I would think a depowered Homelander would have a very difficult adjustment period, even beyond how he'd cope mentally with the loss of his powers.
He'd be in pristine shape for his age, certainly. His cholesterol levels would be fantastic, zero calcium build-up in his arteries, no past injuries, no sun damage, etc (hat tip to @bisexualhomelander for making me think of that with Cuts-verse). He'd have things he'd possibly need to see to though, like vaccinations. Season 5 showed he can have injections using his own lasers to get past the impenetrable layers of his skin and tissue, but Vought probably wouldn't have bothered getting him vaccinated as his V levels would make doing so moot. Getting into the logistics of superpowers, would he have developed antibodies at all? Or would his cells just be so impervious to infection that his immune response would never have even gotten activated? I am not a scientist so I'm genuinely wondering. Just imagine catching the flu for the first time in your life in your forties. I couldn't even blame him for being dramatic about being sick if he's never been ill before.
Then there's his experience with pain. For nearly all of his life, pain was purely sensational rather than an indicator of damage. It's something he learned to power through, but everyone with a regular body knows that pain can't be brushed off for long when one isn't immune to extreme temperatures and can be cut or crushed. Homelander is smart and knows the difference between super and baseline tolerances but it's academic. It hasn't been something he's actually had to concern himself with for a long time. I can easily imagine him casually not thinking to don an oven mitt or apply sunscreen.
There is also the high potential for strains, sprains, tears, and even breaks as he wouldn't acknowledge his body's signals and doesn't know his new limits when it comes to movement and weightlifting. When he was darting around the Oval Office, trying to work out an escape route before realizing his only option was to try to fight Billy, he dragged his foot awkwardly. It might be that a depowered Homelander is also a clumsy Homelander. As somewhat of a klutz myself, I sympathize. He would have been in for a lot of bruises if he'd lived, and not just because people would be lining up to punch him.
How often would he get headaches from straining his eyes? How high would he turn up the volume on the television or a headset trying to reach his old normal without realizing that he can damage his ears doing that?
Depowered Homelander learning to exist as a normal man would really be so interesting to see.
origamiaround
amandla
gracieabrams
germansingergirl
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
