The following guide contains major spoilers about The Boys series and comics. So, if you mind such spoilers, now is the best time to head back and check again, later.
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Serving as the main antagonist in The Boys franchise, the Homelander can be quite a menacing character to deal with. The character played by Anthony Starr has re-defined the complexities of a villain giving him a multi-faceted perspective. Coming to the roots, however, his comic book version isn’t a less sinner than the live-action counterpart. Being known as “The Homelander” in the comics, he has a perfect origin story as an alien refugee crashing into Earth.
While Amazon Prime Video takes some inspiration from the comics, it isn’t entirely faithful to the source material. Since his comic counterpart has met a deadly end, we conclude the Homelander in The Boys TV show would win in a battle against the comics version, any day. So, here are all the reasons why the live-action version is stronger.
5 Reasons Why The Boys Homelander in the Show Better than Comics
Series Homelander Doesn’t have an Evil Clone
Let me cut to the chase, the Homelander in the comics goes explicitly rogue when he finds out all the crimes he has committed. While being shocked beyond belief, it changes his outlook and drives him insane. As a result, he murders the President of the United States until he is confronted by Billy Butcher and his clone. This clone is revealed to be Black Noir who was simply a spy for Vought to keep a check on Homelander. But he reveals he’s the one committing all the crimes even killing Becca Butcher, Billy’s wife.
In a fit of rage, Homelander and Noir start fighting resulting in the former getting killed by his clone. Taking his revenge, Butcher kills the weakened Noir in the end. However, the series counterpart doesn’t have clones except his giant ego and hindered psyche.
Series Homelander Paves His Path
The show version doesn’t seem to have any authority over him except for himself. With the shocking season three and Gen V spin-off finale, it’s clear that Homelander is the one making rules.
Compared to his comic counterpart, the antagonist is a lapdog of the Vought despite being a leader of the Seven. He’s constantly kept in check with the Government of the USA and monitored by the Black Noir. If you haven’t watched it already, we suggest watching episode 8 of The Boys Presents: Diabolical which gave a gist of this narrative.
Series Homelander’s Psyche is Complex & Layered
The TV show Homelander is constantly clouded by a looming anxiety that craves love and attention from the people. But due to his actions, everyone is fearfully always distant from him ultimately. This was seen in the The Boys season 3, episode 6 when the Homelander is talking to himself through the mirror. While being wonderfully acted by Anthony Starr, it gave the viewers an insight into his psyche and inner emotions.
That said, the Homelander’s comic counterpart is slightly naive at controlling his emotions. While sharing the egoist tendencies with his live-action version, he gets immensely disturbed looking at the photos of the crimes Noir committed. This was the point that drove him mentally unstable showing that he has a moral compass despite being a deeply narcissistic person.
Series Homelander isn’t Scared of a Bloodbath
Throughout The Boys TV series, he has murdered countless innocent civilians and crimes while being a face of the Vought. Being the top of the food chain, Homelander challenged Billy Butcher to a fight to the death in season 3, episode 1. With no moral compass or liabilities, he simply wants to put the fight to an end with a “Scorched Earth“.
But sadly the comic version is much less in control of his actions due to the Vought. Although he is purely evil incarnate in the comics, he is always manipulated by other Supes and Vought. On top of that, he doesn’t have any vision for the future and hates any powerful allies.
Series Homelander is Stronger, Smarter & Better
Quoting the evil egomaniac, the TV show’s Homelander is “stronger, smarter and better“. Rather than getting manipulated by the Vought and other Supes, he can do whatever he wants at any given moment. If it was not for Ryan, he would have erased New York from the map from our retrospective. In addition to cleverly covering his tracks, this version knows how to attract the masses, unlike his version in comics.
At this point in the timeline, there isn’t much power stopping Homelander from creating a Scorched Earth to fight Butcher.
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