The Boys: Homelander Feels Less Intimidating Than Ever

Highlights

Homelander in The Boys Season 4 feels less intimidating due to a deeper exploration of his troubled past and human motivations.
Season 4 provides backstory that reveals the origins of Homelander's monstrous behavior, stemming from Vought's cruel experimentation.
Despite a more nuanced portrayal, Homelander's capacity for destruction is still present, hinting at potential chaos in the upcoming season.

Prime Video's adaptation of The Boys, based on the comic of the same name, has always been known to push boundaries. Especially when it comes to its heroic leading man, Homelander, who has consistently been a huge threat to everyone throughout the first three seasons. However, in the show's fourth season, The Boys' Homelander feels less intimidating than ever.

Throughout the first three seasons of The Boys, Homelander has successfully found a way to push back against anyone who dares to go against him. As the show's Superman-of-sorts, Homelander has always been viewed as America's favorite Supe, having forged an artifical personality for the public. Despite this, he's always proven himself to be incredibly powerful and menacing to the rest of The Seven and The Boys. So, why does the character feel less menacing in the show's penultimate season?

The Boys Season 4 Is Being Review Bombed

The Boys Season 4 has garnered the unfortunate distinction of having the lowest audience score in the series' history.

Homelander's History of Destruction

The Boys Antony Starr Homelander Supporters

Homelander is meant to be the shining star of The Seven, the powerhouse team of Supes that works for Vought International, and he is. However, he's also incredibly arrogant and maniacal, having no issue hurting others in order to better himself. Over the course of three seasons, the character has done his fair share of harm. However, one of the worst things he did was Flight 37. A mission meant to save hundreds of innocent lives, ultimately became a deadly disaster after Homelander makes a mistake. Having destroyed the cockpit, the so-called-hero then threatens the passengers as he prepares to exit the plane, leaving them to die, despite Queen Maeve's pleas to help them. It's one of the earliest moments within the series that truly showcases who Homelander is as a hero. As if that wasn't enough, though, Homelander has also taken it upon himself to out his fellow Supe, Queen Maeve, during a live television interview. He also forced The Deep to eat his friend, Timothy the Starfish, as a means to allow him to rejoin The Seven.

One of the more questionable things Homelander has done occurred in the show's third season. While it's nowhere near as deadly as Flight 37, it's still disgusting and sees him manipulating a child simply for his own personal gain. In the show's third season, we learn that Butcher's wife had a child, Ryan, with Homelander - not of her will. After running away to raise Ryan, eager to keep him away from Homelander, the Supe eventually finds them and decides to use Ryan to his advantage. He makes the boy turn against Butcher, who just wants to save him from his father, and decides to follow Homelander's lead. In the end, the so-called hero introduces Ryan to the world as his proud son, and ends up killing a protestor because he dares throw something at him. This, somehow, leads to the crowds growing more excited and ready to follow in Homelander's lead. With Ryan, who has the same powers as his father, essentially serving as a secondary Homelander, Season 4 of The Boys should have plenty of promise for chaos. Sadly, though, the character feels like a less intimidating version of himself now.

Why the Character Feels Different This Season

In Season 4 of The Boys, Homelander is still a menace, but the show offered a bit more backstory to the character, providing a sense of humanity to the villain. This season, so far, has focused on righting wrongs from the past. All of the heroes - even The Boys - have spent their time trying to correct their past mistakes, trying to make up for the bad they've done in the past. This isn't necessarily the case for Homelander, though. Rather than trying to right his own wrongs, Homelander chooses to use torture against those that have done bad before. Not the most surprising twist, of course, given Homelander is far too arrogant to admit his own wrongdoings or to try and pay the price for the harm he's done. The difference is, though, that the writers have further explored Homelander's backstory this season, which offers a sense of humanity that has been missing thus far. There's a valid reasoning behind his actions - to an extent - and it's hard to take him as the monster we'd come to know in the last three seasons.

As fans know, Homelander was created by Vought. They created their perfect hero in a lab - the son of Soldier Boy and an anonymous young lady. During his time in the lab, he was boiled alive, burned, isolated for long stretches, and mentally conditioned. It was all meant to create the perfect Supe in the eyes of Vought. It's all horrible, and it's understandable why Homelander has become the monster he is. However, after seeking to force the scientists that tortured him to pay for their crimes, Homelander learns that he could've easily escaped the lab - had he wanted to. After all, the walls within the lab couldn't actually prevent Homelander from escaping. But their actions against him ultimately forced him to be the perfect obedient Supe. It shows an eagerness to please, to encompass some sort of emotional validity. So, while the character isn't as menacing as he once was - at least, as of now - the revelation of what drives Homelander could drive him to act even more terrifying. And with one season left to go, there's still plenty of destruction for Homelander to cause before the series wraps up.

The Boys is now streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes of Season 4 dropping weekly.