He Lost, But The Boys' Herogasm Fight Made Homelander Even Scarier

Warning: Contains potential SPOILERS for The Boys

Homelander almost dies fighting Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie in The Boys' Herogasm episode, but the fact that he still puts up a decent fight against three powerful supes makes him even scarier. Adapting one of the wildest arcs of its source material, The Boys' Herogasm party exceeds all hype, but not just because of its vile depiction of a supe orgy. Jampacked with twists, obscenity, and a whole lot of slambang action, the party serves as a boiling pot for supe mayhem that sets the stage for the season's end game. But in all of its shock and awe moments, there is one that snags the show: Homelander's brush with doom.

So much goes on in The Boys season 3, episode 7, "Herogasm," that it almost feels like the titular orgy was a ploy to misguide viewers. From A-Train's redemption to his eventual downfall, and from Hughie's lust for revenge to Starlight's fight for justice, the supe party becomes a mere backdrop for many revelations and resolutions of The Boys' overarching storylines. However, nothing comes close to being as riveting as three unlikely supes duking it out with Homelander and, for the first time, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

Being outnumbered puts Homelander's most vulnerable state on full display, especially when Butcher lasers him and he nervously mumbles, "What have you done?" But despite all the limitations, Homelander handles the showdown quite well and reinstates why he is so widely feared. Considering how none of the previous episodes of The Boys portrayed the peak potential of Homelander's powers, it was hard not to wonder why even some of the strongest supes like A-Train, Maeve, and Supersonic buckled before his red raging eyes. The Herogasm fight removes this doubt by establishing that although his laser-shooting eyes and super-flight are his best abilities, he is no less of a threat when it comes down to grounding and pounding.

Soldier Boy's backstory suggests that he has years of battlefield experience under his belt. Similarly, Butcher has always been a fighter, and even without being fueled by Compound V, he manages to stand his ground in a fist fight against supes like Translucent. Given their rumbling experience — and Homelander's lack thereof — it is surprising that neither of the two is able to single-handedly overpower the flag-caped supe. Sure, after triple-teaming with Hughie, Soldier Boy and yellow-eyed Billy Butcher pin Homelander down and technically defeat him. But their failure to kill him further hammers down the idea that Homelander is no "cheap knockoff" of Soldier Boy. Instead, he is "the upgrade," which only makes him scarier than he already was.

If an all-powerful supe trio — including a literal weapon of mass destruction — could not kill Homelander, then it is hard to imagine what will. Will Billy Butcher surprise Homelander with another "Oi!" moment? Or, will Mother's Milk give in to the Compound V temptation and join the team as its missing link? Following The Boys' Herogasm fight, Homelander must tread carefully. However, until someone comes up with an ingenious plan to end his reign for good, he will hold on to his throne of being the most terrifying supe.