The Boys has the best superhero villain ever

Disgust, adrenaline, laughter – The Boys is an emotional rollercoaster. The Amazon series is currently proving that it can still surprise in Season 3. And that itself exploding penises and intricate character studies don’t have to rule it out. In the new episodes, however, it is also becoming increasingly clear what the real reason is for the superhero: inside satire on DC and Marvel is so incredibly good: Homelander. Because next to the “evil Superman”, even Thanos and the Joker are scary like cardboard cutouts at a fan convention.

The Boys has created one of the most intriguing series characters of recent years

In The Boys, the line between good and evil blurs as a matter of principle. There is no such thing as black and white, just different shades of grey. And the darkest of them all is (The) Homelander. A peroxide dyed, loved by the masses Mixture of Superman (including the laser eyes) and Captain America (the costume colors), who, as the head of the superhero group The Seven, defends his great love (America) against the dangers of the world – and repeatedly uses Trump-like populism.

In The Boys Season 3, Homelander finally meets an equal opponent:

Beneath his All-American exterior, however, Homelander is a complex-ridden, sadistic monster with a disturbing fondness for mother’s milk and public masturbation. He is not interested in the fears and problems of the American people, nor does he otherwise stand behind anything he says to cameras, smiling broadly or convincingly indignant. He would do anything to be respected and loved by the masses. Its core conflict is to constantly walk the razor-thin line between his true nature and his heroic fake persona.

Every psychotic smile, every moment when his huge blue eyes shine a little too madly, could be an indication that the situation is about to escalate. and when Homelander freaks out, there’s nothing to stop him. Actor Antony Starr’s performance doesn’t just cause goosebumps and disgust. He also provides the most entertaining moments of the whole series.

Homelander is the scariest and funniest thing about the Amazon series

In addition to his striving for power and love, Homelander does what many people do who cannot really be dangerous: he acting like an absolute asshole, trolls those around him and is damn funny in his spitefulness and ignorance. Sometimes with a casual comment, sometimes with an epic rant, sometimes with a malicious insult, sometimes with just a gesture or a facial expression.

Homelander pushes his own son off the roof of his house and is then not shocked but disappointed that he lands face first on the ground instead of flying like his father. Homelander pokes fun at that in the most inappropriate situations across seasons the Aquaman parody The Deep allegedly has sex with sea creatures. And let’s not even get started on his own sexual … transgressions. The scene in which he slurps his (ex-)boss’ breast milk from a bottle with his eyes closed longingly haunts me to this day.

There is dozens of “Best of Homelander” compilations on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok because there is almost no scene with the bleached superhero villain that is not either very exciting, very disturbing or very funny. How Antony Starr plays this role, with pursed lips, an empty grin, dead to crazy eyes and a mood that threatens to tip over at any time, is one of the most fascinating things that can currently be seen in the series landscape. And possibly to best villain in a comic book adaptation any times. Sorry not sorry, MCU and DC.

Homelander brings together the best of Marvel and DC villains like Thanos and the Joker

Let’s take Thanos for example. Possessing all the Infinity Stones, it is probably the strongest creature in the universe – that we know of. That unites him with Homelander. Still, Thanos doesn’t inspire fear or real thrills. Because what the purple Titan’s plan is and how he wants to implement it becomes clear pretty quickly: solve the problem of dwindling resources by wiping out half of all living beings with the help of the Infinity Stones. That doesn’t change anything. So the exciting thing isn’t Thanos himself, but whether the Avengers will find a way to stop him.

The joker is located at the other end of the villain scale. He doesn’t win through sheer power, but through cunning and unpredictability. We don’t wonder what Batman will do to thwart his opponent’s clearly articulated plan. We wonder, what the hell the Joker is going to do next, and if Batman finds out fast enough to counteract it. This makes him scarier than Thanos, but far less dangerous in direct conflict.

Homelander, on the other hand, combines the best of both iconic villains in itself. He is overpowered and unpredictable and therefore a threat on both a physical and psychological level. We never know what he will do next. What we do know is that he could do anything – and nobody can stop him. What’s scarier, more fascinating, more evil than that? Or, to paraphrase Homelander himself, before forcing a begging teenage girl to jump off a skyscraper: “No, no, no. No God. The only man in heaven is me.”

The 20 best series starts in June: The Boys and 7 Marvel series

It’s time for ours again monthly series preview. You can find out which 20 starts you shouldn’t miss in the streaming area this June in our overview of the exciting new releases on Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Sky, Apple TV+ and MagentaTV.

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What do you think of Homelanders?