Antony Starr recently reappeared as The boys‘ confused supe Homelander to engage in a scathing attack on the latest marketing campaign of former US President Donald Trump.
Trump announced via his own social media platform Truth Social that he would be selling a series of NFTs he called “Trump Digital Trading Cards”. The images include one showing the ex-president in superhero attire, complete with a US flag for a cape – a look eerily similar to that of the fascist Homelander. The social media team for The boys didn’t miss the opportunity, posting its own “huge announcement” of Homelander NFTs on the Twitter account of the show’s fictional sinister company, Vought International.
As well as mocking Trump himself, the post took aim at the wider culture surrounding NFTs and cryptocurrency, describing the image as a “non-fungible JPEG” on sale for “777 VoughtCoin”. This isn’t the first time the team running the Vought International account has used the platform to parody real-world events by adding Homelander to the mix. The boys‘ movie in the universe Dawn of the Seven — a pastiche of mainstream Marvel and DC films — was the subject of an awards-season marketing push that saw the release of “For Your Consideration” posters, parodying Marvel’s own efforts to woo the Academy.
The boys don’t shy away from real world politics
These moves from the team at Vought International will come as no surprise to fans of The boys. The show, based on the comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, is known for its satirical approach to real-world issues, often combining its commentary on the superhero genre with underlying political themes. Showrunner Eric Kripke previously confirmed in 2022 that Homelander has always been an analogy for Trump. “All he ever wants is to be the most powerful person he can be, even though he’s completely inadequate in his abilities to handle it,” Kripke said. “Those issues happen to mirror the guy who, it’s still surreal to say it, was the goddamn president of the United States.” Kripke said.
Season 4 of The boys is currently in production with a contingent of new and returning cast members including Simon Pegg, Rosemarie DeWitt and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a currently unknown role. A spinoff series with the title Gen V will follow the bloody misadventures of a young group of wannabe supers at a Vought-run school for aspiring crime fighters.
All three seasons of The boys is available for streaming on Prime Video. Gen V is scheduled to be released on Prime Video in 2023.
Source: Twitter
