Jafar says: Read my lips and come to grips with the reality!
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NOTE: This article is only for the TV version of Homelander. To see the article for the original version of him, go to Homelander (comics).
Villain Overview
Synopsis
Gallery
“
You guys... you are the real heroes.
„
~ Homelander's catchphrase and his most iconic quote.
“
No God. The only man in the sky... is me.
„
~ Homelander forcing Chelsea to commit suicide.
“
Go ahead. Release it. Let's light this candle, huh? I mean, sure, I'll lose everything, but then... I'll have nothing to lose. First, I'll take out the nerve centers... White House, Pentagon... then any domestic defense capabilities, and then critical infrastructure like cellular, Internet, that kind of thing... and then, well, I think then I'll just wipe New York off the f*cking map. For fun. I'll even throw in Des Moines and that little cousin-f*cker hick town that Maeve's from, 'cause why not? See, Starlight, I'd prefer to be loved, I would, but if you take that away from me, well, being feared is A-one okey-doke by me. So, go ahead partner, do it. No? You don't want to do it? Then I would have to say that you have absolutely no f*cking leverage because I am the Homelander. And I really can do whatever the f*ck I want.
„
~ Homelander threatening to destroy the world if Starlight ever exposes his actions.
John, better known as the Homelander, is the main antagonist of the 2019 Amazon TV adaptation of the comic book series The Boys and one of the overarching antagonists of its 2023 spin-off series Gen V.
He is the most powerful '''superhero''' produced by Vought International, the leader of the famous superhero team known as the Seven, the secret son of Soldier Boy, and the illegitimate father of Ryan Butcher. While putting on the front of a flawless and pure superhero team, Homelander and the Seven are in fact responsible for causing much more destruction and death than they prevent. Additionally, their crimes are covered up by Vought through their vast media connections and resources.
Among the Seven, Homelander is seemingly the most incorruptible, not partaking in many of the vices his fellow superheroes engage in, such as drugs and sex. However, beneath the act he puts up, Homelander is the worst one of all; he regards non-Supes as "mud people" and takes joy in using his superpowers to abuse others and do whatever he wants, ultimately caring more about his public image than actually saving people. He is also the archenemy of The Boys, Queen Maeve, Starlight, and, most of all, Billy Butcher.
He is portrayed by Antony Starr as an adult, who also played Lucas Hood in Banshee, and by Rowan Smyth as a child.
On the surface, Homelander presents himself as a charismatic superhero—warm, encouraging, altruistic, and revolted by any form of injustice. He often encourages his allies by telling them that "[they] are the real heroes." on certain occasions.
In reality, however, he is the exact opposite, being an apathetic, selfish, uncaring, immature, merciless, sadistic, psychopathic, troubled, cold, hypocritical, arrogant, and, above all, a ruthless and horrid narcissist. 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, letting dozens of people die, or use his power to get what he wants. His manipulative and devious side is also demonstrated when he pursues his own plans behind the back of his superior, Madelyn Stillwell, such as creating super-terrorists with the complicity of A-Train. He is extremely entitled but lacks knowledge, thereby forcing his way into a situation, yet finds the reality of such situations too difficult for him to handle.
In the prequel Diabolical, Homelander originally showed a sincere desire to be the superhero that the company created him to be; however, they failed to properly train him how to use his powers with restraint and didn't tell him basic facts about the mission, like how super-heated guns explode. On his first mission, he caused collateral damage, yet unlike later in life, he was genuinely distressed and guilty. However, due to Vought's policies of cover-ups and further grooming of his self-image, he lost fear of consequences when on official business or anywhere, which gradually mutated into the horrid callousness and the superiority complex towards humanity that he commonly displays in the mainstream show.
Unlike his comic book counterpart, who was framed by the comic book Black Noir for many of his crimes and driven crazy, this Homelander is evil of his own volition, as he willingly murders people in order to satiate his bloodlust. Furthermore, he is also the person responsible for raping Billy's wife, while the TV series Black Noir had nothing to do with it. So overall, his status as "the world's greatest superhero" merely serves as a total façade when he wishes to be presentable, and he is quick to show his true side when necessary, even towards those he has vowed to protect. As such, Homelander has proven to be rather temperamental and strictly controlling, as he hates receiving orders from Vought. This intensifies to the point where Ashley is forced to secretly be his puppet when she replaces Stillwell as well as Edgar—henceforth, Ashley allows Homelander to do whatever he wants.
While an unrepentant psychopath to the core, Homelander does have a desire for the love and affection he never had as a child; he did have a soft spot for Madelyn Stillwell, whom he looks up to as a surrogate mother figure. In addition to this, Homelander also shows an attraction to Stillwell and appears to view her in both a matrilineal and sexual light, roleplaying with her as a mother and child in their sexual encounters. Beyond her value to him as a sexual partner, though, Homelander has little care for Stillwell as a human being and ultimately killed her when he found out she kept the truth about his child from him. After her death, Homelander would force Doppelganger to shape-shift into her so he could relive some of their sexual encounters, showing his care for her was only out of what she meant to him.
He also showed an interest in Queen Maeve, and the two appeared to have dated at some point, though after Homelander discovered she was bisexual, he was willingly letting her go, likely out of the realization that she could never be attracted to him and possibly due to him never truly caring about her beyond her value as a pawn. Despite "respecting" Maeve's wish to break up, he remained possessive of her and spiteful if she developed an actual loving relationship, since he implied threats against her girlfriend, Elena. He didn't care if Maeve had purely sexual relationships, since he was satisfied by her being spiritually unfulfilled by them. Also, while he knew she was bisexual, he publicly outed her as just a lesbian, merely as a self-serving tactic to deflect accusations of the Seven not being inclusive.
Homelander is somewhat lazy as well, preferring to use his laser beams every time instead of using more pragmatic means to stop criminals, which often leads to him causing more damage than the criminals he intends to stop, like causing a plane to crash and accidentally killing a child.
Likely as a result of being raised to be Vought's premier superhero and a lack of proper childhood, Homelander has an extreme sense of narcissism; furthermore, while cruel and uncaring towards civilians behind the scenes, he longs for their love and attention as further validation for himself. He is proud of his status as the world's best superhero and is incredibly hostile to anyone who would challenge his popularity or position as leader of the Seven, such as Stormfront. Furthermore, like his fellow superheroes, he is good at playing the system and tricking the world into thinking that their actions are justified. He does so while doing anything possible to cover up the crimes that even their most loyal followers will despise them for if they ever find out.
His Oedipus complex persisted in a way with his relationship with Stormfront, since she was the original successful Compound V recipient—thus a "mother" to him in terms of origins—and there was also the fact that she was actually old enough to be his grandmother. Stormfront was a fanatical believer in the Nazi ideology, with part of her attraction to Homelander being based upon his Aryan appearance and strongest powers; he, however, didn't care about the Nazi aspirations she wanted him to embody. That said, he is extremely racist, but instead of against any ethnic group, he was bigoted against non-Supe people, which adds to the irony of his need for attention by everyone, most of whom are just normal people. While he has yet to show a desire for any genocidal schemes, he is dismissive of the suffering of humans and becomes indignant if he finds a supe fighting to stop another supe, regardless of whether the person they were stopping was committing crimes. Though he displays his hypocrisy, he is more than willing to maim or kill other superhumans out of pure pettiness.
Despite all the bad things he has done, Homelander does actually care about his son Ryan, seemingly empathizing with him after he has a panic attack from being surrounded by many people, as he had the same happen to him. Homelander points out that he does not want his son to grow up the same way he did, isolated and treated without love and affection from a family, which shows he does care, even if he at one point callously and selfishly pushed his son off the roof to see if his powers had awakened. This care for his son was further proven when Homelander rushed to his side after Ryan was attacked by Soldier Boy. Although a lot of this concern is based on his ego, with a son being an extension of himself, similarly, after seizing control of Vought, he imprisoned Maeve with the intent of harvesting her eggs so he could produce further supe offspring to feed his ego, sate his loneliness, and try to build the family he never had.
He also came to genuinely care about his lover, Stormfront. While he was originally more than ready to kill her upon assuming that she was betraying him, Homelander looked genuinely saddened upon seeing her crippled and incinerated. After she committed suicide, it contributed to his already worsening mental state. Although his feelings from her death were more disdain for her since his fragile ego interpreted her suicide as some sort of insult to him.
He also showed an odd friendship with Black Noir. In a meeting, Homelander proclaims that Noir is the only responsible Seven member, although this affection may largely be based on the fact that Noir can't talk and is thus merely a silent servant, which is Homelander's ideal for a team member. When killing Black Noir, Homelander showed some unwillingness to do so and only did it because he lied to him about Soldier Boy; it was also the only kill in the show that appeared to truly make him feel remorseful.
Homelander is also capable of experiencing fear and panic, likely due to a combination of a god complex due to his substantial power and also because he’s a very paranoid man. This is shown by how he started freaking out when he found out Soldier Boy was alive. He also seems to think his powers define who he is, and he is nothing without them. This is why Homelander is so scared of his father, because Soldier Boy has the power to take Homelander’s abilities away from him.
He bullies, harasses, demeans, threatens, and assaults his fellow Seven members, but when they resist or retaliate, his immature ego and lack of accountability drive him to find such actions as "betrayal" rather than consequences for his cruelty. Even when a peer displays loyalty of sorts, he continues to degrade them and often orchestrates petty harassment for no reason beyond his own pitiful mind, needing to make others feel less to make himself feel better. He surrounds himself with sycophants and people remaining out of fear, yet he ends up complaining about their weaknesses while failing to understand how his malice generates such negative reactions.
Due to his absence of parents growing up, he displays desperation for parental figures, with maternal figures becoming bizarre mixtures of caregivers and sexual partners in his desires. His desire for a father lacks the sexual component, but it is still dysfunctional. He originally craved attention from Vought CEO Stan Edgar, which manifested in childish outbursts and attempts to sabotage Stan due to a belief that "proving himself" would make him proud. Stan's complete disregard of Homelander's wishes or even acknowledgement of him being anything but a product drove Homelander into illogical plots that resulted in backfiring that hurts the whole company; along with general disdain, Stan is also one of the only people who isn't afraid of Homelander, which unnerves and upsets the supe, yet he is unable to use force against Stan, believing that he is capable of an intellectual victory over Stan, even though he isn't. He was only able to depose Edgar by threatening Victoria Neuman's daughter, which he believed to be a strategic masterstroke, even though it was merely his usual blunt threats of violence.
While initially intimidated and even afraid of Soldier Boy, upon learning the older supe is his biological father, Homelander tries to anoint him as his new father, replacing Stan, although, unlike with Stan, Homelander would try to establish a positive relationship with Soldier Boy. With the older supe as the "grandfather," as well as along with his own biological son, Ryan, Homelander irrationally aimed to fill the void of never having a family, despite the fact that they are all relative strangers, thus can't possibly fulfill the familial structure he imagined. Upon Soldier Boy's adamant and derisive rejection of him, Homelander fell into a rage, and once the ordeal was over, he became less stable in his temperament, as, despite being able to previously restrain himself from violence against civilians, when one threw a milkshake at him but hit Ryan, Homelander laser eye blasted the man—although he no longer feared accountability upon seeing the rest of his supporters cheering his act of manslaughter.
Once Ryan was under his total custody, Homelander seemed to be genuinely supportive of the child and defended him against Soldier Boy; however, once the ordeal settled, his impatience and unrealistic expectations began to weigh down his care. When Ryan was to make his "save" debut, unlike Soldier Boy, Homelander couldn't actually allow his son to have the spotlight, as his insecurity and narcissism made him intrude into the boy's scene. Homelander was also a toxic influence, as while the script had Ryan throw the "culprit," Homelander's aggressive pressure caused Ryan to unwittingly toss the stuntman to splatter against a building. When Ryan was later crying because of it, Homelander believed it was from losing the spotlight to him, since that was the only thing that mattered to him, but upon learning it was Ryan feeling remorse for killing someone, Homelander was baffled and in fact offended that his son would care about a human, as he tried to instill in the kid the notion that humans are "our toys."
Since Homelander is unfit to actually maintain a nurturing environment, Ryan eventually went to Butcher due to the latter dying from V24 side effects, and Ryan wished to keep up the connection as Butcher apologised for his prior mishandling and cruelty, becoming the father figure that Becca had hoped he could become. Yet Homelander couldn't accept his son seeking attention or approval from anyone else, especially a human, so he reacted with petulant jealousy, accusing Ryan of being "ungrateful," then devolved into arguing with fragments of his own broken psyche—too obsessed with himself to properly comfort his distressed offspring.
Due to his revenge upon the laboratory staff in the lab that had raised him, Homelander experienced a revelation about how they had manipulated him and how he had been manipulated his whole life, which he used to change his style of parenting for Ryan. However, instead of ending his own manipulation of the boy, he realised a better tactic of exploiting him without him noticing, which was through indulging Ryan's goals yet slightly twisting them to the eventual destination of turning him into a sadistic misanthrope like himself.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Superhuman Strength: Homelander is currently the most powerful superhero on Earth, with his primary abilities being his tremendous superhuman strength, which allows him to effortlessly overpower most opponents. 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 that he was unable to carry the 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, or that this was just an excuse to not save the plane. He was later able to throw a baseball from New York to Boston. Additionally, he could trade blows with Soldier Boy, who is one of the most powerful Supes of all time and nearly as strong as Homelander himself, and eventually overpower him, choking him with one arm. He then was able to clash against both an enhanced Billy Butcher and Soldier Boy at the same time, and it took their combined strength plus Hughie's in order to temporarily restrain him.
Superhuman Durability: Homelander is nearly immune to all forms of physical harm and thereby the most resilient of the Seven, and possibly of all Supes. He is not only completely bulletproof but also unfazed by powerful explosions, such as when Billy blew up the Stillwell residence with him inside it or the destruction of an entire power plant. Madelyn even claims that there is not a weapon on Earth that they have not thrown at him, and they all failed. However, sufficiently powerful attacks can still harm Homelander, such as those from Soldier Boy and an enhanced Billy Butcher, who came out of their fight with a visible bruise on his face. He could also be greatly hurt by the likes of Queen Maeve, as he started to bleed from his nose and ear during their fight.
Superhuman Speed: Homelander can travel at hypersonic speeds. He even claimed to have broken the sound barrier as a child. Later, when Butcher decided to detonate the bombs attached to Stillwell's body, Homelander was able to pull Butcher out of the blast safely. He was able to disappear from Billy Butcher's apartment without his knowledge, hinting that he can move faster than the human eye can see while making little to no noise.
High-Speed Flight: Homelander is able to levitate and propel himself at great speeds, allowing him to cover vast distances in a matter of minutes. He is likely even faster than A-Train. Homelander can move at extremely fast speeds, enough to keep up with Steve's plane so he could destroy it. He claims that he broke the sound barrier as a child and was shown to have flown at 1874.482 km/h (or Mach 1.518) while searching for Translucent.
Aerial Adaptation: Homelander is able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low atmospheric pressure (without becoming disoriented or deprived of normal breathing capacity) and high wind friction; this is accompanied by an innate immunity to vertigo and/or fear of heights. Demonstrated when he lasered the Baltimore Mayor's plane [the latter flying at about 20,000 ft], and the Homelander had no difficulty breathing.
Acceleration Immunity: Homelander is immune to the various effects of rapid acceleration, including air resistance, an inability to breathe, and dynamic shock resulting from contact with objects at high speed—an immunity he repeatedly demonstrates when flying, notably when in search of Translucent, Homelander breaks the sound barrier and yet manages to keep moving perfectly.
Superhuman Senses: 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 tell when they are excited or anxious, such as when he detected Hughie Campbell's blood pressure to be 150/90. He was also able to smell Billy Butcher's scent on Queen Maeve, confirming that she had betrayed him and was plotting against him.
Superhuman Stamina: When he was attacked by several attackers, Homelander still managed to keep up and continue fighting without showing any obvious signs of fatigue or exhaustion.
Superhuman Mind: The Homelander's mind is able to follow his actions when he moves at high speeds [Mach 1.5]. As well as the large volume of information that his senses give him.
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 into 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.
Abilities[]
High-Intelligence: Despite being a power-hungry bully, Homelander managed to come up with a plan to create "super-terrorists" so that he could be integrated into the U.S. military by giving them vials of Compound V so that they would develop super-powers and he could neutralize them and gain popularity.
Leadership: Although the team of "Seven" is only a cover for the greed for power and profit of the company "Vought International," Homelander still manages to manage his team and its members on some occasions.
Charisma: Capable of compelling or garnering support from anyone, Homelander's charm gives him the advantage of winning people over to him. However, he is unable to maintain his charm on all occasions. After accidentally killing an innocent teen in Africa, Homelander attempted to charm the protesters, but to no avail.
Intimidation: Homelander is known for his imposing and dominating presence, spreading fear among his teammates and colleagues due to his unstable behavior. Knowing this, Homelander has used his powers to get what he wants, but this has its limits with individuals who aren't scared of him. An example is Stan Edgar, who showed no fear when confronted by Homelander about bringing Stormfront onto the team.
Manipulation: In addition to his ability to intimidate, Homelander manipulates the people around him, especially the public, by making them believe all the lies he tells them, like the heroic death of Translucent, for example.
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Despite having no in-depth knowledge of martial arts of any kind, Homelander still manages to hold his own in hand-to-hand combat, especially during his fight against Soldier Boy, Super-Butcher, and Super-Hughie. Homelander still managed to hold his own temporarily against these three.
Weaknesses[]
Love/Affectation: In spite of his superhuman abilities, the Homelander has one major weakness: he desperately seeks love and affection from the people around him, such as Queen Maeve, Madelyn Stilwell, Black Noir, Stormfront, Ryan & Becca Butcher, and Soldier Boy. As well as all his fans who follow him.
Mental Illness: Homelander suffers from crippling anxiety, paranoia, and insecurity. He frequently loses control of his actions when angry and is easy to manipulate by stroking his ego. He also has an extremely short attention span. Furthermore, he has PTSD, as in Diabolical and the fourth season of The Boys, he started to recall and have dreams about the torment he had endured at the hands of the Vought scientists. He has also developed a sort of dissociative identity disorder, as his mind splits into one that wants to embrace his "godhood" by slaughtering everyone and one that is the little boy he once was in the lab, who is alone and desperate for love; this manifests sometimes when he looks into mirrors, as his two halves have conversations and debates through the reflection.
Radioactive beams: It’s possible that Soldier Boy’s nuclear beam could possibly take away his powers.
Aging: Unlike his father, Soldier Boy, Homelander seemed subject to the ravages of time; while perhaps aging at a slower rate than humans, he still ages nonetheless. He had been plucking his greying pubes, putting them into the shrine he kept with Stormfront's Nazi wedding photo and Madelyn's baby bottle; with these *relics* kept hidden, it seemed a way that he tried to cling yet suppress his traumas.
Relationships[]
Ryan[]
Ryan Butcher (potrayed by Cameron Crovetti and Parker Corno in season 1) is the son of Homelander and Rebecca Butcher. Ryan was conceived in 2011 when Homalander sexually assaulted Becca. He inherited some powers from his father. However, these powers can be unstable due to his age and/or mixed DNA, such as his heat vision and noise sensitivity.
Ryan originally lived with his mother in a gated community-esque compound run by Vought, until Homelander learned of his existence in the season 1 finale and began visiting him. Ryan's hobbies include making stop-motion film reproductions of movies with LEGO, yet this "unmanly" activity is distasteful to Homelander. In the season 2 finale, Ryan is taken by Homelander and Stormfront and accidentally kills his mother in an attempt to save her from Stormfront.
In her last moments, Becca asks for Butcher's help in saving her son. In season 3, Ryan is placed in Grace Mallory's custody and placed in hiding. However, Homelander eventually finds Ryan with Victoria Neuman's help and successfully wins him back after Butcher accuses Ryan of killing his mother. While Ryan had a subtle smile when Homelander murdered a heckler in season 4, it seems like he lacks the cruelty and hatred of all humans like his father. Also in season four, he became a member of The Seven, though he is reluctant to be a "superhero," since he doesn't want public attention. Also, an area of contention is that Ryan holds value for life, super and human alike; however, Homelander's supe supremacy doesn't allow him to accept his son's "weakness." Homelander tries to enforce his sociopathic worldview on him, but Ryan's kindness is greater than his fear of humans.
After Homelander took vengeance on the laboratory staff that had subjected him to nightmarish experiments and torture, he altered his outward attitude towards Ryan. Rather than continue to bully him and accuse him of ingratitude, he reverted to his prior method of feigning compassion. Due to Homelander's reevaluation of his own origins, there may be a genuine desire to provide Ryan with more freedom than he had growing up, but his sociopathic tendencies ultimately corrupt any good intentions, and his own selfishness overrules any desire to help his son. Homelander learned how to manipulate Ryan's kindness and turn it into cruelty. As such, when Ryan wanted to help a PA as a director was sexually harassing her. Homelander shapes Ryan's assistance into being more about humiliating and hurting the director than helping the PA, which is especially clear since Ryan ended up bullying the PA for her to keep smacking the director's face. Thus, it is a step towards molding Ryan into a cruel, petty sadist just like Homelander planned.
Ryan is based on the infant son of Black Noir and Becky Saunders from the comics, whom Butcher beat to death. He is also loosely based on Superman's son from DC Comics, Jon Kent/Superboy.
Others[]
Family[]
Soldier Boy - (Biological father)
Allies[]
Vought-International
Ashley Barrett
Also Ashley
The Seven - (Subordinates)
A-Train
The Deep - (Colleague)
Sister Sage - (Advisor)
Firecracker
Black Noir II
Stormfront † - (Girlfriend, formerly)
Translucent †
Lamplighter †
Mesmer † - (Informant)
Naqib - (Test subject)
Victoria Neuman - (Situational ally)
Storm Chasers - (Supporters)
Todd † - (Fan and indirect victim)
Cate Dunlap
Sam Riordan
Enemies[]
Vought-International
Stan Edgar - (Boss, formerly)
Madelyn Stillwell † - (Former boss and former love interest)
Homelander, based on Antony Starr's likeness, appears in the video game Mortal Kombat 1 as a DLC guest character (alongside Omni-Man and Peacemaker) via the "Kombat Pack," with his physical appearance taken directly from his appearance in The Boys television series, while his moveset contains many references to the series as well.
He is voiced by Jake Green in the game, who also voiced Parasite in My Adventures with Superman.
Quotes[]
Season 1[]
“
My dad always said "Surround yourself with people smarter than you".
„
~ Homelander to Becca.
“
Who's ready to see a race? A cheer to my boy A-Train. Alright, you f*cking cocksucker.
„
~ Homelander.
“
No, no, no, no, no. I'm just seeing something down the back.
„
~ Homelander to a passenger.
“
Oh, sweetheart, of course I'm gonna save you. You betcha!
„
~ Homelander to a little girl on the Transoceanic Flight 37.
“
You stay the f*ck back, or I'll laser you goddamnit! I'll laser every f*cking one of you!
„
~ Homelander threatening to kill every passenger with his laser eyes.
“
Wasn't I chosen to save you? It is not my God-given purpose to protect the United States of America? Psalm 58:10: "The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked".
„
~ Homelander's speech at the Believe Expo.
“
So what if I took you to a house you never seen before, full of photos of parents you never met, toys you never played with, books you never read, and then asked you how much that fake f*cking bullshit meant to you. How would that make you feel?
„
~ Homelander to Stillwell.
“
Hey Deep, why can't I see the truth?
„
~ Homelander to Deep.
“
Go f*ck Shamu in the blow hole.
„
~ Homelander to the Deep.
“
They just declared war.
„
~ Homelander to Stilwell.
“
Hey, I'm not the one who's down a point and a half. So I think what you mean to say is, "Gee, thanks, Homelander, for showing up out of the blue and and bringing the extra press to my collar."
„
~ Homelander to Maeve.
“
Means that lately, some of you have been a little out of sorts. Erratic. Unreliable. Downright sloppy. Not you, Noir, you've been great. But the rest of you... It is fair to say that I'm disappointed.
„
~ Homelander to the Seven.
“
God bless America.
„
~ Homelander
“
Now we have villains all over the globe that only we can fight. Sequel after sequel after sequel..
„
~ Homelander on orchestrating super-terrorists.
“
I'm the world's greatest superhero.
„
~ Homelander to Jonah.
“
You promised me no more lies. You f*ckin' promised me. You and Vogelbaum should have got your stories straight. THEY WERE SO CLOSE! So f*ckin' close, but there was a few little details that were different. So I went back to Vogelbaum, and I managed to squeeze the truth out of him. The real truth.
„
~ Homelander was upset about Stillwell they were close.
“
No. No, no. I mean everything to your job. You care more about that f*ckin' baby than you do about me.
„
~ Homelander on his job about caring the baby.
“
Thank you. Thank you for finally being honest.
„
~ Homelander talking to Stilwell before killing her before taking over Billy's house.
“
Wakey Wakey! Hey Buddy, you're up for quite awhile. You can thank me for... saving you, sometime later, but for now... Time to get up. Come on, you're gonna love this. Come on.
„
~ Homelander talking Billy to get up and see his wife and son.
“
Oh. Lucky I didn't tell you. Wanna know him? I'm your father! And WE... are a family!
„
~ Homelander telling Ryan he’s his dad during the season one finale.
Season 2[]
“
Today, I can report to the American people that Black Noir has conducted an operation killing the Super Terrorists known as Naqib. But that doesn’t mean sacrifices won't still be made. The proof of that, sadly... lies before us. For today, we mourn a fallen member of the Seven. Translucent. Murdered in cold blood by the Cartel Super Terrorists, El Diablo.
„
~ Homelander reporting to Translucent's death.
“
Before he left, Translucent, said to me... Almost as if we knew something was gonna happen, he said... "Hey, Homelander. Tell my son Maverick that I love him." And he also said, "You find those Super Terrorists..." Well, Super Villains is really the only team. but he said, "You find them, Homelander. And you stop them." So I say to you, Maverick... and to all the sons and daughters of this great nation, I will stop them. I will save you.
„
~ Homelander talking about Translucent's death.
“
Now you're just another useless f*cking blind guy.
„
~ Homelander after blowing out Blindspot's ear drums.
“
What made you think I would ever allow a cripple into the Seven? For f*cks sake Ashley, don’t look at him look at me! Ashley! Look at me!
„
~ Homelander to Ashley on Blindspot.
“
Let's get one thing straight. The only reason you're here and not doing corporate PR for f*cking Diva Cups is that I brought you here. You are dispensable, which means you answer to me... From now on, I will set my own agenda, I'll approve my own marketing and write my own talking points. You will tell me everything that goes on on the 99th floor, and I mean everything. Every call, e-mail, group chat. If a f-cking light bulb goes out, you will tell me. And, Ashley, in no f-cking way do you decide who goes in The Seven. I decide. Do we have an understanding?
„
~ Homelander to Ashley.
“
It's nothing personal. We'll always be friends. Etcetera. Attaboy.
„
~ Homelander to A-Train, on him being kicked out of the Seven.
“
Well, this is a truly fascinating if not slightly condescending lecture, but uh... I don't think I see the point, Stan.
„
~ Homelander to Stan Edgar.
“
You're pathetic. I don't need everyone to love me. I don't need anyone. I don't need YOU!
„
~ Homelander to Doppelganger before killing him.
“
So, Noir's a vegetable, Lamplighter's a charcoal briquette, Starlight's in the breeze somewhere, and you're, what, fine with it.
„
~ Homelander to Stormfront.
“
He's mine. What, are you gonna blow yourself up...to save the little shit who f*cking murdered your wife?
„
~ Homelander to Butcher on protecting Ryan.
“
Thanks to the heroism of Queen Maeve and Starlight, Stormfront has been neutralized, and is being held in an undisclosed location. I would personally like to apologize to Starlight, who was wrongfully accused of sabotage and conspiracy. Welcome back to the team. And I know you and Maeve are two of the best, most loyal friends I could ever have. We are your heroes. We are here to serve and protect you. (fading): Stormfront's violation of that special relationship, of that trust, is unacceptable and she will be punished. Justice will be served.
„
~ Homelander giving the public address.
“
I can do whatever I want. I can do whatever... I want. I can do... whatever I want. I can do whatever the f*ck I want! I can do whatever the f*ck I... want!
„
~ Homelander to himself at the end of season two.
Season 3[]
“
Guess this means we’re breaking up, Nazi bitch.
„
~ Homelander to "Stormfront" in Dawn of the Seven.
“
Well, I am just a man who fell for the wrong woman. Uh, but, uh... Fell for the wrong woman. But out of crisis comes change. Out of crisis comes change. So I spent the last year really slowing down and reconnecting with myself. I am very excited for everyone to meet the real me.
„
~ Homelander to reporters during the press of Dawn of the Seven.
“
Maybe when you actually ran, you did. But now you're just eating your feelings. Making us look ridiculous. "The Fastest Man Alive." What a f-cking joke.
„
~ Homelander to A-Train, mocking his weight gain.
“
What did you say?! {...} What did you say to me?!
„
~ Homelander threatening A-Train.
“
Say it. Say it!
„
~ Homelander continuing to threaten A-Train before leaving.
“
You know, I'm just... skulking around like a frightened schoolgirl. Apologizing when I've done nothing wrong.
„
~ Homelander to a hospitalized Stormfront.
“
Honestly... I have to put up with these f*cking people. They hold that video over my head month after month. They took my son from me. They want me... Here you go. See, they want me weak, castrated. They should be worshipping me. Tremble at my feet. Put a knife to their children's throat like Abraham to Isaac, if I say so.
„
~ Homelander ranting as Stormfront as she pleasures him.
“
We don't need a master race. I'm the master race, that's the point.
„
~ Homelander to Stormfront, refusing to make her army.
“
You probably don't know this because you know... Jew. Jesus wasn't born on the 25th of December, no, that was piggybacked off a Pagan festival and guess what: Today's not my birthday either. Nope. Don't know when it is, but it sure as hell ain't today. This was just chosen for me by a marketing department. I mean I... can't even have a birthday at all I wasn't born. I was just poured out of a f*cking test tube. Immaculate conception. I know exactly how he must've felt, Jesus.
„
~ Homelander vents his past to Chelsea.
“
You give and you... you give your whole f*cking... and what happens? People just tear you down. Why do people destroy their Gods? How... how is it fair that you get saved, while a beautiful perfect God gets killed?
„
~ Homelander venting his feelings to Chelsea.
“
I'm not suggesting anymore. Jump.
„
~ Homelander to Chelsea, telling her to jump.
“
I can see your girdle, you disgusting fat f*ck. Get off the f*cking stage.
„
~ Homelander to A-Train at his birthday party.
“
No, no, no, no, no! Starlight lied to you just now, she did. I don't make mistakes. I'm not "just like the rest of you." I'm stronger. I'm smarter. I'm better! I AM BETTER! I'm not some weak-kneed f*cking crybaby, that goes around f*cking apologizing all the time, and why the f*ck would you want me to be? [...] Don't you dare stop rolling, Roger! All my life, people have tried to control me. My whole life. Rich people, powerful people have tried to muzzle me, cancel me, keep me impotent and obedient, like I'm a f*cking puppet. You know what? It worked. Because I allowed it to work. And guess what? If they can control me, then you can bet your ass they can control you. They already do. You just don't realize it. I'm done. I am done apologizing. I am done being persecuted for my strength. You people should be thanking Christ that I am who and what I am, because you need me. You need me to save you. You do. I am the only one who possibly can. You're not the real heroes. I'm the real hero. I'm the real hero.
„
~ Homelander ranting about his superiority on live television.
No, no, no, no, no, Starlight, before you say anything, doesn't Christ tell us to turn the other cheek?
„
~ Homelander to Starlight upon the Deep's return.
“
Know who I've been reading up on lately? Doctor Martin Luther King. Well, my relationship with King has deepened of late. He was, uh, villainized. Persecuted. Spoke truth to power. Just like me. It's crazy. But... we've both been to the mountaintop, and we've seen the promised land. I showed people the real me, and they loved me for it. I mean, they f-cking loved me. If only I'd known that sooner. There's always been so, so many things I want to do, and now I can do them all, finally. And no one can stop me. Nobody. Free at last. Free at last.
„
~ Homelander's speech at the dinner table.
“
Eat f*cking Timothy.
„
~ Homelander telling the Deep to eat the octopus.
“
Wasn't that delicious?
„
~ Homelander to the Deep after the latter consumed Timothy.
“
Just to be clear, it wasn't my idea to bring you back, buster. Not at all. Starlight here insisted on it.
„
~ Homelander to the Deep upon being returned to the Seven.
“
But you keep your distance, pal, because, uh, well ...she's my girl now. Sorry, I-I can't keep it a secret anymore. It's time we let the world know. Starlight and I are in love. #HomeLight.
„
~ Homelander breaking script and fabricating his romance with Starlight.
“
Something I should have done a long time ago. This is a superhero company. It always has been. It belongs to us, not him. So I set things straight. That's all. Oh, and, uh, anyone who's been hiding his little apron, that's over now too. It's a new day, people. It's the Dawn of the Seven!
„
~ Homelander takes control of Vought after firing Stan Edgar.
“
But, see, that's the thing about me, Starlight. If I promise something, I deliver. Now, that is the view of a lifetime.
„
~ Homelander to Starlight, showing her the mutilated corpse of Supersonic.
“
A-Train told me about you two mutineers and your little plot. You just don't get it, do you? I mean, you have no f-cking grasp of the situation you're in at all, right? I'm gonna break it down one more time, and I'm gonna make it crystal clear so that even you can understand it, okay? There will be no more plotting, planning, playing around. That is over, okay? From here on out, there is only my dutiful, loving main squeeze Starlight, worshiping me and me alone. Because if you step one inch out of line, I mean, if you so much as f-cking blink the wrong way, then that, my love, will be Hughie. Do you understand this time?
„
~ Homelander to Starlight.
“
Queen Maeve: Or maybe, you're just a paranoid, malignant narcissist who thinks everything is about you. Homelander: Mmm, it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you, though. And you, Maeve... you're out to get me, aren't you?
„
~ Homelander to Queen Maeve.
“
Don't you dare f*cking John me. You're not gonna weasel your way out of this. You know, the real tragic thing in all of this is that more than anyone, I knew what it was like for you. Swarmed everywhere we went, every little mistake front-page news. It is lonely at the top, yes, but at least we had each other. We were lonely together. And I loved you, in my own... way. But you... what happened? Was anything about us ever real? Hmm?
„
~ Homelander to Queen Maeve.
“
That's actually kinda funny, don't you think? Hey. You wanna know something else that's funny?
„
~ Homelander to Queen Maeve moments before having her kidnapped by Black Noir.
“
He wouldn't. Not Noir. He wouldn't run. He wouldn't do that to me. He wouldn't run.
„
~ Homelander upon learning that Black Noir ran away.
“
Reflection: Why the long face, tiger? Homelander: What if I can't handle him? I mean, if Noir ran... Reflection: Oh, you can handle him. You're the top of the food chain. Hey, hey. When we were kids, alone in the bad room, I got us through it, right? Don't I always? Homelander: Always. Reflection: No matter what. Homelander: No matter what. Reflection: And now, I'll get us through this. Just as long as you and me stick together. Homelander: But... what if Edgar's right? What if it was a mistake to take over Vought? And-and... and I am just talent, and they all know I'm a fraud. Reflection: What do you care what a bunch of mud people think? Come on. Tell me the real reason. I want to hear you say it. Say it! Homelander: I want them to love me. Reflection: Yahtzee! Only it never seems to work out, does it? Madelyn, Maeve, Storm front, even your own son. So why do you keep running headfirst into the same brick wall? Homelander: I don't know. Reflection: Pants on fire. You know. It's because, deep down, there's a part of you that is still... human. Homelander: No. Reflection: Mm-hmm. Part of you is. Mm-mm. A dirty, shriveled, anemic little part of you that still mewls for approval, and love, and a mommy, and a daddy, and a boo-hoo-hoo. Look at me, tiger. Look at me. We got to cut that part of you out like a cancer. And then, well, then, my boy, you can finally be who you were always meant to be. Pure. Clean. Like marble.
„
~ Homelander's conversation to his reflection in "Herogasm".
“
William, we made a deal. To fight to the death, you and me. This is cheating. Deal's off.
„
~ Homelander to Billy Butcher at the Herogasm house.
“
Homelander: You were my hero growing up. I watched all your movies, hundreds of times. You were the only one that was nearly as strong as me. Soldier Boy: Buddy, you think you look strong? You're wearing a cape. You're just a cheap f*cking knockoff. Homelander: Oh, no, no, no. I'm the upgrade.
„
~ Homelander confronting Soldier Boy.
“
What the f*ck?
„
~ Homelander after being hit by Butcher's heat vision.
“
What have you done?
„
~ Homelander to Butcher on his powers.
“
You know, back when things were, uh, better between us... I used to dream of having kids with you. No, I did. A family. Nesting, you know. I-I mean, can you imagine how perfect our kids would be? Sublime. Twice as strong as Ryan.
„
~ Homelander to Maeve, revealing his plan to harvest her eggs to make children.
“
Starlight, uh, wait! You're not supposed to record us when we're running lines!
„
~ Homelander to Starlight after being recorded while attempting to save face to her viewers.
“
I don't know who the f*ck you think you are, but you got lucky once because you f*cking ambushed me.
„
~ Homelander to Soldier Boy.
“
He was keeping secrets from me.
„
~ Homelander to the Deep, A-Train and Ashley on why he killed Black Noir.
“
You know, when the company first rolled me out in front of the cameras, they told me... I was gonna get my very own team. I wanted so badly for that team to be the family that I never got. And then I got you.
„
~ Homelander to the Deep, A-Train and Ashley.
“
The Deep: That's sort of treason. Homelander: Big word. The Deep: Anything you need, Homelander. Sir.
„
~ The Deep and Homelander, as the latter orders him to murder the vice president nominee.
“
Ashley, take off that wig.
„
~ Homelander to Ashley, wanting to see her baldness
“
Hmm. And then there's you. How could you kill one of your own kind in cold blood? You are going to tell the world that we are the one and only true justice. Noir was worth more than all of you put together.
„
~ Homelander to A-Train on killing Blue Hawk.
“
You're not my family. I don't need any of you. Remember that.
„
~ Homelander to the Deep, A-Train and Ashley.
“
Homelander: I just want to talk. I know what it's like to have your team betray you. But with you and I together... they wouldn't stand a chance. Nobody would. Soldier Boy: Unless we kill each other first. Homelander: That's true, but why? What, because he says so, he's a human. Butcher: Don't you listen to this f-cking twat, he ain't your kid. Homelander: YES, I AM! I AM YOUR SON! I am your blood! That's all that matters.
„
~ Homelander telling Soldier Boy he is his son.
“
You see? You have a family. You have him. And you have me.
„
~ Homelander to Soldier Boy, showing him his grandson Ryan.
“
W-Weak? I'm you.
„
~ Homelander to Soldier Boy on the latter wanting to get rid of him.
“
Not now, Maeve. We have bigger fish.
„
~ Homelander to Queen Maeve before their fight.
“
All right!
„
~ Homelander's happy reaction upon seeing his supporters celebrate his murder of a protester.
Gen V[]
“
Homelander: What kind of animal are you? Marie: What? Homelander: Do you like attacking your own kind? Marie: No, I-- Homelander: Stay back!
„
~ Homelander before blasting Marie with his heat vision.
Mortal Kombat 1[]
“
How many times have I saved them? I give and give and give. But nooo, I laser a few measly innocent bystanders, and suddenly they're all "what have you done for me lately?" I guess they forgot there's only one true justice in this world. Me. But of course, that was before things got... weird. Gotta admit, a portal from another dimension opening up and demons pouring out wasn't how I thought Tuesday was gonna go. But then again, that multiverse crap is all the rage lately, so who knows? And the same ungrateful cry babies who whined about me lasering a few dozen nobodies - now they begged me to save them. So I saved the world. Again. I mean, it's my world. I can't let a bunch of demons disrespect me. After I finished them off, their portal or whatever was still open. Which could only mean one thing - sequel. I went in the damn glowy hole. And what did I discover? Another realm, with a tournament where gods and monsters fight to the death. It was like VoughtLand, but just for me. Honestly, I only wish I'd known about this place sooner 'cause I've had the time of my life.
„
~ Homelander's ending in Mortal Kombat 1.
Season 4[]
“
Sister Sage: Rome. Greece. All democracies fail. Because people are f*****g stupid. But if you crush the masses, who builds your monuments? Who tongues your taint? No, the people will tear it apart themselves. You just gotta nudge 'em a little. Then you get to swoop in. Be the one saving it. Homelander: Like Caesar. Sister Sage: Like Caesar.
„
~ Homelander to Sister Sage.
Trivia[]
Homelander's favorite film is Taxi Driver, and he relates to and identifies with the film's protagonist, Travis Bickle.
Homelander serves as a villainous satire/parody of Superman. It is quite plausible that he is far weaker than the Man of Steel, as he does not have experience fighting super-powered and cosmic deities like Superman has done time and time again. Additionally, Homelander's feats are nowhere near as impressive as Superman's - for example, Homelander was unable to stop a commercial plane's crash, whereas Superman is able to carry the plane to safely land. He is also based on Ultraman, who is a dark, twisted counterpart of Superman.
He also shares a few traits with Superman's Robot Chicken incarnation in that they are both arrogant, heroes in the eyes of the public, lecherous, extremely selfish, perverts, the biggest douchebag on their team, and that they both treat their teammates like dirt (RC Superman particularly displays this towards RC Batman and RC Aquaman). It was also implied in one episode that Superman's son, Superboy, was the result of an affair between Superman and Wonder Woman. However, Homelander is considered worse as he shows little to no care towards citizens. Also, RC Superman chooses which teammates to abuse, while Homelander just abuses everyone.
Antony Starr has received widespread critical acclaim for his performance as Homelander.
Likewise, Homelander is considered by many to be one of the best villains in TV history as a result of the strong writing of his character arc, as well as the combination of his depravity, egoism, and ruthlessness with his complexity and depth. Ironically, his comic counterpart has been retroactively criticized for having none of these traits.
In the comics, Homelander is brutally killed by Black Noir in a few minutes as he is revealed to be a clone of Homelander. However, this is not the case in the series: Black Noir is not Homelander's clone, as when his face was partially shown, he was revealed as a disabled African-American person.
Ironically, the opposite happens in the show, where Homelander ends up murdering Noir in Season 3.
Homelander's final scene in Season 2 of him masturbating on the Chrysler building was originally intended to appear in Season 1. However, it was cut by Amazon, who felt it went too far this early in the show's run. Kripke says it was brought back to replace another scene they had in mind to end Homelander's season 2 arc. This time around, Amazon thought that scene did not portray Homelander's broken state of mind well enough, so Kripke suggested the masturbation scene, and they approved it.
Both Antony Starr and co-star Karl Urban (who plays Butcher on the show) were born in Wellington, New Zealand.
Antony Starr was considered to reprise his role as Homelander in Mortal Kombat 1, but in November 2023, he revealed that he would not be playing the character for the DLC through an Instagram comment.
While initially no reason was given by Starr, a response on Instagram by the actor confirmed he wanted to reprise his role, but an unspecified circumstance caused him to not voice the character.
Starr has compared Homelander to Joffrey Baratheon from A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones respectively as spoiled blonde-haired brats desperate for approval from a powerful empire. However, Starr has referred to Homelander as "likable Joffrey" since he has more sympathetic traits than him.
Evil Organizations Army of Darkness |
Black Dragon Clan |
Brotherhood of Shadow |
Cyber Ninjas |
Dragon King's Army |
Festival of Death |
Forces of Darkness |
Kahn Guards |
Masked Guards |
Red Dragon Clan |
Shaakans |
Shadow Assassins |
Shadow Priests |
Tekunin |
The Deadly Alliance
Movies Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins (1995): Shang Tsung | Goro Mortal Kombat (1995): Shang Tsung | Kano | Goro | Sub-Zero | Scorpion | Reptile | Shao Kahn Mortal Kombat: Annihilation: Shao Kahn | Sindel | Shinnok | Mileena | Motaro | Sheeva | Ermac | Jade | Baraka | Cyrax | Smoke | Scorpion | Sub-Zero | Reptile | Rain Mortal Kombat: Rebirth: Shang Tsung | Sub-Zero | Reptile | Baraka Mortal Kombat: Legacy: Gadsen | Liu Kang | Baraka Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge: Scorpion | Quan Chi | Shang Tsung | Goro | Shao Kahn | Kano | Baraka | Reptile | Moloch | Motaro | One Being Mortal Kombat (2021): Shang Tsung | Sub-Zero | Mileena | Reiko | Kano | Kabal | Goro | Reptile | Nitara Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms: Shao Kahn | Shinnok | Shang Tsung | One Being | Scorpion | Lin Kuei Grandmaster | Sektor | Legends | Mileena | Smoke | Reiko | Kintaro | Jade | D'Vorah | Baraka | Li Mei Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind: Kano | Shang Tsung | Kabal | Kira | Kobra | Erron Black | Ferra and Torr | Drahmin | No Face | Tremor | Jarek | Kronika Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match:
Shinnok | Sareena | The Director | David Doubldy | Jataaka | Kia | Drahmin | Moloch
Shows Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm: Karbrac | Hideyoshi | Komodai | Oniro | Ruby | Zaggot | Zara | Zenkaro Mortal Kombat: Conquest: Bannak | Baron Reyland | Cilene | Jola | Kebral | Kiri and Ankha | Noob Saibot | Quan Chi | Queen Kreeya | Peron | Qali | Shang Tsung | Scorpion | Reptile | Siann, Mika and Sora | Sub-Zero | Vorpax
Villains
Villains