- Primary Subject: The Boys Season 5 Finale
- Key Update: Creator Eric Kripke explained that the villain was depowered and killed quickly to expose how truly pathetic authoritarian figures become once stripped of their power.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: May 21, 2026
- Quick Answer: [SPOILER] dies quickly because Kimiko uses Soldier Boy's nuclear powers to depower him, allowing Billy Butcher to violently kill him before he can take Compound V again.
After seven years and five seasons, The Boys has officially come to an end, but many fans were surprised to see its most hated character die so quickly.
The finale wrapped up the fates of many major characters with unexpected twists and turns.
So following the shocking turn of events, creator Eric Kripke addressed one of the biggest deaths in the The Boys Season 5 finale.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead. Read with caution.
Why [Spoiler] Died Quickly in The Boys Season 5 Finale?
The Boys Season 5 finale has finally brought an end to the long-running rivalry between Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and Homelander (Anthony Starr).
Searching for ways to end Homelander’s reign of terror was not an easy task, but it was ultimately revealed that his weakness would be his downfall, with Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) playing a key role.
After gaining her newfound powers from Soldier Boy, she delivers a critical hit that renders Homelander powerless and allows Butcher to deliver the killing blow.
But as it was a quick and easy death, Kripke admitted, “There’s a flaw to that.”
“He could just take V again. Just because they take away his powers doesn’t mean that it would be permanent,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “You can’t actually let him walk out of that room, because he’s just one shot of V away from being back.”
However, the showrunner also wanted to show that even if Homelander regained his powers, “it was all for nothing.”
“But we wanted that experience; we wanted the audience to have a taste of how pathetic this guy is, and weak, once you take away all of his bluster,” he explained.
For fans who wonder why Homelander became so submissive so easily, Kripke likened the character to “Saddam Hussein getting pulled out of that spider hole and Hitler in the bunker.”
“Any authoritarian, once you really take away their power, is automatically and almost immediately pathetic and cowardly, and begging for their lives,” he revealed. “We’ve done the homework. It’s pretty accurate to how they respond when they’re actually facing real death.”
How Does Homelander Lose His Power in The Boys Season 5 Finale?
It was in The Boys Season 5 Episode 4 that Soldier Boy first revealed that Homelander’s true weakness was the radiation chamber in Fort Harmony, exposing him to enriched uranium that significantly weakened him.
Soldier Boy described a dose of enriched uranium as like a “stomach flu,” which made supes weak, though it could not kill them.
So, after Kimiko gained Soldier Boy’s nuclear blast through the radiation process, she used it against Homelander and made him completely powerless.
After being depowered, there was nothing Homelander could do but beg Billy Butcher not to kill him. But knowing how Butcher hated Homelander, he did not hear his cries, beat him to a pulp and violently pried his skull open with a crowbar.
The Boys Seasons 1 to 5 are streaming on Prime Video.
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