WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Boys season 3, episode 4
Billy Butcher's relentless quest for revenge against Homelander, and that's true for both Amazon's TV adaptation and the Garth Ennis comic books it's based on. The Boys season 3 brings Butcher closer than ever to achieving his aim. Though a mission to locate an enigmatic supe-killing weapon in Russia proves futile, the Boys find Soldier Boy himself locked up in a secret lab. Strangely, Jensen Ackles' captured commando now emits a powerful radioactive blast that strips a supe of their powers - the very weapon against Homelander Butcher was seeking.
The Boys has already taken a series of massive deviations from the comics, and these ensure Antony Starr's Homelander can't have exactly the same fate as his comic counterpart. Nevertheless, their stories remain broadly similar. Homelander is the leader of the Seven and the world's greatest superhero, targeted by Billy Butcher after the death of his wife, Becca. They indirectly exchange blows from issue to issue, but the situation intensifies in the final volumes when the Boys begin blackmailing Homelander with photos of him committing crimes he genuinely doesn't ...
Homelander is no saint in Black Noir successfully kills Homelander.
Will Homelander Die In The Boys Season 3?
Amazon's live-action The Boys TV series has made an authentic comic ending difficult to pull off. For starters, Black Noir is definitely not a Homelander clone, and the Seven leader has committed every single crime he's accused of. The Boys might still introduce a Homelander impersonator further down the line but, as of season 3, there's only one red, white and blue sociopath in town.
Instead of following the comic book route, The Boys season 3 has positioned Soldier Boy as the means for Billy Butcher to murder Homelander. If these radioactive blasts can render a supe powerless - as with Kimiko - Butcher simply needs to get Soldier Boy one clean shot at the Seven's leader. Suddenly, Homelander can be punched, stabbed, or beaten with a crowbar, and in a power-free fight between him and Butcher, the smart money's on Karl Urban. Even though Soldier Boy's presence in The Boys brings Homelander's death closer than ever before, will it actually happen? Amazon has already confirmed The Boys season 4 is happening, and the prospect of continuing without Antony Starr's Homelander seems rather unlikely, suggesting Homelander won't die in The Boys season 3.
Beyond the current season, however, death is surely the only feasible ending for Homelander when The Boys ultimately concludes. After all the horrific acts he committed (and has thus far gone unpunished for), the audience needs justice meted out in some form. Odds are high that The Boys' brand of "justice" involves Butcher cracking open Homelander's skull like a can of Turbo Rush.
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The Boys continues Friday on Prime Video.