The Boys’ Homelander is bisexual in the comics but not on TV – and for once, that’s a good thing
Homelander is bisexual in The Boys comics – but not in the TV show. This is why that’s a good thing. (Prime Video)
The villainous Homelander is bisexual in source material comics The Boys, but not in hit Prime Video adaptation – and this is why, for once, that might be a good thing.
Based on the comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, season four of The Boys dropped on Prime Video on Thursday (13 June). Leading the charge on the side of Vought International (the corrupt company in charge of the very bad superheroes), is Homelander, played by Antony Starr.
In the TV show, Homelander is too sociopathic to enjoy anything close to what people might call a relationship, but he does have a dalliance with season two’s neo-Nazi superhero Stormfront (Aya Cash), including a levitating, electricity-fuelled sex scene or two.
Aside from a “pre-show” relationship with the bisexual Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), that viewers never get to witness, the weirdest Oedipus complex you’ve ever seen, the time he gave himself a blowjob (via shapeshifter Doppelgänger) and a PR relationship with Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Homelander’s main focus is on retaining power, with no time for any extra-curricular activities.
In the comics, Homelander has sex with men – a character detail that hasn’t (so far) been translated to TV screens.
Is Homelander bisexual in The Boys comics?
Short answer: yes. Longer answer: yes, unfortunately.
By that, we mean that in a Volume Five issue of The Boys, which focuses on a giant superhero orgy called Herogasm, Homelander forces Solider Boy to have sex with him in an attempt to degrade and humiliate him.
In the comics, Soldier Boy is desperate to join The Seven (Vought’s version of the Avengers, so to speak), and views the sex as a sort of audition for Homelander.
Although Herogasm was adapted into an episode season three of the TV adaptation, this key plot arc was omitted… thankfully.
Series creator Eric Kripke has been fairly liberal with his characterisation of the maniacal superhero when compared with the comic book origins. It’s beneficial that Homelander’s bisexuality has been erased because, although The Boys has a very diverse cast, its only other leading queer character was Queen Maeve, who is “off-grid” for the foreseeable future.
Having the only other example of queerness be murderous psychopath Homelander, who has engaged in sexual violence against other characters, would have done more harm than good for bisexual representation on screen, just like the character himself.
Kripke recently confirmed that The Boys would end after season five, so there’s still a possibility that Homelander’s canonical bisexuality could be explored in the future – but we’re certainly not calling for it.
The first three episodes of The Boys season four dropped on Prime Video on Thursday (13 June), with new episodes released weekly. Seasons 1-3 are also streaming.
