Almost no supe from Gen V seems strong enough to beat Homelander anytime soon, but some rising heroes from The Boys‘ spinoff might be able to give the overpowered supe a run for his money in season 2. After The Boys season 4’s shocking ending, the Prime Video franchise is all set to expand its lore with Gen V‘s new installment. Gen V season 1 attempted to etch its own identity by focusing more on the lives of its young cast instead of revealing too much about the developments from the parent series.
However, in its final moments, Gen season 1, too, drew a narrative bridge to The Boys, which was further expanded in the parent show’s season 4. Owing to this, it seems likely that Gen V season 2 will have far more narrative connections with The Boys than its predecessor, allowing it to feature many beloved characters from the main series. While only time will tell who will appear in the spinoff’s new installment, many actors will reprise their roles in the show as it will walk through their evolving powers and hint at how they can potentially become Homelander’s worthy rivals.
7
Polarity
Played By Sean Patrick Thomas
Andre Anderson’s father, Polarity, is portrayed as Gen V‘s own version of X-men‘s Magneto. As the lore surrounding his characterization suggests, he has magnetic manipulation abilities, allowing him to move and reshape metallic objects solely by using his mind. Like most supes, Polarity also possesses some level of superhuman durability and strength, along with other basic complementary powers. Since Gen V season 1 barely gave a glimpse of the entire scale of Polarity’s abilities, it is hard to believe he would stand a chance against Homelander in a one-on-one showdown.
After using his powers for decades, Polarity also experienced micro-tears in his neural pathways, and a doctor asked him to avoid using his powers. However, as Gen V season 2’s trailer suggests, he will ignore the doctor’s advice and use his powers to fight those responsible for his son’s disappearance. His newfound strength might help him reach the peak of his abilities, which could make him a worthy threat to Homelander. But given the neurological damage his powers can cause, he might not live long if he takes things too far with his magnetic manipulation.
6
Emma Meyer
Played By Lizze Broadway
Many would dismiss Emma as one of the weaker supes in Gen V because she often uses her size-manipulation powers to shrink. However, a scene from Gen V showed that if she used her power to grow in size, she could fight toe to toe with some of the strongest supes like Sam. If Emma manages to become more accepting of her powers, instead of seeing them as a reflection of her insecurities or a source of shame, she could unlock a level of strength that could rival several members of the Seven.
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The biggest drawback of Emma’s abilities is that she becomes too slow, like Ant-Man, when she grows in size. One can even apply the whole Thanos and Ant-Man meme logic to her characterization by questioning if she can merely crawl up Homelander’s ear and then grow in size to defeat him. However, it seems unlikely that a supe like her would be able to take down an overpowered villain like Homelander all by herself with simple tricks and gimmicks.
5
Jordan Li
Played By London Thor & Derek Luh
Jordan Li is perhaps one of the most underrated supes from Gen V season 1. They do not get the recognition and GodU rank they deserve because a gender-swapping supe is considered a little too controversial and offbeat to appeal to the masses. Yet, time and again, they prove how much better they are than other supes by standing their ground against some of the most powerful supes, like Golden Boy and Sam. While their male form allows them to have superhuman strength and indestructibility, their female counterpart is agile and can throw potent energy pulses.
Against someone as overpowered as Homelander, however, Jordan Li would have little to no chance of winning unless the red-capped supe had a major handicap. While working in a team, though, Li could be a valuable asset and keep shifting back and forth between their forms to inflict some serious damage on even strong supes like Homelander.
4
Cate Dunlap
Played By Maddie Philips
Almost throughout Gen V season 1, Cate single-handedly manipulates all her friends into forgetting key memories and questioning their sense of reality. With her mind-controlling power, she can also convince many others to fight for her or defend her. The only drawback to her ability is that she needs to touch a person to be able to control them. Owing to this, if she finds herself facing off against someone like Homelander, she will have to find a way to touch them to be able to have a shot at winning.
Unless she sneaks up on them and touches them before they can do something to stop her, Cate’s powers are not going to work.
The big issue with that is that most supes would already know about her ability. Unless she sneaks up on them and touches them before they can do something to stop her, Cate’s powers are not going to work. However, if someone holds Homelander in one place and Cate manages to touch the supe, she will likely be able to use her mind control on him as well and perhaps convince him to take his own life.
3
Sam Riordan
Played By Asa Germann
Golden Boy was revealed to be GodU’s top-ranked supe in Gen V season 1, and he was also recruited by the Seven before graduating from the supe university. However, flashbacks in the show revealed that he was not strong enough to control his brother, Sam. Sam’s superstrength and durability seem to match those of supes like Queen Maeve, which could eventually make him a worthy Homelander rival. Gen V season 2’s trailer also seems to hint that Sam will eventually learn how to fly, which would make sense since his brother could do the same.
For a long time, Homelander was the only supe in The Boys who could fly. His flight ability also allowed him to narrowly escape when Butcher, Hughie, and Soldier Boy ganged up on him and almost killed him during Herogasm. However, heroes like Starlight and probably even Sam are now catching up, which might later help them defeat Homelander. For now, though, Sam seems to be under Cate’s influence, which has convinced him to be on Homelander’s team.
2
Ryan Butcher
Played By Cameron Crovetti
Ryan has had one of the scariest story arcs in The Boys. After the events of seasons 3 and 4, it is hard to predict where his story will go in The Boys‘ last few arcs. Even though his appearance has not been confirmed in the upcoming season of the spin-off, it seems likely that he will show up because he, too, belongs to the next generation of supes. He might even end up at Godolkin University, given how Homelander has been training him to become like him.
Homelander would also be a little hesitant about hurting his son, which could give Ryan a major edge during a fight with his father.
Since Ryan is nothing but Homelander’s clone, he could serve as the perfect kryptonite to the overpowered supe. Homelander would also be a little hesitant about hurting his son, which could give Ryan a major edge during a fight with his father. However, Ryan’s arc after season 4 suggests that he is not turning against his father anytime soon.
1
Marie Moreau
Played By Jaz Sinclair
Marie had little to no control over her blood manipulation powers. However, the more the season progressed, the more the scope of her powers came to light. Gen V eventually established that Marie and Victoria Neuman had similar abilities, which could allow Marie to make heads explode. In Gen V season 2’s trailer, there is a scene where it looks like Marie makes someone’s entire body explode, suggesting that she might eventually get even better than Neuman at controlling her powers.
As Gen V established, Marie can even give someone a heart attack by merely controlling the blood flow in their bodies. While using her powers on Homelander during a one-on-one showdown would nearly be impossible, she could target the supe from a distance and kill him before he can realize what is happening. Moving forward, Marie’s powers will only grow from strength to strength in Gen V season 2, and she might eventually become strong enough to defeat Homelander in The Boys‘ final season.
