Antony Starr Is No Longer The Only Homelander – Sort Of

This post contains spoilers for "The Boys."

There's a reason why "The Boys" keeps Antony Starr's Homelander around while crafting some of its most significant and compelling storylines. One of the most unpredictably dangerous Supes manufactured by Vought, Homelander's presence provides impetus to the titular "Boys" to keep playing such a rigged game, as killing the milk-drinking Supe is a part of the show's endgame. Starr has elevated Homelander into a figure mired in complexities; he imparts the character with a singular brand of desperation-fueled evil that only becomes more twisted with each passing season. Starr's turn as Homelander cements the character's idiosyncratic presence within the "Boys" universe, where almost every iteration of the Supe benefits from the actor's remarkably layered and scene-stealing performance.

Keeping this in mind, it is no surprise that Starr voiced Homelander both in the animated anthology series "The Boys Presents: Diabolical" and the "Call of Duty" games, where he is an Operator of the KorTac faction. Given Starr's unmistakable synonymity with one of the most complicated characters in the "Boys" universe, it would make sense for the actor to continue playing the various iterations of the Supe. However, the streak was officially broken with the casting of voice actor Jake Green as Homelander in "Mortal Kombat 1," where he belts out an incredibly convincing performance that feels at par with the original, leading to confusion among fans of the show when the in-game character first made his appearance.

Part of the confusion stems from an incorrect IMDb listing, where Chris Cox is wrongly attributed to the role instead of Green. Fortunately, the latter's involvement has since been confirmed by NetherRealm Studios story and voiceover director Dominic Cianciolo (per a report by SVG).

Homelander is a playable guest character in "Mortal Kombat 1," available as a part of the game's Deluxe Edition or the DLC Kombat Pack. This also includes Kombatants from other media, including Peacemaker (voiced by John Cena) and Omni-Man (voiced by JK Simmons). As Chris Cox — who is best known for voicing a bunch of characters in "Family Guy" and Deadshot in "Batman: Arkham City" — had previously voiced The Terminator in "Mortal Kombat 11," it lent momentarily credibility to the incorrect IMDb listing before Homelander's in-game character was released. However, aside from Cianciolo's confirmation, Green himself has posted about his work in "Mortal Kombat 1," and the support for his performance has been overwhelmingly positive since then.

Green's Homelander is essentially a vocal impersonation of Starr's rendition of the character, but it is a very good one, and it links the in-game character seamlessly with our understanding of the canonical Supe. A quick look at Green's voice-acting history immediately positions him as someone with incredible vocal range. His recent performances include the soft-spoken yet morally grey Shuji Ikutsuki in ATLUS' English dub of "Persona 3 Reload" and the brash, ambitious Jun Sekibayashi from "Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura." These two roles alone highlight the tonal contrasts Green is capable of evoking, but there's more; his other voice credits include Olaf in "Disney Speedstorm," Morbius in "Marvel's Midnight Suns," Poe Dameron in "LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation," and Sid from "The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild."

Hopefully, the Homelander casting credit on the game's IMDb page will be rectified soon, and more people will come to appreciate Green's talented turn as the Vought Supe (who has emerged as a phenomenal fictional villain).

After three seasons of "The Boys," and a fourth, penultimate one currently rolling out episodes every week, it is not controversial to state that Antony Starr deserves all the accolades for his performance as Homelander. The horrifying brutality that Starr's rendition of the character brings to the series feels inimitable; he's fragile and sadistic all at once, carrying out the inverse pastiche of Superman to violent and entertaining extremes (with every quirk mirroring real-life individuals evoking a sentiment deeply uncomfortable). Despite being the show's primary antagonist, Homelander is essential to the heroic quest of the titular "Boys," who are flawed and broken in their own ways, yet their moral failings do not and cannot ever eclipse that of the approval-starved Vought Supe.

Aside from the complicated visual tapestry that Starr weaves every season, from the sudden, craven bursts of callous violence to the troubling mirror conversations that underline warped vulnerability, Homelander's cultural status as a villain stands out in every iteration of the character. Take Starr's voice acting in the "Call of Duty" games, where he features in "Modern Warfare II and III" along with "Warzone 2.0." There, his voice lines are impossible to divorce from the grander context of the show, especially when he bursts into fiendish laughter before stating, "Hostage located."

The latest season of "The Boys" deepens Homelander's interpersonal depravities, where he relishes his control over less-fortunate pawns in his game but comes undone when the same authority is even implicitly challenged. Starr fleshes out these moments with both overt and subtle microfacial gestures — where an extended vacant stare feels like the calm before the storm, or the slight twitch of his lips feels like the prelude before a diabolical disaster.

New episodes of "The Boys" season 4 drop Thursdays on Prime Video.