Homelander

For the Amazon version of the character, see Homelander.

“

People are toys, they're fucking paste, and you and Vought and all the other wormshit can fuck yourselves--! I did this for me. Not some corporate f*ggot wiping up his cum with banknotes. Me. Because I alone have the might--I can take what's mine, I don't have to share, and that makes this whole fucking shitball my birthright...! ―The Homelander to Billy Butcher

”

John Gillman, better known as The Homelander, is the secondary antagonist of the Dynamite Entertainment adult comic book series The Boys, and a posthumous secondary antagonist of its sequel/prequel/spin-off miniseries The Boys: Dear Becky.

He was the leader of Vought-American's premier superhero team The Seven, and the archenemy of Billy Butcher, the leader of The Boys, a watchdog group of anti-superhero vigilantes backed by the CIA.

He mainly served as the sole main antagonist throughout the comic series, until revealing that the rapist was Black Noir, who had been gaslighting the otherwise harmless Homelander into believing he had a split personality, making Homelander the secondary antagonist of the comic series.

With the face of a movie star and the power of a god, Homelander was the greatest superhero alive and the leader of The Seven. Not only could he fly, but he also had super strength and super hearing, and he could see through almost anything with his x-ray vision and then destroy it with his laser eyes.

On the surface, he was affable, modest, and sincere; the ultimate Boy Scout, an American treasure, a God-fearing patriot. But just like mere mortals, even superheroes have secrets.

History[]

Early Years[]

Homelander was experimented on with Compound V, before birth, as a subject of Vought-American's experiments with Compound V, like much of the other Supes managed by Vought. John was raised and experimented on by Vought in a silo in South Dakota for the next eighteen years and, as a result, developed abilities such as super strength, speed and durability, healing factor, longevity, resurrection, heat and x-ray vision, enhanced senses, sonic scream and flight. He was also tied to a nuclear bomb at a young age, in case his aggression got out of control.

To the public, in a cover-up of the truth, his origin was that he "crash-landed on Earth", being found as a little baby at the bottom of a crater on a prairie without a spaceship. Hailing from the stars, the baby grew into a boy in a week and a teenager a week after that. Homelander became the leader of the Seven, a group made up of six other heroes who were created in the same way as Homelander was after his success, and one of the most powerful superheroes of Vought-American.

9/11 Incident[]

“

That's what you get when a bunch of fucks in tights try to save the goddamn day. ―The Legend on the 9/11 incident

”

During the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Seven were sent to stop the hijackers that took over a commercial passengers and rescue the hostages inside. Unfortunately, Homelander and the rest of his team didn't understand the tactical or physical challenges the mission required, this coupled with the fact that Black Noir fell while being carried and Jack from Jupiter fleed the scene, resulted in the Seven making the situation worse. Homelander and Maeve forcefully opened the plane door during the flight, resulting in one of the kids that was close to the door being sucked out of the plane and dying due to the the cabin decompression. Entering the plane while the air was escaping, Queen Maeve told the scared passengers to put their oxygen masks on while Homelander strolled to the cockpit to stop the terrorists.

Being overwhelmed by all the passengers screaming for help, Homelander told them to shut up with his sonic scream, making the passengers' eardrums bleed. After the Deep broke the windshield, Homelander killed the terrorists and the plane began to fall. As Queen Maeve chastised him for his incompetence, Homelander gave up and left the plane with Mister Marathon holding on to him. After Marathon convinced him that they should help the planet otherwise Vought would fire them, Homelander flew towards the back of the plane in an attempt to shove the tail down and level it. Not measuring his own strength, Homelander ended up breaking the plane in half and killed Mister Marathon due to the impact. The fractured plane ended up crashing into the Brooklyn Bridge.

Meeting the Boys[]

“

I asked the others afterwards, and none of them picked up on it. All they got was a constant sense of disdain, like you barely thought they were worth looking at. Actually, you didn't look at them. You couldn't take your eyes off me. ―Homelander to Butcher regarding their first meeting

”

Shortly after the 9/11 disaster, Homelander and the Seven began to be blackmailed with proof of their involvement in the incident by The Boys, a government-sponsored group of people tasked with policing, monitoring, and potentially stopping corrupt superheroes, led at the time by Lieutenant-Colonel Greg Mallory. The blackmail enraged Lamplighter, making him burn Mallory's granddaughters in a fit of anger, which threatened to unleash a violent conflict between the Seven and the CIA.

Knowing what a conflict between them and the government would lead to, regardless of who'd came out on top, the Seven and the Boys decided to make a truce to prevent said conflict from escalating, with the group of Supes agreeing to sacrifice Lamplighter, giving him over to the Boys so that Mallory could kill him as revenge. During the meeting where Lamplighter was given to the group of superhuman watchdogs, Homelander noticed how one of them, Billy Butcher, couldn't take his eyes off him, noticing some intense hatred coming from the man directed at him specifically.

Welcoming Starlight[]

“

You were kidding. That's brilliant. That was an official meeting of the seven--that means playtime over, do you understand? Do you? ―Homelander to A-Train

”

Homelander was present to welcome Starlight, the new member of the Seven and replacement for Lamplighter, and show her their headquarters. Right after the tour, Homelander demanded that Starlight engaged in oral sex with him and two other members of the Seven, A-Train and Black Noir as way to test how much she wanted to join the team.

He later held a meeting where he officially introduced Starlight as the new member of the Seven and discussed merchandising with the rest of his team, explaining that him, Noir and Queen Maeve gained more due to being more popular as "the big three". After Homelander catched A-Train making a slurping gesture to Starlight in the middle of the meeting, he threatened A-Train in private after the meeting and made him promise to never do that again in front of a Vought-American member.

Return of the Boys[]

“

For us, duty calls--But let me just take a moment to remind the people at home that we're still watching out for them. That's our job. That's what we do. And should the worst ever happen, please, just remember: We'll be there for you. ―The Homelander's speech on live television

”

Shortly after the members of Teenage Kix began to be blackmailed and were forced to out one of their own members, it didn't take long for Homelander to figure out that Billy Butcher and the Boys were back to policing Supes. During another meeting, Homelander informed the rest of the Seven about Butcher's return and how his targeting of Teenage Kik was a "warning shot" for them, saying he wasn't gonna go away. Homelander also informed Starlight during their meeting that Vought American demanded her to have a more revealing and "photogenic" costume from now on.

Following a huge fight between the members of Teenage Kik and the Boys, were Blarney Cock was killed and the other Supes were left badly injured, the Seven talked about how unusual was for the Boys to be so public about their attacks. During a live interview, Homelander introduced Stralight in her new costume as the replacement of Lamplighter in the Seven, later giving a speech about how they'll always be watching out for the people before going off to save the world.

Weakened Truce[]

“

Why do you hate me so much? I don't mean this 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 heartrate, 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. Exactly the same as the last time we met. ―Homelander to Billy Butcher

”

The next year, Homelander had conversation with James Stillwell, where he disclosed to the Supe that Butcher and his men probably informed the white house of their V.P.'s visits and Vic's speech, with Homelander believing their headquarters was bugged. He later sent the Deep to meet with the Boys to see if the truce was still active, as he believed he wouldn't be able to hold his temper if he went himself. After Butcher refused to speak unless Homelander himself came to him, the two agreed to met at the remains of the Brooklyn Bridge. After explaining to Butcher what consequences his actions would lead to and him never answering, Homelander asked the man why he hated him so much and began to suspect that he did something to someone that was close to Butcher.

After eventually figuring out that he did something to Butcher's wife, Butcher's pet Terror peed on Homelander, with the Supe threating to laser the dog before Butcher told him the truce would be officially broken if he harmed the animal. Tired of his games, Homelander told Butcher that he didn't care anymore and that he could start doing his worst if he wanted to, which ended their meeting. Back at their headquarters, Homelander was confronted by A-Train who demanded him to punish Starlight for blinded him after he tried to rape her, to which Homelander responded by throwing a fighter jet onto another, creating an explosion to make it clear that he wasn't in the mood for his complaints.

Death[]

He roused the Supes together to takeover the United States. He personally killed Victor Neuman. Coming face to face with Butcher he revealed he didn't remember committing his photographed acts. That's when Black Noir appears and reveals he was the one who raped Butcher's wife and got her pregnant, ultimately resulting in her death, also manipulating Homelander so that he could kill him, the one purpose for his creation. Angered at being used, he fought Noir, taking their fight outside, however Noir eventually won, holding a part of Homelander's torso and his arm, albeit heavily damaged.

Appearance[]

Homelander is a tall and muscular man with blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. He wears a suit reminiscent to Superman and Captain America's, echoing a blend between both drawn from the comics. Homelander wears red gloves and boots, as well as the American flag as a cape, connected by a chain to a giant gold American bald eagle on his right shoulder, symbolizing patriotism.

Personality[]

At first glance Homelander appeared to be a kind and caring individual, a hero who will do anything to protect the citizens of America and the American Dream. However, behind the facade he was deeply narcissistic, disturbed, and psychotic, showing no empathy. For a superhero, Homelander was incredibly brutal and aggressive, showing no concern for the safety of his own teammates or the people he should be protecting.

While he did not hesitate to commit huge acts of violence, Homelander in the beginning of the story still had a moral compass. He would get disturbed when he saw pictures of himself eating a baby, and the inability to remember doing such things eventually drove him further into insanity.

Powers[]

• 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. He can hurl a fighter jet with one hand, crush a phone into dust, carry a car with four passengers while flying and kill Queen Maeve with just one punch. It is stated that he held up bridges scheduled for demolition. Homelander is considered a nuke when compared to the dynamite of Supes from the 1940's. He is stronger than Stormfront, who can create tidal waves and hurricanes powerful enough to destroy entire villages and towns (8.6 Megatons of TNT). His strength was even enough to critically damage Black Noir during their battle.

“

He's been in a silo in South Dakota for eighteen years, with a hydrogen bomb strapped to his ass 'til they're sure they can trust him. ―Old Legend

”

• Superhuman Durability: Homelander is very resistant to physical harm and the most resilient of the Seven. He is not only completely bulletproof, but also unfazed by explosions. Vought had to keep a hydrogen bomb strapped to him for 18 years, because they had no idea what else could possibly kill him. When Queen Maeve tried to hurt him with a sword, the weapon ended up breaking upon impact on his face. Billy Butcher claimed that Supes can swim across the Sun, where it can be over 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. The only thing capable of destroying him in the end was his own clone.
• Superhuman Stamina: Homelander possesses stamina that is enhanced to inhuman levels. As a result, his muscles produce practically no fatigue toxins during physical activity. They are able to withstand the stresses of moving at superhuman speeds or performing other superhuman feats for extended periods of time, without tiring or becoming weak.
• Superhuman Speed: Homelander can move far faster than the average human. He can tag A-Train, who can run at Mach 3 and move faster than Starlight could see. He is also faster than the members of the Boys, who can dodge Stormfront's lightning (671 million miles per hour). Billy Butcher has claimed that some Supes can outrun tachyons, which are theoretical particles that move faster than light.
• Regenerative Healing Factor: Homelander possesses a healing factor as seen when he healed from a cut on his face with a sword by Queen Maeve.
• Longevity: Homelander ages slower than a normal human, due to Compound V.
• Resurrection: Compound V can bring life back to a dead brain, but limits the cognitive abilities of the user. Compound V's resurrection also only works if the user has a functioning brain.
• Heat Vision: Homelander is capable of projecting highly concentrated beams of energy from his eyes. These blasts of energy are so powerful that they appear to be able to cut through anything. 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. His heat vision can also take down an airplane, and cause a small explosion.
• X-Ray Vision: Homelander's vision allows him to see through any solid object or surface.
• 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 Billy Butcher's blood pressure to try and determine his motives.
• Superhuman Smell: Homelander's sense of smell has been heightened far beyond normal human capabilities, allowing him to smell things no other being could. He can use this power to detect an explosive, or to sense adrenaline produced by fear.

“

SHUT UP! ―Homelander shouting

”

• Superhuman Voice: John's vocal cords are 20 times more powerful than the ones of a regular human, he can scream so loud that it rupture the eardrums of anyone around him.
• Flight: Homelander is able to levitate and propel himself at great speeds, allowing him to cover vast distances in a matter of minutes. He can keep up with airplanes and break the sound barrier. During the "I Tell You No Lie, G.I." storyline, he flew through the tail of a plane and smashed it in half.  

Weaknesses[]

Psychological[]

• Lack of Training: He has no formal training in the use of his powers, or in handling dangerous situations. Along with the rest of his team, these inadequacies led to disaster when they attempted to stop a terrorist hijacking of a plane.
• Mental Illness: Homelander is a mentally unstable man. His obsessive need to be adored coupled with his consummate lack of empathy and lack of moral reservation about harming, even killing others suggests he is afflicted with Malignant Narcissism. After getting tricked by Black Noir that he committed a variety of heinous crimes, such as rape and cannibalism, Homelander became even more insane and mentally unstable.

Biological[]

• Blunt Force/Limited Durability: Homelander can be wounded and killed by someone who is as strong as or stronger than him, such as in the case of Black Noir.
• Absence of fulcrum (Tentative): During the "I Tell You No Lie, G.I." storyline, the events of 9/11 seem to suggest that he is unable to use his full strength in flight, requiring a solid surface to take full advantage of his power.

Relationship[]

Trivia[]

• Homelander is a parody of Superman and Captain America possessing the power set and fabricated backstory of the former and the patriotic costume of the latter. Ironically, Superman is one of Garth Ennis' favorite superheroes despite his disdain for the genre.
• Although Homelander is one of the main antagonists of the comic series, he is not killed by his archenemy Billy, but is instead killed by Black Noir.
• His name literally means "A person from one's homeland". It is suggested that the homeland he's born from would be America (due to his outfit).
• The Amazon version of the character, played by Antony Starr, is almost completely identical to his comic counterpart, save for a more Herculean physique as opposed to being built like a tank, and a slightly altered costume akin to Hyperion and Ultraman.
  • However, his Amazon version counterpart was shown that he actually raped Billy Butcher's wife, while in the comics he doesn't.
    

Gallery[]