Vought Rising Is Great, But There's Another The Boys Prequel I Want Just As Much (& It Secretly Started 3 Years Ago)

The Boys's upcomingspinoff series Vought Rising sounds great, but there’s another prequel series I would like to see just as much. Ever since 2019, The Boys has been one of Prime Video's flagship shows, with Supernatural showrunner Eric Kripke at the helm. The Boys season 5 will mark the end of the series, with Butcher and the boys taking on Homelander and his army one last time.

While season 5 being the conclusion makes sense, The Boys has plenty of upcoming spinoff shows that will keep the franchise going. In fact, there are currently three The Boys spinoff shows in development: Gen V season 2, The Boys: Mexico, and Vought Rising. Out of all the spinoffs, The Boys: Vought Rising stands out for being a prequel to the original series, following the likes of Soldier Boy and Stormfront to explore their origins and the history of Vought. However, if there was an origin series I would like even more, it would be a Homelander prequel.

A Young Homelander Prequel Would Be Just As Fascinating As Vought Rising

Vought Rising Will Explore The Early Days of The Supe Company

A composite image of Soldier Boy looking over his shoulder in front of Stormfront as she flies in the air from The Boys

While many details remain elusive, we know that Supernatural star Jensen Ackles will be reprising his role as Soldier Boy, with Aya Cash’s Stormfront also returning for Vought Rising. The show is set in the 1950s, exploring a murder mystery in Vought’s early days and fleshing out the company's backstory. Recently, Eric Kripke teased Vought Rising’s scripts, saying that he’s optimistic about the “brilliant scripts & new super suits being designed.” However, while a prequel to The Boys is exciting, a young Homelander series would be just as fascinating as Vought Rising, if not, more so.

Homelander is arguably the best character in The Boys. Having been grown and raised by the Vought Corporation itself, Homelander was made to be the perfect supe in their arsenal, as someone that they could control and rely on after Soldier Boy’s “demise.” With The Boys season 5 gearing up for the emergence of Homelander’s army under martial law, the final season will likely be a bloodbath. There might not be much room for Homelander to grow as a character at this point, but that doesn't mean we can't learn more about him in a prequel.

The Boys Presents: Diabolical's Only Canon Episode Already Showed What A Homelander Prequel Would Look Like

Homelander Struggles In His Canonical First Mission

Homelander with blood on his face in The Boys: Diabolical

Technically, The Boys has already showcased what a Homelander prequel series would look like in a previous spinoff show. The Boys Presents: Diabolical was an anthology series that focused on a different story per episode, exploring various animation styles. While the majority of the show has been confirmed to be unrelated to The Boys, back in 2022, Eric Kripke confirmed to Variety that The Boys Presents: Diabolical’s season 1 finale, episode 8, “One Plus One Equals Two,” is canonical. Interestingly, this episode focuses on Homelander’s backstory, with Noir helping him cover up a massacre. Check out Eric Kripke’s statement below:

“The finale is canon, yeah. I thought [Simon Racioppa] did such a good job with it. I don’t think we had any specific plans going in for it to for sure be canon. But he just did such a good job writing and directing it, that watching it, I was like, ‘This is for sure what happened.’
There is a certain amount of background setup of really understanding the relationship between Homelander and Black Noir and giving us a deeper understanding before Season 3.”

Diabolical’s finale focuses on Homelander’s introduction, which sees him struggle with jealousy about Black Noir stealing his newfound spotlight. Later in the episode, Homelander takes on his first mission: a hostage situation at a chemical plant. Unfortunately, during the negotiation, Homelander is triggered into a massacre via flashbacks to the lab he was raised in and ends up brutally killing everyone. While there are currently no plans for a prequel show, Diabolical’s flashbacks to Homelander in the lab and the massacre of his first mission demonstrated just what a Homelander prequel show would look like, and it’s rather interesting.

The Boys Has Been Teasing Bits Of Homelander's Backstory For Years

“Wisdom of the Ages” Revealed A Lot About Homelander

The Boys Presents: Diabolical is not the only show that has been teasing Homelander’s backstory, as The Boys itself has been gradually revealing parts of the villainous supe’s early life. Even when Madelyn Stillwell was still alive, The Boys touched on Homelander’s origins. When the supe had to give a speech about his childhood home in season 1, declaring his love of baseball growing up, Homelander struggled with the lie. Small details have been revealed throughout The Boys that showcase why Homelander is the way he is, but none more so than in season 4.

The Boys' Homelander, the Deep, and Sister Sage

The Boys: All 11 Supes In Homelander's Army Ranked By Power

With Homelander gearing up for a final showdown in The Boys season 5, there are several powerful characters he has selected for his supe army.

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The Boys season 4 revealed Homelander’s ultimate weakness when he visited the lab where he was raised. The unsettling episode, “Wisdom of the Ages,” showed Homelander reuniting with the scientists who experimented on him as a child, divulging the brutal things that they put him through. The flashbacks unveiled a lot about Homelander’s past, even revealing that his need for validation was “engineered” by Vought to keep him loyal. “Wisdom of the Ages” really put Homelander’s personality into perspective by exploring his origins, however, I still think a full Homelander prequel series would be a great addition to The Boys.

Sources: Variety