WARNING! Spoilers ahead for The Boys season 3, episode 6!
Homelander’s mirror scene in The Boys season 3, episode 6, “Herogasm” perfectly pays tribute to Marvel’s iconic Green Goblin villain. The Boys is well known for its unashamed satire of the popular superhero genre, with the Amazon Prime series largely likening its Supes to notable comic villains and real-world antagonists. Homelander (Anthony Starr) is the greatest example of The Boys’ superhero parody, as he serves as the face of the beloved Seven, but is actually the most dangerous and twisted character in the series thus far.
While “Herogasm” was feared to be a grotesque hour of television for its graphic sexual events, The Boys’ episode exceeded expectations through its fight with Homelander, Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie. As The Boys traveled to Herogasm to find the twins, Homelander prepared to fight Soldier Boy and secure his title as the most powerful Supe, with the series’ main villain also contending with his conflicting desire to be loved by the public. Before his epic battle with Soldier Boy, Homelander speaks to himself in the mirror wherein his “bad” reflection convinces his “good” side to move forward with his dark dictatorial need for power and control.
The Boys’ mirror scene exposes an inner conflict for Homelander that unexpectedly gives the character a more human side, but in no way excuses his crimes and hostilities. Rather, it suggests Homelander has been battling with his morality and demons since his childhood, with his bad half having overwhelmingly dominated the good. This isn’t unfamiliar for villain stories, but the circumstances of Homelander’s mirror scene appear to be a direct homage to Marvel’s Green Goblin, the main antagonist of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002). As Green Goblin gradually consumes Norman Osborn, one Spider-Man scene depicts Willem Dafoe’s character looking into a mirror, where Norman’s good half attempts to appeal to the villainous influence of his Goblin reflection.
Homelander speaking to his evil half in the mirror also perfectly pays tribute to Spider-Man’s Norman Osborn mirror conversation in terms of the scene’s composition. The Boys’ Homelander scene isn’t subtle in its homage, as the rooms are decorated similarly and the framing is almost identical. Just as Norman does in Spider-Man, Homelander returns to his lavish quarters with numerous portraits hung on the walls as his evil half speaks to him in the large mirror. As one of the only occasions in which The Boys attempts to grant Homelander some sympathy, it was fitting for the series to recreate the well-known internal battle mirror scene of the Green Goblin, one of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted villains.
Respectfully paying tribute to a Marvel scene or character is quite rare for The Boys, which goes to show just how truly effective Sam Raimi’s Green Goblin was as a villain. The Boys would have been expected to parody Spider-Man’s Norman Osborn scene in a dark and twisted manner or poke fun at it, but instead chose to use it as proper inspiration for its most significant antagonist. Homelander’s mirror scene actually comes from a moment in issue 49 of The Boys comic, which was also likely inspired by Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man sequence.
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New episodes of The Boys release Fridays on Amazon Prime.
