Diabolical has such an interesting take on Homelander at the time of his debut, and I literally can't stop thinking about it
What do you mean Homelander left the lab with parts of that sweet boy Vogelbaum said he was still intact? His solution to dealing with terrorists was "hey guys, please surrender and I will take your concerns about the environment to the right people so your cause is still heard". He was oddly child-like throughout his first mission, like a little boy playing at being a hero the way he's seen in movies or comic books
It also makes his and Stillwell's relationship very interesting. I'm pretty sure he's like 18 or 20 or something in that episode (I read somewhere he was eighteen but that could have been wrong), and Stillwell is already priming him for that weird relationship they had in the show, and I just can't help but wonder when they met
I also really liked that he kind of blacked out when he first got really violent. It looked like this disassociation of his was triggered by the violent mistakes he made and everyone yelling and screaming which has some fascinating implications














