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Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Boys season 5, episode 5,
The Boys season 5, episode 5 features a slew of hilarious cameos and guest stars, linked to both the superhero universe and wider, meta narratives. More than most other shows on TV right now, The Boys explores modern pop culture in several ways. Be it The Boys' parodies of Marvel and DC heroes or the references to wider superhero cinema, Prime Video uses the show to poke fun at the genre while telling its own compelling story.
The Boys season 5, episode 5 continues this. Despite the show ending and the titular team looking for characters who could kill Homelander, The Boys is not losing sight of what it has always been. Not only is The Boys season 5, episode 5, titled "One-Shots," formatted as several individual yet loosely-connected stories featuring different characters, but it also contains more meta humor than one could ask for.
Homelander and Soldier Boy, two of The Boys' strongest Supes, continue their search for V-One, which leads them to Mr. Marathon, a former member of The Seven, in Los Angeles. This begins the onslaught of cameos in the final storyline of The Boys season 5, episode 5, complete with broader references, Easter eggs, and famous faces for the Prime Video show to parody.
Jared Padalecki
Starting with Mr. Marathon himself, the Supe is played by none other than Jared Padalecki. Padalecki is best known for his role as Sam Winchester in Supernatural, the brother of Dean Winchester, played by The Boys' Soldier Boy actor, Jensen Ackles. Eric Kripke, The Boys' creator, also created Supernatural, explaining why Padalecki was cast as the former Seven member.
The trio worked together for 15 seasons on Supernatural, making the reunion in The Boys that much sweeter. In the latter show, Mr. Marathon has been referenced several times as a speedster. The Boys season 5, episode 5 reveals him as the former fastest man alive until A-Train beat him in a race, leading the latter to replace Mr. Marathon in The Seven.
Soldier Boy and Homelander end up at Mr. Marathon's house thanks to the character's love for all things Vought, meaning he may know where the V-One is. However, after a series of twists and turns, chaos ensues in true The Boys' fashion, with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles at its center.
Misha Collins
At Mr. Marathon's house, several famous faces are shown hanging out. One such face is Misha Collins, who plays another Supe named Malchemical. Malchemical has met Homelander a few times, though the latter doesn't remember him. Collins is another of The Boys' Supernatural cameos, after the actor played the angel Castiel in the latter.
Castiel was a frequent ally of the Winchester brothers, explaining why Collins was cast in this role in The Boys. For Supernatural fans, seeing Ackles, Padalecki, and Collins on screen together is a treat. For anyone else, The Boys makes good use of Collins as Malchemical, a Supe hiding a grudge against Homelander.
Seth Rogen
As alluded to, Mr. Marathon is revealed as the host of a gathering featuring several celebrities who cameo as themselves, including Seth Rogen. Rogen has appeared as himself in several scenes of The Boys, given that he is a producer of the show. Rogen's first few appearances came in in-universe press videos for various movies, including "Black Noir: Insurrection" and "Translucent: Invisible Force."
Another cameo from Rogen came as an online video chat patron of Crimson Countess, before his appearance in The Boys season 5, episode 5. This episode saw Rogen playing a celebrity poker game that was interrupted by Homelander and Soldier Boy, causing the actor to freak out about the celebrity "Starlighters" that have been rounded up recently.
As with the rest of the cameos in The Boys season 5, episode 5, Rogen meets a grim end when Mr. Marathon runs through him, cutting him in half.
Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail Nanjiani is one of the other celebrities playing poker in Mr. Marathon's house in The Boys season 5, episode 5. Like Rogen, Nanjiani plays a fictionalized version of himself, stressing about the various other celebrities that have been imprisoned by Homelander and Vought. Interestingly, though, this gives Nanjiani his second role in The Boys universe.
In season 1, episode 4 of the spin-off, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, Nanjiani voices a character named Vik, a scientist who works for Vought. However, as himself, Nanjiani has appeared twice in The Boys. The first appearance came in season 3, episode 6, "Herogasm," in which Nanjiani appeared singing John Lennon's "Imagine," a spoof of the same real-life trend from 2020.
In The Boys season 5, episode 5, he is part of Mr. Marathon's crew. Nanjiani is shown pushing his co-celebrities into speaking out against Homelander and Vought, though this leads to a parody of performative celebrity activism. The scene eventually ends with Nanjiani making a self-referential joke about his own superhero journey in the MCU, telling another of the episode's celebrities that he couldn't take him because he is "f***ing yoked now."
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
A regular collaborator of Seth Rogen, Christopher Mintz-Plasse is another of the celebrity attendees of Mr. Marathon's poker party. Mintz-Plasse is shown talking to the other celebrities about potential Starlighters, making another very self-referential joke in the process. Mintz-Plasse questions whether anyone thinks Michael Cera is a Starlighter, given that the two are up for the same part that the former would really like to get.
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This joke is centered around the frequent collaboration between Mintz-Plasse and Cera, which began with 2008's classic Superbad. Rogen feeds into this, stating, "We've been friends with him for 20 years, Chris." Later, Homelander says the celebrities will pay for their posts and memes, causing them to turn on each other. After some arguing, Mintz-Plasse begs everyone to stop and, when they listen, finishes with, "We really should round up Michael Cera."
Will Forte
The seemingly final celebrity cameo in The Boys season 5, episode 5 is Will Forte. Forte is a long-standing comedic actor, writer, and producer, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live. His cameo in The Boys begins with a joke about this, with Forte stating the best day of his life was when Vought executed Bill Hader, another comedic actor whose breakout came on Saturday Night Live.
Forte says that Hader's death led to more offer-only roles for him, before trying to get into Homelander's good books by saying he was the one who turned in Channing Tatum. After Malchemical knocks out Homelander, Forte is the first to try to run. Unfortunately for him, Soldier Boy grabs him and places him in front of Mr. Marathon, starting the gruesome trend of the latter Supe running through his celebrity guests.
Craig Robinson
The Boys season 5, episode 5 features a surprise celebrity cameo after the other surprise celebrity cameos. After the chaos ensues downstairs, Soldier Boy tries to escape Mr. Marathon's house. Coming out of a bathroom is none other than Craig Robinson, another prominent comedic actor and collaborator of Rogen's.
Robinson makes a joke about Danny Trejo's taco restaurant before excitedly exclaiming, "Soldier Boy!" Like Forte, though, Soldier Boy uses Robinson as a human barrier against Mr. Marathon's speed. Followed by the deaths of Rogen, Nanjiani, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, The Boys season 5, episode 5 rounds out its hilarious, meta, and violent celebrity cameos.
