Earlier this month it was leaked that Homelander would be part ofMortal Kombat 1’s DLC packs. This would continue the franchise’s tradition of having new fighter characters who feel very out of place with the rest of the series. If the leaks are true, Homelander’s biggest strength inMortal Kombat 1would not be gameplay related.
Since NetherRelm began developing the franchise, theMortal KombatandInjusticeseries have had the characters trash-talk one another before they start fighting. This ranges from friendly banter to bitter insults and often makes for a fun intro. If theMortal Kombat 1DLC leaksare to be believed, Homelander will be joining in this and will be the biggest talker of them all.
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Homelander’s Villainous Role In The Boys
Like Omni-Man inInvincible, Homelander functions as a Superman parody. At first, the show drags its feet about how bad the character really is. Billy Butcher describes him as a boy scout who doesn’t do anything wrong and even comes off as the most warm and welcoming member of The Seven. As the series goes on, however,Homelander does many horrible things inThe Boysand is easily the most evil character in a show full of morally reprehensible individuals.
As the first season progresses, the character is revealed to be incredibly narcissistic, cruel, and brutal. He kills on a whim on more than one occasion, has no qualms about sexual harassment, makes it known that he is the most powerful one in the room, and bullies everyone around him using that fact.
The second season goes even further with this by making his primary love interest an actual Nazi. Homelander begins to completely lose his mind inThe Boys' third season, which sets him up as a deliberate Donald Trump parody. These various traits set up all kinds of possibilities for intro animations inMortal Kombat 1.
How Mortal Kombat 1 Can Use Homelander’s Biggest Character Strength
NetherRealm’s games start their fights with animated intros where the two characters initially trash-talk each other. At the end of the fight, there are alsovictory animations forMortal Kombatwhere the characters gloat about their success. This is where the game could play to Homelander’s biggest strength. At the end of the day, the character is a bully and would likely throw all kinds of insults at fellow characters.
A lot of thebest intros in theMortal Kombatfranchiseare full of characters mercilessly roasting each other and this is where Homelander would fit right in. His intros could range from mocking his opponents' appearance and insulting their abilities to threatening their lives in obscene ways. When the character is defeated by other members of theMortal Kombatroster, it would also likely show the character as confused and panicky as he’s finally up against a character who can hurt him. Either way, Homelander’s dialogue would likely be far more memorable than how the character plays in the game itself.
It’s still too soon to say what the developer has in store for DLC characters for the upcoming game since nothing has been confirmed. Leaks like this have been reliable in the past but, just as often, they turn out to be completely false. Theofficial gameplay reveal forMortal Kombat 1is set to happen in June and NetherRealm may decide to reveal whatever DLC characters it has planned for the upcoming game. If the leaks do turn out to be true, though, it’s fairly clear that Homelander’s biggest contribution to the game won’t be in how he plays, but in how much he can trash-talk the other characters.
Mortal Kombat 1releases September 19 on PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
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