The Boys Episode 6: Soldier Boy fights Homelander, but who wins?

The Boys Episode 6 isn’t just about Herogasm, as Soldier Boy finally faces off with Homelander, and it’s one of the best fights the show has ever produced. 

Homelander (Antony Starr) has never been so frightening and dangerous in The Boys. The first season unveiled his villainy with the plane scene, but Season 3 has made him a right-wing monster for the ages; a man so deluded by his need for love, respect, and power that he’ll force a woman to jump to her death even after she changed her mind.

Over the past few episodes, Homelander made one thing clear: it doesn’t matter if he’s “canceled” or his world falls apart, because he’ll just kill everyone and turn Earth into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. After all, who’s going to stop him?

Enter Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), Vought’s thought-to-be-dead, all-American hero and a possible equalizer. They finally come face-to-face in Episode 6, and their fight has major implications for the future of The Boys.

The Boys Episode 6: Why were Soldier Boy and Homelander at Herogasm?

While Homelander tricks Soldier Boy into sex with the promise of a spot in The Seven in the comics, neither character participates in Herogasm in the show.

Soldier Boy goes with Butcher and Hughie (Jack Quaid) to find the TNT Twins, ex-teammates who served alongside him – and betrayed him – in the Payback team.

• Read More: The Boys Episode 6: What happens at Herogasm?

He vaporizes them with his energy blast after they claim Black Noir was responsible for what happened to him, and Homelander arrives soon after to kill Soldier Boy.

Soldier Boy, Homelander, and Butcher fight after Herogasm

The two poster boys meet in the rubble of Herogasm after Soldier Boy’s energy blast leaves several supes dead and others bloodied and charred – including Love Sausage.

Homelander finds him standing with Butcher. “William Butcher and Soldier Boy. Of course, you were behind this, this whole thing. It really is all about me. William, we made a deal to fight to the death – you and me. This is cheating… deal’s off,” he says, before zapping Bucher with his laser vision.

Homelander then tells Soldier Boy he was his hero growing up, and that he watched all of his movies. “You were the only one that was nearly as strong as me,” he says, to which Soldier Boy responds: “Buddy, you think you look strong? You’re wearing a cape. You’re just a cheap f**king knock-off.”

Homelander then says: “No, no… I’m the upgrade,” before charging Soldier Boy into a wall. The pair duke it out, exchanging crunching blows, until Homelander grabs Soldier Boy by the neck. “You had me going for a minute there,” he tells him.

Suddenly, an “Oi” emerges from the back. It’s Butcher, who uses his own laser vision to knock Homelander on his butt. “What have you done?” he asks Butcher, to which he responds: “Scorched Earth.”

This sparks a ferocious fight, leading to both firing their beams at one another, a bit like Harry Potter and Voldemort at the end of Deathly Hallows Part II. Soldier Boy drags Homelander down by his cape and flings him against a wall, leading to a two-on-one fight not dissimilar to Captain America: Civil War.

Hughie joins the fight against Homelander

Homelander manages to grab Butcher, but Hughie teleports in and saves him, using powers from his dose of temporary Compound V. Homelander tries to zap Hughie, but he manages to dodge it, and as Homelander charges towards him, he teleports away again.

Soldier Boy and Butcher then body-slam Homelander onto the flower and hold his arms down, at which point Hughie re-appears to help them.

Soldier Boy wins against Homelander, but he gets away

As Homelander tries with all his might to get the trio off him, Butcher tells Soldier Boy to “do it” – aka, use his massive energy blast to kill Homelander. Butcher tells Hughie to get out of the way before he loses his life, but he stays to hold Homelander down.

• Read More: The Boys: Who is Soldier Boy, and is he more powerful than Homelander?

Moments before the explosion, Homelander shoves everyone away and flees to the skies. For the first time, he was outnumbered and underpowered, so he had no choice but to escape. It’s unclear where he’s flown to, but one would imagine he’s licking his wounds before a climactic rematch.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Starr said: “It’s definitely a real problem when two great whites are swimming in a very small sea together.” Who knows what will happen when the two apex predators meet again.

Episode 7 of The Boys hits Prime Video next Friday, July 1.