Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 3, episode 5.
Soldier Boy and Homelander are two of the most powerful Supes in The Boys season 3, and their fight would be one for the ages. The first two seasons of The Boys let Antony Starr's Homelander remain the most powerful person in the universe and on The Seven. Season 3 introduced a new contender for this title, though, thanks to Jensen Ackles joining the series as Soldier Boy. The Boys has reinvented the comics' wimpy Captain America parody to make him a threat to Homelander's quest for power.
Soldier Boy's appearance in The Boys season 3 is arguably very different from what fans expected. Not only is he not a pants-wetting and gullible young Supe, but he is not even aligned with Vought and The Seven. Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and the team found Soldier Boy in a Russian testing facility while looking for a weapon that could kill Homelander, and The Boys season 3, episode 5 indicates that they are entering a pact to kill Supes together. Based on the trajectory of the show's various storylines, that will likely mean viewers get to see Homelander and Soldier Boy fight at some point.
Prime Video's superhero show frequently features Supes battling one another, as The Boys season 2 introduced Stormfront and had her fight a variety of her Seven teammates. Soldier Boy's time in The Boys season 3 has already seen him briefly showcase his new powers, while Homelander's increasingly unhinged state lets him repeatedly threaten others who are weaker than him. So what will happen when Soldier Boy and Homelander fight? Here is what is known about their power levels and what the comics reveal about such an interaction.
How Powerful Is Soldier Boy Compared To Homelander?
Soldier Boy appears to be very close to Homelander in terms of his power levels. The Boys has had plenty of time to showcase the magnitude of Homelander's abilities, which include flight, laser vision, superhuman strength, bulletproof skin, and near invulnerability. Soldier Boy has some of the same abilities, most notably his strength. The key new addition to Soldier Boy's powers in The Boys season 3 is him being a walking nuclear bomb. As demonstrated a few times, the radiation he has from the Russian experiments gave him a new ability to emit a giant energy blast from his chest. It also appears that Soldier Boy's explosions can take away the powers of other Supes, as shown with Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara).
Who Would Win Between Soldier Boy & Homelander?
Figuring out the winner of a Soldier Boy and Homelander fight is largely dependent on the context of the altercation. It would be quite easy for Soldier Boy to win if he is able to strike Homelander with one of his powers-depleting energy blasts. This would make him a regular human once again and make it simple enough for Vought's original superhero to kill Homelander. However, hitting The Boys' evil Superman character with one of these blasts is easier said than done, which should mean that a true encounter between them will see Soldier Boy and Homelander fight for real.
In the scenario where a true battle breaks out, it would seem that Homelander will win. While Soldier Boy's new powers make him more formidable, Homelander's full array of abilities gives him the edge. He can fly away from Soldier Boy's attacks and use that same power to quickly surprise him. There is also no telling how Soldier Boy will react to Homelander's laser eyes. Since Stormfront's bare chest was powerful enough to absorb the beams, it is likely that Soldier Boy could do the same, but whether or not his uniform and shield can withstand them is unknown. A Soldier Boy and Homelander fight could really come down to their stamina, while allies for either could swing the battle too. In just about any case, though, Homelander should win any fight.
Do Soldier Boy & Homelander Fight In The Boys Comics?
Homelander fights plenty of Supes in Garth Ennis' The Boys comics, but Soldier Boy is not one of them. The truth is that the two powerful Vought superheroes only have a limited amount of interaction in the source material. Their most notable encounter came during the infamous Herogasm event. At the time, Soldier Boy was leading Payback and trying to earn a promotion onto The Seven. Homelander lied to Soldier Boy and told him that them having sex could be enough to land him a spot. Besides a tussle in the sheets, Soldier Boy and Homelander do not fight in the comics. This leaves Amazon's The Boys with complete freedom when it comes to showing who is more powerful between the two Supes if they do fight at some point.