Mortal Kombat 1’scharacter roster has expanded to welcome a handful of comic book personalities, and Homelander from The Boys is the latest superpowered addition.NetherRealm Studiosrecently debuted a three-minute gameplay trailer for the antagonist’s arrival to showcase his moves and fatalities on offer. However, several fans in the player pool were quick to compare the attacks to one ofDC’sfinest.
Joining Homelander in the fighting franchise’s 12th entry is Ermac, Omni-Man from Invincible, and Peacemaker - the John Cena version - from James Gunn’s HBO Max series of the same name, all of which arrived earlier in the year. Completing the game’s Kombat Pack will be Takeda, who’s scheduled to debut later in the year after Homelander’s arrival in June, and we praised the diversity in Mortal Kombat 1’s Kameo Fighter system in our 9.8 out of 10review.
I Couldn’t Be Happier About Mortal Kombat 1’s Treatment Of Reptile
After years in the shadows, the dino-man finally gets his due.
Homelander’s Similarities To Injustice’s Superman Are Disappointing Fans
Comic fiends already familiar with Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s milk-loving narcissist are perfectly aware that Homelander resembles Superman’s powers, aesthetic, and stature, and several viewers of Amazon’s live-action series consider him to be a parody of Clark Kent’s alter-hero.
Therefore, when MK1’s gameplay trailer for Homelander arrived, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see the red eyes, the billowing cape, or the hovering stance. The villain was seen going up against Sub-Zero and Liu Kang, showing the latter’s intestines being boiled by his laser beam. A taunt was also revealed, leaning into Homelander’s penchant for milk.
General feedback to the trailer was positive, but several fans immediately expressed discontent with Homelander’s moves, saying they were a copy of Superman’s attacks from theInjusticefranchise. One onlooker shared a heated response, saying “Wow this is crap most of Homelander’s moves are right from Injustice Superman. I recognize the same jump heat vision and punch combo he does and the grab is the same, would even say his uppercut is the same.”
Injustice is a superhero fighting franchise also developed by NetherRealm, featuring the characters from the DC Comics Universe, making this comparison inevitable. You could feel the waves of disappointment from other comments, including “So he’s basically Superman from Injustice” and “All his moves look like Injustice Superman”.
Sadly, actor Anthony Starr confirmed he was not returning to voice Homelander’s MK1 variant, much to the fans' disappointment. This was somewhat surprising since J.K. Simmons - the original voice actor for Omini-Man - voiced the Invincible patriarch for the game.
Early access to Homelander will begin on July 12, 2025, and will be available to play via purchasing Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Edition or the Kombat Pack.
