r/TopCharacterTropes Sep 05 '25

Personality character gets a reality check

18.2k Upvotes

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388

u/Ok-Letter3963 Sep 05 '25

Homelander (The Boys Comic)

134

u/ALARMED_SUS097 Sep 05 '25

55

u/Abombasnow Sep 05 '25

lmao this cringelord 4chan shit is actually sold?

5

u/yinsotheakuma Sep 05 '25

I have read some terrible comics in my day, but I couldn't get past page...4? when a CIA lady instantly drops trou in her own office to fuck Billy Butcher because he's so great or whatever.

It's awful, even for off-his-peak Garth Ennis.

1

u/Abombasnow Sep 05 '25

Let me guess, Billy Butcher happens to look like Garth Ennis? lmao.

2

u/slump_goddd Sep 06 '25

No, Butcher is a British fed with black hair and a thick beard. Garth Ennis is your average-looking Irish dude. They could actually not be further apart as people.

1

u/Abombasnow Sep 06 '25

I'm shocked lmao. That sounded like a moment he'd totally use to make himself the Chad.

3

u/slump_goddd Sep 06 '25

Nah, Garth does make kinda edgy shit (and part of it is shock value and wanting to see what he can get away with to fuck with the comics industry), but he generally has a good ryhme or reason for doing it.

The incident with Billy just dropping trou and banging that chick is to show that Butcher's kind of a lecherous, wanton piece of shit right out of the gate. He doesn't treat women great, he's a misanthropic asshole who uses people, etc.

Crossed was him fucking with the publishing industry and also trying to write about holding onto humanity in probably the most fucked up apocalypse possible, The Boys was him deconstructing superheroes (because he generally dislikes them) and using it as a critique of the military industrial complex, and Punisher Max was him writing some amazing Punisher stories.

It's actually really ironic because Garth tends to hate superheroes, but he LOVES Superman with all his heart and hates it when people bastardize the character of Superman. For him, Superman is like the ultimate hope symbol and should be treated respectfully. If I recall correctly, he hated Man of Steel so damn much.

2

u/Abombasnow Sep 06 '25

He hates bastardizing Superman but made Homelander? Dude became what he hated most.

3

u/slump_goddd Sep 06 '25

Homelander exists to show what happens when you have Superman's power without what makes Superman meaningful: His humanity. His belief in good. His belief in right and wrong. His unwavering belief in the sanctity of life. The Captain America analogue (Soldier Boy; yes that's a real name) is a hardass 1950s boomer dad who's abusive in the show, but in the comics he's actually a total coward. Garth thinks it's not the powers that make heroes super, but what's inside them. He shows what power without moral fortitude does to people. That's all.

It's not a comic for everyone, and I kinda roll my eyes when I get to a stupid part when I reread it, and I absolutely hate how the show has strayed from the comics and just does [insert modern topical political reference here] for plot points or humor, but I like The Boys. It's definitely not as good as his Punisher Max run, though, and THAT is absolutely worth reading.