The Boys: Who The Real Season 2 Villain Is – Stormfront or Homelander

They’re both despicable, but which superhero is the real villain in The Boys season 2 – Homelander, or Stormfront? In the world of The Boys, virtually every superhero is a villain. A few genuine do-gooders exist, such as Starlight and Blindspot, as well as some relatively harmless supes like Gecko, but the vast majority are reckless, self-serving criminals who fully deserve to meet the wrong end of Billy Butcher’s crowbar.

However, the true source of superhero rot goes all the way to the top of the chain. As the leader of The Seven, there’s barely a soul on the planet who doesn’t know who Homelander is, and for many, he’s a Superman-esque paragon of virtue. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and Homelander is one of the most diabolical names on Vought’s books. After The Boys season 1, it was hard to imagine anyone coming close to Homelander’s villainy… and then Stormfront arrived.

Parading as a savvy, outspoken social media darling with a low tolerance for idiots, Stormfront reveals her true colors when she kills Kenji, the brother of Kimiko. From there, the mask slowly starts to slip, revealing a very ugly truth behind Stormfront’s facade. Consequently, The Boys season 2 now features two absolutely irredeemable baddies, but The Seven isn’t big enough for both of them. Who is the true villain of The Boys‘ second season?

Why Homelander Is Still The Boys’ Main Villain

The foremost difference between Homelander and Stormfront lies in their respective motivations. Homelander’s evil tendencies are driven purely by ego, whereas Stormfront’s derive from ideology, both of which can be incredibly dangerous. Nevertheless, it could be argued that Homelander is, and always will be, the main villain of The Boys.

Homelander is the architect of the entire story, triggering a deeply personal feud with Butcher and his team of supe-spankers. When Homelander raped Becca, he instigated a series of events that led to the formation of The Boys, and Butcher will forever have a vendetta against The Seven’s leader. Beyond Butcher, Homelander also masterminded the creation of super-powered terrorists, which resulted in Kimiko being smuggled into the U.S. and forcibly injected with Compound V, soon to be followed by her brother. Kimiko is gunning for Stormfront after Kenji’s death, but Homelander is equally as responsible for The Female’s misery. With such a strong personal connection to The Boys, Homelander surely can’t be usurped as the overarching villain.

If main antagonists are decided by power alone then, once again, Homelander comes out on top. The Boys season 2 has yet to fully unleash Stormfront’s true power, and the abilities Aya Cash’s character has displayed are truly fearsome, certainly within Homelander’s league. Even so, Stormfront has displayed a hint of fear around her Seven colleague. While The Artist Formerly Known as Liberty delights in pressing Homelander’s buttons, she always backs off before things turn too violent, perhaps confirming her inferiority. In the original comic version of The Boys, Stormfront was the second most powerful superhero after Homelander, and the Amazon TV show appears to be following that example.

Last, but certainly not least, is the sheer volume of Homelander’s rap sheet, which reads like a catalog of heinous acts that would make even the worst comic book supervillains think twice. Killing a politician and his children, allowing a plane full of passengers to crash and then exploiting the fallout, creating super-terrorists, raping Becca Butcher, destroying a blind superhero’s ears – there’s apparently no end to Homelander’s depravity, nor any shred of remorse for his actions.

Why Stormfront Has Overtaken Homelander As The Boys’ Main Villain

Homelander is essentially a man-child who just so happens to possess God-like superpowers. Almost every single one of his crimes derives from a psychological need to be loved, and while this absolutely doesn’t make his actions any less severe or diminish his responsibility, it does present Homelander as an emotional wreck, striking out like an angry child. Stormfront couldn’t be more different. Calculating, smart and manipulative, Stormfront is in full control, and every move she makes is a carefully planned strike towards her endgame. Harboring horrific racist views against anyone who isn’t white, Stormfront also understands what her evil means, and gets off on her murderous urges, whereas Homelander simply lacks any capacity for empathy. Arguably, this makes Stormfront the more dangerous of the two, despite having a weaker set of superpowers.

Another important point to consider is Stormfront’s growing influence over Homelander. Since her dramatic arrival in The Seven, Stormfront has been steadily building a fan base through her use of fear-mongering rhetoric and hilarious memes. In a very short space of time, Stormfront has become the popular face of The Seven, leaving Homelander at a loss. This reinforces Stormfront’s intellectual superiority, but also gives her a measure of control over Homelander. Stormfront promises to help her rival recover his lost reputation and brings Homelander to her side, promising to work together. In a fascinating twist, Stormfront is firmly in the driving seat at all times. Homelander is dancing to Stormfront’s racist tune, and too self-centered to realize. How can Homelander be the main villain of The Boys when he’s playing second-fiddle to Stormfront?

As of yet, Stormfront hasn’t shown any sign of weakness, but there’s one crucial chink emerging in Homelander’s armor – Ryan. In his own strange way, Homelander does hold genuine affection for his son. Admittedly, that affection involves cruelly torturing Becca and pushing Ryan off a roof, but there’s a real desire to bond in Homelander’s season 2 arc. By fostering a relationship with Ryan, it’s possible that Homelander just might finally develop a modicum of empathy, and understand the gravity of his past actions. Stormfront, on the other hand, simply doesn’t care.

The REAL Villain In The Boys Is Vought

Getting caught up in the debate between Homelander and Stormfront is exactly what Vought want you to do! The two baddest apples of The Seven are the outward faces of evil in The Boys, but there’s strong evidence to suggest a puppet master lies hidden in the shadows, with Vought pulling both characters’ strings from the start.

Vought’s Mr. Edgar was directly responsible for Stormfront’s placement in The Seven, and even though The Boys hasn’t yet revealed why, there’s clearly an ulterior motive. Stormfront is whipping up an anti-Vought frenzy, encouraging her followers to boycott Vought’s movies and throw away their toys, and this is surely part of Vought’s masterplan. Why else would they promote Stormfront, only for her to go rogue on the company weeks later? Previously in The Boys season 2, Edgar revealed Vought’s Nazi origins, and Stormfront is a Nazi superhero in the original comics, so there could be a mutually beneficial partnership between the two. If Vought prove to be responsible for Stormfront’s crimes, the company itself would become the main villain of The Boys.

And Stormfront may not be the only superhero compromised by Vought. As far as Homelander is concerned, Vought simply doesn’t exist without him. Homelander sees himself as the company’s top dog, its raison d’etre. But in a conversation with Stan Edgar, the CEO was quick to put Homelander back in his place, showing no concern over the superhero’s threat to quit, and revealing that Vought’s chief asset was, in fact, Compound V. Interestingly, Edgar showed absolutely no fear when Homelander was getting riled up, which could suggest he has a countermeasure in place – some way of controlling Homelander should the supe ever step out of line. There’s an overriding sense in both seasons of The Boys that Vought indulge Homelander’s actions to distract from their own criminal dealings. Edgar is more than happy for his top superhero to go around causing atrocities, so long as the company can make its own moves in secret. With control over both Homelander and Stormfront, the Vought corporation is the undisputed villain in The Boys.

About The Author

Craig Elvy
(3658 Articles Published)

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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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