Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Boys!The Boysfranchise introduced two incredibly different versions ofHomelanderand one is clearly the better character. It was only a few years ago that the Amazon Prime series introduced the infamous Supe to the world. But over a decade before that,The Boys’comic debutedits incarnation of Homelander.
While the live-action series adapts the source material, it’s very much gone in its own direction by this point. But one of the biggest, and arguably best, changes it made was givingmore depth to Homelander. While he’s still an incredibly evil and psychopathic individual,the series fleshed out Homelanderconsiderably more than what he received in the original comic.
Homelander in the Comics Was a Solid Antagonist, But Not Very Deep
His Characterization is Lacking Compared to The Boys
The Boysis filled with dozens of criminal, anti-social, or even evil Supes. The story largely focuses on the CIA-backed team’s attempt to take down Homelander, a Superman pastiche and one of the strongest Supes in the world. Over time, Homelander is shown to be cold and detached from humanity at best and outright sociopathic at worst.
…Homelander is shown to be cold and detached from humanity at best and outright sociopathic at worst.
Eventually, Homelander begins losing it mentally (largely due to being gaslighted by Black Noir), and starts to adopt a Supe supremacist attitude. He even leads an army of Supes to the White House with the intention of overthrowing the United States. However, he ends up dying after a fight with Black Noirwhen Homelander discovers how his clone manipulated him.
The Live-Action Homelander Got a Much More In-Depth Characterization
The Boys’Made Changes for the Better with Homelander
When adaptingThe Boys, the Amazon Prime show made a lot of changes, especially with how it used Homelander. For one, Black Noir isn’t a clone of Homelander and his mind isn’t being toyed with throughout the series.Homelander still winds up going down a psychopathic track, but it’s more a product of his upbringing and celebrity status.
The show goes much more in-depth into Homelander’s past and how he was raised by Vought with virtually no love or care. His desire for warmth and human connection is on display in the first season until he kills Madelyn Stillwell. From there, Homelander starts embracing a similar mentality to his comic counterpart.
From there, Homelander starts embracing a similar mentality to his comic counterpart.
Homelander’s violent tendencies, once they become public, are also embraced by his supporters, only further reinforcing his worst instincts. Instead of being gaslighted into becoming an evil Supe, fans actually see the circumstances that shaped him into the monster he ultimately becomes. It’sa more nuanced and engaging development than how the comics let Homelander’s arc play out.
Live-Action Homelander is an Improvement Over the Source Material
Of All the Changes, This Was the Best One
Like any adaptation,The Boysmade changes to the source material, some good, some bad. But the changes made to Homelander were undoubtedly better.It gave a degree of tragic humanity to Homelander, presenting him as someone who was always doomed to fall. Sure, the Black Noir/Homelander twist in the comics is amazing, but the adaptation got something better.
Homelander received a more nuanced characterization, and that’s helped him become the worldwide icon he is today. A hero that ends up going to the dark side because of the poor circumstances he was brought up in? That was always going to be a far more entertaining read thanThe Boys’tale ofHomelanderbeing manipulated by a rogue clone.
