Remember The Boys Season 1 when Homelander (Antony Starr) was just a narcissistic sociopath? Now, in Season 4, every Homelander scene feels like watching a live nuclear meltdown. Every time he shows up on screen, it feels like he’s on the verge of killing everyone in the room. The only thing holding him back? His pathetic need for love and validation!
So, how do you take down a god-like Supe who has been bred to be unbeatable? Exposing him might be the emotional nuke he fears. But let’s not forget that Homelander has said that if this happens, he will not hesitate to end all of humanity and take over the world. As The Boys Season 4 goes on, it’s becoming more and more evident that he really wasn’t bluffing. So, we’re going over the most popular fan theories on how to defeat Homelander without dooming all of humanity, and why each might not be the surefire solution we wish it could be.
1. A Shrinking Supe Can Enter Homelander’s Body and Then Enlarge Himself
This theory hinges on any Supe who can shrink down and burrow through flesh like Termite (Brett Geddes). The idea is that the Supe could infiltrate Homelander’s body and then enlarge themselves to explode Homelander from the inside out, similar to the party scene in Season 3, Episode 1, “Payback”. However, pulling this off is no less than a suicide mission. First, there’s the issue of infiltration. Homelander can hear heartbeats and see through surfaces. After all, he felt a sweat drop on his shoulder pad and immediately knew it was Hughie (Jack Quaid)! So, sneaking an entire Supe into his body without him knowing is next to impossible.
Even if they manage to catch Homelander napping or knocked out, enlargement comes with its own risks. There’s a high chance that if Termite enters his body and expands, he just crushes himself inside of Homelander. This same thing happened in Invincible Season 2 when Shrinking Rae enlarged herself inside Komodo Dragon. Instead of exploding, she got crushed under his bones and muscles. Watch the scene below.
2. A Psychic Supe Can Mind Control Homelander to Commit Suicide
Homelander is the strongest person alive. So, maybe the only one who can defeat him is himself. He is essentially The Boys’ version of Superman, and Superman has been mind-controlled countless times in comics. Then why not Homelander? There are plenty of psychic Supes in The Boys universe. Someone like Rufus (Alexander Calvert) or Cate (Maddie Phillips) could easily go up to Homelander and whisper a fatal suggestion, like “Fly into the sun” or “You’re a disappointment, end it all.”
However, this theory was rendered invalid in the show itself. During his fight with Mindstorm (Ryan Blakely) in Nicaragua, Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) was able to resist the telepath’s mind control. Mindstorm explained that what would have scrambled any other Supe’s brains did nothing more than stunt Soldier Boy for a few seconds. Considering Homelander is Soldier Boy’s biological son, it’s safe to assume that his mental defenses are equally formidable, if not more so.
3. Victoria Neuman Can Explode Homelander From Within
Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) and Marie (Jaz Sinclair) are blood-benders, and we’ve seen how explosive their powers can be. They can pop entire organs with a single glimpse. However, Homelander’s internal organs are as tough as the rest of him; even his blood vessels are impenetrable! So, if Victoria and Marie tried to burst his veins, chances are that the walls of Homelander’s blood vessels would put up a good fight, maybe more than these two can handle.
So, is Marie being set up to kill Homelander? @TheBoysTV
If he gets any wound, she can drain all the blood from his body! #GenV pic.twitter.com/ybozCXErVn— Harrison Martin (@movieguru23) October 10, 2023
Some fans argue that even if Homelander’s impenetrable skin eliminates the explosion, they can still manipulate his blood. If his heart stops pumping blood, he dies. But considering Homelander’s super speed, the odds of them successfully pulling this off before becoming a red smear on the wall themselves are slim to none. He’d feel his blood being manipulated and have enough time to laser Neuman no matter how far away she was.
4. The Anti-Supe Virus Developed in Gen V Can Eliminate Homelander
Ever since Gen V dropped, fans have been theorizing that the anti-Supe virus introduced in the show would be the key to defeating Homelander. The virus specifically targets Supes, causing them flu-like symptoms that eventually result in death. Cardosa (Marco Pigossi) was even working on an airborne version of the virus. If he manages to pull it off, the virus could work on Homelander without anyone needing to get close to him.
However, fans got their answer to whether the virus would work on Homelander in the show itself. In The Boys, Season 4, Episode 1, “Department of Dirty Tricks”, Butcher (Karl Urban) explicitly says that the virus is not strong enough to kill Homelander yet. So, this kills the virus theory as well, at least for now.
5. Ryan Might Be The Only One Who Can Defeat Homelander
Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), Homelander’s son, might be the only one strong enough to take him down. We’ve seen glimpses of Ryan’s strength — laser vision powerful enough to take down Stormfront (Aya Cash), near-invulnerability, and enough strength to send humans flying. With the right training, as per Joe Kessler’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) advice to Butcher, Ryan could theoretically become the ultimate weapon against his own father.
Plus, in the comics (spoiler alert!), this is exactly how Homelander dies. Black Noir turns out to be a clone of Homelander and is the only one who can rival him in power, eventually killing him. Similarly, Ryan is a mini-Homelander and may be the only one capable of matching his father’s power set. The show also seems to be setting up a Homelander vs. Ryan arc since Ryan is coming into his own as a hero. Homelander’s need to be loved by everyone cannot bear anyone, not even his son, being more loved than he is. This is clearly causing a rift between the father-son duo.
While Homelander is ruthless and bloodthirsty, Ryan is compassionate and hesitant to hurt anyone. This mental block could hold him back in a fight. However, Ryan’s powers are still developing, and he has a hard time controlling them. Homelander, on the other hand, has complete control and decades of experience with his abilities. Unless there’s a major time jump allowing Ryan to train extensively, there’s no way he’s going Sone-on-one against Homelander and coming out on top just yet. Also don’t forget to check out how the storylines of The Boys and Gen V are interconnected!
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