- For the Amazon version of the character, see Homelander.
| “ | 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
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John Gillman, better known as The Homelander, is the secondary antagonist of the highly controversial 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[]
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. As a result, he has developed abilities such as super strength, heat and x-ray vision, sonic scream and flight. At a young age, in Vought's experiments, he was tied to a nuclear bomb, in case his aggression got out of control. To the public, in a cover-up of the truth, his origin was claimed as "crash-landed on Earth", like of DC Comics' Superman. Homelander became the leader of the Seven and one of the most powerful superheroes of Vought-American.
He was thought to be the one who raped Butcher's wife and got her pregnant, ultimately resulting in her death. It is later revealed Black Noir was the rapist, who had been gaslighting Homelander and Butcher for years into believing Homelander was secretly evil. After being driven crazy, by being blackmailed by Butcher and finding out Noir did it, with the fact Noir was a clone of him, created by Vought to spy on him and kill him if need be, he attempted to kill Noir, only to be killed by his clone, in a bloody fight during the takeover of the White House, with only his chest and arms being what's left of him, held by Noir.
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. He is even 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.
- 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 hydrogen bombs 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 (270 thousand miles per hour). Billy Butcher has claimed that some Supes can outrun tachyons, which are theoretical particles that move faster than light.
- Accelerated Healing: Homelander seems to possess a minor 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. Only works if the user has a functioning brain, if the brain is destroyed, the resurrection will not work.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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[]
Allies[]
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Enemies[]
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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.
- However, his Amazon version counterpart was shown that he actually raped Billy Butcher's wife, while in the comics he doesn't.
Gallery[]
Homelander's Death