Yes, Kimiko Loses Her Powers in ‘The Boys’ — Here’s What Happens and Why It Matters

Kimiko Miyashiro has always stood out as a fascinating character in ‘The Boys’, a silent yet powerful presence whose Compound-V abilities made her the most formidable member of the team. Thus, when she loses those powers entirely in season three, it resonates deeply with both the characters around her and the audience watching from home.

In season three, episode four, “Glorious Five Year Plan,” Kimiko’s powers are stripped away following an encounter with Soldier Boy. During a mission led by Billy Butcher into a secret Russian research facility, Soldier Boy is unleashed from his metal casket and attacks with a new energy blast that he certainly didn’t have back in 1984. This radioactive explosion not only sends Kimiko crashing through a concrete wall but also nullifies her Compound-V abilities completely.

The pressing question that follows is whether this power loss is permanent. The source material offers little insight since comic book Kimiko never loses her abilities, leaving uncertainty about her potential recovery. However, the show hints at its answer early on. After waking up in the hospital and examining her injuries, Kimiko smiles upon realizing she hasn’t healed. She then asks Frenchie for something heavy to lift, struggles without her super strength, and concludes that Soldier Boy has taken her powers. Elated at the prospect of a normal life, she shares a kiss with Frenchie.

Initially, the loss of her powers seems liberating for Kimiko, but the show challenges that relief. Karen Fukuhara described the arc as “a wake-up call” for her character, explaining that Kimiko “was still the violent person that she feared she would be, and so she has to come to terms with that and face the realities of her identity.” This quote encapsulates the essence of Kimiko’s journey in season three. Losing her powers doesn’t erase who she is; her capacity for violence, rooted in years of trauma long before Compound-V entered her life, remains intact.

Kimiko realizes this truth after she kills Little Nina’s henchmen without any powers. Although she had blamed Compound-V for her monstrous nature, she had spent more time in Shining Light than as a supe, indicating that the violence was likely already part of her survival instinct. Her relationship with herself and with Compound-V is complex, but this moment forces her to confront that she is dangerous and calculated, regardless of her abilities.

Depowering Kimiko resolves two significant issues the show faced in its first three seasons. The first is characterization. Since Kimiko communicates through written notes or sign language with Frenchie, Karen Fukuhara has had to work exceptionally hard to convey her character’s personality. While ‘The Boys’ does a commendable job of adding depth to her relatively flat comic book counterpart, she is often relegated to the role of the team’s powerhouse. The second issue pertains to her backstory. Watching Kimiko wield abilities that were forced upon her due to child trafficking is a complicated narrative, and celebrating something born from such pain feels uneasy.

However, the story doesn’t leave Kimiko powerless indefinitely, and that’s a crucial aspect. Starlight provides Kimiko with a second dose of Compound-V to aid her recovery from Soldier Boy’s attack, restoring her abilities. Kimiko asks Annie to obtain the compound from Vought for her protection and that of Frenchie, and after a romantic dance with Frenchie, she takes it, gradually regaining her powers as her wounds heal.

By the end of season three, Kimiko is permanently powered again, while Hughie decides to stop taking Temp V and returns to being human. The key difference this time is consent. When Kimiko chooses to inject Compound-V, the decision is entirely hers, and the guilt associated with her violent actions dissipates because she actively chose to regain her powers.

Kimiko becomes the first known supe to recover her powers through an additional injection of Compound-V after being depowered by Soldier Boy, making her uniquely the only adult known to have been empowered, depowered, and then empowered again.

Fukuhara referred to season three as a “rebirth” for Kimiko, stating that she emerges from it having genuinely learned from her experiences. The arc of losing her powers fundamentally explores themes of identity and agency. Kimiko has spent her life having things done to her, from her abduction by the Shining Light Liberation Army to being injected with Compound-V without her consent. The ability to choose whether to reclaim her powers represents, in its own brutal and messy way, the most human moment she’s ever experienced in ‘The Boys’.