‘The Boys’ Star Antony Starr Compares Homelander to Avengers’ Mad Titan Thanos: “I Think People Respond to That”

Antony Starr is getting fans talking again after sharing his thoughts about Thanos and the philosophy behind the Marvel villain’s actions.

During a recent interview with Wired, the actor behind Homelander in The Boys admitted that while Thanos did terrible things in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he understands why some people connect with the character’s ideas.

Starr explained that part of what made Thanos such a memorable villain was the fact that he believed he was doing the right thing. “He was doing a horrific thing, but he had such a good philosophy behind it about balancing the universe. And there’s a little part of me that’s like, ‘He’s got a pretty good point.’”

The actor quickly made it clear that Homelander is very different from Thanos when it comes to motivation and personality. According to Starr, Homelander does not have some grand mission to save humanity or restore balance.

Instead, the character is driven by ego, insecurity, and a desperate need for love and control. Still, Starr believes both villains connect with audiences for the same reason. “The point being, he’s complex. There’s more to him than just the bad guy, and I think people respond to that.”

Many fans are debating whether Starr was right about Thanos. Interestingly, the Marvel universe itself has shown that some people agreed with the Mad Titan’s ideas. In shows like Hawkeye and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, references were made to people believing that life was somehow better after “The Blip,” when half the universe disappeared.

Even though Homelander and Thanos are completely different characters, they are often compared because of how powerful and dangerous they are in their own worlds. In terms of raw power, though, Thanos is clearly on another level. Even without the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos was strong enough to overpower Hulk, defeat Thor, and battle entire teams of Avengers at once. Once he had the Infinity Stones, he basically became unstoppable and wiped out half of all life in the universe with a single snap.

Homelander is terrifying inside the world of The Boys, but his power scale is much smaller compared to Marvel cosmic characters.

He has super strength, laser vision, flight, and near invulnerability, making him almost impossible to stop in his own universe. However, he has never faced threats anywhere close to Avengers-level heroes or cosmic beings. Most of Homelander’s fear factor comes from how unstable and emotionally broken he is rather than the scale of destruction he can cause.

That difference is also what makes the two villains interesting in completely separate ways. Thanos is calm, focused, and convinced that sacrifice is necessary for the greater good.

Homelander, on the other hand, acts mostly out of emotion and rage. One wants control over the universe to “fix” it, while the other wants control simply because he believes he deserves it.

With only a couple of episodes left in the final season of The Boys, fans are now wondering whether Homelander’s ending could leave the same kind of impact Thanos did after Avengers: Endgame. Right now, Thanos is still considered one of the MCU’s greatest villains, and Antony Starr clearly understands why audiences still talk about him years later.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!