Five years after its debut, fan reactions to Starr's season 4 performance remain strong.

However, Starr is no stranger to commanding the screen through morally complex characters, and I got a glimpse of this six years before the release of The Boys, in Banshee. In this show, Starr was able to showcase his now-signature ability to portray characters who are both likable and criminal — paving the way for all the ingredients behind his strong characterization of Homelander.

The Boys' Antony Starr Played The Lead Role In Banshee

Themes Of Identity Come Into Focus

Anthony Starr as Lucas Hood in Banshee

In Banshee's three-year run from 2013 to 2016, prior to the actor ing cast, Starr took on the lead role of an ex-con who assumes the identity of a murdered sheriff named Lucas Hood to flee his pursuers. In doing so, he works to achieve a balance between Hood and his own criminal activities. It's this struggle for identity where I see the seeds of Homelander being firmly planted six years after Hood's introduction — in playing both dynamics of the law against one another in cop and criminal respectively.

Homelander with a sinister smile in The Boys season 3
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I got a firsthand perspective of how invested Starr's unnamed ex-con becomes in working as an officer of the law and how his understanding of justice plays out. This was made clear in Banshee's final season as Hood worked to take down the serial killer responsible for a slew of murders, including his friend Rebecca's. While Starr works to catch the killer, his angle is one rooted in brutal revenge, which is where the portrayal of Hood blurs the ethical lines intended to separate cops and criminals.

Starr's Lucus Hood Is The Perfect Anti-Hero

Shades of Gray Replace Good and Evil

Starr's introduction as an unnamed ex-con in Banshee made it difficult for me to truly define Hood's moral com. While he had a reputation for being a thief, he was a loving father to his daughter Deva. His criminal past left him with little inhibitions when it came to breaking the law, but this helped Hood as a sheriff, as he wasn't held back by a heroic code when working to achieve justice. It's this flawed sense of justice that demonstrated Hood was able to go where others on his team wouldn't — epitomizing thinking like a criminal to catch one.

Antony Starr showcased that he knew how to toy with my traditional notions of good and evil.

In Banshee, by playing a criminal masquerading as a sheriff who steadily redeems his criminal past by leaning into it, Antony Starr showcased that he knew how to toy with my traditional notions of good and evil. Starr works to endear himself to audiences, showcasing his ability to be relatable and likable enough for me to remain engaged with him as he disregards heroic ethics. As Homelander in The Boys, Starr's mastery of this is on full display as he repels me from his character, all while keeping me clamoring for more of his unique brand of chaos.