Homelander’s character has made headlines since his first appearance in the amazon prime videos tv series ‘The Boys’ which was released in 2019. However, the character isn’t a new inclusion in the superhero spectrum. Homelander has earlier appeared in the comic book series “The Boys” which was created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Initially The Boys was published by WildStorm (DC Comics) but later it was revived & published by Dynamite Entertainment. The Boys had a decent run in the market. In the span of 6 years (2006 to 2012) the comic book series published 72 issues in total. But the arrival of the tv series has turned the tables for the franchise characters. The show (The Boys) is regarded as one of the best superhero genre tv shows in recent times. So today let’s break down the so-called Superhero’s character and know what makes Homelander so scary and evil.
He’s an evil version of Superman
When you look at Homelander, who’s the first superhero that comes to your mind? Most probably the answer will be Superman. Homelander and Superman have a lot of similarities. The characters are almost identical at first glance. It is believed that Homelander’s character was initially created as a parody of Superman. On the surface level Homelander seems to be the typical superhero. How’s got superhuman strength, can fly, is muscular & well built and most importantly wears a cape. He’s just like Superman but the values of the two characters are in opposite extremes. If you wanna understand what chaos Homelander can do then just imagine what will happen if Superman turns evil. Homelander can cause absolute chaos and mayhem. The only thing saving the world from destruction is his imposter of being a Superhero.
Homelander’s Ambitions
Homelander is extremely ambitious. He wants to be at the top. The so-called superhero strives to showcase himself as the savior of mankind. Homelander wants full control of the team of superheroes (Supes) and also wants to establish his control on other institutional bodies. The super powered man wants to control everything and literally wants to rule the world. For achieving his ambitions and goals the leader of Supes can surpass any limitation and boundation.
His Ego
The Supe’s ego is another big problem and threat for the world. Over time Homelander’s powers, potential, public praises have developed him into an ulta egoistic individual. From killing his close associates to young team members, Homelander can do anything to satisfy his ego. His powers, position and loneliness constantly boost and amp up his ego. His ego is also his own biggest enemy.
The Supe Lacks Empathy
Even the cruelest of villains show some empathy. But our so-called superhero even lacks basic empathy for people. Homelander basically cares for no one except himself and his image. He’s so into his own, he barely cares or even tries to understand others’ pain. In one incident the leader of the superheroes burnt the plane full of passengers to save & secure his image of a superhero. Even people’s plea for showing some mercy had no impact on him. This surely shows that the Supe has zero empathy for any human life.
A Traumatic Childhood
You must be thinking how a traumatic childhood can be the reason for being scary and evil. But Homelander’s traumatic childhood is the root cause of everything. And is also the biggest factor in making him what he is, ‘An evil ambitious Superhero’. As a child Homelander had little to no human contact. He barely lived a normal life and had no childhood experience like other children have. In his childhood Homelander lived in an isolated experimental camp. In the camp experiments were conducted on him and he was given a regular dose of ‘Compound V’ (a chemical substance that enhances human abilities & strengths). He lived his childhood without his family and had no social life. These events made his childhood traumatic. Eventually with no love, care, socialization and family, Homelander became kind of inhuman. His traumatic childhood experiences played a major role in the formation of Homelander’s evil personality.
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