What makes V1 or V-One so important?
V-One is an extremely potent version of Compound V and serves as the principal “MacGuffin” for The Boys Season 5, as noted by series creator Eric Kripke in an interview with TVInsider. Unlike the other variants of the superpower-granting substance, it is the first successful version of the serum and makes the user effectively ageless.
As explained by Mother’s Milk, V-One is more or less the fabled elixir of immortality and taking it seems to give the user passive regenerative abilities. This is ostensibly why Soldier Boy is able to survive the effects of Butcher’s manufactured virus, rising in the body bag at the end of the second episode. This is despite him being seen falling to the ground, his skin ravaged by pustules, alongside Rock Hard and Jetstreak, who both succumb to the virus.
For Homelander, not only does the substance counter The Boys’ plans, but it represents his desire to ascend to godhood and his inflated sense of self-worth. The stars-and-stripes Supe already believes that he is a superior being who has the right to treat humans like toys, though the effects of aging have put a chink in his armor as he is seen apprehensively plucking gray hairs from his body throughout the fourth season. Taking V-One will also bring Homelander closer to his biological father, Soldier Boy, broadly satisfying his search for a familial bond. More than that, Sister Sage knows about V-One given her guest role in Gen V Season 2, and seeing Homelander become a godlike being could be a part of her “Phase Two” schemes.
That said, V-One is a serum that The Boys would want for themselves too. One of core conflicts within the team for the last two seasons has been that the virus would kill Starlight and Kimiko, though Butcher (especially this season’s darker superpowered version of him) is more than willing to sacrifice them for what he sees as the greater good and getting rid of all Supes before his tumor takes him out first. V-One would be a much-needed antidote for Starlight, Kimiko, and whatever other Supes the team decides to spare throughout the season.
Soldier Boy isn’t the only Supe to gain the benefits of V-One either. Created by Frederick Vought, the substance was injected into other Supes, like Stormfront, Bombsight, Torpedo, and Private Angel. (We will apparently see Bombsight at some point in Season 5, while Torpedo and Private Angel will appear in the upcoming Soldier Boy spin-off prequel Vought Rising). An unstable version of V-One was featured in Gen V Season 2 too, which had a flashback scene showing a group of Vought doctors testing it on themselves. The villainous Thomas Godolkin becomes the only survivor who is able to withstand its fatal side effects, and the student cast of the series eventually discover that he is ageless and has been controlling Godolkin University behind the scenes for decades. Fortunately, his plans were ultimately thwarted.
That said, while V-One gives immunity to the virus, it doesn’t provide invulnerability, as we have already seen with the deaths of Stormfront and Godolkin. Soldier Boy’s radiation powers have the ability to neutralize the effects of Compound V in a Supe, so that could reverse, if just temporarily, the immortality granted by the serum long enough for the virus to take effect. Marie Moreau, the Gen V blood-controlling teen whose powers have been compared to Homelander’s in strength, could also have the ability to render V-One inert, though we haven’t seen her try that yet. However, her incredible healing powers could either eliminate or stall the effects of the virus altogether.
