The Homelander (John Gillman)[1][2] is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in the comic book series The Boys and the media franchise of the same name, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.
He is depicted as a psychopathic and sadistic narcissist who serves as the extremely powerful leader of The Seven—a group of corrupt and hedonistic superheroes grown and funded by Vought-American—and the archenemy of Billy Butcher.
Described as the living personification of how the world sees America,[3][4] the character has received critical acclaim along with Starr's portrayal in the series.
This version is the megalomaniacal son of Soldier Boy and the father of Ryan, born as a result of Homelander raping Billy Butcher's wife Becca (a crime committed by Black Noir in the comic book series).
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.
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 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.
The remainder of their fight takes place off-panel, with a greatly injured Noir reappearing several pages later holding the headless remains of Homelander's torso, before being killed himself by Billy Butcher.
[7][8] Grown from the DNA samples taken from Soldier Boy's semen by Jonah Vogelbaum and having been reared in a laboratory environment to become Homelander, John displays many sociopathic tendencies and is openly contemptuous of those he considers lesser beings.
He is also highly self-righteous, delusional, possessive, paranoid, vindictive, insecure, insensitive, hypocritical, reckless with his powers, and incapable of accepting the possibility of any flaw in his person or decision-making.
His discovery of the lies surrounding Ryan's existence influences his decision to maim the scientist responsible for his upbringing, Jonah Vogelbaum, and murder Madelyn Stillwell.
He appoints Ashley Barrett as his puppet ruler and antagonizes Starlight by reinstating The Deep as a member of the Seven and falsely announcing that the two are in a relationship during the finale of American Hero.
After learning that Queen Maeve not only acted as an informant for the Boys but also slept with their leader Billy Butcher, Homelander has her detained at Seven Tower with the intention of harvesting her eggs.
He proceeds to kill all of the people responsible for testing on him in an act of revenge, with the exception of Dr. Barbara Findley, whom he leaves locked up along with the rest of the dead staff.
Later, Homelander tells his team that they will have to be more cruel and ruthless for the greater good just before he orders The Seven to kill Cameron Coleman, who is believed to have leaked the video.
When Neuman dies, Sage reveals to him that it was all part of her plan and the new president of the United States, Steven Calhoun, swears loyalty to Homelander, declares martial law and deputizes him and his superhuman army.
[11][12] In the 2020 Amazon Prime Video-sponsored The Boys promotional episodes of Death Battle!, in promotion for its second season,[13] Homelander (voiced by Yong Yea) participates in the Seven's simulated battle royale, declaring himself the winner after killing Billy Butcher (standing-in for Black Noir), before throwing aside the laser baby to fight Stormfront, a consequence of which Wiz and Boomstick are uneasy of.
Through a simulated battle, the hosts determined Omni-Man's superior strength, skill, and experience would prevail against Homelander if the two fought to the death.
Homelander first appears in the final moments of the episode "An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents", executing the title characters (escaped Supe teenagers with abnormal powers from the Red River Assisted Living for the Gifted Child) with his heat vision on Vought's behalf, after they kill their parents due to the events of The Boys episode "Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men".
Homelander next appears in the episode "I'm Your Pusher", set in the same continuity as The Boys comic book series while honoring Great Wide Wonder during a promotional campaign.
In order to cover up what happened, Homelander, Queen Maeve, and Jack from Jupiter blame a "Cold War satellite" controlled by the evil Galaxius for their deaths claiming it is "hidden in the light of the Sun" which the watching crowd eagerly believed as they flew away.
"[28] The Homelander's powers and sense of entitlement have led him to exhibit extreme megalomania, causing him to commit crimes against innocent people, including acts of rape and mass murder, out of the idea that he can do anything he wants because of who he is.