The rise of Homelander in The Boys was a team effort. Frederick Vought provided the original formula for Compound V, while Soldier Boy unknowingly contributed his DNA. Thomas Godolkin and Jonah Vogelbaum were instrumental in Homelander’s early development as part of Project Odessa, while Madelyn Stillwell and Stan Edgar shaped the test subject into a supe. Each of those figures had a hand in making Homelander the monster we see in The Boys.
Whether Homelander was born evil or raised into evil is a question The Boys leaves to the audience. On one hand, flashbacks prove Homelander committed dark acts from a very early age, but The Boys has also revealed the brutal childhood Homelander endured before becoming a supe, and it’s little surprise that he developed such sinister tendencies. Nevertheless, one crucial step in Homelander’s journey toward villainy is often overlooked.
The Chemical Liberation Front Helped Turn Homelander Into A Villain
Despite everything Homelander went through as a young Vought test subject, he began working as a superhero with genuinely wholesome intentions. The Boys Presents: Diabolical‘s “One Plus One Equals Two” depicts Homelander’s very first mission as a supe – a hostage situation at a chemical plant in which the Chemical Liberation Front is holding workers at gunpoint.
Homelander enters the situation seeking a peaceful resolution, hoping he can talk the assailants down, free the hostages, and avoid casualties. Right from the outset, Homelander promises, “I’m not here to hurt anyone,” before trying to sympathize with the CLF members. Unfortunately, the response he gets is “f**k you, you fascist f**k” and a barrage of bullets. Even then, Homelander stays cool, non-violently disarming his opponents.
Still, they persist, threatening to explode a broken gun in a hostage’s face. It’s here that Homelander is forced into an error, as he uses heat vision on the gun and it explodes anyway. Everything goes south from there, sending Homelander into one of his classic violent rages.
Homelander’s bloody temper tantrum proves he was already unstable at this point in The Boys‘ timeline, but it’s fascinating to ponder how his future might have played out differently if the CLF had listened to his first warning, or surrendered after being disarmed instead of constantly threatening the hostages. Homelander would have walked away with a highly successful, casualty-free first mission.
That would have given him the confidence to approach future scenarios in the same way, steering him away from becoming the kind of supe who murders first and asks questions later, and calming those unpredictable tendencies.
Instead, Homelander learns that he can kill anyone who defies him, cover up the mess, and get away with it. Black Noir teaches him to accept the blood and corruption as a standard part of the job, and Homelander’s attitude toward being a supe is cemented from there.
Looking back, this mission was a tipping point in Homelander’s evolution. In a world where the CLF backs down right away, Homelander’s inner desire for acceptance fuels a career as a truly great supe. But because his fragility and inexperience is confronted with opponents who refuse to back down, Homelander is pulled deeper toward embracing the sadistic instincts that come to define him by the time The Boys begins.
- Release Date
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2019 – 2026-00-00
- Showrunner
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Eric Kripke
- Writers
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Eric Kripke
- Franchise(s)
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The Boys
