Can The Boys' Homelander Beat Marvel & DC Heroes? Reddit Finally Has An Answer
Get ready to end any future "Who would win?" arguments involving Homelander.
The horrifying star-spangled superhero (and secret supervillain) first created in 2006 for the comic book series "The Boys" has captivated a wider audience than ever before, thanks to a chilling portrayal by Antony Starr in the Amazon Prime Video adaptation. His rise in popularity coupled with the newfound ubiquity of comic book culture have paved the way for an age-old debate to take place on a much wider stage: What heroes — if any — from the Marvel and DC Universe could defeat the most terrifying threat to "The Boys?" The answer, according to Reddit, is a lot more heroes than you think.
At least for his well-known TV counterpart, the general consensus on the r/TheBoys subreddit is that Homelander only appears to be all-powerful because he exclusively targets those weaker than himself. The closest he's ever come to facing an equal opponent were his fights against Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles, who — despite his strength, skill, and devastating explosive powers — had a significantly less diverse powerset compared to Homelander) and the superpowered Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, who had just days of experience with his powers before their battle).
All this to say, without experience combatting a true equal, it would be fair to say the Homelander has never been in a real fight. Logic would dictate, then, that coming up against a truly tested adversary like Superman or Thor could only result in disaster for Vought's favorite son. "Homelander isn't accustomed to fighting other super powered beings so he would get wrecked by a guy like supes who battles capes on a daily basis," one Redditor wrote. Another fan wrote something similar, stating how unlike Superman, Homelander would stand no chance against the likes of Doomsday.
Homelander has almost no fighting skill
Because of his sheer power, Homelander is essentially able to operate like a horror movie villain. His "battles" are never decided by who wins or loses but by whether or not his victim can escape. There's very little skill in what Homelander does; thus, it stands to reason that he's never needed to train in combat. "He is a lazy bully. Only attacks those weaker than he is," one Redditor points out.
This point frequently arises in debates concerning Homelander's odds against another terrifying Superman-analog from Amazon Prime Video: Omni-Man, the genocidal Viltrumite from the animated series "Invincible." Their power sets are so similar that the "Mortal Kombat" video game franchise had to confirm that they wouldn't simply be "clones" of one another when they appear in the upcoming "Mortal Kombat 1" (per IGN).
Interestingly enough, the official Instagram account for "The Boys" responded to the post, writing, "Yeah mate, Omni-Man is actually gonna be good at fighting." Whether bitter ribbing or intentional acknowledgment of Homelander's theorized flaws, the account (perhaps unintentionally) voiced a common argument that Omni-Man — a trained intergalactic conqueror raised through violent Social Darwinism — would have zero trouble killing Homelander.
Though Homelander certainly looks competent during his battles, one Redditor argued that he may have learned everything he knows by doing his own stunt work and fight choreography on various Vought films. As anyone who got bullied at school after going to theater camps for the summer can tell you, stage combat does not equal practical self-defense. Lucky for Homelander, he's safe inside his own universe for the time being, where he can continue basking in mediocrity until someone truly powerful comes along to stop him.