What does a 15-year monster-killing road trip have in common with a satirical superhero show? Besides the grit, grime, and dark sense of humor — Eric Kripke. Before adapting Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's "The Boys" for Prime Video, Kripke explored his dark side through folklore and mythology by creating the CW classic, "Supernatural." The drama followed two brothers roaming the country to save those in danger from the horrors of various supernatural beings. While it ended up running for a whopping 15 years, Kripke stepped aside with the conclusion of its fifth season, passing the torch to a new team of showrunners. But just because he moved on, doesn't mean that "Supernatural" is entirely in the rearview.

Since the very beginning, Kripke has been weaving little touches of the beloved series into his latest endeavor: if you look closely, you'll spot "Supernatural" Easter eggs dating back to the very first season of "The Boys." But it doesn't stop there — Kripke recently brought "Supernatural" to "The Boys" in a big way by calling in a Winchester. Jensen Ackles (aka Dean Winchester) has joined the superhero ranks as the Hero of All Heroes, Soldier Boy. And once Ackles was in front of the camera, the hunt for Easter eggs intensified. Below is your guide to every time "The Boys" references or calls back to "Supernatural."

Vote Bobby Singer

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?

The Impala Strikes Again

Along with more Bobby Singer, season 2 of "The Boys" brought back another beloved "Supernatural" character: Dean's car! The Impala, affectionately known as Baby, is Dean's signature black 67' Chevrolet Impala. It's revealed to have a deep history with the Winchester family and spans the seasons as the site of many brotherly confessions and fond memories. Speaking of fond memories, "The Boys" creates a new one — after Stormfront (Aya Cash) is revealed to be a white supremacist and the internet turns against her, someone makes a hilarious animation of her being murdered by an Impala. I know she's already (allegedly) dead, but wouldn't it be great if Stormfront was murdered by a speeding Dean Winchester? It would be another great story for him to tell, whenever he gets tired of bragging about the time he killed Hitler.

Soldier Boy's Grand Entrance

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.

Happy Birthday, Dean Winchester!

In the wake of their explosive Soldier Boy encounter, the Boys plan their next moves and MM (Laz Alonso) sets his sights on hunting down the Supe to get justice for his family. The first step? Research! While he's watching an old lab recording of the Russian experimenting on Soldier Boy, a scientist is heard saying, "Please note that due to the procedure dated January 24, the subject still registers high radiation levels." Soldier Boy's procedure happens to fall on a very significant date in the "Supernatural" world: it's the birthday shared by Dean Winchester and Sam's girlfriend, Jessica Moore. But perhaps most importantly, it's also the birthday of Eric Kripke's wife!

Oh Look, It's The Anti-Christ

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."

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A post shared by GATTLIN TADD GRIFFITH (@gattlingriffith)

I Can't Fight This Feeling

There's nothing quite like REO Speedwagon to get the romantic juices flowing. "Supernatural" was very well known for its classic rock DNA. Dean Winchester was a big fan of old-time rock n' roll, so he took special care to crank up AC/DC, STYX, Def Leppard, and more from the front seat of his Impala, while insisting that no one else could control his personal soundtrack ("Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole"). But every now and again, someone else would step in with some irresistible tunes.

In season 2, Jo gets REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" playing on the Roadhouse jukebox, and even though he initially criticizes her song choice, it ends up stuck in Dean's head (a hint to his deeper feelings for her). He even sings along in the Impala! Apparently, Soldier Boy shares his taste in music because in episode 7 of "The Boys" season 3, he blasts the same song from a speaker. Except, instead of Dean's wholesome, falling-for-a-girl moment, Soldier Boy plays the song for a very different reason. When Hughie and Butcher follow the music, they find him warming up for a threesome with two elderly maids.

There's A Winchester In That Trunk

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."

Eric Kripke Vs Nuns

Holy water, prayers, priests, and nuns were aplenty in "Supernatural," especially when it came to dealing with a war between heaven and hell. Although the evil in "The Boys" involves superheroes more than spirits, that doesn't mean nuns can't make an occasional appearance — though it's probably in their best interest to stay far away. "The Boys" is not a safe space for nuns with Eric Kripke on the loose. Apparently, it's been a longtime dream of his to have a nun murdered onscreen, ever since he was asked to pull back on the nun violence in season 4 of "Supernatural." But worry not — because dreams really do come true. Kripke had this exchange during an interview with Looper:

Eric, I wanted to congratulate you for brutally murdering a nun onscreen, because I know that's been on your bucket list since the "Lucifer Rising" episode [of "Supernatural"].

Kripke: Right?! When I was a young child growing up, I thought, "If only I could make it to Hollywood and murder some nuns." And they tell you dreams don't come true. They tell you this isn't the magic factory, but it really is.

In "Here Comes A Candle To Light You To Bed," Ackles' Soldier Boy terrifies Hughie by murdering a nun ("what's black and white and red all over?"). Something about watching Dean Winchester attack a nun feels so very wrong … and also, oddly familiar. Being possessed by a mind-controlling Supe is a little different than taking on the black eyes of a demon, but clearly, the endgame is the same: a Winchester gets involved and stops evil in its tracks.

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The post All The Supernatural Easter Eggs in The Boys appeared first on /Film.