The Boys Fans Have One Question Looming In Their Minds About Neuman
When Homelander (Antony Starr) was first introduced on Amazon Prime's "The Boys," it seemed that there was no other superhero who could stand against him. However, in Season 3, Homelander gets some legitimate challengers. Though the season primarily focuses on Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and his mysterious ability to nullify Supes' powers, the Captain America parody is eventually defeated by Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), but at the risk of her own powers. Now that Soldier Boy is incapacitated and Maeve is depowered, who can take on Homelander?
Fans are speculating that it could be Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit). At the end of Season 2, viewers were shocked to discover that this benevolent politician who was allegedly working against Vought is actually a Supe secretly working with Vought by eliminating its opponents using her terrifying ability to combust people's heads.
Throughout Season 3, we learn more about her rather violent past as an orphan before being adopted by former Vought International CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) to be used for his nefarious purposes. We also learn through a confrontation with a childhood friend that Neuman is capable of combusting any part of a person's body as long as she has a direct line of sight, though it seems she prefers her victims' craniums.
The Season 2 episode "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" provides fans with rather a bloody demonstration of her powers when she combusts both Supes and non-Supes' heads during a congressional hearing. Therefore, It begs the question: Shouldn't she be capable of ending Homelander?
Fans are unsure if Victoria Neuman could actually defeat Homelander
Redditor u/SparkySoDope was curious about just that when they asked, "Shouldn't Neuman be the most powerful supe?" Despite many theories posed throughout the replies, the prevailing thought, raised by u/Pr1mrose, is that Neuman can kill Homelander but she isn't certain it'll work and won't try it because any failed attempt would result in imminent death.
Some fans weren't convinced that Neuman could pull off such a feat. As with any superhero competition, they poured over evidence from the show to support their own arguments. For instance, u/Medium-Turquoise discussed an average Supe's internal durability compared to Homelander, while u/mcmanus2099 brought up the fact that it may take Neuman too long to fully activate her powers, giving Homelander ample opportunity to fight back. Unfortunately, there was no consensus.
This question hasn't escaped the show's cast and crew either. Speaking with TVLine, Claudia Doumit admitted it has been talked about. However, instead of disclosing any definitive answer, the actor discussed Neuman's thoughts during a tense moment in Season 3 when Homelander invades her home and taunts her. Doumit believes that her character takes a moment to analyze the situation and makes a decision: "I think in that moment, she probably is assessing whether or not she can kill Homelander, and I don't think it would be as simple as any of her other kills. I think she knows that, and I think she's doing what she does best in that situation, which is playing the slow game and playing by strategy." Hopefully, this helps clear up some aspects of the debate.
In the end, unless the writers want to create a narrative-ending scenario in Season 4, we likely won't know for sure any time soon.