Summary
- Homelander's love of milk in Mortal Kombat 1 stems from his traumatic lab-raised childhood, highlighting his unhinged psyche.
- The bizarre relationship with Madelyn Stillwell adds to Homelander's glass of milk fetish, showing his damaged upbringing in The Boys.
- Despite the meme-worthy milk obsession, Homelander's dark undertones make him a compellingly dangerous character in Mortal Kombat 1.
Mortal Kombat 1 finally has a launch date for the long-awaited arrival of Homelander, bringing even more comic book crossovers to the fighting title. Since the game's launch, Mortal Kombat 1 has featured the likes of Omni-Man and Peacemaker, and Homelander will be the third major comic character to find his place in the game's growing roster.
However, those unfamiliar with Homelander and The Boys may have been confused by the character's seemingly random love of milk. In the first reveal trailer for Homelander, the character is first shown to be passionately drinking a bottle of milk. This may seem out of place, but there is actually a very good reason for this, and it's a wild piece of the character's lore.
Homelander and His Love of Milk Gives Insight Into His Psyche
Homelander is a really messed up guy, and that's putting it lightly. Whether it's from the comic books or the live action Amazon Prime series, Homelander is the model for what would likely happen if a super-powered human was actually brought to life, and it's not pretty. Homelander was born and raised in a lab, which caused him to have a myriad of psychological issues as an adult. The Boys is not shy about highlighting the downsides of superheroes, and Homelander's unhinged nature is a perfect example of that. He's a maniac with a cape, and his bleak lab-raised childhood ties directly in to his love of milk.
Homelander's Trauma and Madelyn Stillwell
After being raised in a secret lab and being forced to cooperate by having a hydrogen bomb strapped to his chest, Homelander understandably grew up with a heavy dose of childhood trauma. The environment he was raised in caused the character to fail at making any meaningful parental bonds, especially with a mother. Homelander is incredibly strong, but he's also incredibly lonely, which has manifested in bizarre ways, like fetishizing milk.
This is where Madelyn Stillwell comes into the picture. In The Boys, Madelyn basically becomes a handler and a maternal figure for Homelander. This toxic relationship evolves into creating unorthodox habits, like Madelyn even pretending to breastfeed Homelander at one point. Through the events of Season 1, Homelander becomes increasingly jealous of Madelyn's infant son, which eventually leads him to kill her. However, Season 2 ramps up the obsession with milk, as Homelander finds some of Madelyn's leftover bottled breast milk in a fridge and proceeds to gulp it down. Homelander has done some shocking things, and this scene in particular has stuck with a lot of people.
Since he was raised as an experiment, the identity of Homelander's biological mother is currently unknown.
Homelander's Milk Drinking Becomes a Meme
Ever since the breast milk scene happened in Season 2 of The Boys, it's been an ongoing meme about Homelander's unpredictable and damaged personality. The milk obsession only continues, as Season 3 featured the character milking a cow and drinking the milk straight from the bucket. It's seemingly random, but it shows how deep-seated childhood trauma can manifest in odd and unexpected behaviors. It's become so synonymous with the character that it only makes sense for Mortal Kombat 1's version of Homelander to have the same milk obsession.
Yes, the meme can be hilarious, but it's also a reminder of where Homelander's mentality is at. He's a lonely child stuck in the body of an over-powered adult human, and it's an incredibly dangerous combination. For the meme to seem so goofy at first, it has really dark undertones, but that's what makes Homelander such a compelling character in the first place.
Mortal Kombat 1
- Released
- September 19, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- NetherRealm Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Brothers Games
- Franchise
- Mortal Kombat
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
