Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Boys!As impossible as it sounds,The Boys’Homelandercould have been an actual superhero. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s superhero deconstruction epic features a lot of twisted takes on classic heroes, and few are as utterlydespicable as Homelander is. And yet, with the right circumstances, he could have been good.
Make no mistake,Homelander as he is in the comicis absolutely vile. Aside from being a sexist, racist, homophobic egotist, he’s a criminal who has committed hundreds of sickening crimes, including murder and rape. However, Homelander is absolutelythe product of Vought-American’sheavy influence right from the beginning. Between giving Homelander a cold and clinical upbringing to allowing his clone, Black Noir to exacerbate Homelander’s psychopathy, the Supe really never had a chance to be good in the first place. But with a few minor changes here and there, yes, Homelander could have been an actually good hero.
Vought-American Ruined Homelander from the Beginning
No Love or Anything to Ground the All-Powerful Supe
Homelander, like the rest of the Supes seen inThe Boys, is the product of the international conglomerate Vought-American. Vought-American had a history of making superheroes dating all the way back to World War II when the company tried to get superheroes involved with national defense. However, that backfired, forcing the conglomerate to completely rethink its approach. Instead, it decided to play the long game and introduce heroes into the private sector. And they began withthe Seven, a team of heroes made from the DNA of a powerful Supe known as Stormfront.
…the minds at Vought-American focused on shaping Homelander into a hero that the public would like and approve of.
John Gillman’s life began as one of the first successful embryos injected with Compound V. But he entrance into the world was as violent as one would expect. He was born with the full range of his powers, killing his surrogate mother and many of the medical staff who assisted in his birth. For the next 18 years, John was raised in a controlled environment by Vought-American. Instead of giving him a loving, stable upbringing,the minds at Vought-American focused on shaping Homelander into a hero that the public would like and approve of.
Vought-American recognized that Homelander was the strongest Supe alive and found it necessary to have a countermeasure in place to stop him. They cloned him, creating Black Noir as a precautionary measure. Unfortunately, Black Noir was unstable and went mad since he couldn’t fulfill his purpose. Black Noir began framing Homelander for vicious crimes such as rape, murder, and even cannibalism, sending pictures to his clone.Homelander, his worldview already skewed by being raised by Vought-American, went insane from the pictures, and ultimately enacted a plot to overthrow the U.S. government.
Supes Aren’t Inherently Flawed, Most Just Don’t Have the Right Upbringing
The Boysis very cynical when it comes to the idea of superheroes. At best, they’re a bunch of glory-seeking jackasses who don’t care about the collateral damage they inflect on the world with their powers. At worst, they are downright sociopaths who have virtually no one other than Billy Butcher and his crew to keep them in line. But not every Supe in the world is a monster. In fact,‘Wee’ Hughie Campbell meets several Supes inThe Boysthat proves they’re not all bad.
Starlight, Hughie’s love interest, is arguably the greatest example of a good Supe in the series. Though she didn’t have the most conventional upbringing, she had more normal formative experiences that helped her develop kindness and empathy. And Annie’s not alone as someone with gifts that does well, lest anyone forget the young squad known as Super Duper. While they’re more of a support group than a legit hero outfit, they’ve all got incredibly kind hearts. Heck,even the unseemly hero known as Love Sausage showed Supes independent of Vought-American could be upstanding people.
…many Supes are jerks and public menaces, but it’s largely because most of them have lived lives free of accountability.
While Supes can be dangerous and the central character, Billy Butcher, believes all of them are a threat,The Boysdoesn’t throw all heroes under the bus. Yes, many Supes are jerks and public menaces, but it’s largely because most of them have lived lives free of accountability. Vought-American didn’t care about anything else other than having a product they could sell to the United States and damn the consequences. It would rather cover up any hint of impropriety to further its cause. Unfortunately,that mentality is exactly what prevented Homelander from truly discovering his humanity.
Homelander Could Have Been Better without Vought-American’s Control
In Another Life, He Could Have BeenThe Boys’Superman
Despite what many of them believe, Supes are like any other person inThe Boys. With an environment that emphasizes love, understanding, and empathy, Supes can be good people and heroes worthy of the title. And yes, while Homelander committed a number of atrocities, even he could have been a legit hero. Hell, he drove his own ‘just-in-case’ contingency crazy because Homelander never snapped like Vought-American expected him to. Had circumstances been different,he very well could have been the Superman ofThe Boys.
…Vought-American groomed their prize Supe to be the pinnacle of superheroism, helping feed the god complex that ultimately drove Homelander to try and conquer America.
Granted, Homelander’s birth was violent and awful, but he was able to get control over himself. During his most formative years, he should have been surrounded by people like the Kents, people who didn’t just teach Clark about humanity, but who held him accountable when he messed up. Instead, Vought-American groomed their prize Supe to be the pinnacle of superheroism, helping feed the god complex that ultimately drove Homelander to try and conquer America.Homelander may be the villain of the story, but the ironic thing is that he could have been a legit herounder the right circumstances.
Vought-American controlled every facet of Homelander’s life, from robbing him of a childhood filled with love to manufacturing a psychopathic clone to work against him. The company’s efforts to produce a hero failed and wound up creating a villain. But in a world where Homelander was taken in by people who genuinely cared about him and saw him for what he was and not what he could be, he could have been much better. Unfortunately,Homelanderwas doomed the moment he was conjured up by Vought-American, andThe Boys’central antagonist never had a chance.
