Warning! Spoilers for The Boys comic and television series below!
In The Boys comic book series, one of Homelander's most brutal kills comes when he decapitates Queen Maeve after she defends a fellow member of the Seven. After Homelander confronted Starlight for trying to leave the supergroup, Queen Maeve tries to buy her time to escape, however, the noble action ultimately cost the hero her life.
In the comics, Queen Maeve and Homelander aren't on great terms. The pair shared a romance, but Maeve split up with the patriotic Supe after tricking her into having intercourse with Black Noir. His arrogance and need for dominance among the Seven always rubbed her the wrong way, especially when Starlight joins the team. He constantly puts Maeve in danger and drives her to alcoholism. On the Amazon Prime series based on the comic, Queen Maeve is just as, if not even more resentful of Homelander, as she tries to hide her relationship with her ex-partner from him - which ultimately results in Homelander revealing to the world that she is gay. She experiences numerous atrocities commited by Homelander and starts avoiding him out of fear he'll kill her and her partner.
In The Boys #63 by Garth Ennis, Tony Avina, Russ Braun, Darick Robertson, and Simon Bowland, Queen Maeve runs into Starlight just as she's packing her things to leave the Seven Tower. After Starlight thanks her for standing up for her before, the pair are met by Homelander as they leave. Homelander threatens both of them and before he can hurt anyone, Queen Maeve grabs Starlight and throws her out of the building to protect her. She charges at Homelander with her sword, which breaks on his head.
Homelander responds by calling her stupid and reveals her sword is just a prop. He immediately rips her head off, which goes whizzing by Starlight as she escapes. The death is sudden, shocking, and shows just how powerful Homelander is. He kills Queen Maeve in a matter of seconds, easily disposing of one of the strongest Supes on the planet.
Killing Queen Maeve in such a quick fashion was a bold storytelling choice. Plus, having her die defending Starlight really brought her story full circle. Will the show kill her in a similar way? It's doubltful but not impossible. But Queen Maeve plays a much bigger role in the show than the comics, so killing her so suddenly, especially after fleshing out her backstory, would be a pretty ballsy move. But, Maeve's continued protection of Starlight from monsters like Homelander seems like it could definitely come into play again in The Boys television series.