The Homelander Theory That Would Have Saved The Plane In The Boys Season 1
Trying to keep track of how many monstrous moments Homelander (Antony Starr) has had in Amazon Prime's hit show "The Boys" is like tracking how many times Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) has dropped F-bombs. However, there might well be one moment in the leader of the Seven's career that is by far the worst of the worst, all involving a failed rescue mission.
In Season 1 of the superhero-hating show, Homelander and Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) board a hijacked commercial flight in the hope of resolving the situation and saving the passengers. They don't. In fact, they do such a lousy job that they leave the passengers to perish and cover the whole operation up, safe in the knowledge that no one will find out they left civilians begging for their lives before crashing into the ocean.
The question remains, though, did this flight that was close to salvation really have no chance? Or was there an alternative method of rescue that would've made Homelander a hero and not the psychopath we all secretly know him to be? Thanks to theorizing Reddit users, we may have some ideas over what alternatives could've been put in motion besides fleeing the scene.
Homelander's superspeed could've saved the day if he cared
While some aspects of this doomed drop-in-and-out rescue mission echo the one in "Superman Returns," it's clear that the leader of the Seven has nowhere near the same level of quick thinking as the Man of Steel. However, a few people who do were quick to chime in and suggest that Homelander's superspeed could've been used to full effect and wasn't. Redditor u/Jamie_Pull_That_Up made the strong argument that the maniac in a cape could've applied a kind of "Iron Man 3" Air Force One course of action, saying, "If Homelander really wanted to he could have saved the people in the plane by using his super speed to lower the people in the water."
While taking notes from Marvel's knight in shining armor would have paid off, u/RedDragon683 said that a Superman route might've been better. "Frankly, the simplest solution would just be for Homelander to guide the plane to glide into the water," they explained. "He doesn't need to provide enough force to lift the whole thing, just enough to glide it smoothly, the wings will still do a lot of the work."
Both were good suggestions, but the most important factor that was brought to the discussion — and a point that was constantly revisited — was Homelander's lack of dedication to his job.
Homelander could've saved the day, he just didn't want to
Even with day-saving techniques thrown into the hat, u/SpiritOne added, "Yeah, but that sounds like a lot of work. That's not Homelanders [sic] MO. He wants to be the hero, but he doesn't want to work for it." We detect no lies here. With a god-like member seated at the Seven's table, Homelander's hubris is both his most horrifying and his most damaging trait. Decisions like waving goodbye to doomed members of the public are no issue for him.
While it may have been a shocking sight upon first viewing, now that we've gotten to see what makes this milk-loving lunatic operate, the catastrophe with the failed plane rescue really isn't that surprising. He's got an image to protect, no matter how many people it takes to keep it intact.
In a cold-cut breakdown, u/laserguy37 explained, "The whole deal with Homelander is that he only gives a s*** about being a hero when people are watching because he wants to be loved. If everyone on the plane is dead they can't tell anyone so why save them when it's easier just to let them die."
The question, of course, is how long Homelander can keep the facade going before the world learns the truth about him. You know the old saying: You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.