Ryan Vs. Homelander In The Boys Season 5 Proves He Isn’t His Father’s Replacement

Ryan was expected to become a perfect Homelander replacement after his arc in The Boys season 4, but his brutal season 5 fight proves he is on a completely different path. From The Boys‘ early seasons, Ryan has been one of the most intriguing characters in the series because two of the most questionable characters in the show, Homelander and Butcher, have been his guiding forces.

While Butcher’s heart might have been in the right place, he, too, struggled to be a good father figure for Ryan because of his own tainted relationship with his father and his hate towards supes. Ryan, too, wanted to look up to him instead of Homelander, but he pushed him away. Owing to this, Ryan started siding more with his biological father and was all set to follow his dark path.

In The Boys season 4, Ryan even showed signs of moral corruption and was starting to become more and more like Homelander when he defied Vought’s orders and even killed Mallory. His introduction in season 5 also establishes that he is not the innocent young supe he once used to be. However, The Boys season 5’s episode 3 features a fight scene that finally proves Ryan is not going to be the next Homelander.

Ryan Is Neither As Strong Nor As Morally Skewed As Homelander

Even after Butcher asks him to not confront Homelander without the supe-killing virus, Ryan lets his rage get the best of him and sets out to face his biological father. Believing he can beat Homelander, Ryan even starts attacking him while asking him for answers. Homelander initially holds back and looks down on Ryan, claiming that he does not need him anymore after finding a way to stay immortal.

However, when Ryan refuses to stop, Homelander unleashes his fury and shows him how strong he truly is. In the brutal fight scene, Ryan uses his heat vision to laser Homelander, which could have seemingly killed him.

Homelander, however, manages to dodge almost all attacks from Ryan and pins him down before viciously punching him unconscious. This sequence establishes that even though Ryan has inherited his father’s powers, Homelander is far stronger than him. For the most part of the fight, Homelander only defends himself and still ends up coming out with little damage.

While Ryan goes all out, Homelander seems to use only half of his full potential to take his son down. With this, the fight scene proves that Ryan is not ready to defeat Homelander in a one-on-one showdown. He might have a chance with the supe-killing virus, but the red-caped supe is far too strong to be taken down by brute force alone.

Ryan’s arc in The Boys season 5’s episode 3 also confirms that even though he has lost his innocence, he is not as morally skewed as Homelander. The fact that Ryan agrees to put his life on the line only to be able to save the world suggests he is far more righteous than his biological father. While Homelander seems deadset on achieving immortality, Ryan agrees to face death for the greater good.

Considering how Ryan has managed to hold on to his humanity and is not nearly as overpowered as Homelander, it is fair to say that he is far from being Homelander’s perfect replacement in The Boys.

Ryan Lost To Homelander, But His Redemption Has Finally Begun

Ryan found himself feeling conflicted throughout his previous arcs in The Boys. Although he always had an inherent desire to do what was right, being with Homelander gradually corrupted him. As a result, he made some grave mistakes and even ended up killing innocents like Mallory. Fortunately, his decision to kill Homelander and save the world proves that he is finally walking down the path of redemption.

After being brutally beaten by his biological father, Ryan is bound to realize that Homelander never truly cared about him. All he cared about was his own legacy as a supe and only wanted him as his son because he feared that he was getting older.

Once he recovers from his loss against Homelander, Ryan will likely join forces with Butcher and the team and try to stop Homelander before it is too late.

Ryan’s Loss Against Homelander Reveals 1 Harsh Truth About The Boys’ Power Scales

It is almost scary how easily Homelander manages to overpower Ryan in The Boys sason 5’s episode 3. Ryan managed to make his nose bleed in the fight sequence, but he only seemed to be able to do that because Homelander played defense. As the power difference in the fight suggests, Homelander would have taken Ryan down in seconds if he had not held himself back.

Ryan is supposed to be one of the strongest supes in The Boys‘ universe. He is arguably even stronger than Gen V‘s best characters. Owing to this, his loss against Homelander proves that most supes in The Boys‘ universe would not even last for seconds in a fight against the Antony Starr character.

Starlight’s growing strength was considered a threat to Homelander in previous seasons, but it looks like The Boys season 5 has nerfed her again. Even Black Noir manages to go toe-to-toe with her in a showdown. Gen V‘s Marie was also believed to be a potential match for Homelander. After seeing how easily Homelander overpowers his son, though, it is hard to believe Marrie would stand a chance at beating him alone.

Interestingly, Marie has not appeared in The Boys season 5 yet. This could probably mean that she is a part of Starlight and her team’s bigger plan to take Homelander down. It would be interesting to see whether she will get to face Homelander in a one-on-one showdown before season 5 ends.

The Boys

7/10

Release Date

2019 – 2026-00-00