The “million” MAGA march that took place yesterday in Washington, D.C. was a staggering display of stupidity, racism, and the complete denial of reality. Of course that kind of behavior is expected from Trump’s marauding death cult, but there was one moment that blew our collective minds. Among the protesters were two people in costume: one dressed as Joe Biden in a prisoner uniform, being held by the other, a man wearing a Trump mask while dressed as Homelander from The Boys.
Showrunner Eric Kripke tweeted an image of the duo, asking “Um … are they actually watching the show?” Great question, Eric!
Um… are they actually watching the show? @antonystarr #TheBoystv #theboys @PrimeVideo @TheBoysTV #SPNFamilyForever https://t.co/wJPNjJf0Bj
— Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) November 15, 2020
I mean, they know that Homelander is the villain of the series, right? After all, the Amazon series has repeatedly shown Homelander to be a frighteningly heartless sociopath who murders with impunity. In just two seasons, we’ve seen Homelander abandon a plane full of innocent passengers, murder his mommy figure, and threaten anyone who goes against him. Homelander is unequivocally a bad man.
Huh. Maybe Homelander IS a stand-in for Donald Trump. They both have dyed blonde hair, they’re both obsessed with their appearance, they’re both bottomless wells of insecurity and they both resent the very people who worship them. They’re torn between a desperate need to be loved and an utter disdain for everyone in their orbit.
But the similarities don’t stop there. Both Homelander and Trump f-ck with nazis (quite literally for Homelander and Stormfront), and they both love fascist military posturing and denigrating other countries. They wrap themselves in American flags and pretend to be heroic patriots, when they’re really just using the flag to conceal their various crimes. Oh, and they court conservative Christians with false piety while comparing themselves to Christ.
The similarities between these two megalomaniacal monsters are many, and most of us view these traits as deplorable. The deplorables themselves however, celebrate it. One wonders what the thought process was behind this Homelander Trump costume. Did the wearer get confused and think he was dressed as Superman? Or did he watch The Boys and just completely miss the point?
It certainly confused Antony Starr, the actor who plays Homelander, who tweeted his thoughts on the costume:
“The art of ignorant dumbfuckerry” https://t.co/Q51y3Mtmwo
— Antony Starr (@antonystarr) November 15, 2020
Homelander wouldn’t be the first piece of popular culture the alt-right has misappropriated. There have been viral videos of MAGAts dancing to Rage Against the Machine while woefully misinterpreting their lyrics. Trump enters his rallies to “Fortunate Son”, which is a song that rails against men like Trump. And of course, there are plenty of internet vigilantes who worship Watchmen red pill anti-hero Rorschach.
At this point, Trump supporters have a preternatural ability to reshape popular culture into supporting their cause. They truly see what they want to see, regardless of logic or reality. Unfortunately for us, we’re stuck living with the consequences of their unhinged actions.
(featured image: Amazon Studios)
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