The Boys
Summary
The whole point ofHomelanderas a type is that there ’s no - one in the world ofThe Boyswho can hold a candle to him . Strong , invulnerable , unbelievably fast , and able to burn topnotch - heated beams from his eyes , Homelander ’s many superhuman powersturn him into the ultimate bully and abuser , becoming a threat to America itself as the story spread . However , there is one person who Homelander was impressed by , admitting,“I call up I ’ve finally met a superhuman … "
Homelander ’s mercilessness is n’t appropriate for normal humans - he treats his fellow Supes with just as much patronage , humiliating and jeopardise other appendage of the Seven multiple time throughout Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson ’s original laughable series . However , even Homelander falls in line when he ’s in the comportment of James Stillwell - a Vought - American chief operating officer assign as the Seven ’s prescribed liason .
Stillwell was partially adapt in Amazon’sThe Boysin Elisabeth Shue ’s Madelyn Stillwell , though most ofGiancarlo Esposito ’s Stan Edgaralso comes from the character - while EdgarisVought CEO in the comics , he barely come along , and iconic moments such as calling Homelander"bad product"are Stillwell ’s in the comics .
The Boys is famous for its despite for superheroes , but the ideas that define the dealership actually began with the original Homelander , Skull .
Homelander Called James Stillwell “a Superhuman”
Even Butcher Was Freaked Out by Vought’s Company Man
ThroughoutThe Boys , Stillwell visit and oversees the Seven as Vought ’s congresswoman . Giventhe Seven were create by Voughtand all their marketing is done via the society , even Homelander feels answerable to Stillwell , at one point viciously reminding A - Train"don’t * * * * around in front of the money . “As the series continues , Homelander grows more and more resentful of Stillwell ’s deficiency of respect for him and clearly disinterest in his heroic report . This come to a head inThe Boys # 64 .
In this military issue , Homelander unleashes his plan for a voucher the United States , pucker a Supe ground forces to snipe the White House . Having finally enacted his plan , he ca n’t resist going to rub it in Stillwell ’s case , crowing over the fact that the Vought executive director underestimated him . Stillwell greets Homelander with mild disinterest , and despite the blood - caked villain who intelligibly plans to pour down him , clearly does n’t sense any veneration - indeed , Homelander notes that with his superhearing , he knows that Stillwell ’s heartrate has n’t climb at all .
Underneath its R - rated exterior , The Boys is a paying attention geographic expedition of grief , and how sure chemical reaction can immobilise good people in harmful blueprint .
It ’s at this tip he calls Stillwell a superhuman , with his former political boss rolling his eye at the idea he ’d ever fear someone so unimaginative as Homelander . Stillwell ’s mental attitude saves his life , as alternatively of killing him , Homelander resolves to prove him awry , fly off to commit more atrocity . Homelander is later killed , and Vought survives despite taking a legal hit , leaving Stillwell in a situation of power as the main series ends .
In a serial where names mean a great deal , it ’s surd not to see some significance in Stillwell ’s . First , a ' still ' well is one that has turned dead and toxic . Second , Vought ’s baron mean that even when they lose , they do n’t pay a pregnant damage - James will be fine ( still well ) no matter what the Boys throw off at him .
The Boys comics are about the insult of major power , and Stillwell substantiate the way vainglorious business hurts normal people in the name of lucre .
Stillwell Is the Embodiment of Evil in The Boys
The Original Comics Are About Corporate Evil
While Amazon’sThe Boyslaunched in a world saturated by superhero media , the comics did n’t have this specific target in mind . The Boysmocks the comic businessand the idea of superheroes , butits larger focus is the misuse of power , with various character standing in for different industry , include amusement ( the Legend ) , politics ( Victor Neuman ) , the CIA ( Susan Raynor ) , organized religious belief ( Oh Father ) and heavy concern ( Stillwell . )
Very little is shared of Stillwell ’s backstory or life , and that ’s measured -The Boystreats him as essentially a walk , talk verbalism of the Vought - American corporation . Stillwell cares only for Vought ’s bottom tune , and there are no soupcon of a personal order of business beyond the society ’s success . InThe Boys # 72 , he explains his perspective to Hughie , say :
I ’m an expression of the pot . I ’m the voice that says - you ’re correct , sue us . That never gets upset . … We always gain . We ’re a registered trademark . You could snarl my neck opening right this mo , and we ’d still win .
Black Noir is at the center of The Boys ' liberal twist , but there ’s something about the character reference ’s real fount God Almighty Garth Ennis wish he ’d changed .
Stillwell never gets angry or really shows any emotion , even inThe son # 29 , when he hasthe total roster of the G - Men massacredby Vought ’s secret military contractor . Stillwell blab out his superiors into sheer the squad loose , then watches as they ’re bump off with political machine throttle , cut missiles , and flamethrowers , only bothering to pass on his helicopter to tell Butcher,“We can make clean up our own * * * * " - one of the only time in the serial when Butcher is actually take on aback by another fictional character .
The Boys gives Stillwell two endings , one dealing with him as a metaphor for corporal evil and the other turn over him a filthy fate as an soul .
ThroughoutThe Boys , Stillwell correspond a very specific type of incarnate evil - someone who is really amoral , never considering whether natural action are right or wrong , but only how they can benefit the companionship . While it at one gunpoint come out that Stillwell is develop feelings for fellow executive Jessica Bradley , it flex out that he ’s just setting her up to take the fall in his stead when Vought ’s law-breaking are endanger . However , he does n’t take this chance to retire or more on - he fit directly back to work for Vought , underscore the fact that his wickedness has no personal endgame - he save himself so he can continue to do the companionship .
Homelander get a line himself as the greatest index in the humankind , but The Boys disagrees , and uses his death to humiliate and smirch him .
Stillwell’s Ending Perfectly Communicates His Purpose in The Boys
But the ‘Dear Becky’ Epilogue Went in a Different Direction
Stillwell ’s cold-blooded conduct finally cracks inThe Boys # 72 . After Stillwell confronts Hughie - assuring him that if Vought ca n’t create superhumans , it will just do"something else”- he returns to the billet , where his marketing team have createda Modern superteam squall the True : a team of Supes signify to subvert the aesthetics of the Seven , making them palatable to the general public . Stillwell notes that the ware will never sell , saying they need something that"isn’t just the same onetime * * * * dress up . “Alone , he breaks down look out the windowpane , say only"bad product . "
It ’s as close as the Boys get to a go triumph over the series ' true evils - Vought will persist , and there will always be a Stillwell , but no matter how evil they are and how well they play the arrangement , they ’re still selling trash , and they ’ll always be vulnerable to their client realise that simple fact . The ending is meet for Stillwell , especially asThe Boyshas no illusions about easy answers to the big problem of the populace . Vought ’s schema relating to superheroes have been stopped , but human greed and the groups who weaponize it still exist .
Garth Ennis call his original idea for the Boys ' powers " the risky idea in story " - but there ’s a ground it was part of the franchise ’s pitch .
Coming eight yr after the independent series , The Boys : Dear Becky(from Ennis and Russ Braun ) act as an epilog , set12 years after the death of Homelander . In the series , Hughie checks in on sure-enough enemy , and findsStillwell now living on a Ananas comosus plantation , having had a sustained dislocation after his"bad product"moment . It ’s a more human lot for Stillwell and one that somewhat undercuts his original ending , though it does n’t actually collide with its substance . InDear Becky , Stillwell ’s split from Vought at last render him an actual somebody , meaning he ca n’t keep on the implacable , cold condition that being an"expression of the company"gave him ( but someone , somewhere has claim his lieu . )
Homelander ’s comment to Stillwell is particularly ironic given he ’s omit the ACTUAL superhuman in his thick - one who ’s even more herculean than he is .
References to Milton Friedman - a major proponent of free - marketplace capitalism and monetarism - make it clear precisely what philosophy Stillwell stands for inThe Boys , and the logic that turned him into the ultimate ( and very real ) company valet . finally , The Boysmakes Stillwell the incarnation of the iniquity that the text reason plague America , making it absolved why he never feared Homelander . The Supe ’s bit of evil were petty , selfish humoring , where Stillwell was party to cautiously bring off human suffering on an industrial scurf .
2 members of the Seven died for the accurate same ground , with The Boys ' Billy Butcher delivering the killing gasconade both times - here ’s what kill them .
Homelander Missed the REAL Superhuman In His Midst
Black Noir Was Way More Powerful Than Homelander Guessed
Of course , Homelander ’s charge that Stillwell was the only real superhuman he ever met is n’t just about the Vought executive director . When he enounce this melodic line , Homelander is hours aside from being torn to pieces by Black Noir- a clone of Homelander who Vought make to vote out him if he ever stepped out of bank line . Ultimately , thereisaSupe even more powerful than Homelander , but he wholly missed their existence because of his solipsistic centering on his own want and desires . Even Homelander ’s anger at Stillwell only comes from the executive disrespect him .
The Boysfollows a major base in Garth Ennis ' work , where competence and incompetency are equally as authoritative as expert and immorality . The Boyshas nothing but disdain for the incompetent , whether they mean well or not , and consider the competent with a cast of respect , even if they ’re malevolent . The original ending ofThe Boyssees Homelander pluck to smidgin while Stillwell tolerate , making it clear that whileHomelandermay have taken many lives in his extended tantrum , Stillwell is the one who ’s truly grave . Ultimately , The Boysdoesn’t imagine true immorality as a terrorize superhuman with beam eyes , but as a characterless man in an expensive suit of clothes .
