There are sadly far too many real-world parallels to Homelander, particularly in

politics and business—or really anywhere power can be found, because this is the
type of broken personality that innately seek power because they have nothing else
to live for than power and control, and taking out their deep trauma-fueled rage and
resentments on those they can push around or harm; and ultimately on humanity
and reality itself.

As twisted as the show is, it’s a pretty incisive satire about the kind of toxicity that is
rampant in our culture, particularly where issues of power, image, idolatry, greed, and
fundamental disconnection are concerned. Again, it’s not a coincidence that
Homelander is the product of corporate greed and the power games of ordinary
human narcissists behind the scenes. He’s a blatant expression of the US Corporate
Military-Industrial Complex, and how that addiction to profit, power, violence, and
war (all under the banner of patriotism & national security) seize and twists much
more human, heartfelt, and good American ideals into something very dark, and the
effect that this has historically had on the entire world.

Eric Kripke,  The Boys' showrunner, said to Rolling Stone earlier this month:

"[...] All he ever wants is to be the most powerful person he can be, even though he’s
completely inadequate in his abilities to handle it. So it’s white-male victimization and
unchecked ambition. And those issues just happened to reflect the guy who, it’s just
still surreal to say it, was f*cking president of the United States. And it’s a bigger issue
than just Trump. The more awful public figures act, the more fans they seem to be
getting. That’s a phenomenon that we wanted to explore, that Homelander is realizing
that he can actually show them who he really is and they’ll love him for it."

The American Villain- Richard Hall

‘Examines myriad forms of villainy in American society. Post-WWII fascists were portrayed
as villains in pop culture and heroes were those who stood up against totalitarianism and for
freedom, liberty and democracy.’
If Modern Villains are meant to illuminate the heroes and reveal an undiscovered aspect
regarding themselves, then how does Homelander fulfil this role? He is definitely capable of
charming the public but behind-the-scenes life reveals his insecurities as an emotionally
immature individual who lacks a frame of reference for understanding love and compassion.
How does Homelander become so terribly evil when he was trained to be a hero that saves
everyone and society? Homelander shows a good hero is not necessarily a good person as
well. Anyway, Homelander is not a good hero and he doesn’t even come close to being an
anti-villian (“antivillain” was defined as “an antagonist who isn’t purely evil nor entirely
unsympathetic—a character who doesn’t seem to deserve being cast as the villain”)

Homelander and the likes of him believe all lives don’t have the same value. Fairness and
justice have no place in a world full of monsters and men and that is the purview of those that
behold power. “Throughout, America’s darkness is revealed-what we desire to defeat and
what we fear to become.” The show has political concerns at its foundation which was
surprisingly missed by a fair portion of the audience. Furthermore, fans contested the true
nature of Homelander as a sympathetic character albeit misguided with hopes of a
redemption arc. Certain choices made by Homelander and other characters find support from
the right-wing fans who wish for a redemption arc for the character to avoid getting
uncomfortable for rooting for a character whose ideas match with theirs on some level and
who simultaneously commits murders which even they can’t condone.

“Villains have been used both to warn audiences of the dangers of giving in to their darker
tendencies and to underscore the heroics of their respective adversaries. Villians represent
who we fear to be but who, deep down, we are each fully aware we possibly could be.”

The Supes with their destructive potential become mankind’s greatest enemy, very much like
the Satan presented by Christianity. Lucifer turns to god’s BELOVED CREATION-
HUMANKIND-TO SEEK HIS VENGEANCE whereas Homelander

Homelander- Ambitious, Envy, Lust, Desire to play God.

The changing values over the years along with the evaluation of history can turn tides.
Several figures in American history who were glorified at one point are seen as villains
propagating racism etc.
“In his seminal analysis, Heroes & Villains, Mike Alsford identifies “free will” as a key
source of villainy. Just as the serpent chose to tempt Eve, Cain chose to kill Abel, and Sextus
chose to rape Lucretia, so, too, do villains—both real and fictional—exhibit the ultimate
example of freedom, unrestrained by the limits of morals or ethics of their respective
societies.” How does Homelander exercise his free will?
“The person who operates according to their own rules, who refuses to conform or be limited
by convention or taboo has a strength and presence that it is hard to ignore and in some ways
is hard not to admire…. It seems to me that at the very heart of the notion of the villain is a
refusal to submit to the social contract—for whatever reason—and a willful attempt at
exploiting the fact that the rest of society chooses to be bound by it. The simple fact of the
matter is that, for the most part, villains do not play by the rules. (Alsford, Heroes & Villains,
95, 106)”
This is perhaps an oversimplification and glorification of the villain by Alsford but not an
uncommon purview of the audience. When Homelander rants about the higher-ups in the
corporate restricting him from being himself etc, he is praised for it by “white rural men”
who believe he is a true hero for coming out and telling the truth.

“Any society, at any point in its history, can be partially defined by whom they see as the
villain. This provides insight on what that society fears, whether it be an ideology, an
economic basis, or a political system.” -Economic basis such as the fear of capitalism failing
when Homelander overtakes the company. The higher-ups blackmailed the senates to get the
law passed for inclusion in the military-political system.
The American fear of oppression of their rights leads to an imagined threat from the ‘other’
which can be witnessed when Homelander and Stormfront talk about immigrants and hidden
supes (?). Parallel to “Donald Trump who emerged with a strong anti-immigration platform”.
Homelander - a dictator and world conqueror.
There is a thin line “ between patriotism and nationalism, the latter possessing racist,
jingoistic, xenophobic, and usually anti-Semitic overtones.”
“Villains in American popular culture reflect the darker aspects of the American Dream.”
“While Americans since World War II have had a mostly continuous external threat to fear
and oppose, it is the darker nature of America and Americans that terrifies society the most.
What we can do to ourselves is as frightening as—if not more than—what others might be
able to do to us.”- Clearly represented through Vought who prioritises profit over the welfare
of the public. Also when Homelander created a supe terrorist which put Americans under risk
just to push his own agenda. – “The true enemy of America is America itself.”
“It has been said that villains see themselves as the hero in their own story; they do not view
their deeds as evil but actually as good. While this has been the case in many narratives, there
remain just as many narratives where villains are fully aware that they are bad and that their
actions are villainous. It may be more accurate and all-encompassing to state that villains
usually see themselves as the victim of their own story, and their response to this
victimization has led them down a darker path. ”
“As the villain is explored, the story often goes back to a very innocent time in the character’s
past, most often childhood, and audiences discover that some horrible trauma turned a once-
kind, normal person into a monster. This pathos can also make the villain all the more
frightening when the audience is forced to admit, even if only to themselves, that given the
same circumstances, anyone might follow the path of darkness in the wake of such an
experience. Readers and viewers of pop culture are fascinated by villains because of the
realization that every single person possesses the potential to become the villain.”
“The first step in solving any problem is identifying that there is one. How many villains
could have been “saved” had the seeds of their villainy been identified early on?”

HEROES AND VILLAINS- MIKE ALSFORD

Paraphrased- LOOks at notions of power and otherness through popular media images which
demystifies the debates and allows as many to join in the debate as possible because it is
familiar to them.
The hero and villains manoeuvre their way into the world with a certainty that is enviable to
humans who are increasingly lost in the complexity of the world. So they represent our desire
for a greater sense of confidence, personal identity and power to affect the world.
CHAPTER 2

The hero is caught up in the human condition but at the same time outside of it; he has the
ability to transcend the mundane world. Usually, heroes are tragic and lonely figures- its them
against the world- the idea of Chosen One as in harry potter( has support of his friends but
ultimately he is the true nemesis of Voldemort and is singled out) , GOT, Buffy the slayer,
The Witcher, LOTR. What marks Buffy out is her sense of moral responsibility coupled with
clear recognition of the ethical demands made on the self by the other.

This sense of ethical duty, what we ‘ought’ to do in any given situation rather than what we
would like to do finds its clearest and most enduring expression in the work of the eighteenth-
century philosopher Emmanuel Kant. For Kant, the means do not justify the end. It is the
very formality of what Kant calls the ‘principle of volition’ or ‘the principle of the will’
which establishes the moral worth of rational, ethical behaviour. Thus for Kant, the true
rational person, must acknowledge all others as ends, as autonomous law-makers – this is the
foundation of Kantian ethics. People cannot and must not be used as means, not even if it is
apparently for the greater good.

The heroes desire to be part of the world and ordinary whereas the villains “deepen the gulf
between the self and the other and sees dominance as the only mode of engagement between
themselves and the rest of the world”. The hero has to resist the temptation to take a shortcut
by virtue of his superpowers and “suffer the pain of the world alongside humanity”; Villains
instead revel in their power to control and dominate, as is done by the seven.

Comics/superhero movies as modern myths since the heroes and villains reflect and manifest
each generation’s highest values and greatest fears.

Loss of a parent is a central motif to superhero makeup- but what about villains who've lost
their parents; like Homelander? Homelander longs to be treated like a son when he finds out
the identity of his father but what else? Do his beliefs regarding his superiority and humanity
change? Loss of spouse in the case of Butcher and Hughie.

CHAPTER 3

Relationship between heroes, villains and power. Heroes and villains are a goal-oriented
breed. Heroes who confront human suffering and not villains. But villains become an agent of
perpetuating suffering. The supes as agents of capitalism who crave power. Heroes have the
ability to empathise; shared pain. The villain is not limited by any ethics like the hero,
nothing is prohibited for him so the hero is naturally at a loss. This is why the heroes usually
have a secret identity, to protect their loved ones. The Supes have completely accepted their
identity which is a diversion from the trope. Some of them take their masks off once in a
while for personal reasons or to destress such as Maeve and Annie and it is they who can see
the Seven for what they truly are.

This is a common motif in heroic narratives, the hero’s abhorrence of the weapons and
methods of evil. That the hero might so easily fall to the dark through the embracing of
tainted tools and powers is a constant threat to those whose calling is often to confront foes
more obviously powerful and less constrained by morality. – Anti-heroes differ here. The
boys despise Supes and the usage of Compound V but Hughie and Butcher both use it.

The villain cannot be relied on by the people around him. Homelander only keeps those
around him who serve some purpose or make him look good. He could not imagine having “a
cripple” in the seven because that would make him look weak.

Evil is never really defeated just deterred temporarily; “only its current manifestation is
suppressed.” The old adage ‘all that is required for evil to flourish is for good people to do
nothing’ would seem to express a fundamental truth about the nature of our world.

Means and Ends- Teleological ethicist says life is far to complex to be governed by a set of
inflexible rules and that the uniqueness of each situation ought to influence our ethical
response. Example of a madman with an axe- lie if necessary.

Whereas a deontological ethicist like Kant, says we cannot predict the outcomes of our
actions so we require a strict system of ethics. In the above case, the passerby should not lie
about not having seen the person running away.

The hero makes themselves available to the other while the villain merely makes use of the
other as a resource. The power of the hero, in this regard, resides in their ability to stand in
the way of evil, to make of themselves a tool to confront it. The power of the villain, on the
other hand, is often bound up with their ability to manipulate others, to use them as weapons.

The tendency of Western democracies to assume that ‘god is on their side’ is fraught with
peril and the very real potential for cultural imperialism. As countries such as the United
States of America and Great Britain assign themselves the role of the world’s police force
and the custodians of liberty and freedom – this in part as a result of their roles in the Second
World War – it becomes easy for their cultures as a whole to cast themselves in the role of
the hero, the one who has an almost transcendental, and indeed parental, perspective and
responsibility for the rest of the world. In this respect the character of Superman, clothed in
the red white and blue, could well be seen as an expression of the American psyche.

Villains generally seek to be a law unto themselves. They usually have as their primary goal
power over others, world domination, control of the entire universe or, in some really
ambitious instances, godhood. GIVE EXAMPLES

WHAT IS HOMELANDER’S VISION? WHAT DOES HE WANT FOR THE WORLD?

mass movements or nationalistic fervour, while often appearing to take the form of
community are in actual fact nothing more than a form of extended individualism. Secondly,
one can already see enshrined in this attitude of qualitative individualism coupled with a
heightened sense of racial uniqueness the framework around which Nazi Germany would
construct itself. It is here, at the point of a nation’s confidence in its cultural uniqueness and
self- sufficiency, that folk sentiment meets with the intellectual ideas of its thinkers and
leaders.

Villains do not play by the rules. They do not abide by the “social contract”.

this notion of the villain as autonomous individual motivated simply by the desire for power
over others is found in the character Homelander. Sees himself as separate from humanity.

True villainy has to do not with our passions or instincts nor even with the dark thoughts we
all have from time to time. True villainy has to do with the desire to dominate, to subsume the
other within the individual self and that without compunction. The villain would appear to
lack empathy, the ability to feel for others, to see themselves as part of a larger whole. The
villain uses the world and the people in it from a distance, as pure resource. It is little wonder
that multinational corporations, bureaucracies and political parties of all kinds are often
viewed with suspicion and cast in the role of the villain as they become increasingly
disengaged from ordinary human lives. Faceless corporations and other powerful
organisations appear to care little for the lives of actual human beings concerning themselves
rather with abstractions, apparently for the sake of greater efficiency and objectivity.

Nietszche- Anyone who fights with monsters should make sure that he does not in the
process become a monster himself. And when you look for a long time into an abyss, the
abyss also looks into you.45 HAVE ANTI-HEROES LOST THAT BATTLE?

To a significant, albeit simplistic, extent the hero and the villain may be seen as aspects of the
same tragic character, one who encounters a crisis of some sort or another and chooses to
respond in a particular way. It is in the nature of the response to circumstances in extremis
that we see the heroic and villainous personas manifest themselves.

Are Anti-heroes triggered by some event rather than being the chosen ones like the heroes?

Once again, the hero, it would appear, has less to do with power and ability than with
attitude. In the excellent book Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth Justice and the Socratic
Way Tom and Matt Morris argue that:

In an interesting way, we can and should extend our concept of the heroic beyond those
occupations that obviously require facing personal danger for the good of others, or that
involves financial sacrifice in the service of what is socially needed. We should realize that a
stay-at-home mother can be a hero, as can a public servant, an engineer, a musician, or an
artist. Anyone who stands for the good and the right, and does so against the pull of forces
that would defeat their effort can be seen as heroic.9

The villain is, first and foremost, a user.

Once again it would appear that being a villain has more to do with a particular attitude of
mind rather than any particular power, or indeed any particular action. To see the world and
those within it as a thing to be made use of, a thing that we are in no way responsible for or
even connected to is, in my view, the height of villainy – whether this be witnessed to in the
play- ground, the street, the home, the office or internationally.

UBERMENSCH

Enter Nietzsche’s Übermensch, an alternative future for humanity, where we need not rely on any
standard of values but our own. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of your character.
Weaknesses need not be hidden or repressed, Nietzsche advises: they are part
of you, and can appear beautiful if molded according to a particular ‘artistic
plan’. – Homelander has certain insecurities but he has so many more that he
does not acknowledge which the viewer can observe. Rather than look
externally, the Übermensch is his own determiner of value. He transcends the
petty needs of ‘man’ and moves beyond illusions to live and take joy in
the here and now of life on Earth. He affirms his own character, and has the
power and fortitude to say ‘yes’ to all of life’s joys and all of life’s pains. So,
though some popular interpretations of Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch
say it hints at some sort of superior human race — as the Nazis, for instance,
tragically had it — it is more about self-overcoming, rather than necessarily
overcoming other people. Homelander embodies this misunderstood idea of the
Ubermensch where does not want to create a master because he thinks he is
THE master race.

The supes are not any less human for they embody the qualities of jealousy,
lust, greed and desire for more than anybody else and go to great lengths to
satisfy their urges. The Supes operate within a real sociopolitical framework and
are placed inside living, changing worlds with their own living, changing
histories.

values like independence, self-realization, personal liberation, self-

determination, and psychological completeness and health that are most
prominent in Nietzsche’s Übermensch.

Furthermore, are all human ‘drives’ permissible? What about our drives for
cruelty? How can we channel those in positive ways? How can we make
cruelty beautiful? Is cultivating our lives and characters so that they’re beautiful
as an ‘aesthetic package’ more important than, say, fighting for justice? Should
we really aspire to live aesthetically rather than ethically?- ANSWER IN
CONTEXT TO HOMELANDER. He creates his own morality or does he even
care for morality? Where does Homelander draw the line? He might even kill
his sons if it comes down to it. So he does give into his drives. Homelander does
base his mentality on the premise that God is dead and is spurred by “ideals of
world domination.” Dictators throughout history such as Hitler, stalin and Kim
jong un required unquestionable faith in their ideas and decisions with no space
for any disagreement much less contempt.
It is my assertion that superheroes protect the status quo, the dominant hegemony and power
structures of their societies, because they directly benefit from them. As superbeings, they do
not benefit in the traditional ways of social power, wealth or prestige (or, if they do, these
things are not their primary motivators). Instead, protecting the status quo gives them
countless opportunities to defend it from attack, and it is this defense that proves to be their
true method of fulfillment.

Indeed, Geoff Klock, in his book How to Read Superhero Comics and Why, discusses the
tension that occurs as “superheroes are [put] in a position of fighting for a world in which
they will no longer be needed” (43). I would argue that superheroes do not actually wish for
such a world to come to fruition, as they would lose their source of fulfillment and self-
actualization. Instead, they exist in the conservative, reactionary role where they fight
criminals instead of crime and evil-doers instead of social evils. Such social ailments are
generally accepted by the superheroes as inevitable fact, prompting them to avoid more
liberal, systemic changes that might have broader effects and challenge dominant institutions
and ideology.- When Homelander creates the Supe terrorist.

However, the texts represented in this paper will show that, unlike the ubermensch,
superheroes recognize the danger that the masses Meggs 5 represent to them. Instead of
confronting the common people, and risking the status quo and their personal safety, the
superheroes deceive the masses in order to continue their manipulations of power unimpeded.

ON THE GENEALOGY OF MORALITY

Nietzsche examines the historiography of morality and notes the evolution in the idea of good
and its associations.  Christian tradition evolves from ancient Jews who shift from
considering “good” as “aristocratic,” “happy,” and “loved by the gods” to the opposite.
“Wretched […] poor […] weak […] lowly” people become good, and powerful people start
to be seen as evil. This is a result of a “slave revolt” against morality. Effectively, the
disenfranchised shift the value of good to align with themselves, and evil with their
oppressors.

Dichotomy of slave morality and master morality. Civilisation has become tamed and lost
their daring ability. HOMELANDER AS THE EPITOME OF THE “BEAST OF PREY”
THAT CIVILISATION WANTS TO TAME. In Christianity, power itself is a sin. Christian
values like humility, selflessness, charity recommend the limiting of power and protection of
the weak. Nietzsche wants us to rekindle the noble morality, the blond beast of prey. hE
SAYS THE WEAK WIN OVER AND OVER AGAIN BC THEY ARE THE MAJORITY
AND ARE MORE INTELLIGENT. He isn’t rejecting slave morality but wants us to
question it.

We may be well justified in retaining our  fear of the blond beast at the center of  
every noble race and remain on our guard.’ Rather than emphasising how thought
has coalesced  around opposites like good and evil, instead we  should be focused
on ‘differences of degree.’ It is a sense that there aren’t absolute answers  to what
we value morally, but always movement,  
always questions, always creativity. Symbolically, God is an absolute. If  
you derive values from an idea of God they too  are, theoretically, absolute. They
stifle new,  fluid and maliable thinking.. This is the  only alternative to nihilism. We
have to  find a way to create our own values.  We need to find a way to love our own  
lives independently of any transcendent meaning. While, not mentioned in this essay.
This is where Nietzche’s idea of the ubermensch – the superman –  comes from.
This is someone that understands both  
of these sides of valuation and experiments to push humanity and morality forward
– continually working out new ways to live. As a thinker, Nietszsche has similarities  
to Doestoevsky, the subject of last weeks video.  He questions what is thought of as
‘rational’,  and argues that people are much more chaotic than the rationalists
suppose. 
In the second essay, Nietzsche says morality has its roots in power and not justice.
The Weak as the man of resentment. Nietzsche starts the essay by arguing that one
of  the fundamental traits that raises humans above  
other animals is our ability to make promises. This means remembering to do
something, to act a certain way in the future. To  be able to say ‘I will,’ and ‘I will do.’ 
He sees this as the basis of morality  - the origins of responsibility. 
Promising, acting, responsibility,  they all make up mans conscience. 
Guilt is then born of breaking  promises, actual or metaphorical. Pride,  
on the other hand, grows out of keeping them. In tribal times, Nietzsche theorises, a
promise was like a debt to be paid to a creditor. I  promise to do something for you in
return for you doing something for me – especially  important before money started
circulating. The german word for guilt, Schuld, has the same  roots as the German
word for debt, Shulden. 
Promises and guilt are then born out of the  relationship between the creditor and the
debtor. If I break my promise I must be punished. The  tribe or community is
glavanised by promises and so the creditor-debtor relationship becomes the  basis
for social rules and politics as a whole. 
PAIN & GUILT
In punishment for broken promises, a certain pleasure must be  extracted by the
wronged creditor – the powerful extracting from the powerless – a pleasure to
remind the community not to break promises. 
Nietzsche says, ' to make someone suffer  is pleasure in its highest form.’ A
‘true feast.’ He cites public executions  and torture as evidence of this. 
We then start to see two types of punishment  developing in pre-civilizational
culture: 
When the strong punish the weak they are level  headed because they are punishing
the act, and are not fearful or resentful of the weak  – they’re not bothered by the
weak man. The strong says ‘you have broken a promise, you  must be punished, but
im not fearful of you,  you don’t mean anything to me, so I’ll punish  you and moveon.
I’m focused on myself. But when the weak punishes the strong  for breaking
promises he is resentful, gleeful at getting his own back  – he is a man of
resentment,  a man of revenge as we saw in the first  essay. The weak says, ah,
you’ve broken a promise and now I have the community behind  me ready to punish,
and I also want revenge,  I’m fearful of you and want you to suffer so  that you don’t
try to take advantage of me again. In ancient times, the promise-breaker  was
punished, pain was extracted,  and everyone returned to their lives. But with
resentment, or slave-morality,  we keep strength and power in check so as  not to let
the strong take power over us. Nietzsche calls this ‘bad conscience.’ Will to Power 
For Nietzsche, all life – plant and animal  - develops through the ‘will to power’ – the  
desire to grow, be stronger, become safer,  spread, reproduce – and humans are no
different. This bad conscience, then, this  resentment and revenge of the weak  
over the strong, limits the will to power. Why? Because once a system of moral
codes, language, aesthetics, art, courts,  laws, culture arise around it,  
they contain that seed of revenge, of wanting to limit the power of the strong. 
This then becomes psychologised,  turned inward, makes us question  
our actions all of the time. Creates a kind of introverted morality. Makes us all weak. 
He says punishment of this sort tames  us, rather than makes us better. 
He says, ‘this is what I call the  internalization of man… quote on p. 61.
His argument, if we consider it in the context  of the first essay, is that our
understanding of morality today is based upon the weak  protecting themselves
against the strong. 
This has led to bad conscience. Bad conscience is conscience  
turned inwards. An over questioning,  an inner-turmoil, an introversion.
If Christian morality is based on weakness and  humility, then our consciences are
weak too. 
He wants a morality based on strength  so that was can push forward. 
I think this is a good place to see both  problems and a defense of Nietzsche. 
Problmatically, it doesn’t acknowledge the  possibility that slave-morality –, limiting  
ones power, keeping avarice in check,  abhorring greed, – is a rational  
psychological mechanism behind a cohesive and  strong community. That its
completely necessary. 
Alternatively, in defence of Nietzsche, it  could be argued that he wants a
community  based on everyone’s strength. That the very  structure of a morality
based on weakness is one that keeps us weak, where as one  based on strength will
make us strong. 
He says ‘Bad conscience is a sickness,  there is no point in denying it,  
but a sickness rather like pregnancy.’ He is not saying that we should go  
backwards to the morality of the strong…  but there is something new to be
discovered,  a new type of justice, of morality. He ends with a call to tear  
down this bad conscience. 
Homelander as the master morality vs the boys (who do operate on revenge) as the
slave morality.
The villains in the show "The Boys" mirror the unease and angst of American society
by embodying various negative aspects of American culture, such as corporate
greed, political corruption, and celebrity worship. The show portrays these villains as
individuals who are willing to do whatever it takes to gain power and maintain their
status, even if it means exploiting and oppressing others. By doing so, the show
highlights the darker side of American society and serves as a commentary on the
current state of the nation.

Homelander, the primary antagonist in "The Boys," is a character who embodies

many of the negative aspects of American culture. He is a superhero who is adored
by the public and revered by his corporate sponsors, but behind closed doors, he is a
manipulative and sociopathic individual who is more concerned with maintaining his
power than helping others.

Homelander's character is a commentary on the cult of celebrity and the dangers of

placing too much trust in powerful individuals without holding them accountable. His
actions throughout the series showcase his willingness to engage in unethical
behavior and use his power to intimidate and control those around him. This is
reflective of a broader societal problem where individuals in positions of power can
easily abuse their authority and cause harm to others without consequence.

Additionally, Homelander's character highlights the issue of political corruption and

corporate greed, as his actions are often motivated by the desire to maintain his
position of influence within the organization that controls him. This reflects the
reality that many political and corporate leaders prioritize their own interests over the
needs of the people they are supposed to serve.
Overall, through Homelander's character, "The Boys" highlights the negative aspects
of American culture and serves as a warning against blindly trusting those in power
without holding them accountable.