15 Marvel Characters That Could Beat Homelander

With the finale of The Boys now aired, the terrifying story of Homelander has come to an end. While Homelander is an incredibly powerful villain, often compared to Superman, he’s not invincible. Several Marvel characters could definitely defeat him, even at his peak strength. They could exploit his weaknesses, either through superior intelligence, raw power, or unique abilities, while also limiting his chances to use his own strengths.

We’ll never actually see these battles happen, but it’s fun to think about how Marvel’s strongest heroes would fare against Homelander. One thing’s for sure: if any of them were in The Boys, the villains wouldn’t have lasted nearly as long.

1. ForgetMeNot

Homelander Wouldn’t Even Realize He Lost

Advantages: Unless directly looking at him, nobody can remember him or what happened with him. Yes, that includes if they blink.
Disadvantages: Not strong, as he is otherwise a “normal” human.

ForgetMeNot, also known as Xabi, isn’t a famous Marvel Comics character, and that’s actually fitting for his story. His unique ability – and the trouble it causes – is that people instantly forget him the moment they stop looking at him. He can’t control this power, which means he lives life as if he’s invisible, constantly fading from everyone’s memory.

Homelander could easily kill ForgetMeNot with a single punch, but he wouldn’t even notice him as a threat. Homelander’s only chance of ‘winning’ is if ForgetMeNot is accidentally caught in the crossfire, and Homelander wouldn’t even realize he’d defeated him. While ForgetMeNot isn’t physically strong, he has access to advanced technology from the X-Men, allowing him to still cause damage.

2. Thor

Mighty, Astonishing, And Immortal

Advantages: Strong enough to destroy planets and withstand neutron stars, invulnerable to anything short of a Celestial’s attack, manipulate energy to form storms, can see to the farthest edges of the Solar System, and move at Mach 32 with his hammer, Mjölnir or similar weapons (Stormbreaker, etc.).
Disadvantages: Susceptible to Warrior’s Madness, which makes him stronger but more uncontrollable. Speed and flight are reduced without Mjölnir, Stormbreaker, etc.

As a movie critic, one of the things that always bugs me when comparing Marvel and DC is how they handle strength levels. DC loves to throw out specific numbers – like, exactly how much Superman can lift. Marvel, though? They get vague. After a hero can lift over 100 tons, they just say “an excess of 100 tons.” It’s frustrating because it makes direct comparisons tough. Take Homelander from The Boys, for example. Estimates put his lifting capacity around twelve fully loaded semi-trucks – that’s roughly 480 tons! When you put it that way, Marvel’s strongest heroes seem…underpowered in comparison. It feels like they intentionally avoid pushing the limits, and it doesn’t quite hold up when stacked against competitors.

Fortunately, we can easily compare Thor and Homelander by looking at what they can do. Thor, for instance, has incredible physical strength – he’s lifted bridges, pulled entire islands, and even destroyed planets! He’s also incredibly durable, being immune to all kinds of illnesses and toxins, and has amazing stamina – he can see across the solar system. And that’s before considering his powerful weapons and control over storms. Compared to all of that, Homelander doesn’t stand much of a chance.

3. Silver Surfer

When Silver Outdoes Gold

Advantages: Strong enough to throw stars, survive supernovas and all kinds of radiation, move faster than the speed of light, manipulate elements, and see/hear at great distances.
Disadvantages: Is prone to self-doubt, is noble to a fault, and often holds back to avoid killing his foes.

The Silver Surfer is similarly incredibly durable. Once the messenger of Galactus, he can survive exposure to black holes, all types of radiation, and the harshness of space. He’s even endured supernovas and can casually move dwarf stars, all while traveling faster than the speed of light on his board.

Even without his surfboard, Silver Surfer is quick and resourceful enough to avoid attacks and quickly develop a plan. The Fantastic Four had to appeal to his better nature to convince him to be more than just a scout for Galactus. However, given Homelander’s complete lack of empathy, his negativity and harsh worldview won’t affect Silver Surfer any more than physical blows would.

4. Thanos

His Victory is Inevitable

Advantages: Super strong and durable, agile with quick reflexes, can sense disturbances and anomalies across the universe, can manipulate forcefields and energy, manipulate matter and minds, fly, teleport, recover from death, etc.
Disadvantages: His ego has often gotten the better of him, has fallen to other cosmic-level threats, was beaten by Squirrel Girl once.

Even without the Infinity Gauntlet and its powerful gems, Thanos is incredibly strong. He gained his abilities over many years as the universe’s representation of Death, and achieved god-like status by completing a challenging trial set by the Witches of Infinity. Before all that, his unique heritage – being part Eternal and part Deviant – already made him physically exceptional. He’s incredibly durable and powerful enough to battle Thor and the Phoenix, and he’s also fast enough to keep up with and outmaneuver Captain Marvel.

Homelander wouldn’t stand a chance against Thanos; Thanos would easily defeat him. Only beings with comparable cosmic power, like Adam Warlock or Doctor Doom in his God Emperor form, have been able to challenge Thanos. Characters like Thor and the Silver Surfer could only briefly delay him. Homelander’s only real chance would be to obtain the Infinity Gauntlet and wield the power of all its gems, as that’s the only way he could hope to win against the Titan.

5. The Incredible Hulk

Limitless Rage, Limitless Strength

Advantages: Super strength and stamina grow exponentially with no upper limit. Capable of destroying planets and withstanding the largest supernovas.
Disadvantages: Base forms are weaker than Homelander, with some Hulks being weaker than others (e.g. Gray Hulk), susceptible to sleeping gases and cosmic radiation, reverts back to Bruce Banner once calmed down or tired.

A fight between Homelander and the Incredible Hulk seems very uneven, though Homelander might have an initial advantage. The Hulk’s strength starts around 80 to 150 tons, depending on his form. Homelander could potentially stop him immediately after he transforms, but the Hulk gets stronger as he gets angrier, and his strength has almost no limit.

The Hulk is incredibly powerful – he can destroy asteroids twice the size of Earth with a single punch and survive the force of 100 supernovas. Even killing Bruce Banner, his human form, won’t stop him, as he immediately transforms into the Hulk when seriously injured. Unless Homelander were exceptionally clever or fortunate, he wouldn’t stand a chance against the Hulk’s strength.

6. Captain Marvel

Interstellar Hero Can Bring Homelander Back Down To Earth

Advantages: Strong enough to carry Celestials and knock out Superman-level heroes like Sentry, durable enough to withstand equal blows, can manipulate energy as Binary, and use it to enhance her strength and heal herself.
Disadvantages: Can run out of energy as Binary, bringing her back to her base level.

Carol Danvers, known as Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel, has experienced a complicated path as a superhero. Initially, she was a Human-Kree mix with incredible strength – able to lift over 100 tons and even withstand bullets. She’d be a tough opponent for someone like Homelander, even if just to be a nuisance. However, her powers changed when she was experimented on by the Brood aliens, connecting her abilities to fundamental universal forces.

This transformation gave her the powers of Binary, a second self capable of controlling any type of energy. This meant she could absorb Homelander’s attacks and use that energy to boost her own strength. She didn’t even need a fight – she could draw power from sources like heat, light, and radiation to defeat him. Beyond that, she could create energy copies of herself, unleash incredibly powerful blasts, predict his moves, and even survive in the vacuum of space – abilities that felt like more than enough.

7. Doctor Strange

He’s Sorcerer Supreme For A Reason

Advantages: As Sorcerer Supreme, he can use telepathy, phase through strikes, shift him or others into astral forms, manipulate minds, time and elements, and fire energy blasts strong enough to destroy planets.
Disadvantages: No super strength or durability. Some of his spells require special items, like the Eye of Agamotto, etc.

Homelander isn’t as physically powerful as Superman, but he also doesn’t have the same vulnerabilities. While things like zinc and specific sounds bother him, and a large dose of Novichok gas might temporarily disable him, there’s no simple ‘kryptonite’ equivalent to bring him down. Because magic doesn’t exist in The Boys universe, Homelander has no defense against someone like Doctor Strange.

He has numerous ways to defeat Homelander – he could alter his mind, become intangible to his attacks, or even strip him down to his spiritual form. Alternatively, he could simply send Homelander to another dimension, a fate only a powerful magic user could escape, and since Homelander has no magical ability, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

8. Jean Grey

When Homelander’s Greatest Weakness Is His Mind

Advantages: Arguably the strongest telepath and telekinetic in the Marvel universe, can rewire people’s brains, change their emotions, memories, and possess them. Can summon superstrong forcefields and rip people apart molecule by molecule.
Disadvantages: No super strength or durability.

Doctor Strange proves you don’t need brute strength to defeat Homelander, and you don’t even need to be a master sorcerer. Jean Grey is one example of someone who could win, but other powerful Marvel telepaths like Professor X or Emma Frost would also likely be successful, as Homelander has no defenses against mental attacks.

Jean Grey has incredible mental powers, allowing her to control emotions, memories, and even minds. She could potentially shut down Homelander’s abilities, put him into a coma, and then uncover the root causes of his issues. She’s powerful enough to fundamentally change who he is as a person. However, if she were to become aggressive, her telekinetic shields are strong enough to contain Captain Marvel and precise enough to destroy someone completely.

9. Scarlet Witch

If Homelander Gets Vexed, She’ll Leave Him Hexed

Advantages: Vast magical knowledge, able to warp reality itself, create things from nothing, raise the dead, manipulate energy, predict the future, form forcefields, fly, go invisible, manipulate plants, weather and the elements, augment strength, etc.
Disadvantages: No super strength or durability by default.

Originally, Scarlet Witch’s powers were about manipulating bad luck, making a fight against someone like Homelander seem unfair. However, the writers expanded on this, revealing her abilities stemmed from powerful chaos magic given to her by the demon Chthon. She further developed these powers with the help of Agatha Harkness, making her far more formidable than just a luck-based hero.

After extensive training and facing incredible challenges, she’s become one of the most formidable magic users in the Marvel Universe. She’s far beyond simply causing minor inconveniences; she could disassemble Homelander at a molecular level, imprison him in powerful forcefields, blast him with energy, overwhelm his mind with telepathy, or even alter his reality. Considering she once stripped nearly all mutants of their powers, reducing Homelander to a normal human would be a terrifying prospect for him – perhaps even worse than death.

10. Rogue

Look, But Don’t Touch

Advantages: Is strong enough to match or exceed Homelander’s strength, speed, and flight. Can predict her foes’ movements and counter them quickly. Can drain their energy via skin-to-skin contact, and even absorb their powers.
Disadvantages: Only has the power-draining and absorption abilities in some continuities.

Whether Homelander could win against Rogue depends on how you look at it. In the comics, Rogue permanently absorbed the powers of strong heroes like Wonder Man and a pre-Binary Captain Marvel. This means she’d likely be a very tough opponent for Homelander, possessing flight, super speed, and strength of her own. Plus, her ability to predict his attacks and react quickly would give her a significant edge.

Without the right abilities, Homelander could easily defeat her, similar to a scene from the X-Men – unless she touches him first. Even brief skin-to-skin contact allows her to absorb his powers and become incredibly durable. Continued contact could eventually drain Homelander, leaving him powerless. Very few opponents can withstand her abilities, and those who can are usually exceptional, like Juggernaut, who possesses magical protection.

2026-05-21 10:11