Superheroes are a part of all our lives.
We've all consumed at least one superhero movie, cartoon, or game.
As children, we dreamed of Batman-themed beds, and cried to our mothers for Spiderman-themed milk.
Superheroes are very popular, they're everywhere, and it all actually started with one character: Superman.
The first superhero in history, written in 1938; super strong, super fast, he can fly, but his main job is heroism.
He always uses his powers for good, catching criminals, protecting the innocent, saving the world.
Come on! If Superman were real, he wouldn't be a hero.
We would all live as slaves under his dictatorship.
Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Superman is a being with absolute power.
I'm not the only one who thinks this way, because the idea of a bad Superman has been written about countless times by writers.
The Difference Between The Boys and Homelander
The Boys depicts a sordid universe where superheroes are controlled by a company called Vought; a world where they commit all sorts of evil for fame and money instead of heroism.
The series owed its success especially to one character: Homelander.
Homelander's origin story is very similar to Superman's, but with a small difference...
Superman's only reason for being a kind-hearted hero is his family; he had a perfect childhood, showered with parental love and free from trauma.
Homelander, on the other hand, was created by injecting V into a fetus in the womb to create the most powerful super-hero.
The moment the baby was born, it couldn't control its powers and killed everyone in the room.
In its later life, it grew up in an empty room without parents, deprived of love, and subjected to countless experiments and torture.
Psychological Analysis: Narcissism and Mother Obsession
Homelander's psychology was practically designed to ensure his unwavering loyalty to the company.
Because he grew up without parents, he's always searching for someone to fill that parental role; that's why he's developed an obsession with breast milk.
Homelander is aware of his need for love, but he's ashamed of it, even hates it.
To suppress his need for love, he's developed a second personality: narcissism.
A hero must be free from ego, disregard his self; a hero is a hero, not a judge or executioner.
However, when Homelander kills innocent people due to his incompetence on his first mission, the company covers up the accident.
There, Homelander encounters the real world; he realizes that heroism is a childish fantasy.
Politics, Trump, and Social Criticism
Superman's famous slogan is "Honesty, Justice, and the American Way"; Superman is actually a political propaganda character.
Homelander's greatest complex, combined with narcissism, is his desire to rule.
He wants to be a dictator, not a leader; he wants no one to disobey him, everyone to worship him.
Homelander is clearly written as a parody of Trump.
Like Trump, he gains legitimacy by inciting voters with populist rhetoric, pumping fear and hatred into them.
Like Julius Caesar, he recognizes the importance of gaining popular support; he lulls the public to sleep with the slogan "Make America Great Again."
Behind the scenes, he's a rapist, murderer, and war criminal; but he doesn't face any consequences because he has a flock of sheep who will support him no matter what he does.
The Result: Why is he admired?
There's someone even worse than Homelander in this story: Vought Corporation itself.
After enduring emotional and physical torture, what else would this man be but a psychopath?
My reason for being a fan of this character isn't that I sympathize with him, but that I enjoy watching him; because Anthony Starr's acting changes the aura of every scene.
But the frightening thing is: even among those watching the show on screen, there's a group saying, "Homelander is right."
Do people no longer care about characters who embody goodness and kindness?
Do people enjoy seeing evil people use their power for tyranny? Daodaddy (btw I worked so much of this)🌺