Fans of ‘The Boys’ have long assumed that Superman stand-in Homelander (Antony Starr) is a metaphor for Donald Trump. As a blonde coiffed, egotistical megalomaniac, the comparison is an easy one to make. After all, like Trump, Homelander embodies white male grievance, nationalism, and racism. But season 3 draws the parallel even closer, as Homelander dispatches Vought CEO Stan Edgar and take control of the massive corporation. Of course, Homelander is quickly overwhelmed with his new position and incapable of leading the company. So he installs flunkies in positions of power, fires everyone competent, and goes on a campaign of misinformation. Sound familiar? The series winks at various Trump moments, from the Cinco de Mayo taco salad to Homelander ignoring a major threat (Soldier Boy) to boost his own ratings.
Series creator Eric Kripke discussed Homelander’s evolution in an interview with Rolling Stone, where he said, “He’s always been a Trump analogue for me. I’ll admit to being a little more bald this season than I have in past seasons. But the world is getting more coarse and less elegant. The urgency of our team’s writing reflects that. We’re angrier and more scared as the years go on, so that is just being reflected in our writing. But part of it is where Homelander’s story naturally goes. He has this really combustible mix of complete weakness and insecurity, and just horrible power and ambition, and it’s just such a deadly combo. Of course he would feel victimized that people are angry that he dated a Nazi. All he ever wants is to be the most powerful person he can be, even though he’s completely inadequate in his abilities to handle it. So it’s white-male victimization and unchecked ambition. And those issues just happened to reflect the guy who, it’s just still surreal to say it, was fucking president of the United States. And it’s a bigger issue than just Trump. The more awful public figures act, the more fans they seem to be getting. That’s a phenomenon that we wanted to explore, that Homelander is realizing that he can actually show them who he really is and they’ll love him for it.”
Kripke also discussed the show’s balance between portraying horrific behavior while simultaneously condemning it, saying “I take issue with movies and TV shows that show violence that’s clearly meant to be enjoyable or exciting and then condemn you for enjoying the violence. I find that hypocritical. I don’t think this show does that. I think this show is a deconstruction. We are a superhero show, but we deconstruct and break down and shine a light on the complete fucking absurdities of a superhero show and poke a lot of fun at what it is to be a superhero, and how stupid that world is, and how horrible they’d be as people.”
The Boys season 3 is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
(via Rolling Stone, featured image: Amazon Studios)
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