The contemporary media landscape has become wholly oversaturated with comic book adaptations and other superpower-centric series. However, 2019's The Boys, an Amazon Prime Original series, represents the ennui countless media consumers feel after years of being consistently bombarded with Marvel movie after Marvel movie, or DC flick after DC flick. The show is based on the comic book series published by Dynamite Entertainment of the same name, which was written by Garth Ennis and designed and illustrated by Darick Robertson. Much like its comic book counterpart, The Boys series is a cacophony of violence, raunch, and vulgarity.

Even after the stark raving madness of the previous two The Boys seasons, season three was in a league of its own in terms of shock value. Audiences have been forced to stomach a truly staggering number of exploding heads, a gastrointestinal journey undertaken by a shrinking supe that left little to the imagination, countless gore-filled battles between the newly superpowered Boys and their superhero rivals, and of course, the infamous Herogasm, a name that conjures up all sorts of gnarly imagery, most of which pale in comparison to the actuality of the episode.

At the head of the series' chaos and carnage stands Antony Starr's Homelander, the leader of the superhero collective the Seven and bona fide sociopath. However, is Homelander showing signs of vulnerability in The Boys, especially in season three? Let's dive in!

Antony Starr's Performance as Homelander

SmileHomelander

The cast of The Boys is undeniably impressive. Be it Karl Urban's Billy Butcher, a supe-hating killer hell-bent on eradicating supes from the face of the Earth, or Giancarlo Esposito's sinister bureaucrat Stan Edgar, all sides of the superhero war are represented. However, as Homelander, Antony Starr is undoubtedly one of the most beloved talents featured on the show.

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Antony Starr is an already established actor from performances in such projects as TV's American Gothic and Banshee series. However, The Boys has represented a whole new level of recognition for Starr and his incredible acting ability. Interestingly, Antony Starr is able to show off his acting range while playing a relatively one-note character. Sociopathy can often be portrayed in an uninteresting fashion, but for Starr's Homelander, it has depth. Whether Homelander is smiling or snarling, it is unclear what the supe will do in the very next moment.

Homelander's Son: A Complex Relationship

Homelander&Son

Early on in The Boys, it is revealed that Homelander has a son who was born under tragic circumstances. Viewers discover that Homelander sexually assaulted Becca Butcher, the former wife of Karl Urban's Billy Butcher, at a time preceding the show's events. She chose to live in isolation with her resultant child to shield him from the world. Unfortunately, Homelander tracks down his son and Becca in the season one finale of The Boys.

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However, when Homelander later attempts to take his son away for training, things quickly go awry. Homelander often acts as if he is competent in all areas, but Starr shows just how quickly his character becomes irritated when things fail to go his way. And this, unfortunately, includes the struggles he has with his sheltered, yet powerful son.

Homelander vs. Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie

Billy vs Homelander in The Boys
Prime Video

Anthony Starr's Homelander is largely thought to be invincible by the other characters in The Boys. However, that notion was called into question during the recently released sixth episode of The Boys season three, "Herogasm," when Karl Urban's Billy Butcher and Jack Quaid's Hughie, pumped on synthetic Temporary Compound V, alongside Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy, team up to square off against Homelander in an epic brawl.

Though Homelander ultimately escapes the battle, he does not do so unscathed. This represents the first moment where The Boys' audiences have seen Antony Starr's Homelander hurt and perhaps the first time that Homelander himself realized his limitations. This near-loss will undoubtedly continue to fracture the psyche of the already unstable Homelander, and Starr shows the characters' struggle with defeat while still maintaining his sociopathic smile.

In an age where every character, regardless of the severity of their transgressions, gets their inevitable redemption arc, it is refreshing to see a villain that is simply that: villainous. Antony Starr's Homelander does not have any redeeming qualities. He's a proven sociopath with a penchant for the slaughter of innocent civilians. Unfortunately, his superpower abilities seem to be almost entirely without equal in the universe of The Boys. It will be fascinating to see how the other characters choose to combat the increasingly unhinged Homelander in future episodes and seasons of the show and to what depths of depravity Anthony Starr can bring to his performance as the villainous soup, who audiences absolutely love to hate.