“I’m the messiah. I’m the saviour of the world.”
No, that’s not a quote from President Donald Trump. Though you’d be forgiven for thinking so, given that the controversial commander-in-chief literally posted an AI-generated picture depicting himself as Jesus Christ earlier this month on his Truth Social platform.
The above quote belongs to Homelander (Antony Starr), the main antagonist in Amazon’s The Boys. In Wednesday’s new episode, “Through the Heavens Fall,” the show’s big bad has a new mission: to be perceived by the American people as a literal god. And not just any god, the messiah.
Though it seems like President Trump can say just about anything without consequence, it turns out the move actually caused upset amongst his own supporters (even though Vice President JD Vance brushed it off as the president just “posting a joke”). Trump himself backed down, deleting the post and later claimed that he was merely depicting himself “as a doctor, making people better,” instead of committing blasphemy.
Homelander, however, has no intention of backing down. Some context for those unfamiliar with the show: Homelander is a superhero with extraordinary powers who leads The Seven, a group of highly corruptible and powerful superheroes funded by Vought, a massive defense contractor. In the events leading up to the current fifth and final season, Homelander has effectively gained control of the United States government. Though he’s not technically POTUS, he might as well be.
He’s made himself the face of America, assisting in massive disinformation campaigns against Starlight (Erin Moriarty), a superhero who’s part of a group called The Boys, who seek to take down The Seven, and especially Homelander, in an effort to restore America to sanity.
All that to say, The Boys has never been shy when it comes to reflecting the tumultuous political state of America, particularly when it comes to MAGA. But this time, the show has displayed remarkable prescience in predicting the future, considering this episode was shot and filmed many months before Trump posted himself as Jesus on Truth Social.
The Boys, if you can believe it, paints a considerably more extreme version of America than the one found in real life. This is a show chock full of “supes,” after all, including ones that turn their genitals into lasso-like weapons of mass destruction.
While the real White House has largely tried to sweep the Trump-as-Christ fiasco under the rug, everyone in Homelander’s circle is absolutely terrified of him, and will kowtow to his every whim (you’re welcome to draw parallels to the real world here, if you wish), even if it’s as monumentally concerning as his conviction that he’s the new messiah.
And credit where it’s due, Homelander can slice people apart while exuding the same amount of effort it takes to blink.
This leads to some of the funniest and most deeply disturbing (a combination that’s become the specialty of this show) scenes The Boys have ever done. And while it’s certainly a more exaggerated version of American life, similar to The Handmaid’s Tale, it’s the kind of plotline that doesn’t sound all that far removed from reality—especially since the president already posted a picture of himself as Christ.
So everyone at Vought knows that this isn’t a good idea. But instead of gently suggesting Homelander not risk offending Christians (a massive percentage of his supporters) all over the country, Vought brings together a meeting of their brightest minds to try to convince America that Homelander is the almighty lord.
Firecracker (Valorie Curry), the most religious of The Seven, has been tasked with getting the message out there, so she’s assembled some of the more influential minds at Vought for a conference meeting to brainstorm.
“There are no bad ideas, just gotta sell Homelander as our lord and savior,” she says, with the heavy intonation that even having this meeting is a very bad idea. On the whiteboard behind her, there are two examples of God: “Jesus” and “Homelander.” For Satan? “DEI”, “Transgendered athletes,” and “Starlight.”
The ideas start coming in fast and hot.
“What if he performed a miracle on live TV?” someone suggests.
“He could part the Red Sea and send some refugees back where they came from,” Firecracker responds with enthusiasm.
“He could fly to all the world’s holy sites and let people meet their new God in person,” suggests another.
“We could put him on a throne in the Temple Mount,” suggests uber-popular preacher Oh-Father (Daveed Diggs), leader of the Samaritans’ Embrace Ministries, sponsored by Vought.
The polling data, however, is strongly against Homelander being their God. Only 22% of Americans would accept Homelander as God, which means they need to do something big. While they bicker over various methods, Firecracker has an idea.
“Jesus was a great man. The things he preached, turning the other cheek, taking in foreigners, caring for the poor, that s--t don’t sell more,” says Firecracker. “What we need is a church that preaches American. America is God’s government, and we are his chosen people.”
She pitches a new branch of faith: the Democratic Church of America. Just one problem: the people aren’t willing to accept him as God. “I know what to call him,” Firecracker responds.
In a scene all but guaranteed to make you feel physically nauseous (as if the conference didn’t already make you feel queasy), the plan is enacted, and Homelander is pushed as the messiah. In a sermon given by Oh-Father, a religious super married to Vice-President Barrett (Colby Minifie), he spreads the new gospel on Vought News.
“Today, we commit ourselves to a divine rebranding. We will become patriots of faith and fulfill our Founding Fathers’ dreams,” he says, announcing Homelander as the prophet of the Church and the prophet of America, to massive cheers from the audience. As they chant Homelander’s name, he appears to a riotous standing ovation. Before he can unveil his plan as their new prophet, the episode ends.
Sometimes shows can predict the future. Let’s hope The Boys hasn’t got this one right—though it’s hard to deny how uncomfortably plausible it all feels.
