As the unbeatable villain ofThe Boys, Homelander is famously unbeatable. Incredibly strong, near-invulnerable and faster than the eye can track,Homelander is a dark satire of DC’s Superman, complete with lethal heat vision. However, as powerful as he is, therearecharacters in the widerThe Boys-verse that make him look B-list.
Created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson,The Boyswas originally a gritty, R-rated comic series beginning in 2006 and running for more than 70 issues.The franchise has since been adapted into a multi-season Amazon TV show (not to mention multiple spin-offs),with Antony Starr depicting Homelander as the sadistic strongest man alive.
However, as intimidating and deadly as Homelander is, he’s notquitethe top dog he believes, and that’s becausethe universe ofThe Boysis a lot bigger than he knows…
The Boys' Connection to Preacher Means Homelander Is Vastly Outgunned
There Are Multiple Characters Who’d Eat Him for Breakfast
InThe Boys #27, Butcher and Hughie do their best to make it through New York’s Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, hiding out in a bar owned by a man named Proinsias. While many fans saw the irascible barman and thought nothing of it, fans of Garth Ennis' work were bowled over, since the barman is actually Proinsias Cassidy - the vampiric antihero ofEnnis and Steve Dillon’sPreacher. This earlier series ends with Cassidy sacrificing himself in the sunlight, only to get a second choice at life as a human - apparentlynow runningThe Boys’Grassy Knollpub, which Cassidy gives as the perfect bar name inPreacher.
The cameo links the worlds ofThe BoysandPreacher, establishing a concrete link between the two. WhetherThe Boyscanonically followsPreacherin the same universe or this is another version of Cassidy in an alternate reality,the link creates a widerThe Boys-verse - one in which Homelander has alotof competitionwhen it comes to raw power.
Genesis and the Saint of Killers Would Massacre Homelander
Homelander Has Some Pretty Firm Limits in The Boys Lore
Published from 1995 to 2000,Preachertells the story of Jesse Custer - a preacher who is possessed by the godlike Genesis. The result of a relationship between a demon and an angel, Genesis imbues Jesse with ‘the Word’ -the supernatural ability to order others to do anything and have them instantly obey. The sprawling story is a satirical jab at organized religion famous for its button-pushing, gross-out humor and no-holds-barred approach to its subject matter.
The character Homelander really needs to worry about is the Saint of Killers…
Given the apocalyptic subject matter ofPreacher, there are several characters who make Homelander look small fry. Among the strongest are God, Satan andthe Saint of Killers. While their personalities are different to their Biblical depictions,God and Satan both possess the ability to warp reality, possessing essentially limitless strength. Angels and demons are similarly powerful inPreacher, with each treated as essentially a martial force made for battle.
However,the character Homelander really needs to worry about is the Saint of Killers- a vengeful spirit so curdled by hatred that when he arrived in Hell, its supernatural fires froze over. Taking the position of God’s Angel of Death, the Saint of Killers is impossible to kill and wields dual revolvers which never run out of ammunition, always hit their target and can kill literally anything. The Saint of Killers ends the series by shooting God and all the angels of Heaven, so taking down Homelander wouldn’t even break a sweat.
The Legend claims some Supes can equal Homelander’s power-level, especially the G-Men.
Interestingly,even Jesse has a decent chance of beating Homelander. InThe Boyscomics, it’s eventually revealed that Black Noir isessentially a clone of Homelander, and when the two fight in the Oval Office, they immediately do incredible damage to each other. Jesse should therefore be able to use the Word to force Homelander to destroy himself with his own powers.
Are There Any Supes Who Could Kill Homelander?
Even Outside The Expanded Boys-verse, Homelander Has Competition
So there areplentyof character inPreacherwho would destroy Homelander in a fight, but are there any in the universe ofThe Boys? The immediate answer is yes, because that’s exactly what ends up happening.InThe Boys #65, Black Noir proves himself not just to be Homelander’s clone,but his refinedsuperior, slaughtering the Supe in a one-on-one battle, though taking grievous injuries in the process.
Homelander may be powerful, but he has some major weaknesses that can be used against him.
Interestingly, there are other heroes who might be able to take down Homelander. InThe Boys #19, the Legend confirms thattwo of the G-Men come closeto the strongest of the Seven in power, though he doesn’t say exactly who.The most obvious candidates are Silver Kincaid and Nubia (parodies of X-Men’s Jean Grey and Storm respectively.)The Legend also speculates that Stormfront - the Nazi superhuman whose genetics were used as the base for Homelander - is capable of matching his power.
Homelander Has Weaknesses to Exploit
He Can Cause a Lot of Damage, But He Can’t Take as Much Punishment As You Think
At least in the original comics, Homelander isn’t completely invulnerable. While Vought-America uses propaganda to make him seem totally invulnerable, executive Jasper Stillwell confirms inThe Boys #61thata nuclear explosion would definitely kill him. Indeed, bombing the yearly Supe getaway Herogasm has been planned as a countermeasure if they ever get out of control. Likewise,when fighting Black Noir, a single punch is all it takes to remove Homelander’s jaw, while his own heat vision instantly cuts off his clone’s arm.
It seems clear that Homelander is far more offensively powerful than he is invulnerable, meaning that even characters who aren’t quite as powerful as him could still be capable of hurting him.
Onelikely candidate is Malchemical- a vicious Supe who can take any form, including a gaseous substance he can use to suffocate his victims. While this gaseous form is flammable, once Malchemical was inside Homelander’s body, there’s nothing the supreme Supe could do to defeat him.
WhileThe Boysshows Homelander to be incredible powerful, the original comics make it clear that he’s not someone who should be respected in any way, shape or form. Petulant, ill-trained and not as powerful as everyone assumes,Homelandercanbe brought down, and it would happen in seconds if he ever faced the characters ofPreacher.
