The Boys will end its story in a fifth and final season. We know that Eric Kripke plans to continue Gen V for a few more seasons and create other The Boys spinoffs, too. And we are getting some very, very strong hints that The Boys‘ main villain, Homelander, could be getting a prequel spinoff series. Is this a good idea? I think so, if it is approached the right way.
In episode four of season four, Homelander spends time confronting some of his deepest and earliest core wounds. He goes back to the Vought lab where he was born and raised for a “family reunion” of sorts. He confronts a couple of people who mistreated him as a child. Of course, Homelander gets bloody revenge on pretty much everyone, setting the stage for him to become even more unhinged. This small peek into Homelander’s origin story gives us a lot of context to some of his frankly disturbing proclivities. A prequel Homelander series would further establish how he became such a twisted being.
I am not super interested in seeing a very young Homelander get tortured by adults. That just seems overly brutal, even for this universe’s standards. But I think the period from where he becomes “The Homelander” at age 16 through him becoming the leader of the Seven is an intriguing part of his life that we know little about. After spending years with lots of isolation and brainwashing, how did he learn to navigate larger society and become the hero of America? What challenges did he face? His journey from socially awkward supe loner to the cunning leader we all know would be fun to witness. It would largely hinge on finding the right young man to compliment Antony Starr’s flawless portrayal of an adult Homelander.
I am not always a fan of trying to humanize a villain. But the duality of having the powers of a god yet the innate human need for love, family, and approval, even after excruciating torture, makes Homelander such an effective antagonist. Sure, we could get flashbacks to his young child and pre-teen days in a The Boys spinoff series, like what The Boys posted on social media with the hashtag #HomeSweetHome. (Is that a title hint? I’d like for it to be Home Sweet Home(lander) personally.)
But that shouldn’t be the primary focus of a Homelander prequel spinoff series. By aiming at his late teen and early 20s, we’d get a chance to meet other members of the OG Seven, like Queen Maeve, at a more impressionable point of their lives, too. Maybe we can discover what happened to Mister Marathon, whom A-Train replaced prior to the events of The Boys. In fact, The Boys could even make it a true “Dawn of the Seven” spinoff story about how they all came together but with a larger focus on Homelander’s story.
Right now, we don’t know if Homelander will survive the events of The Boys or not. (My guess is he’s going to stick around.) But, if Homelander does, it wouldn’t be out of the realm for him to appear on other The Boys spinoffs. A prequel series would be an excellent way to have a complete picture of Homelander as he moves forward. In fact, it could even connect to what we get in The Boys: Mexico or future Gen V seasons. Who knows how far Dr. Vouglebaum’s reach extends? Let’s see where this wild world takes us the in future.