Sorry, But DC Just Botched Superman and Homelander’s Fight

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For years, fans have wanted to see Superman go head-to-head with other heroes, and that moment has finally arrived – though the result is a bit disappointing. The DC Universe has been running a tournament in the DC K.O. series for the past few months. However, DC Comics decided simply pitting heroes against villains wasn’t enough. At last year’s New York Comic Con, they announced a special addition to DC K.O.: a ‘bonus round’ featuring characters battling guests from franchises like Mortal Kombat and The Conjuring.

Everyone was really looking forward to seeing Homelander from The Boys join DC K.O.: Boss Battle #1, especially when it was announced he’d fight Superman. The idea of the ultimate hero battling a symbol of hate and power felt incredibly relevant and exciting. However, when the fight finally happened, it wasn’t as impactful or fulfilling as many readers hoped it would be.

Superman and Homelander’s Fight is Sadly Weightless

The latest installment, DC K.O.: Boss Battle #1 by Jeremy Adams and artists Ronan Cliquet, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Kieran McKeown, and Pablo M. Collar, continues the story directly after DC K.O. #3. Superman, Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, and the Joker are battling a twisted version of the Absolute Trinity when the World Forger suddenly stops the fight. He explains they don’t have enough Omega Energy to win, but they could succeed if they collect it from different universes. The World Forger then creates portals to other realities, sending the heroes beyond the multiverse to begin their search.

People often find themselves in surprising situations, and Superman’s no different – he arrives in a version of New York City to respond to a cry for help. However, he’s beaten to the scene by Homelander, who’s already holding a severed arm. Homelander sees Superman as a danger and immediately attacks with heat vision, which matches Superman’s own power. Superman tries to gain the upper hand with a surprise attack from below, but Homelander is too strong to be defeated.

During the intense fight, the portals created by the World Forger to separate the combatants began to close, merging the realities. Superman and Homelander’s battle crashed into the world of The Conjuring, and soon everyone found themselves in a single, combined reality. Luckily, the World Forger and Gorilla Grodd worked together to end the fighting and send the winners back to their original universes. Even as he disappeared back into The Boys universe, Homelander remained defiant, still threatening to kill Superman.

Superman vs. Homelander Could Have Been a Seriously Powerful Moment

I went into this comic hoping for something truly impactful, but it quickly became clear the focus was more on how the characters played off each other than on delivering a strong message. Still, I was a bit let down that this particular moment didn’t feel as significant as it could have. The issue does give Superman and Homelander a lot of screen time – other characters like Vampirella and Batwoman barely appear until the very end when everything changes. While most of the character pairings were either interesting or just fun, this matchup between Superman and Homelander had the potential to deliver a really powerful message, which unfortunately didn’t quite happen.

Everyone familiar with The Boys—whether from the comics or the show—knows Homelander is a terrible person. He’s deeply prejudiced and believes in harmful ideologies. However, the story doesn’t really explore why he thinks this way, or the differences between his beliefs and those who oppose him. It simply relies on the audience already understanding how awful he is, presenting him mostly as a villain for the hero to physically defeat. But the conflict should have been about more than just a fight; it needed to be a clash of ideas as well.

It’s clear that hateful ideologies are on the rise, and we see examples of this everywhere, like the dangerous beliefs of characters like Homelander. Given this, it feels like a missed opportunity that the fight between Homelander and Superman – a hero who famously confronted evil in the past – didn’t address these ideas at all. Even more problematic, the battle portrayed them as equals in power. Instead of diminishing Homelander’s influence, especially when harmful ideologies are spreading, the story actually elevated him to Superman’s level, which feels particularly misguided right now.

I wasn’t upset to see the comic attempt a Superman vs. Homelander fight. However, I was disappointed that the story didn’t completely condemn Homelander and his awful beliefs. Rather than clearly showing Homelander as a weak and pitiful character, he was portrayed as a genuine threat to Superman. Ideally, this fight in DC K.O.: Boss Battle #1 should have focused less on flashy action and more on proving how wrong everything Homelander stands for is.

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2026-02-05 05:40