All The Supernatural Easter Eggs In The Boys

In the season 1 finale of "The Boys," Vought got busy making plans with the US government, which meant setting a meeting with the Secretary of Defense, Robert Singer (Jim Beaver). For folks who have never seen an episode of "Supernatural," this was just another new character intro, with some ominous implications for the future of Supes in the military. But for die-hard fans of the monster-hunting saga, they probably noticed something very interesting about the Secretary of Defense: he shares a name and face with Bobby Singer, the Winchesters' lovably gruff surrogate father.

Jim Beaver is the Easter egg that just keeps giving. During his CW tenure, his name was already a gag: Bobby was named after 'Supernatural" writer, director, and producer Robert Singer. Now the joke lives on with a completely different show. When Jensen Ackles joined the cast in season 3, it seemed inevitable that the two would cross paths and sure enough, Kripke made sure to plant a moment where Soldier Boy is walking through the streets of New York and spots a poster for Singer's campaign.

The season 3 finale then takes the joke even further, by mentioning that Robert Singer's hometown is Sioux Falls — which, in "Supernatural," is home to Bobby Singer. At this point, Kripke is just fanning the conspiracy theory flames: could it be that "The Boys" is just a parallel universe where Bobby ends up a politician instead of a hunter?

Then along comes season 3, with the biggest Easter egg of them all: Jensen Ackles. Shedding his Dean Winchester skin, Ackles is taking a ride on the dark side as the vintage superhero that Hughie (Jack Quaid), Butcher (Karl Urban), and the rest of The Boys accidentally bust out of Russian imprisonment. When brainstorming Ackles' big entrance into the show, Kripke looked no further than one of the biggest, most memorable entrances in "Supernatural" history. He told TVLine,

"I still think probably the best entrance I've ever done is Misha Collins' entrance [as Castiel]. That's an entrance! That is how you f–king walk into a show! And so we thought a lot about we need something really grand [and] big, and this idea of like this massive thing, door, that opens, and he emerges through the steam, and he has this huge blast."

Instead of busting open a barn door and shattering lightbulbs, Soldier Boy gets a big moment of his own: after an epic fight that involved a barrage of gunfire, The Boys realize that the famed Supe isn't really dead when he emerges naked from a steamy cryogenic chamber, shoots a giant blast of light from his chest and stumbles away.

It's one hell of an entrance — so powerful that it broke the internet. Since then, Ackles has been stealing the show as an incredible new addition to the cast. The same was true of Misha Collins following his big "Supernatural" entrance, with Castiel evolving from a side character to a crucial part of the show's next 10 years. Maybe the fact that Kripke pulled from his epic entrance is our hint that Soldier Boy is here to stay.

Before Soldier Boy busts out of the Russian facility, we meet him via flashbacks. This is how we learn that Vought's first hero had a sidekick:  Gunpowder, a teenage firearms enthusiast. Gunpowder ends up being much more important in the present-day' when he tangles with Butcher, but we briefly see a younger version of him helping Soldier Boy on the Barbary Coast. Since he wasn't around as long, this actor might be a little harder to recognize than Jim Beaver, but indeed, another "Supernatural" alum has entered the fray: Gattlin Griffith.

Way, way back in the first decade of the "Supernatural" run, when Kripke was still at the helm, the Winchesters were caught in the middle of a war between heaven and hell that put them face to face with the anti-christ, aka, a ten-year-old boy named Jesse Turner (Griffith). Castiel introduces Jesse as a half-human, half-demon child with essentially unlimited powers and concludes that he has to be killed before he gets any stronger. But being absolute softies, the Winchesters refused — instead, they told Jesse the truth and offered to protect him. In the end, Jesse ran away — hiding from demons, angels, and Winchesters alike.

This ended up becoming one of the infamous loose ends that "Supernatural" never got around to tying up. It always seemed like the whole anti-christ thing might return to bite them in the ass — but he never did. Perhaps after Kripke's departure, in the shuffle of finding a new showrunner and direction for the story, Jesse was forgotten. Kripke remembered and even kept Gattlin Griffith's number because he called him up just in time to reunite with Jensen Ackles. Griffith marked the occasion by sharing an Instagram post, tagging Ackles to say: "long time, no see."

In the land of "The Boys," Kripke is joined by former "Supernatural" director Phil Sgriccia and between the two of them, they can't help but visually callback to their old show with the infamous Trunk Shot. While driving around and saving the world, the Winchesters liked to stay ready with their own portable arsenal. In the trunk of their Chevy Impala, they always kept a stockpile of weapons for fending off different supernatural creatures — everything from knives and guns to holy water and the occasional grenade launcher. While they would prepare their gear, the camera would pan upwards from inside the trunk. Then they'd slam it shut with their signature statement: "We got work to do."

Since "The Boys" has its fair share of road tripping, the trunk shot has returned more than once. But it's extra special in season 3 because Hughie and Butcher are joined by Soldier Boy. The show called this parallel out on social media, with the great Instagram caption: "There's a Winchester in that trunk but it ain't the kind you're [thinking]." Ackles cheekily commented, "I see what you did there ... and I like it."