The Boys: 12 Things Only Comic Readers Know About Homelander

Highlights

• Homelander is a twisted, violent version of Superman, seen in both comics and live-action, creating a unique adversary for
  The Boys
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• Gaslighting led Homelander’s descent into villainy, painting a darker picture of his character in the comic compared to the show.
• Homelander’s relationship with Soldier Boy is toxic in the comic, showcasing his manipulative and secretive nature around his bisexuality.

As one of the most twisted, powerful, and violent characters created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, Homelander gives The Boys quite the adversary. This series presents the Supe as a satirical, grotesquely violent version of Superman, both in comics and live-action.

When The Boys’ comic was adapted to live-action for Amazon Prime Video’s series with the same name, fans new and old were eager and dreading to see the twisted Homelander come to life. With every adaption, some things change, be it due to the sensitive subject matter, changing times, or for a better narrative. Homelander has a life so disturbing that it’s no surprise that it’s kept to the pages of a comic book.

Spoiler warning for Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys and the comics.Updated on June 10, 2024, by Jake Fillery: Amazon Prime’s The Boys is heading in for a gory season 4, where Homelander seems more unhinged than ever. For fans of the show, it might interest them to learn a few things about Homelander’s depiction in the comics, with all the differences and similarities that make this evil Superman clone a true monster. The interesting comic facts about Homelander certainly showcase a deep descent into darkness and derangement, so learning a few things might make audiences view the character differently compared to The Boys’ comic and show.

12 Killed Queen Maeve

An Effortless Murder Of A Powerful Woman

The finale for season 3 of The Boys finally had Queen Maeve and Homelander duke it out in a battle of fisticuffs. Whilst the show version of these characters has a fairly even fight, where skill battles brawn with every punch and kick, the comic was far different, and Queen Maeve didn’t exactly last long in a fight against a deranged Homelander who had simply had enough.

In the comic, Queen Maeve strikes Homelander with her sword, but it simply shatters on his head with no damage to him. Homelander smirks and punches her in the face, a hit so hard that her scalp flies clean off. The aftermath of Maeve’s face was not seen, but needless to say, she’s not exactly living a power-free life with her girlfriend in the comic.

11 Gaslit Into Being A Villain

Homelander Wasn’t All Good, But He Wasn’t All Evil

Whilst Homelander in the show has been teetering on the edge of just completely losing it for a while, the burn is a lot slower in the comic, and actually not entirely Homelander’s fault. Homelander is not a good person, and many scenes depict that as fact. His actions are monstrous and cruel, but his full descent into villainy was actually through gaslighting.

Homelander only became the villain after he believed he was losing his mind since he had no recollection of some of the blackmail images he was involved in. The fact that he kept seeing himself in photographs committing heinous crimes, led him to believe that he truly was a monster, whereas the show has him come to that conclusion through his own sinister perversions.

10 A Secret Relationship With Soldier Boy

Homelander Is Secretive And Manipulative About His Bisexuality

A very different relationship is seen in the comic between Soldier Boy and Homelander. In the series, Homelander is the son of Soldier Boy, and with Soldier Boy’s DNA, Vought were able to craft a, even stronger and despicable hero. Yet, the comic has their relationship be far more toxic, as there’s no blood relation there, and instead, Homelander just uses Soldier Boy for sexual pleasure.

The comic depicts them at Herogasm, in which Homelander has sexual relations with Soldier Boy with the promise of letting him into the Seven if he’s good enough. No matter how hard Soldier Boy tries, Homelander always says maybe next year. It’s an evil transactional relationship where Homelander violates Soldier Boy’s body in exchange for hopes and dreams that never come.

9 Fan Of The Bee Gees

Even A Villain Can’t Resist The Charm Of Music

Fans of both the Amazon Prime Video show and the comic know that Homelander doesn’t like to joke around much. His presence on both page and screen is filled with tension. Each moment spent with Homelander is to realize just how far gone he is from humanity.

One quirk that adds a sense of levity to the chaotic and murderous life of Homelander is his delightful strut. The villain walks through The Seven’s headquarters, singing “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, and humming the parts he doesn’t know. It’s an oddly human moment from a man viewers have seen squash heads like balloons.

8 The Brooklyn Bridge Incident

Homelander Is Directly Responsible For The Boys’ Version of 9/11

Perhaps one of the evilest moments from Homelander, and something that was more than reasonably not included in the show, was The Seven’s attempt to stop the attacks on September 11th. Homelander and company stopped the planes from hitting the Twin Towers, but it was entirely botched.

Homelander kills the terrorists, screaming profanity and racial abuse. He abandons his team and the innocent people on board the plane and allows it to crash into the Brooklyn Bridge. Preventing the Twin Towers from being hit, but at the cost of the lives in the planes and on the Brooklyn Bridge.

7 Butcher, A Formidable Foe Who Homelander Respects

Homelander Isn’t Afraid To Admit His Respect Of Billy Butcher

Homelander in the Amazon Prime Video keeps some distance from Billy Butcher, although he still torments him. Not only does he keep him alive because he is forced to do so, but the idea that Butcher lives on knowing that his wife Becca and her son Ryan are alive is reason enough to stay out of his way.

In the comic, Homelander is more direct with his relationship with Butcher. He has a begrudging respect for the leader of The Boys due to Butcher’s honesty and grit when it comes to his hatred of Supes. Homelander could also respect Butcher because he knows he is not an ordinary human, as Compound V runs through both their veins.

6 Had His Life Destroyed Because Of A Dog

Butcher’s Dog Terror Is Killed, Causing Butcher To Release Horrific Photos Of Homelander Worldwide

Terror was Butcher’s beloved bulldog who had the strange talent to attack anyone and anything upon command. Butcher shows immense love for his canine companion and would kill anyone who threatens the good doggy.

When The Boys find Terror dead, everything changes. Butcher becomes a different man and brutally exacts revenge on the presumed killer, Jack From Jupiter. This event led Butcher to release horrifying photos of Homelander, which spurred on the final act of the comic, a war of Supes. All because of Terror.

5 Terrified Of Stillwell

Homelander Definitely Has Father Issues

The Boys has a character in it that even Homelander is terrified of. James Stillwell is a high-ranking executive in Vought-American, and the assistant to the CEO, Mr. Edgar. His calmness and intellect never break and become the antagonist to Homelander’s thoughts.

Homelander is desperate to please Stillwell and prove that he has immense power and something worth seeing. This bores Stillwell so much that he attempts suicide and begs Homelander to kill him so he doesn’t have to be so unimpressed with the Supes’ plan. This enrages Homelander, and he departs to resume his plan, whilst leaving Stillwell alone.

4 A Superhero Coup

Homelander Managed To Round Up Global Heroes And Start A New World War

Homelander’s secret plan had been in the works for many weeks, or even months. He takes any Supe he can, and they all fly together to The White House. This begins the war between regular folk, like the military and police, against the Superheroes they thought were there to protect them.

Homelander’s ability to start a coup against the entire United States of America shows the great deal of respect or fear that other Supes have for him, and just how far gone he has become with his insanity. The former superhero truly becomes the villain, as he attempts to take over the world.

3 The Blackmail Photographs

Homelander Receives Images Of Horrific Crimes He Does Not Remember Being Involved In

In the comics, The Boys have access to utterly diabolical and graphic photos of Homelander. These photos are the key to The Boys’ success, and the reason Vought-American have been unable to just eradicate them. These very photos are also the driving force for Homelander becoming a psychopath.

The photos are disgusting, and it is doubtful that viewers of the show will see them in live-action. Homelander has no memory of these events, but the photos are as real as they come, and they depict graphic scenes of murder, sexual assault, and cannibalism.

2 Homelander’s Contingency

Black Noir Is Homelander’s Evil Clone With One Purpose

The ultimate reveal of The Boys, and perhaps the biggest spoiler of them all comes from issue 65. The identity of The Boys’ parody of Batman, Black Noir, was finally revealed in a disturbing light in the Oval Office. Black Noire is none other than Homelander’s clone.

Black Noir was Vought-American’s contingency plan for if Homelander ever went rogue. This silent Supe had been Homelander’s ally and friend, just waiting for his sole purpose to come to fruition. Black Noir helped turn Homelander into a psychopath by posing as him so that the day would finally come when he could kill him.

1 Killed The President

Homelander Wasted No Time In Murdering The American President And Using His Head

During Homelander’s coup against the entirety of America, his first act of war is to invade The White House. Butcher finds Homelander, sitting in the Oval Office, which has been redecorated with bodies, organs, and an abundance of blood. Homelander is seen sitting at the president’s desk, holding the man’s head.

Homelander effortlessly throws the decapitated head of the former U.S president at Butcher, to which Butcher catches it and notes the hole in the back of the head. Implying that Homelander had sexually assaulted the cut-off head. It’s one of the many twisted and dark themes in The Boys.