5 Video Game “Heroes” Who Are Worse Than Homelander

The Boys is officially over, with its final episode airing in theaters on May 19 and releasing on Amazon Prime Video on May 20. A few stumbles aside, Eric Kripke’s dark and gory superhero series will go down in history as an all-time great, at least for the genre. “Bad” heroes were hardly invented by The Boys, but Homelander is one of the most iconic examples of the archetype. Narratively, he has always been presented as a villain, even if the depths he is willing to go to aren’t fully apparent at first. Throughout the series, he gradually becomes evil enough to stand alongside Injustice‘s Superman as one of the villainous greats.

As vile as Homelander truly is, there are a few video game heroes that can give him a real run for his money, and I genuinely mean “heroes” and not villains pretending to be heroes like Borderlands‘ Handsome Jack. These are playable characters who are presented as good-ish for a vast majority of the story, only to cause intense harm either through the story or the player’s actions. Let’s have fun with this one.

1

The Courier (Fallout: New Vegas)

So Many Ways To Wipe Out Masses Of People

• Worst Thing Can Do: Trigger another nuclear holocaust, basically ending humanity
• Worst Thing Can Do Part 2: Unleash a cloud that turns Mojave into hell on Earth

To keep things interesting, I wanted to avoid doubling down on RPGs that let players decide whether they are good or evil, especially since the latter is usually not the canon route. However, we need to include at least one example, and Fallout: New Vegas‘ The Courier has the capacity to cause some real, widespread, world-changing devastation. Right from the start, New Vegas‘ protagonist is not presented as a traditional hero, even in a series that tends to avoid going down that route. Altruism is not their default state, and they are, at best, a gun-for-hire survivor who might leave you alone if they don’t see you as an obstacle.

Depending on the choices players make, The Courier can just be straight-up evil. Some of their “minor” villainous acts include cannibalization and selling allies into lifelong slavery. Their “major” villainous acts primarily take place in the “Lonesome Road” and “Dead Money” DLCs, as their bad endings make The Courier seem like an agent of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The two examples above are from these expansions, and that doesn’t take into account the myriad of bad endings for the entire game, which typically leave New Vegas in a far worse state (as improbable of an accomplished as that is).

2

The Incredible Hulk (The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction)

Marvel’s True Force Of Nature

• Hulk smash
• “Ultimate Destruction” is not an exaggeration

The MCU and certain comic storylines aside, The Hulk’s “hero” status is murky at best, but it wouldn’t be right to describe Bruce Banner’s version as a villain either. Rather than good or bad, The Hulk simply is, sort of the way that a tornado cannot be described as evil. Collateral damage is a consequence of most superhero escapades (and open-world games, to be honest), but The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction turns it into a core mechanic.

Although Bruce Banner is presented as a good guy, the game fully embraces The Hulk’s force-of-nature status, and he uses the Manhattan-esque city as his personal playground and weapon provider. Vehicles become boxing gloves to smash cops or javelins to be thrown at helicopters. Although you don’t see bodies flying around whenever The Hulk lands like a meteor on the street or uses a bus as a weapon, the body count must be high enough to even impress Homelander.

The Boys‘ inciting incident is A-Train turning Hughie’s girl into a puddle of blood and guts; in comparison, The Hulk paints the whole city red (metaphorically, as The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction would otherwise be an M-rated game).

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3

Kratos (Greek Era God of War)

The Blinding Rage

• Brutally murders many innocent people because they happen to be in front of him, or he needs to use them to open a door
• Brings on the end of Ancient Greece, causing an apocalypse that kills thousands or even millions

Gaming has countless iconic angry men, but none of them rage as loudly and violently as God of War‘s Kratos, except for maybe Asura from Asura’s Wrath. Before his dad era, Kratos was pretty much awful in every game, with Ascension being arguably the only one.

Even before he wipes out a pantheon with the knowledge that it comes with dire consequences, Kratos bulldozes his way through Greece, stampeding to death anybody who has the misfortune to cross his path. Except for his family and characters, like Pandora, who remind him of his family, Kratos couldn’t care less about any human or being, and his actions gradually turn him from a tragic anti-hero to a full-blown villain with a tragic past.

4

Alex Mercer (Prototype)

Less Hero, More Biohazard Weapon

• Consumes people to either take their memories, form, or life essence. Not just bad people either
• Evolves into a true villain, similar to Homelander

As the protagonist fighting against a shadowy corporation that experiments on humans, Alex Mercer seems to fit the “hero” frame well, even if he might have to rely on less savory methods. However, that perspective gradually dissipates as Prototype continues and Alex begins to consume everyone he sees, regardless of whether they are Blackwatch members or just a random Joe who happened to be walking through Manhattan. The consumption act is straight out of a horror movie, too, as the victims are absolutely terrified, and Alex can then wear their skin as a trophy.

While he technically ends the first game as a hero due to stopping an attack that would have wrecked the city, Mercer becomes an unquestionable villain after that point, losing any lingering traits of humanity. In the sequel, he is basically a cult leader who wants to start a new world order with him as king.

5

Wander (Shadow of the Colossus)

• Wipes out majestic one-of-a-kind creatures to save a girl

One of the most infamous “you didn’t know you were a villain all along” games, Shadow of the Colossus‘ Wander might seem like a victim of manipulation, but that is a very kind interpretation. Throughout the entire game, Wander selfishly slaughters one harmless creature after another, all of whom play a very important role in protecting this land.

Each time, he becomes more corrupted, literally turning into a monster; yet, he doesn’t stop or even really question what he is doing. He doesn’t care, as no cost is too great in pursuit of his goal. Homelander doesn’t necessarily know he is evil, but he is at least somewhat aware of his lack of empathy. In comparison, Wander thinks he is doing the right thing.