The Homelander (John) is a character in the adult superhero comic book series The Boys created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The Homelander is the psychopathic, narcissistic, and extremely powerful leader of The Seven—the world's premier and secretly hedonistic team of superheroes (referred to as "Supes") bred and funded by the multi-billion dollar conglomerate Vought-American. Beneath his public image as a noble hero, the Homelander recklessly abuses his powers for personal gain and cares little about the well-being of those he professes to protect. He has been described as a personification of negative perceptions of the United States. As a satirical parody of the DC Comics character Superman, the Homelander's powers include superhuman strength, speed, flight, X-ray and heat vision, and near-invulnerability. He serves as the archenemy of Billy Butcher, the leader of "The Boys", a team of CIA-sponsored vigilantes dedicated to opposing corrupt Supes. In the Amazon Prime Video television adaptation of the same name developed by Eric Kripke, the character, simply known as Homelander, is portrayed by Antony Starr. This version is the megalomaniacal son of Soldier Boy and the father of Ryan Butcher, born as a result of Homelander raping Billy Butcher's wife Becca (a crime committed by Black Noir in the comics). Kripke has stated that he views the series' version of Homelander as a metaphor for U.S. president Donald Trump. Starr has reprised his role as the character in both spin-off instalments of the franchise, including The Boys Presents: Diabolical and Gen V, and outside media such as Death Battle!. Starr's performance has received acclaim.
Appearances
Comic book series
The Boys (2006–2012)
Homelander is a supposedly patriotic superhero who leads the superhero team The Seven. He is the most powerful superhuman created by Vought-American. The company's cover story for Homelander is that he is an alien who landed in the United States as an infant, much like Superman. In reality, he and the rest of the original roster of the Seven were grown in a secret laboratory, the progeny of genetic material taken from Stormfront, who was injected with Compound V while still a member of the Hitler Youth. Homelander spent most of his young life chained down with a hydrogen bomb strapped to him in case he tried to escape. His mother was a mentally disabled woman who died giving birth to him. Homelander remains under the financial thumb of V, as their money funds the Seven's hedonistic lifestyle. Homelander eventually tries to encourage the other superheroes to do what they want, but relents due to his fear of his boss "The Vought Guy"/"The Guy from Vought". Until the events of the series' climax, Billy Butcher is tricked into thinking Homelander had raped his wife Becca, who then died giving birth to a superhuman baby Butcher had then killed. In Issue #40, the Boys receive a series of incriminating doctored photos seemingly showing Homelander engaging in grisly acts of murder, cannibalism, and necrophilia against men, women, and children. In private, Homelander shows signs of suffering a mental breakdown, talking to his own reflection in a mirror, and having bouts of nausea. He eventually decides that he is damned anyway for the acts depicted in the photos, and decides to give in to any intrusive thoughts that cross his mind. From Herogasm onward, Homelander resolves to free himself and the superhero community from Vought-American's control. In Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men, he leads the other superheroes in a coup d'etat against the United States, launching an attack on the White House and killing everyone inside, including the president. During the subsequent confrontation between Homelander and Butcher, the masked Black Noir arrives in the Oval Office and reveals himself as a clone of Homelander (the first of the Seven grown after him), created solely to kill Homelander if he ever went rogue. Gradually driven insane due to not being allowed to kill Homelander, Noir reveals he committed the atrocities in the photos, including raping Butcher's wife, to trick the initially truly benevolent Homelander so that Noir would finally be allowed to fulfill his purpose. Outraged, Homelander attacks Black Noir. Black Noir and Homelander violently brutalise each other as Butcher flees, due to Homelander's lasers destroying the room. A badly wounded Noir emerges from the White House holding only a section of Homelander's arm and ribs, having torn him apart with his bare hands. Butcher then orders the waiting Marines to open fire, bringing Noir to his knees, before killing him by beating his head open with a crowbar and crushing his prefrontal cortex with his hands, hoping that Noir's memory of raping Becca is destroyed in the process.
DC K.O.: Boss Battle (2026)
Homelander was incorporated into the DC Multiverse over the comic-book event DC K.O. in 2026, revealed to still be alive in other universes, where he takes on Superman in a one-on-one duel, with Superman noting Homelander's laser vision to be equal to his own.
Television series
The Boys (2019–2026)
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