Throughout its first two seasons, Amazon’s The Boys has both thrilled and horrified audiences with its phenomenal characters and oceans of fake blood. We’ve seen pulped human beings, superhero sex scenes, the insides of a whale, and the kid from The Sixth Sense get his head caved in by Eomer from The Lord of The Rings. Well, it’s time we saw something even weirder: Homelander becoming the good guy.
I know that sounds a bit of a stretch but hear me out, dear reader. Antony Starr’s Homelander may have began life as an egomaniacal tyrant, but when he learns that he has a son who has been concealed from him, we start to see a bit of a conscience in Vought’s poster boy. This desire to parent, however slim, could reappear in season three. If so, it could be the perfect plot device to turn Homelander into a real hero.
What if The Boys was a video game? Check out this GTA V Homelander mod:
When we were first introduced to Homelander back in season one, episode one, we saw a generic Superman copy of a character. He was strong, he looked out for the little guy, he posed for selfies, and he appeared to be a symbol of all things good, true and American. Then he eye-lasered a plane and killed some innocent people. Talk about misdirection!
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As we followed the story of Hughie Campbell and Annie January (AKA Starlight), arguably the two main characters of the first series, Homelander served as a captivating antagonist. As leader of the Seven - The Boys’ answer to the Justice League - he commands lesser supes (short for superheroes, apparently).
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It’s clear to see in his exchanges with his colleagues that nobody feels safe around Homelander. He’s inhumanly strong, can fly and has his aforementioned eye lasers, but the real fear comes from his temperament. The star-spangled banner-draped “hero” is at best childish, and at worst psychotic.
Homelander shows a complete and utter disregard for human life, going so far as to kill for pleasure and have sex by the corpse of the recently deceased in a truly dark yet comedic moment from season two. However, things soon change for our blue-eyed boy.
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By the end of the second series, Homelander has gained and lost access to his once secret son, Ryan. Although his relationship with his son is never exactly functional, there are brief moments where we see the supe genuinely care for his progeny. When the young lad is scared of using his powers, Homelander explains how he believes in him. When Ryan panics in public, Homelander takes him away from the hectic scene.
Ultimately, season two ends with Homelander embracing his selfishness, as usual. He continues to serve as the public face of the Seven, while Ryan is taken away to start a new life. The thing I can’t help but wonder is: will Homelander be able to stay away from the only real family he has?
Ryan’s mother, Becca Butcher, is dead. Her husband, Billy Butcher, is apparently on the warpath again, from what we’ve seen in the promotional materials for season three. If Homelander wants to get to his son and start over again, who could really stop him?
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Billy is the most likely answer, but if he does indeed have superpowers now (as the teasers have shown), he’ll have to learn to use them in time to take on a being who has grown up wielding his powers. (This is all assuming there isn’t another Doppelganger-type hero impersonating Billy, or something sneaky like that.)
This potential conflict between Homelander and Billy would be the perfect moment for Homelander to become a real hero. If the Seven’s leader abandons his hedonism to properly raise his son, then he could essentially turn over a new leaf. After all, doing good deeds can be habit-forming, and Homelander would have cause to continually do good if he learns to properly look after his child.
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What I’m saying is, if Homelander decided to take back Ryan, whatever the initial thinking behind it, this could be the turning point for his character. He’d finally think about someone besides himself, and this would be a huge benefit to the plot of The Boys because Billy appears to be going further down the antihero path than ever before, so a new “good guy” would be most welcome, if not vital.
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Homelander could start off as a father who wants to raise his son and blossom into a reformed supe - a real superhero - who takes his role of leading the Seven seriously for once. This could potentially win over other Seven members like Starlight and Queen Maeve, who have both had issues with Homelander in the past, but who will both likely be targets for Billy in season three.
The whole thing could culminate in a showdown between Homelander and Billy, where the former fights to protect his son, while the latter wants revenge for his deceased wife. After all, The Boys has always been about subverting expectations, so why wouldn’t they do it again? Why not give us a good guy Homelander? Your move, Amazon.