http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/TheBoysDiabolicalS1E08OnePlusOneEqualsTwo
When Vought International unveils Homelander to the world, he's eager to prove himself as the next greatest hero. But when his first mission goes badly wrong, an unexpected ally starts him on the first steps to what he will become...
This short provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: The Vought scientists who created Homelander were horrid to him, to put it lightly.
- Black Dude Dies First: The Black woman who constantly insulted Homelander was the first of the Chemical Liberation Front to bite it.
- Blatant Lies:
- Homelander gives a lengthy series about his fake backstory as an All American Boy at his first press conference.
- After the explosion at the chemical plant, Homelander claims the eco-terrorists detonated a bomb that he and Black Noir couldn't stop in time.
- Bullying a Dragon: Even before he snaps and kills them, the eco-terrorists didn't really have a chance against Homelander, but tried to shoot him anyway.
- Destructive Saviour: Homelander's interference in the hostage situation only makes things worse as he eye beams a gun, killing a hostage, kills the rest of the hostages in a breakdown, and then accidentally blows up the chemical plant.
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Homelander clearly doesn't realise just how powerful he is, as his attempts to make a terrorist drop their gun by superheating it with his Eye Beams causes it to explode, something he clearly didn't anticipate, and he's clearly shocked when he hits a female terrorist and her skull comes apart in his hands.
- Eco-Terrorist: A group of these are the main conflict of the episode. They’re holding hostages besides they’re against the chemical plant ruining the environment.
- Facial Horror: One of the eco-terrorists who kept berating Homelander gets her lower jaw ripped off by him in a fit of rage.
- Flashback Echo: Homelander keeps getting these to his childhood being reared in a Vought laboratory.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: One of the eco-terrorists gets sliced in two by Homelander's Eye Beams.
- He Knows Too Much: Assuming Black Noir would blame him for how badly wrong the mission has gone, Homelander tries to kill him.
- Hero Insurance: Homelander tries to invoke his position of a hero after brutally (and accidentally) killing one of the eco-terrorists, only for their hostage to call him a monster.
- Hostage Situation: Homelander's first mission involves trying to resolve one of these with eco-terrorists having taken the staff of a chemical plant hostage.
- Idiot Hero: Homelander is closer to his comic book version: a Flying Brick and about just as smart. The terrorists routinely chew him out on his various screw ups, which tend to lead to Surprisingly Realistic Outcomes, and then he ends up trying to kill Black Noir as a way to cover his tracks.
- Irony:
- Homelander spends the entire episode worried that Black Noir will do anything to demote him, since Black Noir is Stan Edgar's chosen hero. Black Noir's actual job is to keep Vought's reputation clean and, as the ending shows, he's perfectly willing to cover for Homelander if it achieves that goal.
- Homelander gets especially nervous when Black Noir tricks him into blowing up the chemical plant, believing that this will be used to demote him. The actual reason Noir did this is so that he can have a convenient story to cover up the fiasco, which would spare Homelander of blame.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Implied by Stillwell, who rages that Stan Edgar partnering Homelander with Black Noir is so the latter can watch Homelander for anything that allows Edgar to demote her as his handler.
- Leave No Witnesses: After the mission goes completely off the rails, Black Noir kills the last witness and convinces Homelander to lie about it to preserve his image.
- Lethally Stupid: Homelander's attempt to disable the gun by heating it up only causes it to explode, killing one of the hostages. Everyone calls him out on this.
- Mythology Gag: Black Noir's role in enabling Homelander's worst tendencies and corrupting him is a nod to The Reveal in the comics that he actively conspired to drive Homelander insane as part of a twisted gambit to "fulfill his purpose".
- Neck Snap: This is how Black Noir disposes the last witness.
- Nice Guy: Tragically, Homelander shows he was once, at the very least, trying to be your average hero.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Black Noir helping Homelander cover up the disastrous failure of his first rescue mission is implied to have helped start Homelander's becoming the psychopath he is by the main series.
- Origins Episode: It is here that we learn about Homelander's beginnings.
- Poor Communication Kills: Given Black Noir's status as The Voiceless, his silence upon seeing the devastation left by Homelander is taken by the latter as judgmental condemnation, prompting Homelander to try and kill Noir in the belief he would report to Vought. It takes Noir killing the last hostage, and writing down on a notepad, that Homelander has nothing to worry about.
- Rage Breaking Point: After his rescue mission progressively goes worse and worse, Homelander starts to panic and completely snaps once being called a "monster". By the time he regains control, the control room is full of splattered remains of both the terrorists and their hostages.
- Raging Stiffie: Homelander ends up having an embarrassing erection after Stillwell teases him both with prospects of popularity and sexual favours.
- Start of Darkness: While the desire to be loved and popular was always there, the story is this for Homelander: doing whatever it takes to be celebrated as a hero and saviour. But more importantly, this is where he learns that he can get away with anything, as long as he has Vought PR department to cover his back.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Homelander has two such moments:
- First, he accidentally kills one of the hostages, and the situation starts to quickly slip out of any control, leading to further collateral damage.
- Then, after Black Noir tricks him into blowing the chemical plant, he is in utter panic, thinking the whole mission's fiasco is going to be pinned on him.
- Too Dumb to Live: The terrorists. Homelander is clearly Immune to Bullets and fast enough to disarm them before they could even blink, then crushes their guns with his bare hands without any effort. And he proposes them to come down quietly, without any need for violence. Their decision? They are still trying to fight back and threaten to kill one of the hostages with a defective gun.
- Unstoppable Rage: A combination of recurring flashbacks to his childhood and the terrorists and hostages calling him a monster cause Homelander to snap and kill everyone.
- The Vamp: Madelyn pulls it on Homelander, pushing him toward number one spot and constantly teasing him sexually while doing so.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Homelander gets this with Black Noir's help after the latter comes up with a convincing cover story for the press.
- Villainous Friendship: The beginning of Homelander and Black Noir's.
- Wham Shot: Black Noir killing the last hostage, shocking Homelander into hearing him out.
- Would Hit a Girl:
- At least two of the eco-terrorists are women and Homelander has no problem with harming them.
- Black Noir kills the last hostage, a woman, to help cover up Homelander's failure.
- Would Hurt a Child: Vought. Not only did they raise Homelander like an animal, they also regularly abused him physically.
- You Monster!: One of the hostages calls Homelander this after he accidentally gets one of the hostages killed and then gruesomely rips the jaw off one of the CLA members.
