‘The Boys’ Turned Superhero Satire Against American Politics

The Boys came a long way in the five seasons between its 2019 debut and the final episode on May 20. Set in a fictional world where the United States’ greatest superheroes are also its biggest celebrities, the Amazon Prime show more or less started out as a parody of the cultural and commercial machinery of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Vought International—an entertainment-slash-pharmaceutical conglomerate that creates, brands, and markets its superpowered employees—standing in for the Wa

politics, with Vought’s most popular and powerful hero, Homelander (played by Antony Starr), becoming a foil for Donald Trump. It’s safe to say that many viewers tuned in to Thursday’s finale not only to see what would happen to the chauvinistic, self-obsessed Homelander, but also to learn what fate could have in store for them. Homelander is not the first villain in recent media to take after Trump. The same, for example, has been said of the failed-businessman-turned-space-colonizer portrayed by Mark Ruffalo in Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 . Homelander is, however, one of the most on-the-nose. Whereas Bong claimed that any similarities were purely accidental, The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke confirmed that, to him, Homelander has “always been a Trump analogue.” Even before the show started addressing Trumpism directly in its second season—where a superhero with ties to Nazi Germany convinces Homelander to ditch political correctness and use his patriotic image to become a far-right figurehead—it was already exploring the media ecosystem that helped bring Trumpism into existence. The similarities between Homelander and Trump range from their personality and appearance to their flexible morals and beliefs . Both are tall, blond, and wear padded suits to make themselves seem more imposing than they really are. Both, as Tom Nichols of The Atlantic put it, “share a childlike need for adoration and are quick to anger when contradicted.” Both, in their own way, are capable of bringing about massive destruction and frequently threaten to do so. Both appropriate nationalist symbolism—Homelander wears the U.S. flag as a cape—and present themselves as living embodiments of the American Dream. Both entered politics when they were already well-known media personalities, cultivated a climate of fear and uncertainty in their inner circles, and (at least arguably in Trump’s case) deliberately exploited domestic and international crises to expand their emergency powers.

Key points

• politics, with Vought’s most popular and powerful hero, Homelander (played by Antony Starr), becoming a foil for Donald Trump.
• It’s safe to say that many viewers tuned in to Thursday’s finale not only to see what would happen to the chauvinistic, self-obsessed Homelander, but also to learn what fate could have in store for…
• Homelander is not the first villain in recent media to take after Trump.
• The same, for example, has been said of the failed-businessman-turned-space-colonizer portrayed by Mark Ruffalo in Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 .
• Homelander is, however, one of the most on-the-nose.