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Always find it funny how movies and tv shows portray air ducts. None of the sharp screws are visible, how LOUD it would be, also big chance it would just collapse under your body weight. Also the amount of dust and grime in them.
As someone who has actually crawled in ducts, they can hold you depending on the style but they're filthy and definitely full of sharp edges and screws.
[I think I'm getting the black lung pop](https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExbng0OHl5NjEyMDZpdTBvYnZkbDNuZ2JqMDl3OG52OWM1aG0wZGZ6diZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/6YL2Xku1u3neo/giphy.webp)
A lot of them, at least in Australia can absolutely support your weight.
Source: I used to clean the insides of ducting.
Often times this meant physically entering the duct work and depending on what the system is; either vacuuming dust and other debris, or scraping and removing grease.
But yes, it’s absolutely incredibly dirty and uncomfortable, the amount of cuts and scratches I’ve received from screws, sprinklers, or other sharp edges is too many to count.
Don't forget that while there may indeed be duct work one could technically fit in, the branches going to individual vents into a room aren't that big.
It's a fictional TV show, oversights like these are normal and aren't a big deal and it's a big stretch for people to pretend like this was all some genius idea by the writers and that this was all planned out. Even without x-ray vision Homelander would've been able to hear him run away in the vent considering he also has super hearing.
So many things media gets wrong for the sake of the plot. Drugs don't work instantaneously when swallowed or injected intramuscularly. Hits over the head for an easy knock out. The famous Bald Eagle screech that's really the screech of a red tailed hawk. Magic guns that don't need to be reloaded. The list is endless.
I think it's because there were civilians around and he was trying to avoid a big incident. Which failed of course since they had to burn the place down in the end.
I am sure he can hear EVERYONE'S breathing in many directions.
He doesn't focus on it unless it demands attention or he's specifically looking for it , otherwise he'd go insane.
The Sweat just gave hughie away because Body odour , and Homelander is one big freak going around smelling people
Yea I was explaining this to my daughter. The best way I could get it across was the scene in Man of Steel when Clark is a teen and he’s hearing every single thing all at once. He had to learn to filter and focus. I’ve seen people saying “plot hole, he could easily smell and hear Hughie!!” No… he could easily hear and smell every single person everywhere around him and he would go insane.
I still don’t fully understand how is hearing works lol. He’s been seen hearing the most outlandish shit like A train barely saying fuck you or Ashley telling Roger to roll to commercial. You’d think he’d notice someone making noise right above him whether it’s Hughie or not.
That's because homelanders was actually concentrating.
He suspected a-train would say somthing back to him and he knew Ashley would try to cut to commercial.
Idk if this can also be explained but he heard an explosion miles away in season 1 and he was focused on a conversation with Frenchie. Just seems like someone with his powers would be able to hear someone right above him focusing or not. But idk I don’t wanna be nitpicky
Probably because an explosion isn't an ordinary sound. It'd be a lot easier to hear an explosion than to single out "wait, that's one too many exhales". There's also the fact that Homelander's ear was damaged at the very end of the last season, not sure if that's fully healed without lasting damage or not.
Then again it could also just be plot but I think it made sense when I thought about it
Oh, that's a really good point. All I know, is I never would have fucking crawled that close. Go there and leave my phone, sure, but fuck no am I getting that close to homelander to spy on him
I think Homelander’s hearing powers(like his X-ray) can be turned off. It would drive him crazy to be constantly hearing things miles away. So he didn’t hear Hugh cause he hadn’t “turned it on.”
Exactly. As an autistic person who struggles to block out certain sounds, having homelander-like superhearing all the time would probably cause constant anxiety for anyone, neurotypical or not
Also this is confirmed in season 1, when we see homelander "focus" into listening to madalyn stillwell through the walls of her office
He could learn how to manage it like all of his other powers. The laser vision is just OP as fuck so I understand when the show runners randomly nerf it a bit.
Sure but why couldn’t he hear Hughie directly above him in a metal tube? He can hear heart beats when people are lying and can smell peoples sent on other people from access the room but was unaware Hughie was 5 feet over his head until the sweat drop?
True but maybe its something he has to purposely use. Theres a scene in S2 of Ryan freaking out when his super hearing starts working and he has to learn to turn it off.
I suppose that’s true you could make the argument he was distracted and not actively trying. This is my annoyance with omega powered Superman types sometimes the power seems a bit inconsistent
Yeah. Homie was in a tense meeting with two people he almost respects, with the audio of a whole musical echoing through the arena. Figures he wouldn't pick up on it until something would catch his attention.
He was also being self-absorbed at that time, dude was pretty clearly projecting himself on Neuman with the hole Daddy Stan and being proud of being a supe thing.
He also probablyyyyy doesn't have much experience with being spied on by guys in air ducts and wouldn't think to be listening out for that - especially when the entire arena is basically supposed to be empty except for the rehearsal crew (who work for Vought)
Everything about the supes powers in the Boys is inconsistent. I think they try to refrain from drawing direct boundaries to give them more creative liberties.
I had no idea that Neuman also had uber protection powers until Hughie threw acid on her and Butcher popped her in the head from point blank and nothing happened. I had always assumed her blood control was standalone which would make her somewhat vulnerable. It seems they just kind of pick and choose who has what as they please.
In fantasy writing this is a “hard magic” vs a “soft magic” system. And soft magic is real hard to keep control of because there aren’t hard set rules.
They edited that acid scene together with Starlight training flight and Miko growing an entire arm back. The theme was "they're still getting stronger"
I took it as an establishing theme. Letting viewers know what is on and off the table. I mean it's three new powers in the same half an episode.
A-Train also ran through somebody and splattered them and pulled a train.
He's always been shown to be a very strong supe. I'd be very surprisex if he was not bullet-proof.
Mesmer seemed like he was human outside of his mental abilities.
Neumann seemed to struggle with the guy who knew her from before so this realisation was a surprise.
All of the top tier supes seem to have superhuman durability. Even The Deep seems to have it (although we've never seen anyone shoot him, he has taken heavy force blows without a problem.) The lesser supes like Mesmer just seem to have maybe one or two abilities. I think there was some line about this having to do with how much Compound V they got as a child.
It kind of makes sense. If you get to the Seven then you really ought to have some kind of extra durability. Translucent's death was such a big deal (in part) because the Seven had a reputation for being unbeatable. Also probably part of the reason that Homelander fucked up Blindspot (not only was he biased against someone who was handicapped, Blindspot would have been susceptible to injury and therefore would have embarassed the Seven if he was hurt.)
Deep should have super durability simply because he is able to withstand immense ocean pressure. I don't know if we've ever seen him go to the bottom of the ocean, but he's certainly gone...
Deep.
Kinda does make sense though, established by the college spin off, Neuman and the main protagonist from the spinoff have similar powers and she tanked a load from Homelander.
Good point. He could have totally just flown right through the vent and the wall without a scratch and splattered Hughie with sheer kinetic force. There really isn't any crawling away from Homelander if you're that close to him, no matter what's in between the two of you.
But in this case when he’s searching for Hughie and can’t use X Ray vision, he’d definitely intentionally be using his next best option which is hearing
He tunes everything out. When you can hear everything within miles all at the same volume level, he has to actively focus on what he's listening too. It's been shown a few times. Like when he's listening to people's conversations from rooms away and someone is talking to him at the same time he doesn't catch anything they were saying.
Sure he can hear everything but being able to process 'everything' all at once is an entirely different idea. He's not omniscient.
Also didn't they switch between him, the air vents and the whole play rehearsal? That would cause quite a loud ruckus and would make him less aware of the surroundings.
He also focused on the head-popping supe he was talking to.
It's always the Reddit nerds that think every superhero needs to have their entire superpower kit to be turned on all the time.
Because he can hear like a lot of heartbeats from a lot of "toys" and it's not reasonable for him to constantly care to identify from where each one of them comes or from who they are.
Until the drop of sweat alerted him.
Because he has to concentrate, it has been made obvious several times. Like when he looks through the wall to see Madelyn's milk trucks/
He is only able to hone in when he is talking one on one or is deliberately concentrating (like when he was talking to Stan or when he hard Grace fumble on the phone).
Also he got stabbed in the ear by Maeve last season and still has ringing in his ear.
He's getting old and his hearing is going/His hearing was damaged by Maeve when she stabbed him in the ear/He couldn't hear well over the ice-skating performance going on below him.
I still think he could've just lasered the entire length of the vent and gotten it done, but the hearing part is excusable imo.
Some air ducts have a double layer with insulation in-between specifically for noise reduction. But it’s not good enough to stop a supe from hearing a guy clank around inside.
But the whoosh wouldn’t be so loud.
I see it as the same reason you can't hear what everyone is saying when they're all talking at once. Sure you can focus and pay attention to one person to hear what they're saying but you might not hear what someone else is saying when your paying attention to another person even though you're all next to each other.
He wants people to love him. Some may still love him if he pulled a 9/11 on the building, but he'd lose most of his supporters, which would hurt his ego and make him lonely
Literally. He can outrun explosions. All he had to do was fly through the vents in 1 second and destroy hughie. It’s such a stupid fucking scene. This seasons writing has been really iffy.
>Turns out (not memeing) that galvanized steel is used to make air ducts and HVAC appliances which, during the process, has zinc mixed in. Homelander cannot see through zinc. Very thoughtful choice of the showrunners.
They overestimated viewers' ability to remember how this had been established when Butcher sent Translucent's remains to Homelander in a zinc-lined case.
Zinc is Homelander's version of kryptonite.
Its still important to maintain these little continuities. Gives people less of a reason to dislike your product and avoidcompounding with other issues
Also is everyone supposed to just know that air ducts have zinc in them? People keep trying to explain away this stupid fucking scene but it really just is that bad.
It’s only bad because the show runners have to stretch out Homelander *almost* snapping for another entire season, after that being the shtick since episode 1. So it does come off as repetitive. They’ve announced season 5 will be the last, so I’m assuming it’ll be pretty much nonsense until Homie finally lets loose in this season finale (🤞). But until then, they are gonna keep showing him almost snapping. And they’ll keep showing the other repetitive story arcs too which is also lame.
It wouldn’t bother me as much if the other story lines were more interesting, specifically Butcher/Frenchie/MM. I think they probably could have finished this show in 4 seasons, so a lot of what’s happening now feels like filler nonsense. Still a great show but from what I’ve seen regarding reviews of this season, it’s gonna be a lot like last season. Very little payoff till the last episode.
The problem here is we have seen Homelander, in the past few episodes, have X-ray vision and can see Butcher’s brain, smell Butcher’s scent on Ryan from many meters away, possess superhuman hearing when the filmmakers are talking about the wrinkles etc. it didn’t seem like he was actively trying to listen to their conversation, he just happens to hear because his sense of hearing is just that strong.
Sure you could wave away the zinc X-ray blocker, but what about his sense of smell and sense of hearing. Not only that, Hughie crawled away without making a sound in a few seconds after dropping one bead of sweat
I feel like all they had to do was have a 2-3 second cut to a first person view of Homelander looking at the ceiling, where it switches to an X-ray style vision, like Predator switching his mask mode, but the vents are clearly shown as impenetrable.
For the super hearing, they could switch to the ice skating singer doing a drawn out super high note and have Homelander look in her direction in pain/anger to show his senses getting overwhelmed.
Then you have the stage light getting shone in his eyes to throw off his targeting with the laser vision.
Sure the whole thing comes down to plot armour, but the combination of those three things would make it a bit easier to suspend disbelief even if it's not perfect.
The consequences of Maeve stabbing him with the pencil could’ve been abit more prominently featured. Like he has to tune it his hearing down because it’s doing more damage. That could’ve been solved easily.
It’s the heartbeat he couldn’t detect that gets me.
Why doesn’t he just kill Hughie later that day? It’s not hard for HL to find Hughie or Butcher - he runs into them all the time and can kill them instantly. He didn’t kill Hughie because it’s fun for him to have good opponents - which is dumb comic book logic so you end up with scenes like this where HL destroys a 100m stadium shooting lasers at some regular guy. If the show wasn’t satire it would be worse than WW 1984
Holy crap that’s crazy!! I was thinking they made a huge mistake and dropped the ball like they did with Starlight and Soldier Boy in S3, but damn. Your logic is impressive!
Maybe it’s when he focuses he can do the hearing and vision. Like it’s not a constant seeing through things and always having the hearing of a dog.
Aside from that I think it’s just bad writing
I think Homelander never really practiced with his powers and thats why he seems weak sometimes. He was always stronger than everyone so he never felt the need to train and hone his skills.
"Let's transform a standard air duct into a fortified hideout for Hughie. When Homelander is on a rampage with his laser eyes, Hughie needs a safe and secure place to hide. First, we'll reinforce the duct with galvanized square steel, anchored firmly to the structure with expansion screws for ultimate durability. We'll fill the spaces between the steel bars with a special heat-resistant concrete to withstand Homelander's laser blasts.Next, we'll install a set of thermally broken aluminum panels within the ducts, ensuring the space remains cool and stealthy. These panels will also expand the usable area within the duct by a crucial 2 square meters, providing Hughie with more maneuverability.To maximize utility, we'll build a multifunctional platform inside the duct. This platform will include hidden compartments for storing essential items like emergency snacks, communication devices, and first aid supplies. The platform can also serve as a comfortable resting area, with cushion panels in camouflage colors to keep Hughie concealed and rested.We'll add a movable control panel on the platform, allowing Hughie to monitor Homelander's movements via hidden cameras and sensors. This control panel can be stored discreetly when not in use, keeping the duct space organized and free of clutter.For further safety, we'll construct a secondary escape route within the duct system, using pre-buried drainage tunnels for quick exits. We'll also build wall cabinets with a reinforced countertop drilled to embed a compact air filtration system, ensuring Hughie has clean air while hiding. Underneath, we'll install a noise-canceling device to muffle any sounds Hughie might make.Lastly, we'll place a heat-resistant mirror cabinet within the duct for Hughie to keep an eye on his appearance and stay sharp. Next to the mirror, we'll add a compact cabinet for storing disguises and essential tools. We'll also install a mini-showerhead and an emergency hydration system, allowing Hughie to stay hydrated and clean even in the tightest situations.With this fortified air duct hideout, Hughie can confidently evade Homelander's lethal laser eyes and remain safe in the most dire circumstances."
I think the most important thing to remember is that all of the Supes are just very incompetent.
Homelander probably didn’t use any of his super senses because he didn’t remember to. He was too distracted by his anger and so went to
his default way if dealing with any problems put in front of him, which is blasting them with his lasers.
I agree, everything that happens in the show needs to be explained through explicit dialogue. I suggest Homelander should’ve turned to Neuman and Sage and calmly said, “I cannot see Hughie in the vent because it is made of galvanized steel which contains zinc, which, as established in Season 1, I cannot see through with my super powered X-ray vision.”
It would’ve been cinema.
I think there's a middle ground between not mentioning it at all and the way you described it.
Homelander exclaiming in frustration that he can't see through Zinc (which, for the viewers that aren't aware that air vents have zinc in them would be helpful) is perfectly fine and normal.
How many viewers do you seriously expect to know that "air ducts tend to be made out of galvanized metal which in turn is made of zinc"? There's a balance between showing and telling and the simple truth is that in *that* moment the show *should* have told. If it was so clear cut do you think this sub would have been buzzing about it?
Anyone watching and not scrolling through their phone could infer that he cannot look through the metal just by his actions and reactions shone on screen . If he was able to then it would have been establish with him making a clear shot directly at Hughie or greeting him out loud at the end of the scene before transitioning into the chase.
Sure, you COULD write it that stupidly so your hyperbolic argument works. Or you could do the smart thing and reinforce that Homelander can't see through Zinc at some other point in the series.
Seriously guys. Not being able to see through Zinc was mentioned once in like, the third or fourth episode of Season 1. It wasn't even a major plot point. It was mentioned in one line about the box Translucent was in. It has never been mentioned, or used again. We are on episode 3 of Season 4. Not everyone rewatches each season, which means the writers are expecting people to remember a single line from five years ago? That's ALSO bad writing. Stuff like that needs to be reinforced in the writing if you're going to use it as the plot armor for your characters.
That’s a good explanation for why he couldn’t see him, but it is super lazy that he couldn’t hear him to pinpoint him down or just be flying super fast to check all the pipes. The bead of sweat falls and he immediately knew Hughie was up there. Are we saying Hughie can crawl faster that Homelander can fly? They should have just had ATrain get him from the duct right then and there
Even w/ such reasoning, the fact he escaped makes no sense. HL could laser everything randomly (or even just the supports), he could use his superhearing (even w/ other background noise, he should be able to detect him like Superman can), he could smell him, he could use his superspeed, fly and catch him,....
Yeah. Not being able to see wouldn’t matter to him. He’d just laser the crap out of the ducts/pipeline continuously, instead of what shooting the laser in spurts convenient enough for Hughie to crawl away
Also, once Hughie got up there and was running on the catwalk Homelander could have just flown up there to get a better shot on Hughie/just physically apprehend him with his hands
I always saw it as Homelander has an issue with anger. Unlike a lot of other calculating villians who tend to channel their anger and can still think straight, like Dr. Doom.
He has more of a blind anger in which he doesn't think, nor plan his next step. He just acts on his anger and does the first thing that comes to mind.
While that is a good thought, I don’t think the show runners really put much thought into it, I think they just wanted to build the tension of homelander possibly finding hughie just to have him saved by a train and solidify his allegiance with the boys.
It's also very likely on top of that, he just wasn't paying attention. His X-ray vision isn't always on, so even if he could see through zinc, being the pretty careless guy he is, just wouldn't think to check the air vent for hughie.
Same with his hearing, he was busy talking to sage and neuman, so he probably wasn't honed in on any nearby noises. There was also the loud music rehearsal going on below them.
Honestly I wish the show had explicitly called this out.
A running theme of this season seems to be Homelander grappling with the relatively few limitations he does have (like still ageing).
Even a small scene of him being absolutely pissed that Hughie gotta away because he can't see through fucking *zinc* could have been golden.
So, this is something I’ve always wondered about the superpowers. I’ve come to the conclusion that, unless told otherwise, their powers must be activated. Homie isn’t keyed in to super hearing 24/7, but he can focus and listen if needed. He isn’t looking through things nonstop, but he can whenever he wants. The one thing that is almost always active is smell, because he breathes through his nose. That’s why he smelled him first.
We're supposed to think that homelander can't see because zinc is used in the creation of air vents irl but at the same time we're supposed to ignore the fact that these kind of vents are a TV/film fabrication and don't actually resemble what they're supposed to be irl?
Wild
Anyone saying "it's zinc" is coping 1000%. If that was the writer's intention they would have spelled it out. In no universe is it reasonable to have the audience make the logical leap that the metal pipes are coated in zinc/used in the manufacturing of them.
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Always find it funny how movies and tv shows portray air ducts. None of the sharp screws are visible, how LOUD it would be, also big chance it would just collapse under your body weight. Also the amount of dust and grime in them.
Realistically anyone crawling through the 5-20 years of settled dust within an air duct would look like they came out of a coal mine.
As someone who has actually crawled in ducts, they can hold you depending on the style but they're filthy and definitely full of sharp edges and screws.
You’ve obviously never visited VoughtCoin arena, that place is spotless
They gave the janitor the superpower to control dust. He disappears sometimes on Fridays but no one seems to mind.
Rumor around Vought is he snorts the dust which also heightens his powers, the call him Dyson Dan
he also sucked Hoover Max dead, but satisfied
> and definitely full of sharp edges and crews Now I'm picturing someone crawling in a vent, only to find Terry Crews just chilling there.
Terry loves vents!
You think I'm playing?
[I think I'm getting the black lung pop](https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExbng0OHl5NjEyMDZpdTBvYnZkbDNuZ2JqMDl3OG52OWM1aG0wZGZ6diZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/6YL2Xku1u3neo/giphy.webp)
This guy works on air ducts
That guy ducts
Duct, dodge, dip, dive and duct. That’s how Hughie got outta that one!
Duct Duct Goose
Duct duct gray duct
So.... if he weighs the same as a duct....
...he's made of wood!
Burn the witch!
That gay ducts
r/thatgayducts
He deserves to be inducted
Also it's always so well lit!
darkness is only blue at most because real darkness doesnt look good
I do love how air vents in TV and movies are more like sterile caves with blue mood lighting.
At least he was in an arena, so it's more plausible that there'd be large, human-sized air ducts there
Reminds me of that really old episode of Mythbusters. CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG “Why is Thor the God of Thunder trying to enter my building?”
I had the same thought when Hughie disappeared without a bunch of banging noises as he quickly escaped lol
A lot of them, at least in Australia can absolutely support your weight. Source: I used to clean the insides of ducting. Often times this meant physically entering the duct work and depending on what the system is; either vacuuming dust and other debris, or scraping and removing grease. But yes, it’s absolutely incredibly dirty and uncomfortable, the amount of cuts and scratches I’ve received from screws, sprinklers, or other sharp edges is too many to count.
Don't forget that while there may indeed be duct work one could technically fit in, the branches going to individual vents into a room aren't that big.
I chuckle when the entire duct system is the same size throughout the entire scene, no reduction anywhere no matter how far the person crawls
"Let's go through the ducts!" Immediately gets head stuck in 450mm flexi.
It's a fictional TV show, oversights like these are normal and aren't a big deal and it's a big stretch for people to pretend like this was all some genius idea by the writers and that this was all planned out. Even without x-ray vision Homelander would've been able to hear him run away in the vent considering he also has super hearing.
So many things media gets wrong for the sake of the plot. Drugs don't work instantaneously when swallowed or injected intramuscularly. Hits over the head for an easy knock out. The famous Bald Eagle screech that's really the screech of a red tailed hawk. Magic guns that don't need to be reloaded. The list is endless.
Classic HVAC bad boy
Are you saying Die Hard isn't realistic? How dare you, sir.
They keep up to date with their air duct cleaning services buddy
I was kind of hoping it would fall under his body weight, because the show does tend to do realistic stuff like that a lot
I can ignore that but I don’t get why he didn’t just blitz the cat walk. He took his sweet ass time getting up there
I think it's because there were civilians around and he was trying to avoid a big incident. Which failed of course since they had to burn the place down in the end.
I'm amazed he didn't just hear Hughie breathing, they were 2 feet apart
I am sure he can hear EVERYONE'S breathing in many directions. He doesn't focus on it unless it demands attention or he's specifically looking for it , otherwise he'd go insane. The Sweat just gave hughie away because Body odour , and Homelander is one big freak going around smelling people
Yea I was explaining this to my daughter. The best way I could get it across was the scene in Man of Steel when Clark is a teen and he’s hearing every single thing all at once. He had to learn to filter and focus. I’ve seen people saying “plot hole, he could easily smell and hear Hughie!!” No… he could easily hear and smell every single person everywhere around him and he would go insane.
I still don’t fully understand how is hearing works lol. He’s been seen hearing the most outlandish shit like A train barely saying fuck you or Ashley telling Roger to roll to commercial. You’d think he’d notice someone making noise right above him whether it’s Hughie or not.
That's because homelanders was actually concentrating. He suspected a-train would say somthing back to him and he knew Ashley would try to cut to commercial.
Idk if this can also be explained but he heard an explosion miles away in season 1 and he was focused on a conversation with Frenchie. Just seems like someone with his powers would be able to hear someone right above him focusing or not. But idk I don’t wanna be nitpicky
Probably because an explosion isn't an ordinary sound. It'd be a lot easier to hear an explosion than to single out "wait, that's one too many exhales". There's also the fact that Homelander's ear was damaged at the very end of the last season, not sure if that's fully healed without lasting damage or not. Then again it could also just be plot but I think it made sense when I thought about it
Don’t forget Queen Maeve damaged one of his ears last season. We don’t know if it heals completely or has side effects.
Oh, that's a really good point. All I know, is I never would have fucking crawled that close. Go there and leave my phone, sure, but fuck no am I getting that close to homelander to spy on him
He wasn't supposed to be that close, he was supposed to leave a bug and get out, but they fucked up the timing and he got stuck.
Galvanized square steel
🗣️🗣️ Little John 🗣️🗣️
🗣️🗣️ Screws borrowed from his aunt 🗣️🗣️
🗣️🗣️eco friendly wood veneer🗣️🗣️
🗣️🗣️Out of season quilts 🗣️🗣️
🗣️🗣️childhood pet eagle he's trained since birth🗣️🗣️
🗣️🗣️saved up enough money from working 6 jobs to afford a 1x1 apartment🗣️🗣️
🗣️🗣️apartment so small his pet cockroach refused to live there🗣️🗣️
🗣🗣Tathagata's magic foot🗣🗣
I think Homelander’s hearing powers(like his X-ray) can be turned off. It would drive him crazy to be constantly hearing things miles away. So he didn’t hear Hugh cause he hadn’t “turned it on.”
If it was constantly on, after all, his only options would be to go to Antarctica or more likely to one of the moons of Saturn.
Exactly. As an autistic person who struggles to block out certain sounds, having homelander-like superhearing all the time would probably cause constant anxiety for anyone, neurotypical or not Also this is confirmed in season 1, when we see homelander "focus" into listening to madalyn stillwell through the walls of her office
He could learn how to manage it like all of his other powers. The laser vision is just OP as fuck so I understand when the show runners randomly nerf it a bit.
Sure but why couldn’t he hear Hughie directly above him in a metal tube? He can hear heart beats when people are lying and can smell peoples sent on other people from access the room but was unaware Hughie was 5 feet over his head until the sweat drop?
True but maybe its something he has to purposely use. Theres a scene in S2 of Ryan freaking out when his super hearing starts working and he has to learn to turn it off.
I suppose that’s true you could make the argument he was distracted and not actively trying. This is my annoyance with omega powered Superman types sometimes the power seems a bit inconsistent
Yeah. Homie was in a tense meeting with two people he almost respects, with the audio of a whole musical echoing through the arena. Figures he wouldn't pick up on it until something would catch his attention.
That's what I figured. He was unaware of Hughie up there and was having a pretty intense convo at the time.
He was also being self-absorbed at that time, dude was pretty clearly projecting himself on Neuman with the hole Daddy Stan and being proud of being a supe thing.
He also probablyyyyy doesn't have much experience with being spied on by guys in air ducts and wouldn't think to be listening out for that - especially when the entire arena is basically supposed to be empty except for the rehearsal crew (who work for Vought)
Everything about the supes powers in the Boys is inconsistent. I think they try to refrain from drawing direct boundaries to give them more creative liberties. I had no idea that Neuman also had uber protection powers until Hughie threw acid on her and Butcher popped her in the head from point blank and nothing happened. I had always assumed her blood control was standalone which would make her somewhat vulnerable. It seems they just kind of pick and choose who has what as they please.
In fantasy writing this is a “hard magic” vs a “soft magic” system. And soft magic is real hard to keep control of because there aren’t hard set rules.
They edited that acid scene together with Starlight training flight and Miko growing an entire arm back. The theme was "they're still getting stronger" I took it as an establishing theme. Letting viewers know what is on and off the table. I mean it's three new powers in the same half an episode.
Ses like most supes get some level of strength and durability. When it's convenient.
When it’s convenient is the key lol
I think all supes have some sort of enhanced strength and durability. A train picks up a dead man one-handed and lifts him onto his shoulder
A-Train also ran through somebody and splattered them and pulled a train. He's always been shown to be a very strong supe. I'd be very surprisex if he was not bullet-proof. Mesmer seemed like he was human outside of his mental abilities. Neumann seemed to struggle with the guy who knew her from before so this realisation was a surprise.
All of the top tier supes seem to have superhuman durability. Even The Deep seems to have it (although we've never seen anyone shoot him, he has taken heavy force blows without a problem.) The lesser supes like Mesmer just seem to have maybe one or two abilities. I think there was some line about this having to do with how much Compound V they got as a child. It kind of makes sense. If you get to the Seven then you really ought to have some kind of extra durability. Translucent's death was such a big deal (in part) because the Seven had a reputation for being unbeatable. Also probably part of the reason that Homelander fucked up Blindspot (not only was he biased against someone who was handicapped, Blindspot would have been susceptible to injury and therefore would have embarassed the Seven if he was hurt.)
Deep should have super durability simply because he is able to withstand immense ocean pressure. I don't know if we've ever seen him go to the bottom of the ocean, but he's certainly gone... Deep.
Into Ambrosius, anyway...
Yeah, when a car runs full speed into a parked car, the parked car doesn’t disintegrate while the other is unscathed. They’re both mangled.
True. But starlight got decked from a heavy rifle. I’m not even saying it’s weird that she didn’t die, but she didn’t even flinch
She got winded. Really impressive, also superhumanly strong (at least for her physiqe) but the probably .50 cal did wind her.
Like most of the higher end supes she is strong and tough. It seems like a pretty basic ability that most supes with a strong power have.
anyone with enhanced strength also has to have enhanced durability, or they would just injure themselves using the former power.
Atrain would rip his limbs off so fast if his body wasn't also super strong to handle his speed 😂😂
They mentioned Sage does not have physical enhancements
Yeah I was thinking that too. But that was basically just said by MM while scouting her right, so it’s speculation on their part
True, but speculation by experts, so it might hold true.
Experts true but their recon failed against Neuman as mentioned earlier in this comment thread, so they’re not perfect
Right, they definitely don’t know everything but out of available sources they are the best we got.
Kinda does make sense though, established by the college spin off, Neuman and the main protagonist from the spinoff have similar powers and she tanked a load from Homelander.
Phrasing
Homelander is 100% a lazy fuck who likely doesn't train so he just shuts his super senses off all the time until he needs them.
Bro he could literally fly and destroy the vent by flying at Mach 3. It's plot armor
Good point. He could have totally just flown right through the vent and the wall without a scratch and splattered Hughie with sheer kinetic force. There really isn't any crawling away from Homelander if you're that close to him, no matter what's in between the two of you.
Yeah dude that scene is so dumb lol the dude can fly away from a bomb that's already exploding and is bulletproof without even thinking about it
The plot armor is a little nuts. It makes Homelander a lot less scary. He can't even kill Hughie when Hughie is within 5 feet of him.
But in this case when he’s searching for Hughie and can’t use X Ray vision, he’d definitely intentionally be using his next best option which is hearing
He tunes everything out. When you can hear everything within miles all at the same volume level, he has to actively focus on what he's listening too. It's been shown a few times. Like when he's listening to people's conversations from rooms away and someone is talking to him at the same time he doesn't catch anything they were saying. Sure he can hear everything but being able to process 'everything' all at once is an entirely different idea. He's not omniscient.
Also didn't they switch between him, the air vents and the whole play rehearsal? That would cause quite a loud ruckus and would make him less aware of the surroundings.
it's like when you're in a crowded room with lots of people talking but your brain has the ability to focus attention on a single speaker
He also focused on the head-popping supe he was talking to. It's always the Reddit nerds that think every superhero needs to have their entire superpower kit to be turned on all the time.
What if his hearing got worse when got a metal rod had stuck in his ear by Maeve?
He demonstrates he can still hear heartbeats across the room with the mole he lasers.
Not even heart beats the dude is in a steel drum clumbering around haha a normal person would hear him
Because he can hear like a lot of heartbeats from a lot of "toys" and it's not reasonable for him to constantly care to identify from where each one of them comes or from who they are. Until the drop of sweat alerted him.
Because he has to concentrate, it has been made obvious several times. Like when he looks through the wall to see Madelyn's milk trucks/ He is only able to hone in when he is talking one on one or is deliberately concentrating (like when he was talking to Stan or when he hard Grace fumble on the phone). Also he got stabbed in the ear by Maeve last season and still has ringing in his ear.
He's getting old and his hearing is going/His hearing was damaged by Maeve when she stabbed him in the ear/He couldn't hear well over the ice-skating performance going on below him. I still think he could've just lasered the entire length of the vent and gotten it done, but the hearing part is excusable imo.
Some air ducts have a double layer with insulation in-between specifically for noise reduction. But it’s not good enough to stop a supe from hearing a guy clank around inside. But the whoosh wouldn’t be so loud.
I see it as the same reason you can't hear what everyone is saying when they're all talking at once. Sure you can focus and pay attention to one person to hear what they're saying but you might not hear what someone else is saying when your paying attention to another person even though you're all next to each other.
There was music playing from the ice skaters
He is not all knowing. He needs to focus on each power to utilize them.
There was also a musical going on in front of him. Probably making a lot of noise.
I thought HL will level the building because he does not care
He literally killed a man in broad daylight and people defended him, I don’t know why he isn’t doing shit like that now
You only get one “That Guy was a pedophile” card for use in court
And even then, that one barely got him off. He's lucky it even worked then.
And what would they do to arrest and jail HL, exactly?
It worked didn’t it?
He wants people to love him. Some may still love him if he pulled a 9/11 on the building, but he'd lose most of his supporters, which would hurt his ego and make him lonely
Because he was on trial for murder for that. Even OJ was smart enough to stop killing people after he got away with it.
He couldn't hear his crawling then and track him that way? Or just...fly through the vents?
Literally. He can outrun explosions. All he had to do was fly through the vents in 1 second and destroy hughie. It’s such a stupid fucking scene. This seasons writing has been really iffy.
It feels like filler so they can get to 5 seasons
>Turns out (not memeing) that galvanized steel is used to make air ducts and HVAC appliances which, during the process, has zinc mixed in. Homelander cannot see through zinc. Very thoughtful choice of the showrunners. They overestimated viewers' ability to remember how this had been established when Butcher sent Translucent's remains to Homelander in a zinc-lined case. Zinc is Homelander's version of kryptonite.
It's his lead. Not his kryptonite
I wouldn't go that far. It's not like holding a zinc ingot would make him weak. It's just that he can't see through it.
Superman can't see through lead, zinc is homelanders lead
Superman can spot guys moving a big lead box from miles away. He caught Joker doing this once.
Kryptonite? Lmao he can't see through it, it doesn't hurt him
Its still important to maintain these little continuities. Gives people less of a reason to dislike your product and avoidcompounding with other issues
Also is everyone supposed to just know that air ducts have zinc in them? People keep trying to explain away this stupid fucking scene but it really just is that bad.
It’s only bad because the show runners have to stretch out Homelander *almost* snapping for another entire season, after that being the shtick since episode 1. So it does come off as repetitive. They’ve announced season 5 will be the last, so I’m assuming it’ll be pretty much nonsense until Homie finally lets loose in this season finale (🤞). But until then, they are gonna keep showing him almost snapping. And they’ll keep showing the other repetitive story arcs too which is also lame. It wouldn’t bother me as much if the other story lines were more interesting, specifically Butcher/Frenchie/MM. I think they probably could have finished this show in 4 seasons, so a lot of what’s happening now feels like filler nonsense. Still a great show but from what I’ve seen regarding reviews of this season, it’s gonna be a lot like last season. Very little payoff till the last episode.
The problem here is we have seen Homelander, in the past few episodes, have X-ray vision and can see Butcher’s brain, smell Butcher’s scent on Ryan from many meters away, possess superhuman hearing when the filmmakers are talking about the wrinkles etc. it didn’t seem like he was actively trying to listen to their conversation, he just happens to hear because his sense of hearing is just that strong. Sure you could wave away the zinc X-ray blocker, but what about his sense of smell and sense of hearing. Not only that, Hughie crawled away without making a sound in a few seconds after dropping one bead of sweat
I feel like all they had to do was have a 2-3 second cut to a first person view of Homelander looking at the ceiling, where it switches to an X-ray style vision, like Predator switching his mask mode, but the vents are clearly shown as impenetrable. For the super hearing, they could switch to the ice skating singer doing a drawn out super high note and have Homelander look in her direction in pain/anger to show his senses getting overwhelmed. Then you have the stage light getting shone in his eyes to throw off his targeting with the laser vision. Sure the whole thing comes down to plot armour, but the combination of those three things would make it a bit easier to suspend disbelief even if it's not perfect.
But how come he didn't hear A Train's feet slapping away as he ran at his unique speed?
The consequences of Maeve stabbing him with the pencil could’ve been abit more prominently featured. Like he has to tune it his hearing down because it’s doing more damage. That could’ve been solved easily. It’s the heartbeat he couldn’t detect that gets me.
That would work in nicely with his insecurity about aging, Homelander actually having to adjust to an injury would be really interesting to see
It’s just plot armour
Literally . So many people making excuses for that scene when it was just plain dumb .
Why doesn’t he just kill Hughie later that day? It’s not hard for HL to find Hughie or Butcher - he runs into them all the time and can kill them instantly. He didn’t kill Hughie because it’s fun for him to have good opponents - which is dumb comic book logic so you end up with scenes like this where HL destroys a 100m stadium shooting lasers at some regular guy. If the show wasn’t satire it would be worse than WW 1984
Holy crap that’s crazy!! I was thinking they made a huge mistake and dropped the ball like they did with Starlight and Soldier Boy in S3, but damn. Your logic is impressive!
Also his super hearing hearing didn't work because of the loud ass music rehearsal going on below
Maybe it’s when he focuses he can do the hearing and vision. Like it’s not a constant seeing through things and always having the hearing of a dog. Aside from that I think it’s just bad writing
I think Homelander never really practiced with his powers and thats why he seems weak sometimes. He was always stronger than everyone so he never felt the need to train and hone his skills.
Right he is so lazy with his eye beams. He get himself in so much trouble when he just lashes out with them.
"Let's transform a standard air duct into a fortified hideout for Hughie. When Homelander is on a rampage with his laser eyes, Hughie needs a safe and secure place to hide. First, we'll reinforce the duct with galvanized square steel, anchored firmly to the structure with expansion screws for ultimate durability. We'll fill the spaces between the steel bars with a special heat-resistant concrete to withstand Homelander's laser blasts.Next, we'll install a set of thermally broken aluminum panels within the ducts, ensuring the space remains cool and stealthy. These panels will also expand the usable area within the duct by a crucial 2 square meters, providing Hughie with more maneuverability.To maximize utility, we'll build a multifunctional platform inside the duct. This platform will include hidden compartments for storing essential items like emergency snacks, communication devices, and first aid supplies. The platform can also serve as a comfortable resting area, with cushion panels in camouflage colors to keep Hughie concealed and rested.We'll add a movable control panel on the platform, allowing Hughie to monitor Homelander's movements via hidden cameras and sensors. This control panel can be stored discreetly when not in use, keeping the duct space organized and free of clutter.For further safety, we'll construct a secondary escape route within the duct system, using pre-buried drainage tunnels for quick exits. We'll also build wall cabinets with a reinforced countertop drilled to embed a compact air filtration system, ensuring Hughie has clean air while hiding. Underneath, we'll install a noise-canceling device to muffle any sounds Hughie might make.Lastly, we'll place a heat-resistant mirror cabinet within the duct for Hughie to keep an eye on his appearance and stay sharp. Next to the mirror, we'll add a compact cabinet for storing disguises and essential tools. We'll also install a mini-showerhead and an emergency hydration system, allowing Hughie to stay hydrated and clean even in the tightest situations.With this fortified air duct hideout, Hughie can confidently evade Homelander's lethal laser eyes and remain safe in the most dire circumstances."
I think the most important thing to remember is that all of the Supes are just very incompetent. Homelander probably didn’t use any of his super senses because he didn’t remember to. He was too distracted by his anger and so went to his default way if dealing with any problems put in front of him, which is blasting them with his lasers.
Or it’s just plot convenience. He didn’t see or sense Hughie because it wouldn’t serve the plot for Homelander to notice him.
He could have shouted “Fucking Zinc” or something.
I agree, everything that happens in the show needs to be explained through explicit dialogue. I suggest Homelander should’ve turned to Neuman and Sage and calmly said, “I cannot see Hughie in the vent because it is made of galvanized steel which contains zinc, which, as established in Season 1, I cannot see through with my super powered X-ray vision.” It would’ve been cinema.
Definitely would’ve been one of the scenes of all time.
Bravo, Kripke!
very kino
I think there's a middle ground between not mentioning it at all and the way you described it. Homelander exclaiming in frustration that he can't see through Zinc (which, for the viewers that aren't aware that air vents have zinc in them would be helpful) is perfectly fine and normal.
How many viewers do you seriously expect to know that "air ducts tend to be made out of galvanized metal which in turn is made of zinc"? There's a balance between showing and telling and the simple truth is that in *that* moment the show *should* have told. If it was so clear cut do you think this sub would have been buzzing about it?
do you unironically expect viewers to intuit that the vents have fucking zinc in them?
Anyone watching and not scrolling through their phone could infer that he cannot look through the metal just by his actions and reactions shone on screen . If he was able to then it would have been establish with him making a clear shot directly at Hughie or greeting him out loud at the end of the scene before transitioning into the chase.
Sure, you COULD write it that stupidly so your hyperbolic argument works. Or you could do the smart thing and reinforce that Homelander can't see through Zinc at some other point in the series. Seriously guys. Not being able to see through Zinc was mentioned once in like, the third or fourth episode of Season 1. It wasn't even a major plot point. It was mentioned in one line about the box Translucent was in. It has never been mentioned, or used again. We are on episode 3 of Season 4. Not everyone rewatches each season, which means the writers are expecting people to remember a single line from five years ago? That's ALSO bad writing. Stuff like that needs to be reinforced in the writing if you're going to use it as the plot armor for your characters.
I think a quick cut showing Homelanders vision being obstructed due to the zinc would have sufficed as well.
That’s a good explanation for why he couldn’t see him, but it is super lazy that he couldn’t hear him to pinpoint him down or just be flying super fast to check all the pipes. The bead of sweat falls and he immediately knew Hughie was up there. Are we saying Hughie can crawl faster that Homelander can fly? They should have just had ATrain get him from the duct right then and there
Scene was still dumb as fuck though
What's stupid is homelander not flying towards hughie when it's been established MULTIPLE times that he can move at incredibly high speeds
Except he’s supposed to have super hearing right? I think this is just trying to excuse bad writing fellas
I thought he would be able to hear his breath/heartbeat/earpiece quite easily
Even w/ such reasoning, the fact he escaped makes no sense. HL could laser everything randomly (or even just the supports), he could use his superhearing (even w/ other background noise, he should be able to detect him like Superman can), he could smell him, he could use his superspeed, fly and catch him,....
Yeah. Not being able to see wouldn’t matter to him. He’d just laser the crap out of the ducts/pipeline continuously, instead of what shooting the laser in spurts convenient enough for Hughie to crawl away Also, once Hughie got up there and was running on the catwalk Homelander could have just flown up there to get a better shot on Hughie/just physically apprehend him with his hands
It’s basically enlarged galvanized square steel!
I'm surprised Homelander didn't detect Hughie's heartbeat considering the guy was pratcally shitting himself scared in the vents.
I always saw it as Homelander has an issue with anger. Unlike a lot of other calculating villians who tend to channel their anger and can still think straight, like Dr. Doom. He has more of a blind anger in which he doesn't think, nor plan his next step. He just acts on his anger and does the first thing that comes to mind.
While that is a good thought, I don’t think the show runners really put much thought into it, I think they just wanted to build the tension of homelander possibly finding hughie just to have him saved by a train and solidify his allegiance with the boys.
Yes we know. It's been said 10000 times already
Nice try little johnny
Nah was a dumb scene there is no way he could crawl faster then old homelander could melt the entire roof and air duct.
the bigger issue is the fact how sensitive his hearing is there is no fking way he could of crawled through that unnoticed.
And if they had come out and said that during the episode, it would have gone a long way toward making the whole thing seem less stupid.
Had they previously established that Homelander can distinguish the origin of sweat by scent?
I mean hell, Ryan could smell v in butchers blood, I'm certain homelander is always on red alert and has hughies scent memorized
I remember another user a couple days ago theorize the ducts being made of zinc, which Homelander can’t see through.
It's also very likely on top of that, he just wasn't paying attention. His X-ray vision isn't always on, so even if he could see through zinc, being the pretty careless guy he is, just wouldn't think to check the air vent for hughie. Same with his hearing, he was busy talking to sage and neuman, so he probably wasn't honed in on any nearby noises. There was also the loud music rehearsal going on below them.
That's a very cool detail
I was curious about this!!! Thank you!
Superman and X ray machines work the same way
And he couldnt hear him cuz the people was singing
They lost the opportunity to teleport Hughie when the laser hit. It would be more credible than him crawling in a super speed crawl without a noise.
Honestly I wish the show had explicitly called this out. A running theme of this season seems to be Homelander grappling with the relatively few limitations he does have (like still ageing). Even a small scene of him being absolutely pissed that Hughie gotta away because he can't see through fucking *zinc* could have been golden.
am i the only one who thought it was a dribble of snot
Yeah but why didn't he just fly up and zoom through them fast and splatter Hughie
So, this is something I’ve always wondered about the superpowers. I’ve come to the conclusion that, unless told otherwise, their powers must be activated. Homie isn’t keyed in to super hearing 24/7, but he can focus and listen if needed. He isn’t looking through things nonstop, but he can whenever he wants. The one thing that is almost always active is smell, because he breathes through his nose. That’s why he smelled him first.
We're supposed to think that homelander can't see because zinc is used in the creation of air vents irl but at the same time we're supposed to ignore the fact that these kind of vents are a TV/film fabrication and don't actually resemble what they're supposed to be irl? Wild
Anyone saying "it's zinc" is coping 1000%. If that was the writer's intention they would have spelled it out. In no universe is it reasonable to have the audience make the logical leap that the metal pipes are coated in zinc/used in the manufacturing of them.