RJ Writing Ink’s Sample List of Everyone Who Could Beat Homelander
Homelander may call himself a superhero, but anyone who’s seen The Boys knows he’s anything but. Between his arrogance, deep insecurities, and crippling need for the mother and father that he never had growing up, he’s a bully. And while he could’ve made a decent superhero at one point, any chance of that died a long time ago. Yet people still can’t help but wonder how Vought’s dimestore knock-off of Superman would fair against the real deal. In a recent interview with ScreenRant to promote the upcoming Season Four of The Boys, Antony Starr, the man who brings Homelander to life, had this to say:
“… Here’s why Homelander would kick Superman’s ass. There’s no Kryptonite factor, and Homie would fight so dirty. He’s the [type to go], “Oh, you got me!” as he goes down and then comes up and throws sand in your eyes. He’s the dirty dude, man. Whereas Superman is always like, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that. Oh, there’s innocent children that might get hurt.” Homie’s going to human shield himself with the kids.“
Antony may have been trolling fans to rile them up in anticipation of the return of The Boys, but everyone knows that Superman would still win. Homelander couldn’t defeat another Superman expy, Omni-Man, in DEATH BATTLE!. But the idea that the man who represents some of the worst aspects of America made me laugh so hard that it gave me an idea. Superman would beat his knock-off in a fight, but what other heroes or protagonists do I know that could do that? The result was this list, which is just a tiny fraction of the number of people who could turn Homelander into the chump he is.
SpongeBob Wouldn’t Keep a Scratch on Him from Homelander
No, really. SpongeBob Squarepants, the legendary cartoon sea sponge, could humiliate and destroy Homelander in a fight. If you don’t believe me, then the people at DEATH BATTLE! have some research to back this claim up.
SpongeBob might be a silly, incredibly naive manchild whose only ambition is to be a fry cook, but as DEATH BATTLE! points out, he’s a veritable god thanks to the power of toon force. AKA the ability that many cartoon characters possess that lets them defy the laws of the universe for the sake of comedy. Between that and his nature as a sentient sponge, SpongeBob can soak up blows, morph his body into any shape, create anything he wants out of bubbles, and absorb enough water to grow to the size of the Moon. And, as DEATH BATTLE! noted, he tugged at a string that wound up undoing the fabric of reality itself in five seconds. That’s 8.2 x 1078 times the speed of light- the fastest the show’s ever recorded outside of Archie Sonic and Speed Force users. SpongeBob’s only fundamental weaknesses are his naivety and dehydration from lack of water. The latter of which could be rectified should he absorb enough water.
Best case scenario for Homelander: SpongeBob would annoy him to death. The worst-case scenario: Homelander gets beaten up by a cartoon god. In addition, that means that any cartoon character with toon force could beat him.
Speaking of which…
Luffy Is More Hero than Homelander. And he’s a Pirate!
The future King of the Pirates may like heroes, but he doesn’t like it when he’s considered one. This is ironic, considering how almost all of his actions can be classified as heroic:
- He saves people he’s only just met from danger for the simplest of reasons
- Has fought and defeated numerous pirates and corrupt government agents
- He consistently improves the lives of almost everyone he meets, even turning enemies into allies
- He may or may not be the second coming of an ancient, messianic pirate figure.
Yeah, Luffy is more of a hero than Homelander could ever be. And he would likely not tolerate how much of a bully the man is.
Homelander may be strong, but Luffy has numerous advantages over him. His rubbery body allows him to stretch and bend himself into impossible shapes, with his latest form, Gear Fifth, being weaponized toon force. Even without his powers, though, Luffy can rely on his Haki to reinforce his body, predict the future, and even knock people out through sheer force of will. Considering who he is, Luffy could leave Homelander drooling on the floor with just a look!
Batman Would Humiliate the Wannabe Hero
If a version of Superman becomes evil, there are two people you should call: another Superman and the Dark Knight. While he may be mortal, across multiple incarnations, Batman has consistently proven himself capable of fighting alongside gods. Between his intellect, training, resources, and enough prep time, Batman can take on almost anyone. And it’s well known that he already has contingency plans in place if Superman ever loses it.
At first glance, it might look like Homelander has no discernible weaknesses that Batman could exploit. However, that’s not true. The Caped Crusader could use his knowledge of psychology to break the mentally unstable hero. He could even resort to using Scarecrow’s fear toxin if he wanted to. In addition, Homelander’s powers technically stem from the Compound V in his system. Given enough time, it’s possible Bruce could develop a drug capable of neutralizing Compound V. Take that away, and Vought’s golden boy is nothing.
Gojo Would be Like, “Nah, I’d Win.”
There’s a good reason why JuJutsu Kaisen fans consider Satoru Gojo to be HIM:
- He’s the strongest JuJutsu Sorceror alive. He’s so strong that when he was born, JuJutsu Society had to re-scale itself around him to compensate.
- He has an almost unlimited amount of/total control over his Cursed Energy, which is also the spiritual power they use in JJK (like Ki or Chakra).
- His main technique, Limitless, allows him to actualize the very concept of Infinity.
In layman’s terms, that last one means he can stop, attract, repel, or overpower anything he wants. He can even take it a step further with Unlimited Void, which can overwhelm a target with unlimited information. Less than a second could leave a crowd of non-Sorcerors out cold. Get exposed to it long enough, and someone could become catatonic for months, maybe even brain-dead. As a result of being so OP, Gojo is free to act like a massive troll, much to the enjoyment of his fans.
Physically, Homelander is faster and stronger than Gojo. However, that won’t matter if the so-called hero can’t even lay a finger on him. And while Gojo is busy taunting the man over how lame he is, he can use Unlimited Void to flood his mind with so much information that he would be left brain-dead.
Homelander Might be a Decent Warm-Up for the Saiyans
Most of the protagonist and antagonist characters in the Dragon Ball franchise could beat Homelander. And that includes human characters like Yamcha, Tien, Chiatzou, and Krillin! However, to show just how weak Vought’s poster boy is, I’m focusing on the strongest, the Saiyans.
Goten & Trunks can not only go Super Saiyan, they can fuse into Gotenks to become even stronger.
Future Trunks has fought against multiple opponents who started out stronger than him, but he eventually closed the gap.
Gohan has his El Blanco (Beast) form and is downright smarter than Homelander could ever be.
Broly has only just started tapping into the power of a Super Saiyan, and he’s already on par with Goku & Vegeta.
Vegeta is stronger and more intelligent than Homelander, but since he used to be a villain, he would probably know what Homelander would think. If anything, he would either put him out of his misery or spend his time showing him how weak he is.
And Goku? Goku is not only one of the strongest characters in all of fiction, he’s one of the few who can go toe-to-toe with Superman. It doesn’t matter if he never wins; he still makes Superman sweat a little. And if Homelander can’t beat someone who can go toe-to-toe with Superman, he’s got no chance!
And Those are Just a Few People!
Homelander may be tough, and by his universe’s standards, he is. However, the simple fact of the matter is that in the annals of fiction and mythology, which spans thousands of years, many people could put Homelander in his place. Superman is just one of them! There are gods, demons, heroes, villains, cosmic entities, and everything in between that could waste the fake hero. So, when I hear Antony Starr joke that Homelander could beat Superman, I laugh. Because if he can’t beat any of the people on this list, he can’t go up against Superman.
Oh, and just to rub salt in the wounds, here’s what happened when DEATH BATTLE! had Homelander fight Omni-Man.
Homelander got no rizz,
