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- NOTE: This article is only for the original comics version of Homelander. To see the article for the TV show's version of him, go to Homelander (TV Series).
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| “ | Why do you hate me so much? I don't mean your problem with super-people in general, or why your team has the agenda that it does. I mean why do you hate me? I can hear your heartbeat, you know. You can keep your face perfectly still, but can't stop your heart pounding along like that - and I know it's not from fear, I'd be able to smell it. It's anger. | „ |
| ~ Homelander to Billy Butcher. |
The Homelander is the central antagonist of the highly controversial adult comic-book series The Boys, first published in 2006.
Like most of the superheroes in his universe he is a dark-as-mud parody of more popular superheroes such as Superman and Captain America but deconstructed into a twisted villain protagonist.
Indeed while most superheroes are flawed but ultimately benevolent beings, Homelander is the exact opposite. He is a powerful entity and highly malicious super-being who will do anything he desires, being a sexual predator and wanted criminal.
Homelander is the leader of the famous group known as The Seven, who often make matters worse rather than improve any situation and Homelander is among the worst of the already sociopathic team, believing he can treat others as less than human because he gained such immense power.
In the comic series, Homelander is the leader of the Seven and one of the most powerful superheroes of Vought America (International in the series), displaying powers very similar to those of Superman, an iconic DC Comics character.
Homelander is the target of Billy Butcher's revenge for raping his wife and got her pregnant, ultimately resulting in her death. Throughout most of the series, Homelander and the Seven have few interactions with the Boys due to a tenuous truce held between the two groups to keep things from escalating.
Contents
Biography
Past
The public story released by Vought-America is that that the Homelander is an alien who dropped down to earth as a baby and was raised by parents in a small town. In reality, Homelander was a part of a series of twisted experiments to create super soldiers that VA could market as "superheroes" to the public. He was one of seven children given copious amounts of Compound V while in the womb.
Compound V was a powerful chemical developed by Nazi scientists to give humans (and other beings) incredible superpowers, but with a litany of side-effects depending on the physiological makeup of the person and the amount used. As a result, Homelander gained incredible power, but his upbringing in a paramilitary science lab (such as being tied to a nuclear bomb to keep his aggressiveness under control) and exposure to experimental drugs, has him grow up with low moral standards and little sanity. It's later revealed that Homelander was created from the DNA of Stormfront (another corrupt "supe", whereas many others were created by reusing old DNA from older supes to create new and improved versions of the source material), making Homelander a partial clone of Stormfront (whose past as a Nazi Officer might contribute to Homelander's disturbing nature.) In addition to being a partial clone unbeknownst to Homelander, his DNA was used to create a stronger, more powerful, and even more disturbing clone to watch over him and take him out if he were to ever go off the rails.
Superhero career
As the Homelander began his superhero career with the rest of The Seven (a superhero team meant to parody the Justice League), in New York City, it became clear that their extreme power and lack of morals would often make disasters worse. Despite starting out optimistic and genuinely wanting to do good, Homelander found himself causing destruction and death everywhere he went. Homelander and The Seven found themselves protected from the consequences of their actions by Vought America, who used their lucrative government connections, expensive legal teams, and powerful PR firms to cover-up or sanitize their actions.
Immune to all forms of damage, Homelander also grew immune to his own humanity, and helping people was no longer a priority. He now became obsessed with hedonism and destruction. He became a living antithesis of what a superhero should be, and his actions grew more depraved, violent and cruel by the day.
Descent Into Madness
The Homelander was terrified to find an anonymous source began blackmailing him with photos of various horrific acts he apparently took part in. He was especially distraught to realize he had no memory of committing any of these atrocities. This even made him even crueler, and slowly but surely the Homelander went from a selfish hedonist to a full-blown violent murderer and torturer.
The Homelander, emboldened by his growing insanity and sadism, began toying with the idea of a "superhero uprising" where he and his fellow false heroes could rise up and destroy all the world governments, effectively taking over the world. He attempted to spread this message at a superhero award show, only to be intimidated by one of the corporate elites from Vought America, causing him to run away in fear.
These events destroyed any remaining sanity or morality in The Homelander.
The Revelation
The Homelander would eventually put his dreams of an uprising into action, and he and his fellow false heroes would launch a full-scale attack on the White House, killing any other heroes who refused to join them. They were eventually all slaughtered or otherwise defeated.
During a confrontation with Billy Butcher after murdering the president, Homelander was horrified when his teammate Black Noir was actually his clone, created by Vought-America to destroy him if he ever went out of line. Unfortunately, Black Noir was even crueler and viler than Homelander, and was actually the one responsible for the atrocities Homelander saw in the photographs. Distraught by this revelation and the fact that he could have been a real hero all this time if everyone around him didn't constantly manipulate him, he tries to kill Black Noir, only for the latter to kill him instead. Before dying, Homelander managed to severely injure Black Noir, weakening him enough for Billy Butcher to kill him, avenging his wife and ending his rampage.
Other Media
TV Show
- Main article: Homelander (TV Series)
Personality
On the surface, Homelander presents himself as a charismatic superhero, warm, altruistic and revolted by any form of injustice. He often encourages his allies by telling them "that they are the real heroes". This only serves as a façade for when he wishes to be presentable however, and is quick to show his true side when necessary.
In reality, he is an apathetic, uncaring, merciless, sadistic, troubled, cold, horrible, hypocritical, arrogant, and above all ruthless and horrid psychopath. Because of his immense power, he believes that he is superior to the whole of humanity; that is why he does not hesitate to crash a plane, let dozens of people die, and rape women.
Despite his ruthless and psychopathic personality, it is revealed that he is a troubled soul with how he raised. He was also horrified by the atrocities Black Noir committed under his appearance, proving that he does have some kind of morality deep within. Upon realizing that he could have been a real hero had he not been manipulated and raised the way he was, he outrageously attacked Black Noir.
Powers and Abilities
- Superhuman Strength: One of Homelander's primary abilities is his tremendous superhuman strength. He possesses the greatest level of strength ever seen, allowing him to effortlessly overpower any opponent. After he and Queen Maeve intercepted a robbery, he threw the first thief far away and high into the air. He also embedded his fist in a shooter's torso. In "The Female of the Species", Homelander stated he was unable to carry a hijacked plane to safety, suggesting that he is unable to use his full strength in flight, requiring a solid surface to take full advantage of his power. He was later able to throw a baseball from New York to Boston.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: Homelander seems to be immune to all forms of physical harm and is thereby the most resilient of the Seven, and possibly of all Supes. As such, he is not only completely bulletproof but is also unfazed by explosions, such as when Billy blew up the Stillwell residence with him inside it. In the comics, it is shown that someone of similar strength and durability to him had the power to physically harm him, as Black Noir was capable of fatally wounding him.
- Superhuman Speed: Homelander can move and fly at extremely fast speeds, enough to keep up with Steve's plane so he could destroy it.
- Superhuman Hearing: Homelander possesses tremendous auditory awareness, allowing him to detect sounds from miles away. He can also use this power to detect a person's heartbeat, and can tell when they are excited or anxious, such as when he detected Hughie Campbell's blood pressure to be 150/90.
- Superhuman Smell: Homelander possesses an amazing olfactory sense, well beyond that of a human. For both Hughie and Starlight, he was able to tell they were afraid and nervous by smelling that their adrenaline had increased.
- Sonic Scream: Homelander is capable of producing high enough volume and intensity of sound from his voice to cause ears to bleed and internal organs to rupture. In the comics, Homelander's yell of annoyance and frustration caused multiple people in the plane he and the Seven were attempting to save to collapse dead.
- Flight: Homelander is able to levitate and propel himself at great speeds, allowing him to cover vast distances in a matter of minutes.
- Heat Vision: Homelander is able to generate powerful red beams of energy from his eyes with a variable degree of intensity. These blasts of energy are so powerful that they appear to be able to cut through anything, such as Steve's plane. He also used his heat vision to melt a thief's gun to the latter's hand. However, Homelander is most notable for using his optical beams on people, melting flesh and bone with ease and causing people to burst into gore.
- X-Ray Vision: Homelander's vision allows him to see through any solid object or surface, with the exception of objects and surfaces that are lined with zinc.
Quotes
| “ | Welcome to The Seven, Annie. | „ |
| ~ Homelander welcomes Starlight to The Seven. |
| “ | SHUT UP! | „ |
| ~ Homelander |
| “ | No, this is personal. You know what I'm going to do to you. | „ |
| ~ Homelander. |
| “ | Suck it... | „ |
| ~ Homelander to Starlight on performing oral sex on him. |
| “ | Nothing. Beyond the fact that I want a ****job and --- incredibly --- seem to be encounters communication difficulties. | „ |
| ~ Homelander to Starlight. |
| “ | It's a metal prop, you stupid whore. | „ |
| ~ Homelander to Queen Maeve. |
| “ | It's all s**t, you know. | „ |
| ~ Homelander while flying a car with a family in it. |
| “ | You heard me. Just spread the word. they all know what to do. I'll see you in D.C. Hmh. Tomorrow... The sun rises on a different world. | „ |
| ~ Homelander preparing his attack on the White House. |
| “ | Look at that, he did have brains after all. | „ |
| ~ Homelander holding the president's head as Billy walks in. |
| “ | It was you in those f***ing-- | „ |
| ~ Homelander when seeing Black Noir reveal himself as his clone. |
| “ | You f***ing f***ing f**k you f***ed my life!!! | „ |
| ~ Homelander fights Black Noir. |
Trivia
- Homelander is an obvious villainous parody to Superman. It is quite plausible that he is far weaker than the Man of Steel as he cannot lift the plane to save the passengers which is why he let them die. Furthermore, he also doesn't have experience in fighting other super-powered individuals like Superman. He is still quite a tough villain though but not Superman tier.
 Villains
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Vought-American The Seven Payback G-Men Teenage Kix Other See Also | ||
External Link
- Homelander at The Boys Wiki
