Arc 3The Father and the Rift

Pero’s arrival upended Homelander’s life and Vought’s plans, ending with Pero destroying Vought Tower and departing after evolving. He then crossed into the One Piece world during the Paramount War and demanded that Sengoku hand over Ace.

  • Homelander searched for Pero, whom he believed was his father, while Stan Edgar learned Soldier Boy was Homelander’s biological father and planned to use that truth to lure him out.
  • Pero hid from Homelander before returning to the villa Homelander had prepared for him, where he explained that they were counterparts from parallel timelines and let Homelander into his life.
  • Edgar manipulated events at Vought as Homelander struggled with his choices and sought out his biological father, while Butcher and the Boys discovered Soldier Boy was held in a Russian laboratory.
  • Homelander and Soldier Boy fought at the safe house, but Pero stopped them and gave Soldier Boy a paternity test, and Vogelbaum later confirmed he had used Soldier Boy’s genetic sample to create Homelander.
  • Butcher joined forces with Soldier Boy and attacked Pero’s villa, but Homelander chose Pero over Soldier Boy, and Pero killed Butcher before Homelander crippled his biological father.
  • Pero killed Vought’s hidden agents and collapsed Vought Tower with Stan Edgar inside, then evolved in deep space and returned to Earth with enhanced abilities.
  • Pero said goodbye to Homelander, Ryan, and the others before opening a rift to another world, and months later, Homelander helped respond to a crime as the story shifted to the Paramount War at Marineford.
  • Pero entered Marineford during the battle, froze Akainu’s lava attack, demanded that Sengoku hand over Ace, and struck Akainu with a brilliant beam that made him vanish.
Chapters 51–75 Vol. 1 Read

Ch. 51Little Tadpoles Looking for Daddy

After Pero vanished, Homelander became convinced the black-robed man was his father and began preparing to impress him. Meanwhile, Stan Edgar identified the man as Soldier Boy and planned to use Homelander’s desire for a reunion to draw him out.

  • Pero vanished in front of Homelander, who searched for him before returning to find Ryan, Butcher, and the others gone.
  • Queen Maeve mocked Homelander’s battered appearance as Vought’s cleanup crew took Storm away for treatment.
  • Homelander decided the black-robed man was his father, ordered Ashley to find him a lavish house, and arranged a staged father-son reunion with actors.
  • Stan Edgar reviewed the footage and a top-secret file confirming Soldier Boy was Homelander’s biological father and could permanently remove Compound V powers.
  • Edgar decided to exploit Homelander’s longing for his father to lure Soldier Boy out.

Ch. 52Little tadpoles looking for Daddy (II)

Pero realized Homelander had mistaken him for a father figure and created a false identity to settle into the world, but Homelander used it to track him down. Pero fled to outer space for peace, unaware that a Vought satellite had spotted him.

  • Pero suspected that Homelander's pursuit and his calls of “Father” came from a desperate need for fatherly love.
  • Pero found an empty villa near New York, created a false identity under the name Pero, and erased the traces of his intrusion.
  • Homelander prepared a luxury home for Pero and ordered Ashley to watch for suspicious people around him.
  • After Vought staff found Pero's new identity, Homelander recognized his face and rushed to the address linked to the registration.
  • Pero sensed Homelander approaching and vanished before he arrived; Homelander found a steaming cup of coffee, then ordered Ashley to buy and furnish the house in Pero's name.
  • Pero fled into space to escape Homelander, while a Vought satellite secretly photographed him.

Ch. 53Homelander out of control

Homelander’s obsession with finding Pero made him reject Maeve’s attempt to blackmail him into protecting Billy, Ryan, Irina, and Starlight. Ashley then showed Maeve satellite footage of Pero floating in orbit, giving her a possible new way to influence Homelander.

  • Homelander searched the continent for Pero for a week, unaware that Pero was floating in low Earth orbit.
  • Maeve confronted Homelander in an elevator and threatened to expose footage of him abandoning a plane full of passengers unless he left Billy, Ryan, Irina, and Starlight alone.
  • Homelander dismissed Maeve’s threat, smashed the elevator wall, and flew away, declaring that he no longer cared about his reputation.
  • Ashley showed Maeve satellite footage of Pero floating unprotected in space, and Maeve realized that Pero might be the reason for Homelander’s changed behavior.
  • Maeve recognized Pero and regained hope that his connection to Homelander could give her leverage.

Ch. 54A Filial Son Comes Calling

Pero returned to Earth after learning he needed two more months before his next dimensional journey, and found that Homelander had renovated a villa and put it in his name. Homelander reunited with him and called him “Dad,” leaving Pero reluctantly letting him inside.

  • Pero decided to leave orbit and return to Earth rather than spend two months hiding in space.
  • Pero found the villa Homelander had renovated, along with house and land deeds listing Pero as the owner and John as guarantor.
  • A Vought agent spotted Pero and reported his return to Edgar, who ordered the agent to keep watching.
  • Homelander noticed activity at the villa, realized Pero was back, and went to the door.
  • Homelander called Pero “Dad,” and Pero threw a punch that stopped just short of his face before inviting him inside.

Ch. 55A loving father, a roaring son

Homelander visited Pero and decided that their connection made Pero his father. After killing Vought agents and fighting Maeve, Homelander saw footage of Pero in space, agreed to cancel Starlight’s wanted notice, and took Maeve to the villa.

  • Homelander asked Pero whether their similar powers meant they were connected, and Pero said they were counterparts from parallel timelines.
  • Homelander asked Pero to be his father, and Pero pointed out that Homelander was forty-four while he was sixteen.
  • Homelander flew to a high-rise, killed several Vought agents, and demanded to know who had sent them.
  • Homelander attacked Maeve, mistaking her for the person behind the agents, until she offered him a tablet to negotiate.
  • Homelander watched footage of Pero in space, promised to cancel Starlight’s wanted notice, and took Maeve to Pero’s villa.

Ch. 56Daily life

Homelander brought Maeve to meet Pero, then helped Vought reshape the public story and settled into a life of seeking Pero’s approval. He suddenly remembered his son Ryan and rushed to tell Pero, leaving Pero suspicious of whatever Homelander planned next.

  • Homelander took Maeve to meet Pero, and Maeve left with a promise that she, Starlight, and the others would be kept safe.
  • Stan Edgar blamed Storm for the attack on Congress, announced that Vought would delay releasing Compound V, and restored Starlight, Maeve, and A-Train to public favor.
  • The White House named Victoria Neuman director of the Superhuman Affairs Office, while Grace Mallory arranged for Billy Butcher, Hughie, and the Boys to regain their freedom and receive secret funding.
  • Homelander spent his days performing company-arranged heroics and reporting them to Pero, who played games and gave him perfunctory praise.
  • Homelander remembered that Ryan was his son and hurried out of the kitchen with milk, eager to tell Pero that he had a grandson.
  • Pero noticed Homelander’s excited grin and feared he was about to propose another absurd plan.

Ch. 57Homelander in the Crosshairs

Homelander returned to Vought International intent on finding Butcher and bringing Ryan back, but Edgar’s decision to make Starlight co-captain and A-Train’s insult provoked him. He left A-Train embedded in a wall and flew away.

  • Homelander greeted A-Train and warned him about eating too much before heading to Edgar’s meeting.
  • Edgar announced Starlight would become co-captain of The Seven, then sent Homelander out so he could speak with her alone.
  • Edgar persuaded Starlight to accept the position and challenge Homelander.
  • Vought International staged publicity for Starlight’s new role and turned her search for recruits into a television talent show.
  • Homelander confronted A-Train about his diet, punched him into an alloy wall after A-Train insulted him, and flew away.

Ch. 58A heart-to-heart

Homelander rejected Vought’s birthday publicity plan and opened up to Pero about feeling controlled, while Edgar prepared to eliminate permanent superheroes. Meanwhile, Mallory gave Butcher and The Boys a lead on Soldier Boy and a weapon that might kill Homelander.

  • Homelander refused Ashley’s birthday broadcast plan, dismissed his falling approval rating, and left to find Butcher and bring Ryan back.
  • Edgar concluded Homelander had escaped Vought’s control and decided to launch a cleanup plan targeting The Seven and other permanently powered superheroes.
  • At Pero’s villa, Homelander questioned whether he had ever made his own choices, and Pero urged him to live as a person rather than follow a script.
  • Homelander interpreted Pero’s advice as a father-son talk, while Pero noted that his Dimensional Travel cooldown was nearly over and prepared to leave.
  • Butcher and The Boys discussed how to kill Homelander, and Mallory revealed that Soldier Boy had survived his mission and been taken by the Russians.
  • Butcher learned that the Russians had used a weapon codenamed B.C.L. Red on Soldier Boy and believed it could kill Homelander.

Ch. 59Edgar's ambition

Stan Edgar used the revelation that Soldier Boy was Homelander’s biological father to turn Homelander against Vought’s secrets and push him toward Russia. After Homelander left, Edgar sent an elite squad to retrieve a weapon capable of hurting Soldier Boy, confident Vought would benefit from the ensuing conflict.

  • Stan Edgar reviewed footage of Pero in space and Homelander following him, then decided Homelander had found a new father and Pero was an unpredictable threat.
  • Edgar called Homelander and claimed his biological father was Soldier Boy, last known to be in Russia.
  • Homelander rejected Edgar’s claim, then flew to Vought Tower after Edgar insisted it was true.
  • Edgar gave Homelander files documenting Soldier Boy’s genetic sample cultivation, and Homelander left after realizing Vought had hidden the truth from him.
  • Edgar ordered an elite squad to Russia to find a weapon capable of hurting Soldier Boy.

Ch. 60Heading to Russia

Homelander learned that Soldier Boy might be his biological father and asked Pero to accompany him to Russia. After The Boys found and awakened Soldier Boy, Pero and Homelander followed them to their safe house, where they confronted the group.

  • Homelander showed Pero the file Edgar had given him, and Pero agreed to go with him to Russia.
  • Butcher learned from Gunpowder that Soldier Boy had disappeared during a CIA mission led by Mallory, who said Soldier Boy was being held in a secret Russian laboratory.
  • The Boys broke into the laboratory, where Butcher and Hughie used Temporary Compound V to overpower Russian soldiers and found Soldier Boy alive in a chamber.
  • Soldier Boy awakened and unleashed a crimson energy blast that shattered Kimiko’s bones and nullified her healing ability.
  • Pero and Homelander followed The Boys as they fled with Soldier Boy and the injured Kimiko, then appeared at their safe house.
  • Butcher stepped forward to shield the group and demanded to know what Pero and Homelander wanted.

Ch. 61The truth revealed

Vought agents recovered a file revealing that Payback betrayed Soldier Boy to the Russians rather than killing him with a secret weapon. At the safe house, Homelander confronted the newly awakened Soldier Boy and asked if he was his biological father.

  • An agent reported to Edgar that the laboratory had been cleared and Soldier Boy was missing from the experimental chamber.
  • Edgar told the agent to prioritize recovering the weapon data and return immediately.
  • The agents found the B.C.L. Red file, which revealed that Payback had used Russian nerve gas to capture Soldier Boy and hand him over to the Russians.
  • At the safe house, Butcher confronted Homelander and Pero, while the Boys cared for Kimiko and the unstable Soldier Boy.
  • Homelander pushed past Butcher and asked Soldier Boy if he was his biological father.

Ch. 62Father and son showdown

Soldier Boy learned that Homelander was his biological son, and the two fought until Pero stopped them. Soldier Boy then learned he had been asleep for years and received a paternity test to examine.

  • Soldier Boy rejected Homelander’s claim that he was his father and insulted him, prompting Homelander to prepare for a fight.
  • Pero stopped Butcher from intervening as Homelander and Soldier Boy battled, damaging the safe house’s furniture while Pero’s Bio-Electric Field protected the room.
  • Homelander gained the upper hand and attacked Soldier Boy with Heat Vision, but Soldier Boy answered with an energy blast.
  • Butcher blasted Homelander with his newly revealed powers, giving Soldier Boy a chance to pin him and gather energy for another attack.
  • Pero separated the two and stopped their fight, then told Soldier Boy he had been asleep for years and handed him a paternity test.

Ch. 63A Toast to Freedom

Soldier Boy accepted that Homelander might be his son and left with him to find Dr. Vogelbaum and confirm the truth. Pero returned home, where Starlight arrived seeking a conversation about Homelander.

  • Soldier Boy dismissed the paternity report as unreliable, while Homelander realized Dr. Vogelbaum might know the truth.
  • Soldier Boy recalled a genetic experiment in 1979 or 1980 and concluded that Homelander could be his son.
  • Homelander threatened the Boys, then took Soldier Boy with him to find Dr. Vogelbaum.
  • Pero returned to his villa and resumed playing games after leaving the safe house.
  • Starlight visited Pero, wary and nervous, after Hughie told her what had happened in Russia.

Ch. 64A mortal's request

Starlight visited Pero on behalf of The Boys and warned him that Vought International would target him, but he refused to help and threatened to destroy the company if it came after him. Stan Edgar watched the meeting, while A-Train sent someone a warning that they were being watched and then followed Ashley.

  • Starlight told Pero that Vought International planned to spread Compound V through the military and explained how the company manufactured fake heroics.
  • Pero rejected Starlight’s appeal, warned her that his villa might be under surveillance, and said he would wipe Vought International off the earth if it attacked him.
  • Stan Edgar watched footage of Starlight leaving Pero’s villa and questioned Ashley about how she found out where he lived.
  • Ashley denied revealing the villa’s location and suggested Starlight might have seen Homelander visiting it.
  • A-Train overheard Ashley complain about Vought International, texted a warning that someone was being watched, and followed her.

Ch. 65Learning the truth

Homelander brought Soldier Boy to Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum, who revealed that he had used Soldier Boy’s genetic sample to create Homelander as a more powerful, controllable successor. Homelander joyfully embraced the idea of having two fathers, while Pero reacted in disbelief.

  • Homelander and Soldier Boy crashed into the lawn outside Vogelbaum’s villa, and Soldier Boy angrily complained about the journey.
  • Vogelbaum opened the door, failed to recognize Soldier Boy at first, then realized who he was when Soldier Boy shouted at him.
  • Soldier Boy changed into Vogelbaum’s clothes while Homelander wondered whether Soldier Boy was his biological father.
  • Soldier Boy confronted Vogelbaum with a file, and Vogelbaum admitted he had used Soldier Boy’s genetic sample to create Homelander.
  • Homelander celebrated having two fathers, and Pero spat out his tea in shock.

Ch. 66Edgar's conspiracy

The Boys escaped Russia after Kimiko was seriously injured, while Stan Edgar ordered Vought scientists to develop a stronger version of the B.C.L. Red weapon to control or kill supes. Edgar imagined using it to dominate Homelander, Pero, and Soldier Boy, while Pero remained at his villa playing a fighting game.

  • After Pero, Homelander, and Soldier Boy left the safe house, Butcher angrily accepted that The Boys could not pursue them, and Frenchie discovered Kimiko was badly hurt and no longer healing.
  • Butcher led the group to a Russian hospital, where Kimiko underwent surgery and woke relieved to find her powers gone; Frenchie comforted her as the others waited for her recovery.
  • Butcher repeatedly sought intelligence on Soldier Boy and Homelander while The Boys waited for Kimiko to be discharged and planned to resume their fight against Vought International.
  • Stan Edgar brought the B.C.L. Red file to Vought’s research department and demanded that scientists create an optimized weapon capable of killing supes within seven days.
  • Edgar vowed to use the weapon against Homelander, Pero, Soldier Boy, and other disobedient supes, then left the lab convinced his empire was nearing reality.
  • At his villa, Pero won a fighting-game match as Mai Shiranui and mocked an unseen rival as being out of his league.

Ch. 67A deal with the devil

Edgar gave Butcher B.C.L. Red and a map of Pero’s villa, ordering him to eliminate Pero and Homelander. Butcher recruited Soldier Boy into the plot, and the deadly trap for Pero and Homelander began.

  • Edgar handed Butcher B.C.L. Red and a tablet showing security vulnerabilities at Pero’s villa in exchange for targeting Pero and Homelander.
  • Edgar activated the Cleanup Plan and ordered his team to follow Butcher and kill everyone involved.
  • Homelander learned Soldier Boy was his biological father and flew off to tell him about Pero.
  • Butcher offered Soldier Boy B.C.L. Red and persuaded him to help kill Pero and Homelander in exchange for restoring his status as the world’s strongest man.
  • Soldier Boy agreed and demanded the deaths of those who had betrayed him, while Vogelbaum watched without revealing that he had told Edgar where Soldier Boy was.

Ch. 68The choice

Homelander faced a choice between joining his biological father, Soldier Boy, and staying loyal to Pero, and he refused Soldier Boy. After Pero killed Butcher and restrained Soldier Boy, Homelander began his final confrontation with his father.

  • Homelander told Pero that Soldier Boy had confirmed their family connection and said he hoped to bring him and Ryan together.
  • Soldier Boy and Butcher burst into Pero's villa, and Soldier Boy ordered Homelander to help him kill Pero.
  • Homelander refused Soldier Boy, choosing Pero over the father he had long wanted to find.
  • Butcher released nerve gas that weakened Homelander and Soldier Boy, but Pero destroyed the canister and killed Butcher with a blast of energy.
  • Pero restrained Soldier Boy, then released him and told Homelander to deal with his biological father.
  • Homelander broke all four of Soldier Boy's limbs, leaving him crippled on the floor.

Ch. 69Divine punishment

Pero left Homelander unconscious and destroyed Vought Tower after Edgar tried to arrange a negotiation, then melted the wreckage with Heat Vision. As sunrise broke over New York, Edgar remained buried beneath the ruins.

  • Pero killed the hidden Vought agents and flew toward downtown New York, while Homelander collapsed unconscious from exhaustion and the neurotoxin’s effects.
  • Edgar watched the battle through surveillance and realized Vought had no way to oppose Pero, then saw Pero vanish from the footage.
  • Edgar prepared to negotiate and offered to give Pero money or Vought shares, but Pero stayed outside the office window.
  • Pero clapped his hands, causing Vought Tower to buckle and collapse vertically with Edgar inside.
  • Pero used Heat Vision to melt the tower’s wreckage as New Yorkers watched and reacted to Vought’s destruction.

Ch. 70Bloodline evolution

Pero left his villa to evolve into Silver Superman in a remote region of space, using a golden duplicate as an anchor for his return. After two and a half days, the evolution finished and he opened his eyes with a radiant golden light.

  • Pero told Homelander he would leave soon, and the system reported that three days remained on the teleportation cooldown and his evolution energy was full.
  • Pero created a golden energy duplicate to anchor his return, then flew into deep space to evolve safely.
  • Pero released his stored energy, forming a vast golden nebula, and began his bloodline evolution, which the system estimated would take 2.5 days.
  • Homelander admitted he had never seen Pero use his full strength, while Ryan touched the energy duplicate.
  • After two and a half days, the nebula collapsed into Pero, and he opened his eyes as golden light burst from them.

Ch. 71Silver Superman

Pero completed his Silver Superman evolution and discovered that his new powers let him perceive across the multiverse and travel through time. After glimpsing scenes from the past, he returned to his villa, where Homelander and the others were unsettled by the changed presence of Pero’s original body.

  • Pero’s evolved vision revealed Knowhere and Kang in the Quantum Realm, and the system explained that the Rōran Dragon Vein’s residual spacetime energy had enhanced his Silver Superman abilities.
  • Pero entered a rainbow-colored passage through time and saw events including Payback’s betrayal of Soldier Boy, Homelander’s birth, Soldier Boy’s torture, and Starlight’s childhood.
  • Pero passed through the white light at the end of the passage and returned to Earth.
  • At Pero’s villa, Homelander, Soldier Boy, Ryan, and Pero’s duplicate watched Pero’s original body descend from the sky, sensing that his presence had changed completely.
  • Pero looked toward the sky and saw the temporal afterimage left by his other self as it receded into the distance.

Ch. 72The Boys epilogue (off to another world)

Pero left the world through a golden portal after urging Ryan and Homelander to build a better future, leaving behind a golden anchor in the Sun. Months later, Homelander and Starlight had founded the Justice League, and Homelander answered a call for help as a statue of Pero rose in New York.

  • Pero said goodbye to the former Boys, Starlight, Queen Maeve, Homelander, Soldier Boy, and Ryan, telling Ryan to grow up well and promising to return.
  • Pero opened a golden rift and stepped through to another world, while a speck of golden light broke away and became an anchor in the Sun.
  • Months later, Homelander watched metahumans build a statue of Pero on the former site of Vought Tower and reflected on the direction he had chosen.
  • Homelander responded to a police call about a hijacked armored truck after Starlight asked him to help.
  • A news report said the Justice League had stopped a hijacked plane from crashing into the Twin Towers, with all passengers escaping unharmed.

Ch. 73The Paramount War (Part One) (4k)

Sengoku revealed that Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger just as Whitebeard and his forces arrived at Marineford to rescue him. The war began with Whitebeard’s attack and clashes between the pirates and the Admirals, ending with Marco knocking Kizaru into a building.

  • Sengoku announced to the world that Ace was Gol D. Roger’s son, while Ace insisted that Whitebeard was his father.
  • Forty-three New World pirate ships approached Marineford, and Whitebeard’s four ships surfaced inside the harbor, catching the Marines by surprise.
  • Whitebeard struck the air and sent two enormous tsunamis toward Marineford, but Kuzan froze them into icebergs and then froze the harbor.
  • Mihawk launched a massive slash at Whitebeard, but Jozu blocked it with his diamond body.
  • Kizaru attacked Whitebeard with a rain of lasers, but Marco shielded him, regenerated with his Phoenix Fruit, and kicked Kizaru through a building.

Ch. 74The Paramount War (II)

During the Paramount War, Pero emerged from a golden rift and effortlessly stopped Akainu’s attack, revealing overwhelming power to both sides of the battle. After recognizing Marineford and remembering Ace’s fate, Pero returned Akainu’s frozen lava rock toward him, leaving Sengoku alarmed.

  • Jozu tore a massive chunk of ice from the frozen battlefield and hurled it toward the Execution Platform.
  • Akainu rose to intercept the iceberg with Great Eruption, but a golden rift swallowed the ice before the attacks could meet.
  • Pero stepped through the rift and froze Akainu’s lava fist with Freeze Breath, stunning the Marines and pirates.
  • Pero recognized Marineford during the Paramount War and recalled that Ace had died in the story he watched in his previous life.
  • Akainu attacked Pero again, and Pero sent the frozen rock hurtling back, smashing Akainu’s lava fist as Sengoku realized how powerful Pero was.

Ch. 75The Paramount War (III)

Sengoku and the other Marines stopped Pero’s falling boulder, but the effort devastated Marineford. After Pero demanded that Sengoku hand over Ace, Akainu attacked him and vanished in Pero’s blinding beam.

  • Kuzan and Kizaru failed to stop Pero’s falling boulder, so Sengoku transformed into his Buddha Form and struck it with shockwaves.
  • Sengoku called on Bartholomew Kuma, whose Pressure Cannon helped slow the boulder, then shattered it with a Haki-coated punch; its fragments injured Marines and damaged Marineford.
  • Pero told Sengoku that the Navy had attacked him first and demanded that he hand over Ace.
  • Sengoku realized the live broadcast was still running and feared the damage to the Navy’s reputation, while Akainu charged at Pero in a rage.
  • Pero fired a brilliant beam from his eyes, and Akainu vanished as Sengoku cried out for him.
Arc 3 of 7