How To Write A Terrifying Villain - The Boys

Why is Homelander such a good villain? Get started with Audible & grab Bird by Bird for free by going to www.audible.com/closerlook or text closerlook to 500 500!
Homelander is the most terrifying villain I've ever seen, but why? What makes his character so terrifying to the audience? And what can we learn from him?
I----------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
My Discord Server: / discord
Support me on Patreon: / henryboseley
Hate me on Twitter: / henryboseley
I----------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
0:00 - Intro
0:29 - Power
3:12 - Motivation
5:08 - Maliciousness
8:34 - Uncertainty
I----------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
A massive thank you to my $10+ patrons:
Alex Moretti
Kyong Kim
Frank D. Lemke
Alex Hu
Mike Schmidt
[OG]
Chefda
ElizabethJustElizabeth
Felicity Franklin
Luminé
NStarks
Thomas Feuer
Select footage courtesy of Getty Images

[@TheCloserLook]

Hey guys, I hope you found this one useful! If you'd like to join my Discord server where we chat about our writing projects, workshop ideas, and generally discuss the movies/shows we love, here's a link you can use to join. My Discord: discord.com/invite/aJpYPQX Keep writing! - Henry

[@choopgod1699]

I literally just watched this show, amazing to see

[@zzkeekzz]

How is this comment older than the video?

[@seamuswalker6879]

Thanks Henry!

[@mc-inversal7069]

You sound like stampylongednose/headed or whatever he is hmm yes great breakdown, homelander's always a bit tricky to put your finger on. But really clearly just fearsome. Petrifying to imagine yourself as him. thx for breaking this down

[@GuantaiN]

It was awesome, as always.

[@hannah.e.young.]

One of the most terrifying lines I’ve ever heard was Homelander’s “I’ll lose everything, but then I’ll have nothing to lose”

[@only_fair23]

Yep, because you know the only thing stopping him from killing everyone is his own ego.

[@CliffCardi]

One of Israel’s defense policies is called “The Samson Option”, whereupon it gets overrun, with launch all its nuclear weapons everywhere and hit everyone. This is a reference when the haircut-Samson prays to God for strength after being chained up in a palace of Philistines, receives it, and literally brings down the house killing himself and everyone inside it. Homelander is very capable of pulling this off.

[@electromancer2645]

​@CLB Ronin you have no idea how this series will end. They have already killed off the possibility for this to end anything like the comics ending

[@revolt_4588]

@@CliffCardi jew moment

[@williehaller5840]

It's only when you've lost everything that you're free to do anything

[@micahclawrence]

Starr can’t be commended enough. Those lines and being in that suit…it could easily come off as corny. He murders that role.

[@carolineyuen3247]

He was born to be a Starr

[@GooseWithAtophat]

@@carolineyuen3247 Oh shut up

[@bookofnamzays9477]

Those lines (bulge)

[@jackthecommenter2768]

@@bookofnamzays9477 YO???

[@dirtyunclehubert]

i wonder ....is it padded? nevermind.

[@deadgame2098]

He's honestly much scarier when he chooses NOT to kill/hurt someone, because you see just how close he was to doing it. It's like the tiniest fraying rope holding back a hungry tiger from killing a child in it's enclosure.

[@dafuzzbear7711]

Exactly. It’s like killing them is normally a more predictable ending to the scene and thus more comforting but him not killing them just leaves you with a feeling of unknowing of his actions in the near future.

[@USSWisconsin]

It's like pulling and pulling on the rope and just as it's giving out the tigers sedated, or a character stuck in a burning car and they get out as it explodes but are fine.

[@NikkiBudders]

I think there's that instinctual fear in humans at brushes with death like this. It's that life flashing before your eyes panic then you survive but the panic has nowhere to go

[@icewaterwitlemon]

omg yes like every scene with Ashley

[@Shanenigans204]

yummers.

[@Paxton365]

Bro, as someone who has never watched The Boys before, that scene with Homelander and the disabled hero scared the shit out of me. Masterfully well done.

[@jacobdoestuff9851]

When he slapped that boy off the roof caught me off guard.

[@ellierobertson5083]

If that freaked you out def do not watch the boys because it gets so so so much worse that scene is not even top 10 most horrifying scenes 😭😭

[@Paxton365]

@@ellierobertson5083 It just scared me cuz I didn’t expect it. Mind you that was the first ever scene of the boys I’ve watched other than trailers.

[@ellierobertson5083]

@@Paxton365 the first 5 minutes actually had me hiding my face in my hands and I'm a huge horror fan and generally don't get scared by movies

[@sunb5738]

​@@ellierobertson5083Istg it got me stuck in Pikachu shock face for like 10 minute lmao Like, woah ok, this is how it's gonna be, ok :0

[@Marshmellow3971]

I think the actor deserves as much credit as the writers. A lot of what makes Homelander so terrifying are the subtle changes in his facial expressions, tone of voice and body language that make him seem unpredictable and chaotic. He really sells the idea of being one mild criticism away from losing his mind.

[@picklepeppers6983]

Every scene I see Antony Starr (Homelander) in makes me nervous because he plays his role SO exceptionally well! He really does deserve accolades because he is so good at it!

[@williamedwards4151]

Absolutely! He is such a damn good actor. So convincing. You can really believe that Homelander is totally unhinged. He's next level.

[@yuro5833]

Apparently he acts like homelander in real life too so maybe that makes it easier

[@picklepeppers6983]

@@yuro5833 - have there been more than one account or a history of him doing stuff in this nature to suggest that he acts like his character Homelander?

[@hadzhere]

agree, anthony starr deserves most (if not all of the credit) for the amazing homelander character. he does such a great job that when he's not being totally villainous, i actually feel sorry for the character (he's not just evil, he's also broken).

[@aceyspud551]

“Being mad doesn’t mean you’ll do literally anything for no reason” Harley Quinn is at her worst when writers don’t know this.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Even a "mad" villain has their own logic on what they do. It isn't what "normal" people see, but in their deranged mind, it all makes sense. Basically the idea of "every villain is the hero in their story"

[@Justmonika6969]

@@HappyBeezerStudios It's because what is "mad" to us, is sane to them. Usually mad people don't think of themselves as mad but sane people who just believe different things that are unacceptable by society. They might think society is insane (and maybe even be somewhat right) as is the case with Joker (2019).

[@adrianli7559]

Harley was introduced in Batman: The Animated Series, and even in her most manic scenes, there was always an undertone of tragedy. They dedicated an entire episode to her origins and her descent into madness. Even though the Harley Quinn show is a comedy, they still balanced it out with scenes which outline the tragic nature of the character. That balancing act is why she became such a popular character. With the movies, all they completely ignored those things and went for the 'crazy lady goes brrr' route.

[@gwenethp511]

@@adrianli7559 her main idea was to represent an abusive relationship and her realization that the Joker was never in love with her and just using her. Then all of the new writers were like "omg couple goals!!!" Harley can be written incredibly well and then also... very easily poorly. It sucks because she was such a great character!

[@DemigodoftheSea]

@@gwenethp511 Or they used her to push the extremely homophobic and sexualized stereotype of "A woman is abused by a man and that turns her into a lesbian! Oh my goodness, look at this girl power!"

[@Evoker23-lx8mb]

The main thing that makes Homelander scary to me isn’t only his power, it’s that mentally he’s still essentially a child. Not only that but a heavily traumatised child. Anyone who’s spent even a limited amount of time around children knows how unpredictable they can be, you never quite know for sure what they’re gonna do at any given moment, one minute they’re a little angel, next minute they might snap if even one thing goes slightly wrong for them or they don’t get their way or even just because they feel like it. Combine that unpredictability with the power of a essentially a god, I can’t think of anything more terrifying than that combination.

[@atherisGAY]

Childish God is an apt description.

[@arnolddawson5747]

yeah done before Frankenstein's monster for instance@@atherisGAY

[@AFeralTrout420]

True enough for homelander

[@godzillazfriction]

with the notion that the Original Post is going for then every Human is essentially just a 'child'...

[@smartcakes303]

I think by far the scariest thing besides Homelanders incredible power, is how unstable he is. The trauma he carries, hes constantly a ticking bomb. So every scene you see Homelander, you're worried he's going to snap and no one will live to share the story

[@belovedobserver]

Exactly! Like when he just annihilated hundreds of civilians at a rally while on stage. I was convinced it was real and not his imagination bc it would not be out of his character to snap like that.

[@txma.]

Antony Starr deserves an award for his performance in this show. A lesser actor would’ve made Homelander look cartoonish or cringe worthy. His mannerisms perfectly portrayed a psychopath down to the slightest of twitches.

[@ZigealFaust]

For real. Every clench of his jaw, movement of his eyes, fucking just the way he breathes conveys more layers to Homelander than the dialouge itself lends sometimes. Ant-Star def is one of the better actors of this time period and gets slept on. I wonder if he did something to piss off the Academy?

[@BlacK40k]

Homelander is not a Psychopath, they are born with their condition. Homelander fits more in the "Sociopath" category

[@tetra_kirby5691]

@@BlacK40k yeah, and psychopaths fake empathy, sociopaths do cant

[@Lakthul]

@@BlacK40k Even then, I don't think he's a sociopath. It looks more like he has Narcissism.

[@BlacK40k]

@@Lakthul Both. He fits what is called a "malignant Narcissist", somebody who suffers from Narcisstic personality disorder with traits of Anti Social personality disorder (known as Sociopathy). Wild guess though, I am not a psychologist

[@NourArt02]

What makes Homelander terrifying is not because he's evil, it's because even when he's friendly you're not really sure of what he'll do .. he's a very complex character, and Anthony Starr's performance made him even more terrifying.

[@dtk673]

But also because he's evil.

[@MIICAH2]

@@dtk673 I wouldn't say evil, he has a really short fuse

[@dtk673]

@@MIICAH2 Not all people with Short tempers do horrible things

[@dumbassdude8372]

No what makes homelander terrifying is because he can end the world if he wanted to and it feels like he is one stubbed toe away from doing so

[@dtk673]

@@dumbassdude8372 I don't think so, if this was true so many other tv/movie characters would be terrifying, if this were true. This is my opinion though you might think differently.

[@ryangraff102]

One other thing I like about Homelander is that they sometimes give him relatable goals and motivations, like wanting to be a good dad. It makes him feel more real, and thus makes his scary side even scarier.

[@SentientIrisu]

The scene where Homelander decided to leave that restaurant about him because Ryan was freaking out due to his powers was such a great way to show that! It's a rare moment of empathy from Homelander.

[@sky-trevishere9638]

@@SentientIrisubut then it also makes you think about why he did it. You’ll see in later episodes regarding Ryan that makes you realize he has a mess of things he wants to do with Ryan. *Spoilers on season two and three for anyone who hasn’t watched.* There’s various scenes with Homelander actually caring for Ryan. Such as the scene you described, and him telling Rebecca that sealing him off from the rest of the world won’t do him any good, or the scene in s3 where he actively went to make sure that Ryan was okay from Soldier Boy. But, you know what else? It makes me think about the moments where he seemed to have some sort of ulterior motive for Ryan. Such as when he demanded Ryan to choose him over Butcher in s2, how he went batshit angry when Stormfront was severely injured by Ryan who can’t control his powers…. But then when he finds Ryan in s3 he acts like it was no big deal and that he’ll “always be there for him” when he didn’t exactly show that, and the whole scene where he discovers Stormfront died was something that made him almost completely snap. Now in the season 3 finale, he’s using Ryan to peddle his group that there’s an “heir” to his title as “Homelander”. While yes he was protective of Ryan against that dude who threw trash at him, however, he also… brutally murdered the guy in broad daylight, showing Ryan a rather brutal display of power. It shows that Homelander has several sides. One side of him wanting to care for Ryan, and be the father Homelander never had and showing the world he couldn’t be shown in his own childhood. And then another side of him wanting got peddle Ryan as a carbon copy of him, trying to egg him on and get his behavior to be like his, and that his powers can be used to oppress anyone else he deems “lesser”. And another side that’s his more selfish side, that he desperately wants attention and love, and is scrabbling to be loved by people around him, and wants to make up a scenario where he and Ryan are “family”. This level of complexity to the villain of the series is something I adore, really has you relate, despise, and be terrified of him.

[@jeden_chalan]

I remember what one of Agatha Christie's books has said: that being crazy doesn't mean that your actions are not logical, but rather that they are based on a different logic from that of a normal human.

[@hassanes3360]

It's actually crazy, because in season 1 and 2. Homelander's weakness is public perception and being ostracized, but in season 3 he straight up says "Tell them, I don't care anymore. What are they gonna do about it?", when Homelander genuinely angry and realizes his weakness is irrelevant, he is genuinely terrifying

[@Catkilledmeowbob]

He has a great video on the “give and take” and I think that was a perfect example of it. Finally a weapon against homelander, something to keep him in line, then power shift, keep homelander loved because if not he will entrenched himself with fear, you decide which one you want. It really was a spectacular chess move and really builds the tension.

[@GreenFalcon926]

I think his weakness going forwards is going to be Ryan. I like that the writers made this crazy nutjob a caring father. Gives him so much more depth.

[@rhetiq9989]

Stormfront’s death was the thing that pushed him over the edge

[@hassanes3360]

@@GreenFalcon926 I was thinking about that and surely a plan to take down homelander has to involve Ryan. Which would really raise the question of who would be the bad guy here

[@emmaesta9444]

This! My bf complained abt how he should just laser anyone in his way and i argued that he adored the positive public perception. He adored being wanted and loved - something he never got as a child and while it was tense to see what he'd do next, i never truly feared him bc of that fault. Now that its gone and now that the season finale shows that his crazy fans would still love him even after killing someone, its terrifying. Hes now a monster of all monsters bc he will still have that love that he yearns for no matter what he does

[@joshc-e7128]

One of the reasons that Homelander is such a good villain is because he is as pathetic as he is powerful. Like you get the impression that at any moment he might kill millions of people just because he felt insecure or petty about some small insult

[@krustylesponge6250]

Essentially a man child given supermans power

[@JLWTH]

It's scary because there are actual people like him every where around us...we can feel that negative vibe and can't do much about it like in reality.

[@Lycheepuffbar]

@@JLWTH cops

[@user-ff1ws1sf2u]

that's the hair-trigger he referenced darth vader for

[@FrostDK98]

@@Lycheepuffbar Some cops are homelanders, and some are captain americas. Sucks that law enforcement laws and training are mediocre that the homelanders aren't weeded out.

[@user-ds6lr9bo7q]

I think another thing that makes him terrifying is how easily he turns the tables, like when Starlight threatens to destroy his career and he just points out that if she did, he would have no reason to be "good" anymore. He would just kill everyone, and the only thing stopping him from doing that is his love for his public image

[@septanine5936]

yeah. it's like he's hanging on by one thread that is his public image. the entire situation is so fragile, because while the characters may want to expose him, doing that would release him upon the world unrestrained. so their only bet is to try and kill him without cutting the thread.

[@jaymuffinz]

One major point you missed is that he's capable of performing such monstrosities under the guise of being the hero. Everyone who doesn't know, loves him. You're already fighting an uphill battle against both him and his popularity. He's truly evil and yet he can get away with it because those who do know are either dead, or scared shitless to do anything about it.

[@elifminasvgn3959]

This is soo true. You literally cannot win against Homelander, nothing he will do wil make people turn against him since they wont live to tell the tale.

[@enzoarayamorales7220]

The fact that homelander gets cheered on by his fan base when he killed that protester is what makes this character and the situation he's in 1000% more realistically terrifying than simply taking over the white house like in the comics.

[@jambgarn5695]

Seriously, like him knowing that he can still be loved after doing horrible things is horrifying

[@jacksamson1239]

@@jambgarn5695 not only that because he's a narcissist, the only thing stopping him massacring the whole of the United States is his laziness and the praise from the public. Soon as the public approve him murdering people the only thing stopping him is his laziness. Which is bloody terrifying

[@darthdiabetes1250]

When both sides of his narcissism agree it’ll be chaos

[@constable.3202]

"I could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and I wouldn't lose any voters" - Donald Trump

[@jacob9673]

Reminds me a lot of Trump, but less fat.

[@thegunslinger1363]

Antony Starr never failed to make me nervous in any scene he was in. A seriously incredible actor.

[@darrengordon-hill]

Or seriously credible...

[@84Micks]

@@darrengordon-hill 👌🏻

[@Cipher_Paul]

Even when it was just good old regular Antony Starr during a normal real-life interview 😂

[@addy3164]

It sucks that he got missed out on having an Emmy nomination this year

[@Jim73]

is anthony starr related to martin starr? What's the deall with the last name starr?

[@Thyrussiansanta]

I thought the swat team scene was horrifying, because they all knew they were going to die. There was nothing they could do to save them selves. And that was incredible.

[@plumdowner1941]

I think the scene in his home is terrifying in a entirely different sense. You're not scared because of what he might do. You know *exactly* what's going to happen, and that's a different kind of terror.

[@urboiuhskinnypennis5951]

it goes from a question of "what" to a question of "when"

[@eddiefirstenberg1000]

Exactly. I think it was Stephen King who made this distinction, correct me if I'm wrong though: terror is knowing that there's a monster chasing you. Horror is realizing that your feet are stuck to the ground. Most Homelander scenes are terrifying- we have no idea what's going to happen, if our heroes will escape, but we know there's a monster there with them. The house scene is horrifying- the monster's right there with them, and their feet are stuck to the ground. There is no way that any of those SWAT guys survives. And yet, we have to wait and watch them all die.

[@justaserbiandoomer497]

Every time Homelander is getting physically closer to someone I'm just like "He's gonna kill him/her. No debate, they're as good as dead."

[@picturethis4903]

them*

[@skydaz3r]

@@picturethis4903 him/her covers everyone in the show :)

[@ThePseudonoob]

The way he puts his hand on/close to someone's neck while talking to them lends yet more to this. I'm always thinking he'll squeeze hard enough to kill any number of people he does this to, should they provoke him in his eyes.

[@epicmoofish3726]

@@skydaz3r yeah but them also does and requires less typing

[@gluedglued1252]

@@skydaz3r Maeve uses she/them pronouns :)

[@grimace9670]

I feel like the fact that homelander’s crimes are kept secret from the wider public really adds to the helplessness of going against him

[@KeemJL]

The fact that they have to be kept secret or else he’d have no reason to not go overboard it’s like a positive feedback loop of enabling his negativity

[@coomerslayer420]

True. I feel like that is the main reason. Also the fact that Homelander can commit any crime he wants and the government and political left will always act as backup to cover it all up and support him still no matter what

[@FrankFurther]

@@coomerslayer420 *political right. He's literally a nazi at one point, that's as far right as possible

[@reecedubinsky1157]

⁠@@coomerslayer420directors and writers of the show have literally stated that homelander is a direct Trump analogy. Don’t think this is the show for you lol. The rights media illiteracy will never fail to amaze. Season 3 ends with him murdering a man in the middle of one of his rallies (all supporters very not so subtly dressed in MAGA look alike gear,) and getting cheered on for it. Not to mention the one guy that’s not in support and the one he murders calls him a fascist. Trump has said he could shoot a man in Times Square and not lose a vote. How much more on the nose can they be lmao

[@botobop]

@@FrankFurtherneither side cares they both enable him as long as he does something they like.

[@guybell4949]

One of the most terrifying homelander moments is when starlight threatens him and he rants on how he prefers to be loved but its okey dokey for him to have to kill everyone and everything

[@AdultMolester]

One of the things I love about 'the boys', other shows are 'who will win', but with the boys its 'how are they going to survive'

[@yessir650]

The daydreaming scene where homelander casually mows down a ton of protesters really sold me on him as a villain - especially now that he killed a protestor that threw a soda can(?) at him and had his followers cheer him on

[@edmardisla8492]

Yes, it was A-Train's soda lol

[@Hibernathan05]

I think that is a testament to how unpredictable he is. When I first saw that scene I genuinely thought he had done it for real. I didn't even doubt it, I thought that was where he broke. It was only when it snapped back into reality that I realized.

[@feister2869]

@@Hibernathan05 holy shit, I really actually believed he lasered all those protesters for real.

[@ChefofWar33]

It totally got me

[@hondaguy9153]

Him killing that guy in public makes me think that's the breaking point where homelander already gave up the "being loved" persona. In the video he states homelander will have a breaking bad point, but I believe that's already happened.

[@mito._]

I think a huge point worth mentioning is the fact that Homelander had a really unusual childhood - being that he was essentially grown and raised in a lab, without parents, and has likely developed sociopathic tendencies (or some other psychological diagnosis) which also makes him characteristically unpredictable. Because how many of us know someone who was raised in a lab? Who knows what makes Homelander tick? None of us truly do.

[@mito._]

Also, consider that Homelander used to be like Starlight back when he first joined The Seven. And because of someone else's f-up he couldn't be the hero he wanted to be, and instead had to tell a lie, covering up the truth to save the public image of Vought and, by extension, himself. Which is also why Homelander's mirror scene was so powerful. He's been through a lot.

[@phuturephunk]

@@mito._ Yeah, in a way there's a certain type of very human tragedy that I think is always acting as an undercurrent of his character. It's easy to try to think what it would be like to be essentially lab grown with amoral scientists not even trying to be an actual parent to us. As bad as he's demonstrated to be, you can kind of understand (not condone, but understand) how he acts out in the context of the fictional setting. The mirror scene is the perfect example of showing this. Even below the terror there is still a human that doesn't understand why he can't find actual love or acceptance or real connection or anything. It's lost to him but he understands that loss exists. It's not nihilistic. He gets that he's missing something key to being a fulfilled, complete human.

[@westphalianstallion4293]

@@phuturephunk Yes, the tragic aspect of his personality gets a bit lost in this ohterwise great video. Maybe its because the focus is about his fear factor. Besides that is he a great and very complex charakter. Even if his fabricated backstory would be his childhood, he would still be isolated by his power alone. The narzissism is even more complex when you consider the fact, that he is literally superior than any one else (maybe not intelectually) but still is co dependend for the love and admiration of lesser creatures, who he dispises, because they can never understand him and used him as a tool. This is such a great spiral of misery. Especially when you add the animated show, where he really tried to be good.

[@Alcatr]

@@mito._ whose what fault

[@user-yu3wu4ym9n]

@@westphalianstallion4293 spoiler. . . . . . . . . He loves his kid and tries to be a good father (in his own way). I kinda like his character tbh not the murder part but the being a father part.

[@ATeyken]

To me, the scary part about Homelander was how easily it was to sympathize with him. All his horrible acts are all due to very easily understood motivations, his extreme abandonment issues makes me want to hug him and save him from his internal struggles, while his actions makes me want him dead. That contrast and inner conflict he awakens in me is what I find absolutely horrifying. He shows me the kind of person that could abuse me for years but I could would never help but love. By comparison, the Joker, while having good motivations, never made me want to 'save' him.

[@celialusma4618]

Exactly that what the writers got right even with soldier boy and the deep there are layers to their charcheter and we see moment of vulnerability and pain that puch us to empathize with the even if we know they are a**hole

[@ipercalisse579]

If you sympathize for him.. You clearly have some mental issue going on. See a therapist asap

[@3dsmaster537]

The season 3 finale perfectly mended that issue with abandoning the battle within Homelander. When he kills the protestor for attacking his son, he isnt feared or hated, he's *rewarded* His followers cheer and praise him for silencing those who don't agree thus fulfilling both his need for attention and his need to feel superior. Of course, there is a fine line between Homelander being built up and it all crashing down so that internal discourse is still present. It was a great move on the writer's part

[@haydenz127]

Realize your power. You can be moral without fear. Do not let fear keep you

[@TheCosmicFailure]

Whats terrifying is that I think Ryan will end up being worse then Homelander. Even crossing lines that Homelander wont.

[@GordonSeal]

Homelander is interesting because, with a different upbringing and good parents, he could have become a good & just superhero like Superman. His character story is a portrait of how a system driven by profits will create monsters out of anything.

[@eldermillennial8330]

Then there’s the version where Superman was found and raised by an Amish neighbor of the Kents after a flat tire delayed them finding him first. They were very kind and loving, but problem is that they can be TOO peaceful sometimes, like the Quakers, taking “The Meek Shall Inherent The Earth” far too literally as a conviction of radical self restraint under all circumstances of conflict.

[@earthknight60]

@@eldermillennial8330 There's also a what-if type comic about if Superman landed in the Soviet Union.

[@picklepeppers6983]

@@earthknight60 - that was an amazing story! I felt bad for Wonder Woman and Batman was totally despicable! Also had a great message and the climax of the story had an interesting twist! Overall awesomeness!

[@Joy.W.]

@@earthknight60 where can I read or buy, and what’s the name of you can remember, if not that’s okay.

[@earthknight60]

@@Joy.W. Take a look for "Superman: Red Son". I think there is an earlier short story with a similar premise too, but that's the main one.

[@daragristwood5200]

What makes me afraid of homelander isn’t his actions or his ability to go from charismatic to cold blooded. It’s his stare. You know the one. When he’s angry, but he can’t show it. That face that’s trying half heartedly to appear neutral, but is wrought with hatred. That is what scares me, because it’s that face that reminds me of how inhuman this thing is.

[@hagelslag9312]

The actor really nails it. If you ever met someone as unpredictable and so full of anger all the time you have to tippy-toe around them, you know how accurate it is. And pretty much all of us have at least once.

[@mcchilde2903]

Well, not inhuman

[@TheImmilky]

@@JohnBalnis Okay edgy Sasuke's cousin Shadow the hedgehog.

[@elliottpak]

Ohhhhhhh like the one he does when that guy flipped him off?

[@David-iv6je]

There's also something about his mouth that is creepy. I don't know if it is makeup or just the actor's face. But something is off.

[@logon235]

Having read the graphic novel, I'd say Anthony Starr who played Homelander had made him much more terrifying in live action.

[@Chameleonred5]

The graphic novel is far too different from the show to really make that a valid point.

[@logon235]

@@Chameleonred5 you may find it too difficult to make a comparison due to the differences, but I was able to adjust for that to make a judgement. In fact, the differences are part of what made the live action one more terrifying.

[@Chameleonred5]

​@@logon235 The stories, while superficially similar, are aiming for two entirely separate goals. The graphic novel isn't really trying to be terrifying. It's trying to be edgy. Of course the live-action, which is aiming for a more realistic darkness, is going to be more frightening. Even assuming the edginess was supposed to be a parody of comic book tropes at the time, and that the realistic darkness is supposed to be a deconstruction, the end result puts them in different camps. They're basically different stories. I don't think it makes sense to say that comparing Anthony Starr's performance to Candyland makes Homelander more terrifying. So why would it make sense to compare it to any other irrelevant media?

[@AraiiarA]

​@@Chameleonred5They really are completely different stories. After watching Season 1, I decided to read the comics and I was shocked... By how terrible the comics are. It didn't even feel like a parody or deconstruction of the superhero genre; it felt like an edgy fanfiction of Ennis' group of trench coat weirdos killing superheroes because he hates superheroes.

[@dragonace119]

@@AraiiarA Thats Garth Ennis in nutshell. When there's nobody to hold him back or tell him something is a bad idea you get comics like Crossed. I will give him credit though, most of his comics with Punisher are actually pretty good if you can get past the extreme edge of some of them.

[@westlink1985]

He is truly terrifying and a terrible human being, but you can't help but love him. I mean he literally carries the show.

[@gunsup0331]

i hate to agree with this but yes. the other players in this game are trash. butch is poorly written and hughie and the gang are basically shit.

[@damedeviant1388]

The actors studied body language for sure!! He has got the ‘psychopath with a human costume’ behaviour down to an art. Phenomenal job.

[@TheCloserLook]

It's interesting you say that. I don't think Homelander is a psychopath because psychopathy is a very specific diagnoses which basically means the person is incapable of feeling empathy, incapable of loving another person etc. But homelander routinely shows he can feel things no psychopath can feel e.g. how he seems to legitimately love his son. He is 100% a narcissist though.

[@damedeviant1388]

@@TheCloserLook I see your point! He’s hugely narcissistic. Though psychopaths can raise children without raising red flags (potentially!). I personally don’t see it as any empathy or for love for his son. Homelander is a broken child fighting over a toy, a means for gaining control over another tool for just himself, not out of genuine love. Just my opinion, though. It’s fun to have a villain so complex that these discussions are possible :)

[@shafqatalam6018]

@@sephiraabraxas9146 also did his time, apologized to the guy and gave him money. don't talk out of your ass

[@damiantirado9616]

@@damedeviant1388 Homelander is 100% not a psychopath. Homelander is actually very emotional and gets offended easily. That’s not how psychopaths are. He is most likely a narcissist or has anti social personality disorder one of those two.

[@damedeviant1388]

@@damiantirado9616 Yes, in relation to himself and his own feelings. I do think he lacks any empathy though and isn’t that the main component of psychopathy? He’s only bothered by what affects him and his image directly.

[@mattiejoseph]

In my opinion the most terrifying scene in The Boys was when Homelander forced the girl to jump off the building. That whole scene was chilling and upsetting to me.

[@LethargicScientist]

I think the best part of that scene is that, to an outside observer, she did literally nothing to him. He just had a bad day and wanted to see her suffer.

[@LethargicScientist]

@@dermagnus8482 you want to see people suffer just because of that? Get help.

[@alphamale4528]

@@LethargicScientist yeah and that he hates jews

[@justafurrywithinternet317]

@@dermagnus8482 Goddamn, you're sooooo cool and alpha.

[@julesburke5996]

​@@dermagnus8482 ratio lmao

[@ShinjiniBose13]

the fact that Homelander can ruin everything any moment if he wants but doesn't because he chooses not to, is what makes him more terrifying

[@kierinhernandez7524]

Dude Anthony Starr plays him so well, the subtle face changes, Wide eyes, artificial smile and body language is so on point that it makes Homelander the star of every scene he is in. His prescence as the character commands any room he walks into and really adds to the scariness of Homelander.

[@Cupidador]

the fact that he could quite literally snap anyone on screen's head off at the blink of an eye is crazy also the fact that literally EVERYONE is terrified of him and are scared to cross him (except for butcher)

[@jillian6121]

butcher is too self-destructive to care tbh

[@tomob5715]

That’s true, until the latest series. He looked so poor actually fighting and didn’t seem all that powerful ar all. Ruined for me

[@tomob5715]

@@womenshouldcookandcleanunp6159 Just shattered the whole thing for me, the fear and his presence is purely determined by 'what happens if he actually loses it'...well he kind of did, and it was crap lol

[@ComedyGlor]

And stan Edgar

[@kanishkjaiswal5088]

@@tomob5715 I dont think he actually lost it there. I fear we will get to see his true face in the fourth season. And now that soldier boy has gone he has again become a threat.

[@Thatoneguy-el8xn]

A villain truly becomes terrifying when the audience stops asking “will they win?” and starts asking “how will they win?”

[@Blobbyo25]

Pretty sure it's actually the other way around? The reason Homelander is so unsettling is because we know for certain that no character can match him in a fight on their own. We know that there is no way to win, so we start asking "will they win???"

[@Takittack]

​@@Blobbyo25 Yea the way you said it makes more sense

[@Matt513131]

I think it's less about winning, and more just wondering how will they survive.

[@Anonkontello]

This has about 2-3 contradictions in it and is quite the confusing paragraph. Sense made: 1/10

[@Anonkontello]

I mean, you’re kind of agreeing without realizing it?

[@JacobC479]

The best explanation I saw was “you know that Homelander would murder everybody on the planet if he wasn’t so desperate for their love and admiration.”

[@Espurrz]

What I feel makes him so incredibly terrifying and captivating is that although he’s unpredictable, he doesn’t act without reason. While evil people/villains who kill or otherwise act indiscriminately are undoubtedly terrifying because of the randomness and inherent inexplicably, they aren’t really as captivating because the audience just has to accept that they simply can’t understand the villain. Whereas Homelander’s actions are rapid and appear random, they aren’t without some reason. His reasons for why he does certain actions are made clear though his dialogue and demeanor during and after he’s gone through with them. Although his reasons may be perverse and nonsensical, they nonetheless are understandable for the audience and allow them to understand him more. So the knowledge that he’s capable of committing any heinous action at random while also knowing that he does them for reasons that the audience can understand makes him all the more terrifying. A villain you can’t understand is terrifying, but the villain who commits the same psychotic acts and has some tangible (albeit perverse) reason behind those acts is even more menacing.

[@Mopark25]

Couldn't have said it better. This show is basically exploring the blueprint to his psychology.

[@jthomas7453]

Part of the reason the final scene of season 3 is so terrify is because it takes those two conflicting motivations for homelander that are seemingly incompatible; the need for affection/attention fueled by his narcissism and his affinity for murder, and MAKES them more compatible. He murders the protester at his rally, feeding the second desire, and is rewarded with cheers and applause, feeding the first. This sets up the next season to be truly terrify as now we're going to see homelander treading that fine line even more, seeing how far he can go.

[@alenunya]

But i guess that will make him a more predictable thus more boring character

[@butterflymage5623]

@@alenunya yes and no, he can’t just do whatever, that moment worked out because he was acting as a father protecting his son, yes he gets more power through it but not so much as to do whatever he wants yet

[@JS-po8oc]

@@alenunya No, then it becomes how do people respond to him. If he kills the wrong guy and suddenly his supporters don't like him as much, how Iwill he respond

[@keychains5806]

@@JS-po8oc thus the fear of the unknown (uncertainty) kicks in omg full circle!

[@jthomas7453]

@@keychains5806 it also then turns into a question of what his followers will do, and how will Ryan change, which is what I think the final frame of Ryan smiling might be alluding to.

[@shayne_has_landed2511]

I loved how the creative team handled Homelander’s humanity. They showed that he has childhood trauma that’s extremely valid and a good explanation for his current choices, but make it very clear that he shouldn’t be given a sliver of sympathy. It’s anti-hybristophilic. It’s another way The Boys stands out from other film media.

[@scottyyoung4278]

i kind of hate you for making me learn what hybristophilic means.

[@Ashbrash1998]

Exactly, a lot of media (especially Marvel) tries to make a lot of villians sympathetic or downplay their actions until we forget about it. Which is fine, it makes them interesting but when you act like them killing a bunch of people isn't a big deal, it makes them less threatening. Kind of like them having bad parents mean they can't be blamed for anything.

[@sebastianaristizabal3871]

@@Ashbrash1998 like Bnha, just because they have "sad backstories" People often forget they are pieces of shit

[@heatherrockwell9012]

I mean, you can give Homelander plenty of sympathy and also acknowledge that, at present, he’s a monster that needs to be stopped and, in all likelihood, killed. I feel terrible for him, but unfortunately that doesn’t change the circumstances.

[@galerights8983]

hybristophilia n. sexual interest in and attraction to those who commit crimes. In some cases, this may be directed toward people in prison for various types of criminal activities.

[@arbCannons3395]

Ron Desantis has done a great job playing Homelander. The way his face changes when an interviewer asks a simple question is amazing.

[@rinapop2681]

Homelander is the most terrifying character I've come across in TV . I have never felt such sickening dread when seeing a fictional character. Whenever he's in the room, the only reason he's not destroying everyone in his path is because he's decided on a whim not to. That's why every scene he's in is filled such tension

[@SavveGaming]

Joffrey Baratheon/Lannister was the only other character I was genuinely terrified of and hated with a passion. Him and Homelander seriously gave the performance of their lives. I love hating them.

[@HoangTran-wu6se]

@@SavveGaming Fun fact: Joffrey's actor was so good that he actually got death threats in real life.

[@Toph_Not_E-Bender]

It's also the tension of knowing that at any moment, the scene really could turn the other way and he'll kill everyone there. The number of times he's lived up to that fear makes every single next scene with him just terrifying

[@hck1bloodday]

@@HoangTran-wu6se so sad some people can't separatee the actor from the role.

[@Xenathewarrior83]

​@@Toph_Not_E-BenderComplete unpredictability makes these villains so terrifying...

[@AclibButLikeTheRealOne]

If I ever saw him in real life I'd be too scared to approach him. That's how well-written and well-acted he is.

[@asri1361]

@Bili0 you're acting as if the actor is his character

[@korb6626]

@ChurchJ0 im pretty sure that Aclib was talking about the actor, not the character Homelander

[@detective2221]

@@korb6626 what

[@korb6626]

@@detective2221 huh

[@DarkBlackwing]

@asri? how you were you able to come to that conclusion? What does @ChurchJ0 say that indicates he was referring to the actor and not the character? God, you people just jump to things with no explanation whatsoever 🤦‍♂️

[@Kiginsworth1010]

i think the reason homelander is so terrifying is because hes a complete foil to every plan. the show makes him out to be cold and calculated but also impulsive and aggressive. but no matter what he always seems to know what the protagonists are up to, he knows where they are going, he knows what they are planning, and his mere presence stops them from doing that thing. hes the ultimate obstacle who can and possibly will kill you simply because he wants to

[@leannacrumpler5100]

The terrifying thing about Homelander is how much of a reality his fanbase is. People actually share those same views he has in real life. The struggle is so close to reality

[@zaddik8131]

As a New Zealander, I've known about Antony Starr a long time, since he was in a drama, based in NZ called Outrageous Fortune. He plays twins, a lovable dumb guy and also a top shelf stick up-his-ass lawyer and his acting chops really showed then, and I'm so happy to see him killing it now as Homelander. Him and Karl Urban make us kiwis proud

[@PrismaAce]

TRUE

[@Jyoo609]

I remember him in In My Fathers Den. Already acting creepy then.

[@curious1053]

No one watched Banshee?

[@zaddik8131]

@@curious1053 I was gonna mention banshee too actually, hopefully he starts getting some a list roles

[@96Logan]

@@curious1053 One of my favorite shows. I'm in the middle of rewatching it after I finished it in 2016/17. Anthony plays Hood and Homelander so well

[@arindamghatak]

Antony Starr should have won a couple of Emmys for his performance as Homelander. By far the most terrifying villain I have ever come across. Hans Landa is probably second.

[@theshore2667]

A couple? Give EM ALLL

[@anonymousman5573]

Honestly, I felt more scared of Homelander then I did with Hans. Then again, it's been a while since I last watched Inglorious Bastereds. Perhaps Anton Chigurh in a better comparison

[@arindamghatak]

@@anonymousman5573 Yes, Chigurh was terrifying too.

[@tglake2894]

I think Hans Landa is scarier simply because he's an image of the evil ordinary humans are capable of. "Detectives" doing their job, doing it very well, but doing it for monstrous ends they simply don't care about. That he existed with many other names and in many different settings all at once is much more horrifying.

[@Ruhrohraggy23345]

Facts. Terrifying, to think about for too long .

[@dalgib90]

You mentioned villains with composure, tywin Lannister is a fantastic villain with composure. He has the history and the composure which leads to him being so powerful and known in the kingdom. I just love him

[@twigblack22]

the actor does an amazing job playing him - what scares me the most about homelander is the way his facial expressions change in such minor ways but it makes him seem so unsettling and you know you don't want to be in the room with him

[@mgkindles]

It's kinda like a quote I heard one time. A good villain wants every want to know that they are bad. A great villain wants everyone to think that they are good. Great show.

[@nocturn333]

I don't like this line of thinking because it forces villains to fit a certain mold. Vader never tries to make the audience or those around him think he's good, yet he's still a great villain. Instead of forcing them to fit a certain archetype, a great villain should be one that fits the the themes of the story. Remember at the end of the day villains are just a piece of the greater narrative puzzle.

[@Noir0rioN]

True, @nocturn333, 👍... - BUT, I still think bthat @MG KH 's paraphrased quote I'd still QUITE epic; wouldn't you agree?

[@funnydankmemes880]

Like Gus fring

[@s1d3k1ckRO]

Palpatine

[@RealElevenTimes]

@@nocturn333 Exactly!

[@rhetiq9989]

I find it interesting how the show doesn’t often show off Homelander using his powers and kill a bunch of people to build fear in the audience especially in later seasons, but instead they put faith in the audience to imagine that scenario in their minds and only sparsely insert those moments here and there. Most of the time it’s just Homelander going back and forth between threatening and/or giving someone a cold, blank stare and that alone is already enough to send shivers down our spines. You don’t know when he’ll snap, you don’t know what damage he’ll do, and that unpredictability is I think one of Homelander’s greatest strengths as a villain. You don’t have to have a lot of superpower display to make us fear him, we know exactly what he can do, and the show takes advantage of that to both build a new “fear tactic” for the audience as well as to save budget

[@furkankaraca3841]

🎶If you want to be happy livin a kings life, never make a pretty woman your wife🎵

[@hamoiq908]

Yeah that’s what makes homelanders last scene so terrifying in my opinion cause we never actually expected him to do it. It’s always only threats in public

[@Ismael-kc3ry]

It also helps that we get more explicit shows of power from the other superheroes and they’re all fucking terrified of him. That also helps the imagination. If they’re so utterly scared of him and he’s completely unthreatened by the idea of them trying to harm him, he must be a beast. And in season 3 we finally saw that. Noir, dead with one blow. Maeve, after a year of training, only held him back for a minute or two when initially he didn’t even want to fight. And Soldier Boy and Butcher with powers working together both barely managed to last against him, it took Hughie intervening for them to pin him for even a couple seconds. Without any sort of training or attempt to push his powers to their limits, he can only be temporarily subdued by being literally dogpiled.

[@anotherbeardedcomicdude2542]

The pleasure of him lasering the crowd even if it was his imagination... priceless

[@furkankaraca3841]

@@anotherbeardedcomicdude2542 i dont think he really enjoyed that, he looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown

[@toamastar]

The Boys just nailed it, its hard to explain, maybe its just the garish down to earth realism that they portray the universe with. Like how they use social media and how Vaught as a corporation holds so much power not only over the supes themselves but their movies and press. Every time I watch it I think "yepp if superheroes actually existed as a result of one companies secret formula, this is literally how it would go down". The characters are fantastic too, not just Homelander but the whole cast just get it. Its so hard to distill down why I like The Boys into a short explainer to my friends who havent seen it that will will fully portray how good it really is! You really "just have to watch it"

[@Micha-Hil]

9:00 i know this scene was supposed to be helpful to analyzing homelander and his villainous character tropes but i can't fucking handle how he just CHUCKS his son off the roof of his house

[@rainmanslim4611]

The thing is, the Boys took time to establish 3 things about homelander. 1: that he is as close to a God that can possibly exist, capable of killing everyone in the series with ease. 2: that he is an emotionally unstable manchild and has a history of killing anyone who displeases him. 3: that everyone else around him is terrified of him and will do anything he tells them to out of pure fear. This combination of his neuroticism, god-like power and how he uses fear to get what he wants makes for a powerful combination

[@artcorbeau]

he is not that strong (not close to a god), several supes ganging up on him can kill him, but yeah he's emotionally very immature and doesn't hesitate to use violence to get what he wants

[@TheForbiddenOne55]

@@artcorbeau I see what you're saying, but up until this past season, he was *established* to be more powerful than EVERYBODY else by a wide margin, thus making him a god to everyone else, not to be defied. To the point where they had to recruit the "god" he was made from in order to stand a chance

[@tjenadonn6158]

You can see a similar dynamic minus the superpowers and murder in Succession with the character of Logan Roy. Both series are about what happens when incredibly broken people are given immense amounts of power: the only real difference is that Logan never had any pretenses about loving his kids.

[@Severindk87]

@@artcorbeau yup... He was made way less scary in season 3 by debuffing his power level.

[@Severindk87]

@@TheForbiddenOne55 but Maeve nearly handled him on her own. Which made that storyline redundant. And apparently Butcher was lucky enough to receive close to the same power level as well. That combined made it clear that if just 4-5 supes teamed up, Homelander would have no chance. On the other hand, perhaps that makes it even more tragic. That they have let him believe he is so powerful, when he actually could have been beaten by "team work".

[@alexlazzerly3677]

One of the reasons I love Homelander is that even though he is incredibly layered and complex, and has understandable motivations, he's still pretty much pure evil without any chance of redemption. Most of the time writers think sympathetic=complex.

[@thisisfyne]

Sympathetic works well, but in the case of Homelander or Hans Landa, for example, CHARISMATIC works much better. Pure evil under a facade of charm. It's brilliant, really.

[@karlluigi1987]

for me he's still redeemable, specially when he's with ryan

[@enumaelish9193]

@@karlluigi1987 You mean the child he's slowly corrupting to become just like him?

[@Dr.Yakub22]

@@karlluigi1987 he literally R**ed his son’s mother what is wrong with you?

[@tmntgirl4life]

I feel I like the only sympathetic about him is that he didn’t grew up with love and is forever searching for that. But that don’t push it, it’s more of a footnote and his motivation for his actions.

[@natanprzybylko7227]

I feel like the “never showing the monster” only applies to certain things, like in Smile seeing the demon thing only made me laugh at how many mouths it had meanwhile the other scenes in which it “killed” people had me creeped out bc I didn’t understand exactly what it was

[@B0Sajwah]

This guy actually makes this show into horror when he's on screen. Excellent perfprmance

[@ErieMaxwell]

I think another thing that makes villains like Hans Landa and particularly Homelander so scary is how much societal power/support they have. On top of knowing how dangerous they can be even to anyone who simply crosses their path, the knowledge that even if there's irrefutable proof that they've done something truly heinous, there's still a good chance that the people in charge will actively work to make sure that they aren't made to pay for those crimes or even stop is horrifying.

[@Kaz7.]

I agree, when a character is a powerful heartless psychopath it's scary, but when they have an institution protecting/backing them up too? That's terrifying

[@bunsenn5064]

@@Kaz7. Easy, destroy the institution.

[@Nooooooooooooooooooooo7913]

Absolutely. The only thing that has been stopping homelander from killing literally everybody and anyone who gets in his way is public perception. But now that he has a crazy rabid fan base excusing his horrible actions he’s only going to get worse 🫠🫠

[@calumjohnston5343]

@@bunsenn5064 the bos would like to team up with you

[@nenmaster5218]

@@Kaz7. "I cant believe ive gotta say that, but Na-is are Bad." -Some Random in 'The Boys'.

[@motorcitymangababe]

I think what makes homelamder so terrifying is the concept of the other show dropping. Like, we all know he's gonna snap- but when? When is he just gonna laser eyes an entire rally? Anytime you see him in a group of people laughing and smiling you're going "no one say anything, no one move too quickly" and it just coats the scene in tension

[@balazscsotai8354]

And honestly, I always wondered ever since I learned about Homelander. What would he do if he snapped and then killed every living creature in the world? No more animals, no more humans, no more anything? Just him on a functionally empty planet, devoid of life? Just mentally shut down after he realised that he can't be adored by people? That he can't be feared if there's no one left who would fear from him? Or would he just start hallucinating until he dies, believing that everyone loves/fears him until he dies?

[@motorcitymangababe]

@@balazscsotai8354 I def see him as the "talking to and moving mannequins around types" I don't think he could ever truly be alone because he's externalized his thoughts to an extreme degree

[@amrmohamed1387]

A true embodiment of the American psyche😅

[@OneNidim]

I remember being massively anxious when seeing scenes of the Borg as a kid-teen. People can complain about the Borg being over played but you wouldn’t be able to tell what was going to happen when you saw them. You never knew what corner they’re come out of or if they’d assimilate a character you cared about. They had no emotion, you never knew when they’d turn their attention from their tasks to a foreign presence, you knew what they’d do if they felt compelled to do it. And on top of that they had shear size and power. Always scared me

[@milktenders6219]

Just watched the show, and holy shit he’s terrifying. Mainly because he can actually be controlled, he has things he wants and doesn’t want to compromise for, so he won’t always kill people. He’s the definition of “the power is in the threat” since he can get people to do what he wants with his presence alone, because they already know what he can do

[@maclaynecredere5103]

Homelander is easily the best character in the boys you know you’re dealing with an incredible actor when you don’t even notice the actor as a human you just see the character they’re presenting

[@biscuitslol]

That’s true. He’s so evil it’s so easy to hate him. Great acting

[@nienkehuijbens301]

Jensen Ackles did a great job on Soldier Boy too. And Stormfront was great imo

[@maclaynecredere5103]

@@nienkehuijbens301 totally agree the homelander performance is the most layered though imo

[@nienkehuijbens301]

@@maclaynecredere5103 sure. He's gotten the most screen time by far so not surprising

[@slevinchannel7589]

"I cant believe ive gotta say that, but Na-is are Bad." -Some Random in 'The Boys'.

[@adambomb1553]

What I love about Homelander is that he really has no specific views or agenda. Because he has basically been groomed to be a celebrity, he knows how to manipulate anyone and anything. He knows to always stand by the loudest and most powerful group. But, ultimately, his only belief is that he is God. And people with either love him or fear him. And it doesn't matter which.

[@user-iy6rm6pm4j]

It's the massive fakery of his greed that gets me. Homelander gets rich off of fake schlock monetization. Even greedy evil corporations that rape the planet are at least selling something real like oil or coal. They want to monopolize the world's water supply, not sell people fake water.

[@chestterfield]

Not only to be a celebrity, but to be an artificial human- he was created in a sterile laboratory with memories and believes implemented in his brain. He has no true moral backbone and his emotional development is the same as that of an child- his egoistic ways of thinking are based not on being a narcisists, but on the concept of having no consequences to his actions. After all- he has superpowers, so he will do as he likes, because people fear him (do not mistake it with respect).

[@louiea4276]

You've just described why Trump is so dangerous

[@sourcesauce]

​@@louiea4276 lol

[@sjfs231]

@@louiea4276 that's adorable

[@ab72_s]

The Actor for Homelander really, I mean, REALLY deserves a lot of credit. Acting like a psychopath is tough, but Homelander? It's even tougher! P.s. I am thinking about Homelander's weaknesses, and I came across one, Mental manipulation. Play a game of manipulation with him, and he will end up, offing himself. Victory achieved!

[@user-bb1wm2wl3r]

It’s not that easy. Manipulating even an ordinary individual is a difficult task and you need to be a significantly advanced thinker to pull it off with any definition of success. And homelander is smart. He may be weak mentally or not as smart as the Luthor archetype, but he is smarter than average, and paranoid against manipulation. Also combine his ungodly power with intelligence and even a lack of restraint which makes manipulating him very difficult

[@brettbrooks5511]

​@user-bb1wm2wl3r Homelander is not smart and he's very easy to manipulate. Stillwell did it all throughout season 1. And Stan does it even better than her. Stormfront was able to manipulate him quite easily. And of course Maeve manipulated him with the video. He's extremely paranoid because he's been manipulated so many times so easily. The only time the manipulation stops working, is when the other party refuses to follow through with their threat.

[@user-bb1wm2wl3r]

@@brettbrooks5511 But that’s stillwell and Stan, people who are cunning thinkers in homelanders confidence, until stillwell died and Stan got removed. Butcher has the capacity but homelander is not going to trust him. And with homelander you have to keep your heart perfectly normal, breathing steady, sweating under control , the sort of stuff trained agents spend years mastering. Not everyone can do it, and the ones who can are not in the best positions to as well.

[@JediSteve-J3-]

This is why the Slaughterhouse 9 from Worm may be some of my favorite fictional monsters/Villains in fiction. Jack Slash especially.

[@TheDahaka1]

Also, Antony Starr is the perfect casting for Homelander. I have trouble thinking of someone as able to pull off so many unhinged expressions and go back and forth between those and normal ones. He's a joy to look at while on screen!

[@Spider-Man_2099_]

i think christian bale and sebastian stan can also pull off the homelander character

[@pascalsimioli6777]

@@Spider-Man_2099_ definitely. There are probably a dozen more but people get emotionally attached at the first option. It's always "I can't see any other actor playing this part" for them. As if it's easier to think that Hollywood just casts the perfect one with stunning precision than to think we could simply be easy to condition

[@blvnkq]

@@Spider-Man_2099_ i don’t see sebastian stan if i’m honest, he’s great as bucky, but i can’t see him as homelander. any movies that’ll make me say otherwise?

[@pierrelindgren5727]

I'd throw in Hugo Weaving. Too old now, but the menace of Agent Smith was terrifying when his anger and hatred bubbled to the surface.

[@kaynkayn9870]

I think he play out his emotional vulnerability very well. When he tears up everytime about his childhood, it felt so real.

[@jaylanthompson]

The ending of season 3 put Homelander in the best position he’s ever been in. Soldier Boy is gone, he has his son, he’s in charge of Vought, and he’s able to kill his opposers while still retaining the adoration of his fans. I don’t know how he’s gonna come down from this, but when he does, it’s gonna be BAD for the Boys… and the rest of the world.

[@elez9592]

But Soldier Boy is alive

[@jaylanthompson]

@@elez9592 Yes, but he’s been defeated and incapacitated, so for right now he’s not a problem.

[@DrGandW]

Him killing that protestor is going to escalate things so hard, I mean is the law just gonna change to accommodate wanton Super murder? This is gonna cause an insurrection.

[@couchpotato2222]

@@DrGandW Honestly, with how reality has been, it's gonna be Jan 6 but the capitol stormers are the Supers.....we fuuuuuuuucked

[@Altzar2011]

@@DrGandW this is why he's getting help from the Head Popper ;)

[@ruthiewitter569]

This is very helpful. Currently trying to set up the character of a chaotic evil and terrifying villain, and this is helping me in those important initial stages so much.

[@CosmosCat]

I haven’t even watched The Boys, but the fact that from the little I’ve seen, that I genuinely despise this dude, it speaks volumes about how well he’s written and acted.

[@johnnojojack-exe]

The only time Homelander wasn't terrifying is when he is talking to Stan Edgar. I think this also shows the point you meant about power being more than physical. This may change in the coming seasons.

[@Kommerzman]

That was a fantastic scene

[@vikramsawant7353]

And cherry 🍒 on the cake... Mashallah HomeLunder Is Muslim Now.

[@mmm6325]

I dont agree. He can still snap at any moment when hes pushing him.

[@gwenethp511]

I think a lot of what makes a villain - both in real life and in fiction - scary to me is how easily they're able to find fans. It's ridiculous to worship anyone blindly, it's important to enter every conversation willing to learn and change or grow your mindset, but in this current political landscape people will blindly worship people and discount any complaints as lies. Homelander's fanbase is exactly that. They believe him to be a coming of God and thus will excuse literally anything he does. And I know people like that who act the exact same with politicians and it is simply wild to me. You'd think in a superhero world people would maybe try to not blindly idolize others but it also makes sense that they do.

[@DemigodoftheSea]

It reminds me of how people adore Killmonger and will defend him relentlessly, without the simple acknowledgement included the explicit subjugation of the rest of the world and though it was unspoken, primarily white people.

[@spartin1173]

They probably feel even more validated in a universe with superhumans because they’re genuinely more powerful than a normal person they’re something fundamentally beyond human reach

[@thumpted8417]

@@DemigodoftheSea I defend killmonger because marvel writers don't know how to write black liberation. They assume that any racial liberation movement will seek to dominate and subdue everyone else. That is not what liberation is. Killmonger was right, it's just marvel couldn't have shown his actual motives and goals without being actively revolutionary. If you recall the film, the 'good guy' sides with the CIA, and the 'bad guy' wants to liberate the world from it's oppressive hierarchy (and, of course, because marvel loves making people who are actively correct into villains) and make himself king of the world or sm. It's a bland, tasteless defense of the status quo.

[@DemigodoftheSea]

@@thumpted8417OK, but that's not how he was written. You can't just insert your own version of Killmonger. Besides, I've met many people into black liberation who absolutely believe in revenge.

[@peters8512]

@@DemigodoftheSea I've seen conversations where people insist Killmonger was right and did nothing wrong. His whole plan was essentially using Wakanda to lead a global race war and set himself up as dictator of Earth, but if that wasn't enough we see him cold blooded murder his own girlfriend. People happy to overlook all that because he's a badass.

[@RininGamingYT]

This guy has given one of the best explanations I've ever seen on homelanders sheer terror factor and he also explained it in context of other situations and characters... very good content it felt like a really entertaining lecture on filmography and character development

[@JayCrosby32]

Antony Starr really ramped it up in season 3, can’t wait to see him in season 4

[@freckledcracker1481]

Personally, I feel what makes a villain scary isn't that they're "just the bad guy", it's that they are always smiling and friendly while also straight up being an antagonist. So, a basically a Psychopath. No empathy, no regret, uses others for their own gain, and never feels bad for it. They simply smile and wave as they watch you die. That to me makes a character scary.

[@spartin1173]

Because a normal villain hates them a psychopath villain doesn’t even see them as something to be hated just used or as an obstacle to be removed

[@thejonatan._]

If you have played GTA 4, you are going to love the main villain

[@TheAllyBird]

I think what makes a psychopath so scary is the uncertainty factor - they don't give you the cues you expect that they're going to do something terrible, and after awhile watching them you know that you're not going to see it coming.

[@ND-nr6mx]

When viewers can look at an over-the-top super-powered villain on-screen and see aspects of their real-life abusers ... yeah, that's good writing.

[@orrorsaness5942]

@@ND-nr6mx So… like Pensuke in the Pensuke Files.

[@ky-passley4769]

When the hero is more powerful than the villian, the villian can still be scary if they are shown to avoid the hero and target the other people who are weak and who the audience care about. This works really well when their is only one hero who is more powerful, because all audience know that side characters are far more killable than Main characters.

[@nathanritscherle6667]

A great recent villain who was less powerful than the hero but ticked all the other boxes was The Riddler in The Batman.

[@BigDaddyJinx]

Well think about Superman. The most powerful being and quite frankly vastly OP, but his villains are still scary/terrifying as it were. They don't necessarily go after Supes, they go after those things he loves. That's what makes them terrifying. The Joker. WAY weaker than Batman, but still terrifying time and time again. You never really know to what lengths he will go to get under Batman's skin. It's perpetual cat and mouse with them. That's what makes him terrifying.

[@pathos7527]

Great point. The Joker is a standout example of this I think. Batman is stronger, more experienced in melee combat as far as going directly against him, and has a litany of gadgets and other resources at his disposal that on paper should make Joker no match, but the chaotic nature of Joker’s thinking and penchant for targeting innocent people makes who truly comes out on top in a given situation far less certain. The interrogation scene in The Dark Knight capitalized on this in inversion of expectations for who really has the most power of the two, because even arrested and beaten, Joker laughs while Batman loses it, to where not once during that scene did you feel like Batman was the one who held all the power. When you can make a villain at their weakest feel more powerful than the hero at the height of their own power and control simply by virtue of the mindset they’ve expressed, you’ve pulled off something special and captured an entirely unique and anxiety-inducing kind of terror from villain that hits harder than the next hundred standard villains can combined.

[@myaccount235]

Power dynamics. Specifically, where the story is focused on and how the villain challenges the hero through a narrow power dynamic. You can have the strongest hero in the world, but if the villain challenges the hero in a way where all that strength is useless, you create conflict. Just like someone said in the replies, the Riddler and Batman is a good example of this. The Riddler challenges Batman's *mind* and forces the hero to challenge him through that cultivated power dynamic. A really good example is One Punch Man, where the storytelling actually reframes the position of the hero to Saitama's associates, using One Punc Man's appearance as more of a narrative tool to held build suspension. Very clever, as Saitama's conflict isn't so much as finding a villian to challenge him physically, but inner conflict he has to deal with himself, where all his power is useless to deal with.

[@shahanahsan05]

The Riddler in The Batman was not as strong as Bruce but still managed to be an amazing villian

[@1notdeadyet1]

My favourite fight in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is newly vanpiric Dio vs Jonathan in part 1 for that "different power level" reason. Dio is just so powerful and Jonathan is so outclassed you have no idea how he can possibly win and it makes it so suspenseful. His creativity in taking on something that could easily kill him males the fight super entertaining to read, too.

[@nHautamaki]

One villain you didn't mention in this essay but I think is one of the best parallels to Homelander is Amon Goeth in Shindler's List. Like Homelander, he has ultimate power of life and death over the other characters in the film and revels in it and chooses death more often than not simply because he can and enjoys it, and the scene where Schindler tries to manipulate him into acting less evil by saying that mercy shows one's true power reminds me a lot of how Homelander's handlers in The Boys try to keep him under control. And just like Amon Goeth, Homelander more and more finds mercy less satisfying than sadism, and seems likely to wind up as wholly merciless by the end.

[@VultureXV]

Homelander is also scary because he represents the puer aeternus, or eternal child. Because he was essentially lab-grown, raised and created like some sort of product to be exploited, he is utterly divorced from the principle of having a loving family. Literally everything that makes his character unnatural or unnerving can be found in the principles of the Jungian archetype.

[@heartdragon2386]

He's like that scary kid in the Twilight Zone.

[@hopeslover6778]

he’s just like makima

[@shutup1037]

​@@hopeslover6778makima is actual devil though

[@allaris_the_one]

@@heartdragon2386 Exactly the example that came to my mind too! He's basically an omnipotent manchild.

[@444.nyokabi]

A puer aeternus with too much power

[@chaoticgoodcreations947]

It's about that time for the best video essayist to talk about one of the best written villains.

[@TheCloserLook]

Thanks!

[@darrengordon-hill]

@@TheCloserLook There'd better be a green screen appearance

[@afellownerd]

He's definitely top 2 for me

[@Net_Flux]

2:50 "If your villain has less power than your hero, you're going to have a very hard time making them a scary one." Shinsekai Yori/From the New World does this and it's glorious. The protagonists have god-like powers but the villain becomes seriously terrifying through his wit alone.

[@catarinamcs]

This is such amazing and impressive video! I love Homelander as a villain and you described it in such a flawless manner!

[@giggityguy]

I've always believed that the best way to maintain suspense is to NOT take every opportunity to do something scary. If every time something scary CAN happen, something scary DOES happen, then it's entirely predictable. As soon as the scary person/thing appears on screen you know something is going to happen and you're braced for it. The only way to make sure that your audience is never fully prepared is to make sure that there are plenty of moments where you're SURE something is going to happen, but then it doesn't. That way you never know if something is really dangerous, or a fake-out, so you're constantly on the edge of your seat.

[@fruzsimih7214]

That's how suspense works in Alfred Hitchcock's films or in Sergio Leone's films. You often don't have anything happen for several minutes. It's still so captivating. And they usually don't use horror tropes like dark, confined spaces, but rather sunlit streets or open fields. See Hitchcock's North By Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much or Vertigo. Or the first ten minutes of Leone's Once Upon a Time In the West.

[@jerrythaplatypus]

⁠​⁠@@fruzsimih7214Honestly now that I think about it, whenever I see Homelander, I do get a massive Hitchcockian vibe. To add even further, his whole character is pretty much just a twisted perversion of what people typically picture when they think of a superhero, (Superman-esque, saving people from life-threatening situations, good looks and ever-present smile, broad daylight background, etc.) and what makes it a perversion of that image (as we witness in the show) is both the horrific acts you see him engage in throughout the events of the series as well as his narcissistic behavior. Imo if Alfred Hitchcock ever did a superhero-themed horror film, I would definitely picture the villain being someone like Homelander

[@rhondahoward8025]

On the "Uncertainty" point, I think Omniman did this fairly well. You didn't always know whether he would kill or not, and sometimes there were surprises where he spared somebody (Mark's friend/his old friend).

[@MetalRaimon]

at that current point in time he had not yet talked with mark tho. Killing his best friend would've killed any chance to win his son over to his side. Although obviously it played out the way it did it's not like he could've known in advance. He was still hoping he could explain his reasoning and that Mark would turn to his side

[@rhondahoward8025]

@@MetalRaimon I think it was more surprising when he spared the old guy. The whole scene seemed like he was going to kill him but instead he simply let him go with a warning: "Don't piss off your tailor, right?"

[@MetalRaimon]

@@rhondahoward8025 true that as well

[@dimitryanyanwu7681]

I still think Homelander is more scary lol

[@gadoplays8478]

@@dimitryanyanwu7681 omni man will kill you in an instant speed of light-like or below, like, speed of sound increased multiple times, he could kill an entire planet, like, NOBODY felt pain in the death and was predictable, then you have homelander which is way slower yet fucking fast compared to a normal human, and will probably make you kill yourself or kill him yourself, and you have to choose the less painful way, Homelander is less powerful and more terrifying because of it IF YOU think about it, Like, Omniman at least killed his enemies in an instant or close, homelander narcissitic, would mock in their death or force them to die in other slow "satisfying" way to him... There is definitely no comparison lol

[@saracecchinelli3740]

Amazing. Just, perfect video. Thank you for always reviving my inspiration ❤

[@alexandrosbitzilaios1556]

Your voice sir is like I am listening to a british version of Sheldon Cooper

[@idontwannaidontwanna7307]

The writing is clearly important, however in my opinion, the majority of the credit MUST go to Antony Starr. His performance deserves all the praise. It's not just this role either, go back and watch Banshee, my god he's a powerhouse of an actor!

[@carscoffeeandcannabis-634]

Anthony Starr as Homelander is some of the best acting of the modern era of cinema. Hope he really starts getting the credit he deserve. Him and Cristoph Waltz as Hans Landa/The Jew Hunter, and Heath ledger's Joker are the best villains (and best acted villains) to be put to screen in the past 20 years, possibly ever.

[@carscoffeeandcannabis-634]

I wrote this before watching this video, glad to hear I'm not alone :p

[@trevalyan006]

Heath Ledger was practically Satanic in his ability to destroy people. But that's why Joaquin Phoenix turned a mentally ill comedian with a tragic background into the Clown Prince of Crime.

[@TheRealMigdet]

Personally I feel like Homelander is the best villain oat his acting is just top notch

[@b8787]

I would add Lena Headey as well

[@FirstnameLastname-zq8oy]

I would also add rosamunde pike as Amy dunne from gone girl, she was downright chilling. Also I’m glad you mentioned Hans Landa, definitely also one of the best villains of all time, in my opinion inglorious basterds would have been a relatively mediocre movie without him (however the nazi general from the bar fight scene was also a really great villain despite his short screen time).

[@unknownself-kenshi]

Thank you for making this! Great breakdown of villain and character development, presentation, and motivations. I'm going to incorporate this into my characters in my Kenshi videos (the sandbox RPG game, not the MK character).

[@asadnaif4790]

beautiful video and breakdown sir subscribed

[@rhysc9706]

Even when Homelander isn't on screen I'm on the edge of my seat. There's an overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety for the characters as I'm expecting Homelander to swoop down at any second, the writers did a very good job having Homelander suddenly land out of nowhere and it stuck with me throughout the series, especially during season 2.

[@abhijiththampi]

Bro that scene where homelander was flying around looking for translucent while the boys are trying to surreptitiously move his body from their hideout...chills

[@NCMonefaith]

And yet at the end of season 3 despite home boy getting and his son and basically winning, everybody is still alive and he killed no one. Anxiety is gone, he needs to actually do something.

[@user_2793]

@@NCMonefaith Ifkr, S3 finale was terrible (except the last scene) 😔

[@vikramsawant7353]

andk cherry 🍒 on the cake... Mashallah HomeLunder Is Muslim Now.

[@suryaanshkrishna6680]

Homelander, is by far the most terrifying TV villain of all time. It's not just that he's significantly more powerful than anyone he's in the scene with, but the fact that his entire personality is balanced on a knife's edge. In truth, he has very little morality, and has no true goal. This lack of any sort of restraint, allows him basically to kill anyone without regard. Also Anthony Stars portrayal is insane.

[@Barry_Block]

excellent video. ties into so many of my favorites

[@GangGreenGullie]

Watching this randomly at 2am and this is a well done video. Great content

[@dcpwll]

Actually, I think Homelander revealed his motivation before he attacked Blindspot, not after. It's precisely because Blindspot has triumphed over adversity that triggers Homelander so much. He's become something, he's achieved something, he worked to better himself. Homelander by contrast was gifted the ultimate power set and was guaranteed a place in the Seven from birth. He's never had to work for anything and deep down he's an empty shell of a human and knows it.

[@diersteinjulien6773]

And by extension, HL can never better himself, because he's already at the top. Blindspot showed him something he cannot accomplish

[@serpicopiu3591]

That's a really cool idea

[@eldermillennial8330]

Hmm… Ruptured ear drums are a lot easier to repair than damage to the cochlea itself, which he should not have suffered from, as a blow heavy enough to go that deep all at once would have simply killed him. He ought to come back as one of the rebels after getting plastic surgery to fix them.

[@averageshowenjoyer2279]

@@eldermillennial8330 Do you really think he would be getting up after losing that much blood lmfao

[@GCcubone]

The ending of S3 of the boys left Homelander in a very interesting place. SPOILERS: He finally indulges in killing in public which was hinted at in previous seasons, but when he finally does it, he is applauded instead of hated as he always was afraid of.

[@abhisheklama1393]

Lmao, you're the definition of a big mouth. Why state spoilers in a KZbin comment section? You're not even offering any speculation/analysis from your side. You're just stating something that happened like that annoying kid in class that wants to say the alphabet before everyone else just to show that he learned them.

[@margarethmichelina5146]

Because he owns Vought now and he's finally realize, he really can do whatever the fuck he wants

[@SeanWinters]

Worst part of the show so far IMO. It's a stupid Trump comparison, which doesn't even make sense to real life.

[@cherie..cherry]

@@chrisstoltz3648 😂😂😂

[@lukepauls8847]

@@chrisstoltz3648 it's just the painfully stupid caricature of him I here around the Thanksgiving table from obsessed relatives and every journalist in the worls that think he's the devil incarnate when he's just a dude who talks too much... kinda sick of hearing ot all

[@babynyxe4784]

I've watched this video three times in the process of writing my villain and have taken lots of notes!! This was such a good video, thank you!!

[@ArchonOne]

Fantastic video my friend. Thank you for the great advice.