Is Madelyn Stillwell's child a secret supe in The Boys? Played by Elisabeth Shue, Madelyn Stillwell is the corporate face of Vought throughout The Boys season 1. Madelyn's duties involve placating Homelander, keeping the Seven in check, and pushing forward Vought's agenda of forcing supes into the U.S. military. A ruthless businesswoman, Madelyn is especially close to Homelander, and has learned how to manipulate her top supe better than anyone else, landing her firmly in the favor of Vought's CEO, Mr. Stan Edgar. Of course, any attempt to control Homelander is playing with fire, and Madelyn gets burned in The Boys' season 1 finale. Or her eyes do, at least. Homelander takes exception to Madelyn's lies about Ryan and executes her in brutal fashion.
As well as forging a successful career at Vought, Madelyn is a single mother to young Teddy, who is seen sporadically throughout The Boys season 1. Teddy never commands a significant role in The Boys' narrative, but Madelyn's breast pumping gives viewers an early taste of Homelander's milky kink. Although "Madelyn" returns in The Boys season 2, Teddy does not, and with everything else going on, the little diaper-filler has been swiftly forgotten as The Boys heads towards its third season on Amazon Prime.
Although Teddy Stillwell might appear unimportant at first glance, there's reason to believe Madelyn's son could be a supe - perhaps even another lovechild of Homelander. Here's why young Teddy Stillwell, Madelyn's only son, may not be as innocent or insignificant as he seems.
The Baby Survived The Explosion - Without Homelander's Help
The climax of The Boys season 1 sees Billy Butcher take Madelyn Stillwell hostage as part of his vengeful crusade against Homelander, while Teddy sleeps in another part of the house. Homelander eventually arrives and brings Teddy into the room, making Madelyn even more uncomfortable than she already is wearing Billy's explosive C4 waistcoat. After some verbal sparring and useful exposition, Homelander lays Teddy down and kills Madelyn. With his leverage dead, Butcher decides to detonate anyway, but Homelander whisks the Brit away to see ex-wife Becca. The fate of Teddy is addressed in The Boys season 2 - apparently, he was found 17 miles away from the Stillwell house completely unharmed.
The working assumption is that Homelander rescued Teddy along with Butcher, but this doesn't necessarily fit with the villain's sadistic character. Homelander had no qualms about killing children when shooting down the Mayor of Baltimore's private jet in episode 1, or when refusing to help a crashing plane full of passengers. The only reason he bothered saving Butcher was to prove a point about Becca and gloat in his rival's face. Would Homelander really bother to spare the life of Madelyn's child? And even if he cared enough to save Teddy, why leave the baby lying around, miles from the blast zone?
The Boys might've addressed Teddy's fate in season 2 simply to ensure their main protagonist didn't become a baby-murderer, leaving fans to interpret how the child survived without giving anything anyway for certain. But the vague nature of Teddy's survival might also suggest Homelander wasn't responsible. If Teddy was left in Madelyn's house during the blast, his powers might've triggered and prevented any harm. Maybe baby Teddy flew away unconsciously or he teleported outta there by instinct. Perhaps Teddy's durable supe body negated the power of Butcher's bomb, and the explosion somehow propelled him a full 17 miles through the air. Stranger things have happened, especially in The Boys.
Where The Baby Is Now
The Boys season 2 doesn't directly address what becomes of Teddy Stillwell after the Butcher incident. After confirming the child survived and was picked up by the authorities, Madelyn's son is dropped entirely from the narrative. One would assume Teddy goes into care, or is placed under the guardianship of a relative.
However, it's interesting that Teddy is identified as being Madelyn's son despite being found so far away from the scene of her death. This could be nothing more than narrative convenience, but Vought are known to implant trackers in their supes. Perhaps Teddy's location was discovered thanks to the GPS planted somewhere in his body. If this were the case, Vought likely took custody of Teddy after his mother's death, and have the super-powered youngster holed up in a secret facility just like Ryan and Becca.
Homelander Might Be Teddy's Father
There is plenty of evidence in The Boys to suggest Homelander is Teddy's father. Firstly, Madelyn's family setup is never fully explained. It's implied that the Vought executive is a single mother who paid for a sperm donor. There's certainly no sign of a Mr. Stillwell, but Teddy's parentage is never explicitly laid out in full. While Teddy could absolutely be a regular IVF baby, Madelyn is sleeping with someone in The Boys, and seemingly has been for some time...
Homelander and Madelyn have an odd sexual relationship, but a sexual relationship nonetheless. Despite their closeness, however, Madelyn acts with hostility whenever Homelander is in Teddy's vicinity. The most obvious example comes when Homelander tracks Madelyn down on her day off, and she abruptly tells him to leave while taking Teddy to a medical appointment. It's an odd reaction for the career-minded Madelyn, who usually has no issue blending work obligations with her personal life, but Madelyn potentially didn't want a dangerous figure like Homelander involved with her son. Shortly before dying, Madelyn tearfully admits how scared she is of Homelander's callous nature, and while she may be able to "soothe the beast" within the confines of her office, Madelyn might draw the line when her son is nearby. That's one explanation, but perhaps the real reason Madelyn wanted to keep Homelander far away from Teddy is because he's the boy's father. Madelyn surely knew Homelander would react badly to fatherhood (he pushes Ryan off a roof!) and understandably preferred to raise Teddy alone.
This theory plays directly into the Becca Butcher conspiracy. Compound V subjects are supposedly infertile, but Ryan's conception proves Homelander was capable of having children. He was also sleeping with Madelyn and probably not conscientious enough to use contraception, so there's a strong chance Homelander impregnated Madelyn during their liaisons. After watching Homelander grow into an awful human being, Vogelbaum concluded that a mother's love could've made a vital difference - this is why Becca and Ryan were kept hidden. After Madelyn found herself pregnant with Homelander's child, she undoubtedly would've taken the same advice. Just as Becca's pregnancy remained strictly under wraps, so too was Teddy's true heritage hidden.
How Madelyn Stillwell's Son Could Factor Into The Boys Season 3
While Teddy was absent from The Boys season 2, he could prove instrumental in future storylines. Teddy's too young to affect the story in any meaningful way, like coming to strike back against Homelander for his mother's death, but he could become a MacGuffin. Maybe the baby finds himself at the center of a two-way struggle between Vought, who claim ownership over one of their own, and Billy Butcher's new anti-supe task force, who want to save the youngster from a life of commercialism and servitude. In a Marvel-esque twist, maybe Teddy's superpowers are far beyond any other Compound V subject, threatening the entire world and creating a moral dilemma for the Boys.
The story possibilities are even more intriguing if Teddy does prove to be the son of Homelander. The villain's dad skills leave a lot to be desired, but Homelander demonstrated surprising tenderness towards Ryan. In the final episode of The Boys season 2, Homelander opened up to his son emotionally and actually showed some empathy when Ryan became scared. A despicable sociopath he may be, but there's no denying Homelander feels genuine love for his son, and was making progress in becoming a proper parent. Old habits die hard and, ultimately, Queen Maeve forced Homelander to choose between Ryan and his life as a beloved superhero - he chose the latter, leaving his son in the capable(ish) hands of Butcher and Mallory.
Nevertheless, Homelander's development as a father is sure to continue in The Boys season 3. Maeve's blackmail prevents any contact with Ryan, but if Homelander discovered he had another son out there, all bets would be off. In Teddy, Homelander might see an opportunity to pick up where he left off with Ryan, and even better, the infant wouldn't come with a passion for Spanish homework or a love of classic films. Since Teddy is much younger than Ryan, Homelander could shape the child in his own image, without having to worry about a do-good, wholesome mother poking her nose in. Watching Homelander raise a supe baby as a single father would be a fascinating evolution for the character in The Boys season 3, continuing his fatherly development without turning Vought's top man into a fully-fledged protagonist.