I think we can all collectively agree that superheroes, in general, have taken over our media streams. They’re in movies, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the DCEU, or they’re in our TV shows like WandaVision. And while that’s great, sometimes you just need something to shake it up a bit. And while there have been some excellent examples in the superhero world, nothing has quite passed the bar in my opinion like The Boys.
The hit Amazon show premiered back in 2019 to rave reviews for its starkly different superhero tone. But just because the show is amazing, with its stellar cast and awesome action scenes, that doesn’t mean the characters are all good. In fact, a lot of them can be pretty bad – assholes, even, if we’re being honest. And for two seasons, we have been witnesses to that, only seeing the stakes rise more and more. So, for this article, we’re breaking down the worst things The Boys characters have done – at least so far. Let’s just wait until The Boys Season 3.
12. When Homelander Creates Terrorist Supes
Let’s get this out there instantly – Homelander is a truly messed up guy in The Boys. The dude is full of trauma and is straight-up one of the worst people to ever be considered something close to a superhero. However, that does mean he provides plenty of moments for this list – including this moment, or rather, series of moments. In The Boys, Homelander is often known for running his own agenda, and he really doesn’t care what his superiors or anyone at Vought thinks.
That’s why it’s revealed that one of his own plans was to use compound V to create super-powered terrorists, transporting the serum across the world. His goal was to make more suitable villains that could actually compete with the supes, bringing more publicity and revenue for the company and the Seven. But all it did was end in more lives lost, and less trust in Vought.
11. When Hughie Blows Up Translucent - Through His Ass
The Boys part of The Boys has always been the storyline that’s captured me the most, mainly because I’ve always liked Hughie. The man was done wrong by the Seven and Vought and just wanted revenge for the death of his girlfriend, but ended up getting into a whole situation with the Boys. That’s why one of his first moments is number 11.
Translucent had caught Hughie in the Seven tower after Butcher’s plan, but he and The Boys ended up capturing him and locking him up. Just when it looked like Hughie was set to let Translucent go after The Boys had kept him locked away, he quite literally blows up the situation – by means of an explosive that was shoved up Translucent’s, ah, private parts, because his skin is normally invincible to anything. It’s a big turning point for Hughie’s character and an even bigger moment as one of the first gory scenes of the show.
10. When A-Train Kills Hughie's Girlfriend
I think this was what all captured our interests - when we knew The Boys wasn’t a normal show. Hughie and his girlfriend Robin had just left his job and were enjoying a romantic walk alongside the road, talking about moving in together, and just being in love.
And then all of a sudden, A-Train literally rips right through Robin, making her implode from the speed, leaving her hands still holding onto Hughie’s, as he's covered in her blood. It’s the opening minutes of the series, and a great way to show that this isn’t your normal everyday superhero show – however, there’s no denying that it was still a terrible moment.
9. When Popclaw Explodes Her Landlord’s Head During Cunnilingus
Look. I’m always down for people to have fun in their own ways. Live your life and whatnot. But there’s always a line, and Popclaw definitely crossed that with both feet in The Boys. When A-Train intentionally didn't mention their relationship on live TV after his race in Season 1, Popclaw decided to cheat on him by having sex with her landlord.
However, it seemed that Popclaw got a little too excited during her session, and while she was sitting on the landlord’s face, she caused it to explode, with his blood going literally everywhere. It’s not a pretty sight, but hey, at least it felt good for somebody.
8. When Starlight Is “Initiated” Into The Seven
Another moment from the first episode of The Boys that really make you start to understand who the supes actually are. All her life, Starlight wanted to join the Seven. And now, she finally gets the chance. However, when she reveals to the Deep that she had a crush on him when she was young, he insists on her giving him a blowjob if she wants to keep her job.
It’s humiliating to watch a young woman who just wanted to live her dream job go through something like that, and why it feels even better when the Deep gets his comeuppance for it a couple of episodes later.
7. When Homelander Pushes His Child Off The Roof
While it doesn’t seem like it's worse than some of the other parts on this list, I still think this moment is pretty bad on The Boys. Homelander has this whole secret “family” out in a high-security base and thinks that his son has his powers. So, wanting to see if he did, he literally pushes his young son off his roof.
And it’s not like this was some small house either, guys. This was a double-story, large house. And he just pushed him off to the ground, just to see if he could fly. It’s minimal physical damage compared to some of the others, but I still hate thinking about it because it shows just how horrible Homelander is on an ethical and emotional level, to push his own son off the roof without a second thought.
6. When Stormfront Literally Tears Through A Whole Apartment And Kills Several People And Kenji
Look, I could do a whole other article on Stormfront from The Boys. She was just a mess all around and almost as bad as Homelander, but this was one of her outstanding horrible moments. As the Seven are on the hunt for Kenji, Kimiko’s brother, Stormfront goes through an apartment building to get to him.
However, in her quest to catch up to him, she kills several minority residents of the apartment, specifically targeting them and destroying their apartments, practically setting the whole place on fire before getting to Kenji on the roof and killing him – saying a horrible slur before she does so. And then, she frames all those deaths on Kenji. I’m still seething about it.
5. When Homelander Cuts The Mayor’s Plane In Half
Homelander has always had a strange relationship with Stillwell, the first Vice President of Vought we met in The Boys, and because of that, he’s done some pretty crazy stuff. When Stillwell ends up having issues with the mayor of Baltimore after he attempts to blackmail her, Homelander takes the issue into his own hands. He flies up into the air, uses his laser eyes, and cuts the plane in half.
This not only killed the mayor, but also his son, and everyone else on the plane. It was a surprisingly quick moment in the first episode of the series, but one that stands out for its impulsive viciousness.
4. When Homelander Kills Stillwell
As I said, Homelander has a strange relationship with Stillwell on The Boys. It’s not surprising that Homelander did inevitably do this, considering Stillwell has been keeping secrets from him for some time, but it’s still shocking nonetheless after he spent the last season practically pining after her.
The whole entire moment leading up to it was filled with tension, with Butcher being the reason she was captured in the first place, wanting to bait Homelander. However, the supe simply lasers her head open when she finally reveals to him that she is scared of him, something he never wanted to hear.
3. And Then Homelander Proceeds To Have Psuedo-Stillwell Sex With Shapeshifter
And still, in The Boys, Homelander didn’t stop his relationship with Stillwell. Well, at least not mentally. Throughout the second season, Homelander uses Shapeshifter, another supe, so that they can take the form of Stillwell, so he can not only be physically comforted but mentally comforted by her, even though he literally killed her just a season before.
And everyone thought Ross and Rachel from Friends was complicated. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more complicated relationship other than this one on TV ever – at least in my opinion.
2. When The Boys Straight-Up Drive A Boat Through A Whale
Alright, I’m an animal lover, and this scene freaking destroyed me on The Boys. While I do acknowledge that The Deep was trying to make amends and stop Butcher's crew from going through with their boat traveling by using a whale to block them from getting to the beach, the aquatic supe should have known they wouldn’t have stopped. When their only way around to get to shore is blocked by said mammal, The Boys go full-steam ahead and plow their boat right through the heart of a whale to get to the shore.
It’s an absolutely disgusting moment in the show, with everyone else emerging from the carcass of the whale on the beach, covered in blood and entrails, and The Deep having a mental breakdown, as he should. I don’t think any sane person would be able to go through that – but then again, who here is really sane in The Boys?
1. When Homelander And Maeve Abandon The Hostage Situation
Yeah, this was the moment for me.
We’ve seen plenty of moments on this list, but this was the one that truly made me despise Homelander, more than any other superhero on this list. Homelander and Queen Maeve head up to the air to stop a hostage situation, trying to put the supes in the good graces of the military to prove they can handle something like this. However, when the mission is botched and the plane's controls are destroyed once the hijackers are killed, Homelander tells Queen Maeve that they must abandon the plane before they die in it too.
I can give props to Queen Maeve because she at least wanted to try to save the people. She wanted to save the little girl, just save one person, but Homelander knew that if anyone else got out after seeing his angry reaction, threatening to kill all of them, they’d be over. Their whole lives destroyed. So, because of that, Homelander grabs Maeve and pulls her out of the nosediving plane, and they suspend in mid-air as they watch the plane go down below the clouds, into the sea below.
It’s a scene that should make you bring a hand up to your mouth in shock because you can’t believe someone would be so heartless. But that’s just who Homelander is. It establishes that he’s really not a hero – far from it. And he’ll do anything as long as it suits him, even fabricate a whole speech after the attack so they can still benefit from it. It’s awful.
I can only wonder what The Boys will bring to the table with Season 3, whenever that comes out. I’m sure that if The Boys even made a movie it would be one of the best movies on Amazon Prime with how shocking the show is. All these moments are crazy. Which one was the worst for you?
