This bigender superhero’s power is transitioning

On the new The Boys spin-off Gen V, there’s no shortage of new supes with new powers for fans to obsess over. Those superpowers include bloodbending, metal manipulation, and — in a wonderfully queer turn of events — transitioning.

Expanding on the superpowered world of The Boys, Gen V takes place at Godolkin University, a school for college-aged supes to hone their abilities and compete to be the best. It’s there that viewers meet Jordan Li, a supe with the power to transition from a man to a woman and back again at will.

Jordan’s different gendered forms have different abilities: When they’re a man, Jordan has super strength and invincibility, and when they’re a woman, Jordan can produce blasts of energy and has super agility.

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While the Marvel queers up its cinematic universe, the franchise is also busy doing something similar with comics.

Given the role’s unique nature, Jordan is played by two actors, London Thor and Derek Luh. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Thor shared what it was like to share one role with another actor.

“It’s been really easy sharing a character with Derek,” she said. “When we first met, it was kind of an immediate click — we both had similar thoughts. We both were open to talking about the character and open to each other’s opinions. We built this character from the ground up.”

Jordan’s arc on Gen V so far has clear allegories to transness. In the third episode of Gen V, Jordan’s father repeatedly misgenders them, commenting that they’re actually a boy, and the time they spend as a girl is a choice. But Jordan insists that their bigender identity is who they really are, and that they’ve always been this way even prior to developing their powers.

“I’m just … the kid addicted to their PlayStation. Who goes to Olive Garden just for the breadsticks. Who binges Property Brothers,” Jordan says in the episode. “I’ve never changed, Dad. I’ve always just been me.”

Naturally, the internet is obsessed with all things Jordan. (It doesn’t hurt that they’re a certified hottie no matter which gender they’re presenting as.)

they’re easily the most hype character on the show and part of their arc right now touches on the public’s reception to a genderfluid hero. fucking incredible stuff

— peachpicnic (@impeachpicnic) October 2, 2023

And the bi-panic is exquisite!

— Chevonne Hughes (@Chevonne_Hughes) October 2, 2023

The first three episodes of Gen V are currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video, with new episodes premiering on Fridays.