The Boys Star Is Wrong About Superman And We Can Prove It

First of all Homelander is just one of many characters that make up the Evil Superman trope. These characters are usually homages to or straight-up parodies of Superman meant to answer the tired question, “what if Superman was bad?” As a derivative character created to occupy the Superman role in the Boys universe, Homelander is nothing but a copy of a copy of Superman, and as everyone knows, you can’t beat the original.

It would be like someone saying that Dark Helmet from Spaceballs could beat Darth Vader. Or, if you prefer that I keep it in the realm of superheroes, it’s like saying that Rorschach from Watchmen could beat Batman. How is this even up for debate?

Secondly, Homelander may be the strongest, most indestructible character in The Boys universe, but he’s nowhere near as powerful as Superman; at the end of the day, Homelander is a human mutate. Compound V is some powerful stuff, but it’s a man-made compound made from earthbound components. Superman is a literal alien who is only vulnerable to a piece of his own planet or magic, two things to Homelander doesn’t have access to.

I could sit here and compare Superman’s various feats of strength to those of Homelander but there’s no need. Superman has the power to move planets. Homelander has never even been to space.

In fact I’m not even sure that Homelander can survive in space like Superman.

The fight might be as simple as Superman grabbing Homelander tight and flying into space at near light-speed. The second Homelander runs out of breath, his lungs would explode, making Superman the victor. Look, I’m a comic book nerd, not a scientist, but I know that humans can’t breathe in space.

Kryptonians, on the other hand…

Okay, so we know that Homelander loses to Superman in a fair fight, but what about an unfair fight? Part of Antony Starr’s remarks were about how Homelander would cheat and start using human shields. What would Superman do against an opponent who doesn’t play fair?

Simple. He’d cheat right back.

Superman doesn’t kill, and he generally tries to uphold the law when possible, but nobody ever said he was above a dirty trick or two. Just because he won’t kill Homelander doesn’t mean Superman is some goody-two-shoes Homelander can easily manipulate into losing. Just look at Superman II, for instance, when Christopher Reeve tricks General Zod into giving up his powers and becoming a fragile mortal.

Or, if you prefer a reference from this century, there’s the Superman story “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?” The story from Action Comics #775 (March 2001)— later adapted into the animated movie Superman vs. The Elite (2012)—shows what happens when a team of gritty, ultra-violent, Homelander-eque “heroes” go up against Superman.

The group of grimdark vigilantes known as The Elite starts by taking shots at Superman for being weak and old-fashioned. Eventually, Superman gets the upper hand and defeats each member of the team single-handedly. Not only that, but he does it using deception.

Superman incapacitated every member of the Elite peacefully but made it look like he straight-up murdered them. Unlike Homelander, Superman only pretends to be a homicidal psychopath. Superman even tricks the Elite’s leader, Manchester Black, into thinking that he lobotomized him using his X-ray vision and eye lasers.

In reality, Superman gave Black the equivalent of a concussion that temporarily disabled his powers. Something I might add that could easily happen to Homelander if he tries too hard to make Superman lose his cool.

The Boys is a fun show, and I appreciate it for what it is, but Superman has a million different ways to take out Homelander without breaking a sweat. Oh, and just so Antony Starr knows, for Homelander’s sake, Superman can be pushed far enough to take a life. The question is, would Homelander be able to remain on his feet long enough to find out?