Jared Padalecki’s Mister Marathon On ‘The Boys’ Is A Brutal ‘Supernatural’ Reunion With A Twist

After months of buildup, fan theories, and one accidentally leaked confirmation at a Belgian convention, Jared Padalecki has finally suited up in ‘The Boys’ season 5. The Sam Winchester actor steps into the shoes of Mister Marathon, the long-mentioned original speedster of the Seven who got booted out years before A-Train ever lapped a track in Vought Tower.

The reunion fans have been begging for since Eric Kripke jumped from ‘Supernatural’ to Prime Video’s bloodiest satire is finally here. And as expected, Mister Marathon’s debut in episode 5, titled “One-Shots,” is anything but a friendly catch-up between old friends.

Meet Mister Marathon, The Boys’ Original Speedster

Mister Marathon is positioned as a piece of Vought lore that fans have heard whispered about for years without ever seeing his face. He was the Seven’s original speedster, a former member who earned the title of World’s Fastest Man before that distinction got him hand-picked for Vought’s flagship superhero team. His origin follows the same dark Vought template as most other supes on the show.

Shortly after birth, Marathon’s parents accepted an offer from Vought International to inject him with Compound V, transforming him into a supe and granting him superhuman abilities. He earned a spot inside the Seven’s inner circle, complete with a seat at that infamous conference table. He also developed a reputation as one of Vought’s grimier graduates.

The character has actually been name-dropped on the show for years. In Season 2’s “Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker,” Lamplighter mentioned that he and Mister Marathon used to sneak college girls into Vought’s offices through a secret back entrance. So even before Padalecki showed up, the Seven’s first speedster was already established as a creep with a long resume of bad behavior.

Jared Padalecki’s The Boys Character Has A Bone To Pick

By the time Padalecki actually arrives on screen, Mister Marathon is a washed-up Hollywood fixture nursing a serious grudge against Homelander. He lost his place in the Seven when Homelander replaced him with a faster A-Train, a pain point he brings up the moment Soldier Boy and Homelander show up at his mansion. Marathon claimed he never got the chance at a rematch, indicating that he was replaced swiftly with no chance of returning.

Post-Seven, life has not been kind to the speedster. Following his departure from the team, Marathon pursued an acting career, appearing primarily in low-budget, independent superhero films produced by Sony Pictures. By season 5, a Truthbomb subheadline reveals that, facing prison, Mr. Marathon accepts a court-ordered stay at Global Wellness Malibu, a Vought therapy service designed for washed-up retired superheroes.

When Stan Edgar points Soldier Boy and Homelander toward Marathon for intel on V-One, the situation curdles fast. Marathon teams up with another supe, Malchemical, played by Misha Collins, to temporarily knock Homelander out using Malchemical’s gaseous breath. Mister Marathon and Malchemical then appeal to Soldier Boy to kill his son, but Soldier Boy refuses, kicking off the bloodbath that defines the entire episode.

How The Supernatural Reunion Came Together

The casting is the result of years of failed scheduling between Kripke and his former ‘Supernatural’ lead. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kripke explained that he had wanted to get Padalecki on the show for years, but the actor was busy shooting ‘Walker’ and their schedules never lined up. With ‘Walker’ wrapping at The CW, the window finally opened.

Kripke was determined not to waste it. He walked into season 5 saying he wanted more than a cameo for Jared, that he wanted a meaty, fun role that really turns the story. The showrunner credits Judalina Neira, a scribe in the season 5 writers’ room, with pitching Padalecki specifically for Mister Marathon. The pitch clicked instantly.

Casting Padalecki against type was part of the appeal. Kripke said part of him just loved the idea of Padalecki playing a coke-blowing scumbag because the actor is such a good guy both in real life and in all the roles he plays, and that he wanted him to be really sleazy. The result is the furthest thing from Sam Winchester or Cordell Walker that Padalecki has ever played, which is precisely the joke.

Mister Marathon’s Comic Origins And His Brutal On-Screen Death

Mister Marathon exists in Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s original comic, but his run there was extremely short. In the source material, Mister Marathon is an early member of the Seven who is lost during the team’s fateful attempt to foil a plane terror attack, clinging to Homelander and dying when the flying supe smashes through the plane, accidentally crushing Marathon’s head. He is essentially a footnote in the comic timeline.

In the books, Mister Marathon is killed during the events of 9/11 as the Seven attempt to intercept the plane headed for the South Tower, and is then quietly replaced with A-Train. The show takes that bare skeleton and rebuilds it into something far more substantial, giving the character years of post-Seven sleaze and a personal vendetta. The TV version of Marathon is somewhat more formidable, unafraid to take on Soldier Boy after the latter refuses to join Marathon and Malchemical’s improvised mission to kill Homelander.

His exit, however, mirrors the comic in the most gruesome way possible. After bloody chaos involving Marathon accidentally running through a host of his comedian friends, Soldier Boy beats him down for information, and Marathon dies when Homelander stomps his head in after waking up. As a nod to the comic book character’s demise, the final blow is delivered by the recovered Homelander, who delivers the coup de grace by stomping on Marathon’s head.

It is, by every measure, a classic ‘The Boys’ sendoff. Padalecki’s character shares the same powers and an eerily similar fate to the comic version, but the actor gives this former Seven member far more depth and personality, making it feel like a slight missed opportunity to not have him around more often. For a character who waited five seasons to step out of the shadows of Vought lore, Mister Marathon makes every minute of screen time count.