaming for their mother. Out of shock and mercy, he finished them off.
That moment would go on to haunt and torment Lamplighter for the rest of his life, as he would be in constant guilt and trauma for burning Mallory's grandchildren alive. However, he would continue to serve as a strong member of The Seven until his retirement in 2019, where he was eventually replaced by newcomer Starlight.
He would be fondly remembered amongst Vought and his teammates, as his statue and mural are kept intact as a tribute. Unbeknownst to The Seven and the public, Lamplighter would eventually be sent by Vought to Sage Grove Mental Institution, a hospital that imprisoned dozens of supes for experimentation, where he was tasked with burning evidence as well as supes who misbehaved or protested. He would also take orders from Stormfront, who frequently visited the hospital to see progress.
Season Two[]
One day at the hospital, after burning a Supe alive, Lamplighter bumps into Frenchie, Mother's Milk, and Kimiko, who were investigating the hospital, where Frenchie loses his cool (due to harboring deep hatred for him after he burned Mallory's grandchildren), and as a result, a confrontation between them ensues, which leads to the accidental freedom of a powerful and imprisoned Supe named Cindy after her cell door was burned off.
She eventually freed the rest of the supes from their cells, which caused Lamplighter to reluctantly work together with Frenchie, Mother's Milk, and Kimiko. As they take refuge in a lab, Frenchie angrily confronted him which forces him to reveal that he didn't kill Mallory's grandchildren on purpose and his guilt for doing so as well as causing Frenchie to confess that his best friend overdosed which prevented him from pursuing Lamplighter and stopping him.
After bumping into Love Sausage and escaping the hospital with them, Lamplighter was confronted by Mallory, who pointed a gun at him. Lamplighter tearfully begs her to end his life and the pain of dealing with the deaths of her grandchildren. Frenchie, however, convinces her to spare his life as they contemplate what to do with Lamplighter next.
Later on, The Boys, along with Lamplighter, take refuge at Mallory's home. While The Boys and Butcher go out to carry out their mission of exposing Vought, Lamplighter would miserably sit on the couch alongside Hughie, rewatching a porn-parody collection of various The Seven members, past and present, including Jack from Jupiter. He compares himself to the cuck in a Homelander porno, as he feels like he never really did anything as a hero back in the day.
Not long after Hughie discovers that Starlight has been captured and held captive in Vought Tower, he finally convinces Lamplighter to help him break into Vought Tower to rescue her, to which he agrees. Once they've finally broken in, however, Lamplighter, who is revealed to have always wanted to kill himself in front of his statue at The Seven boardroom sees that his statue was replaced with Starlight's. He tearfully said all he wanted was to make his father proud of him before setting himself on fire, burning to death, while Hughie watched in shock.
Personality[]
Lamplighter at first took pride in his status as a superhero and indulged in the fame and fortune that come with being one, seemingly not truly caring for civilians, and put his fame and fortune as his priority. However, after mistakenly burning Grace Mallory's grandchildren alive, he got consumed with so much guilt and trauma that he was never really the same again. He went so far as to break down in tears, begging for his life to end when Mallory confronted him, therefore proving that the series' iteration of him is not entirely evil and sympathetic compared to his comic-book counterpart. He commits suicide upon seeing that his statue was replaced in The Seven boardroom, showing that while remorseful for his misdeeds, his own glorification was still what he cared about the most.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Shawn Ashmore's casting is somewhat ironic, considering Ashmore played Iceman, an ice user from the X-Men film series.
- It is unknown if Vought will bring him back to life like in the comics.
External Links[]
- Lamplighter on the Heroes Wiki
- Lamplighter on the Boys Wiki
