The Homelander ( John Gillman ) is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in the comic book series The Boys and the media franchise of the same name , created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson . He is depicted as a psychopathic and sadistic narcissist who serves as the extremely powerful leader of The Seven —a group of corrupt and hedonistic superheroes grown and funded by Vought-American —and the archenemy of Billy Butcher . Beneath his public image as a noble and altruistic hero, the Homelander cares little about the well-being of those he professes to protect. Described as the living personification of how the world sees America , the character has received critical acclaim along with Starr's portrayal in the series. Homelander has also been compared to Superman and Captain America .
133-503: In the Amazon Prime Video television adaptation developed by Eric Kripke , Homelander is primarily portrayed by Antony Starr , with Rowan Smyth and Isaac Weeks portraying him as a child. This version is the megalomaniacal son of Soldier Boy and the father of Ryan , born as a result of Homelander raping Billy Butcher's wife Becca (a crime committed by Black Noir in the comic book series). Homelander has also appeared in
266-614: A Tony -nominated musical play produced on Broadway. It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman featured music by Charles Strouse , lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman and Robert Benton . Actor Bob Holiday performed as Clark Kent/Superman and actress Patricia Marand performed as Lois Lane. DC Comics trademarked the Superman chest logo in August 1938. Jack Liebowitz established Superman, Inc. in October 1939 to develop
399-494: A plot twist which involved the character being killed by his clone Black Noir in the comic book version was not used in the television adaptation, where Black Noir is instead depicted as a black man and the character's psychopathic traits are amalgamated with Homelander. In The Boys comics, Homelander's powers include heat vision , super strength , super speed, durability, flight, regenerative healing factor, super hearing and enhanced vocal cords . He also ages slower than
532-612: A "Krypto-Raygun", which was a gun-shaped device that could project images on a wall. The majority of Superman merchandise is targeted at children, but since the 1970s, adults have been increasingly targeted because the comic book readership has gotten older. During World War II , Superman was used to support the war effort. Action Comics and Superman carried messages urging readers to buy war bonds and participate in scrap drives . Other superheroes became patriots who went to fight: Batman , Wonder Woman and Captain America . In
665-675: A European commissioner in charge of digital policy of the European Union urged streaming services including Amazon Prime Video to limit their services. The request came as a result of the prevention of Europe's broadband networks from crashing as tens of millions of people started remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The EU wanted the streaming platforms to offer only standard definition, rather than high-definition, programs and make users responsible for their data consumption. On March 20, 2020, Amazon said that they have already begun
798-497: A Nazi, as well as filming promos for Vought's streaming service, Vought+, and to celebrate Christmas . In the 2020 Amazon Prime Video -sponsored The Boys promotional episodes of Death Battle! , in promotion for its second season, Homelander (voiced by Yong Yea ) participates in the Seven's simulated battle royale , declaring himself the winner after killing Billy Butcher ( standing-in for Black Noir ), before throwing aside
931-494: A billionaire industrialist rather than a mad scientist, and making Supergirl an artificial shapeshifting organism because DC wanted Superman to be the sole surviving Kryptonian . Carlin was promoted to Executive Editor for the DC Universe books in 1996, a position he held until 2002. K.C. Carlson took his place as editor of the Superman comics. In the earlier decades of Superman comics, artists were expected to conform to
1064-499: A call from him. After confirming this connection with Black Noir, Homelander savagely murders the latter. He later picks up Ryan from Mallory's house after intimidating her. When Homelander attempts to connect with Soldier Boy by introducing him to Ryan and saying that all three of them could be a family, Soldier Boy disowns him as a weak, damaged, attention-seeking disappointment and attempts to kill or depower him (as part of his deal with Butcher). Homelander turns against Soldier Boy after
1197-469: A certain "house style". Joe Shuster defined the aesthetic style of Superman in the 1940s. After Shuster left National, Wayne Boring succeeded him as the principal artist on Superman comic books. He redrew Superman taller and more detailed. Around 1955, Curt Swan in turn succeeded Boring. The 1980s saw a boom in the diversity of comic book art and now there is no single "house style" in Superman comics. The first adaptation of Superman beyond comic books
1330-656: A contract at Liebowitz's request in which they gave away the copyright for Superman to Detective Comics, Inc. This was normal practice in the business, and Siegel and Shuster had given away the copyrights to their previous works as well. The duo's revised version of Superman appeared in the first issue of Action Comics , which was published on April 18, 1938. The issue was a huge success thanks to Superman's feature. Siegel and Shuster read pulp science-fiction and adventure magazines , and many stories featured characters with fantastical abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and superhuman strength. One character in particular
1463-469: A contract dated March 1, 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster gave away the copyright to Superman to their employer, DC Comics (then known as Detective Comics, Inc.) prior to Superman's first publication in April. Contrary to popular perception, the $ 130 that DC Comics paid them was for their first Superman story, not the copyright to the character — that, they gave away for free. This was normal practice in
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#17327978337101596-491: A deal with Viacom to add shows from MTV , Nickelodeon , Comedy Central , TV Land , VH1 , CMT , Spike , BET , and Logo TV to Prime Instant Video. On September 4, 2012, Amazon signed a deal with pay-TV channel Epix (now known as MGM+ and since March 2022 owned by Amazon itself) to feature movies on their streaming service, in a move to rival their competitor Netflix . Additionally, in November 2013, Amazon premiered
1729-665: A deal with Nigerian studio Anthill Studios. On February 9, 2022, Amazon signed a long-term deal with the Shepperton Studios for exclusive use of new production facilities. On July 31, 2022, it was announced that the service will expand to Southeast Asia, and be offered in Indonesia , Thailand and the Philippines . The offerings will include localized content, as well as localized interface and subtitles for non-local content. In January 2024, they decided to cut
1862-505: A deal with the heirs of both Siegel and Shuster to help them get the rights to Superman in exchange for signing the rights over to his production company, Pacific Pictures. Both groups accepted. The Siegel heirs called off their deal with DC Comics and in 2004 sued DC for the rights to Superman and Superboy. In 2008, the judge ruled in favor of the Siegels. DC Comics appealed the decision, and the appeals court ruled in favor of DC, arguing that
1995-524: A dedicated website. Prime Video additionally offers a content add-on service in the form of channels, called Amazon Channels, or Prime Video Channels, which allow users to subscribe to additional video subscription services from other content providers within Prime Video. Launched on September 7, 2006, as Amazon Unbox in the United States, the service grew with an expanding library, and added
2128-581: A fan of strongmen such as Siegmund Breitbart and Joseph Greenstein . He collected fitness magazines and manuals and used their photographs as visual references for his art. The visual design of Superman came from multiple influences. The tight-fitting suit and shorts were inspired by the costumes of wrestlers, boxers, and strongmen . In early concept art, Shuster gave Superman laced sandals like those of strongmen and classical heroes, but these were eventually changed to red boots. The costumes of Douglas Fairbanks were also an influence. The emblem on his chest
2261-430: A favorite being Winsor McCay 's fantastical Little Nemo . Shuster remarked on the artists who played an important part in the development of his own style: " Alex Raymond and Burne Hogarth were my idols – also Milt Caniff , Hal Foster , and Roy Crane ." Shuster taught himself to draw by tracing over the art in the strips and magazines they collected. As a boy, Shuster was interested in fitness culture and
2394-466: A further three years until the 2024–25 season. On March 18, 2021, Prime Video announced that they have renewed their deal to and will be the exclusive broadcaster of Thursday Night Football between the 2022 and 2033 seasons in the United States. Because Prime Video is a subscription service, the NFL will require Amazon to have the games syndicated to over-the-air television stations in the local market of
2527-424: A hostage situation at a chemical plant ahead of Noir as his first mission as a superhero, Homelander attempts a peaceful resolution; however, after accidentally killing a hostage and injuring the eco-terrorist leader by lasering the latter's broken gun, he kills the remaining eco-terrorists and all but one hostage in a psychotic episode after they collectively berate him for his recklessness. After Black Noir arrives on
2660-755: A la carte subscription services) and streaming services to be offered to Amazon Prime subscribers through the Amazon Video platform. These services are separate from the Amazon Video offering, and must be purchased separately. The original launch in the U.S. included services such as Curiosity Stream , Lifetime Movie Club, AMC 's Shudder , Showtime , Starz , and others. The service subsequently added other partners, such as HBO and Cinemax , Boomerang , Discovery Channel , Fandor , Noggin , PBS Kids , Seeso and Toku . In January 2017, Amazon announced Anime Strike , an anime focused Amazon Channels service. In May 2017, Amazon Channels expanded into Germany and
2793-534: A laboratory environment to become Homelander, John displays many sociopathic tendencies and is openly contemptuous of those he considers lesser beings. He is also highly self-righteous, delusional, possessive, paranoid, vindictive, insecure, insensitive, hypocritical, reckless with his powers, and incapable of accepting the possibility of any flaw in his person or decision-making. Unlike in the comic series, Homelander rapes Butcher's wife after she has been assigned as his assistant. However, he left her alive and, though he
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#17327978337102926-552: A livestream, Homelander says that he dumped her and accuses her of engaging in human trafficking via her charitable foundation, the Starlight House. After learning that Queen Maeve not only acted as an informant for the Boys but also slept with their leader Billy Butcher, Homelander has her detained at Seven Tower with the intention of harvesting her eggs. Homelander later learns of his connection with Soldier Boy after receiving
3059-493: A living Krypton. Schwartz retired from DC Comics in 1986 and was succeeded by Mike Carlin as an editor on Superman comics. His retirement coincided with DC Comics' decision to reboot the DC Universe with the companywide-crossover storyline " Crisis on Infinite Earths ". In The Man of Steel writer John Byrne rewrote the Superman mythos, again reducing Superman's powers, which writers had slowly re-strengthened, and revised many supporting characters, such as making Lex Luthor
3192-503: A media sensation over The Death of Superman in that issue. Sales declined from that point on. In March 2018, Action Comics sold just 51,534 copies, although such low figures are normal for superhero comic books in general (for comparison, Amazing Spider-Man #797 sold only 128,189 copies). The comic books have become a niche aspect of the Superman franchise due to low readership, though they remain influential as creative engines for
3325-618: A model called "direct distribution". This made comic books less accessible to children. Beginning in January 1939, a Superman daily comic strip appeared in newspapers, syndicated through the McClure Syndicate . A color Sunday version was added that November. Jerry Siegel wrote most of the strips until he was conscripted into the United States Army in 1943. The Sunday strips had a narrative continuity separate from
3458-431: A murder trial and begins to have a breakdown, so he recruits Sister Sage to help him. On the day of the trial, he orders three of his fans to be killed to start a brawl right after being declared innocent. He organizes the first rescue of his son Ryan, forcing him to use his power by killing the false criminal. After trying to kill Hughie, he has a fight with Ryan for seeing Butcher and has a mental breakdown. He then visits
3591-420: A newspaper syndicate, but they too were rejected, and he abandoned the project. Siegel and Shuster reconciled and resumed developing Superman together. The character became an alien from the planet Krypton. Shuster designed the now-familiar costume: tights with an "S" on the chest, over-shorts, and a cape. They made Clark Kent a journalist who pretends to be timid, and conceived his colleague Lois Lane , who
3724-490: A normal human, due to Compound V. Homelander additionally has X-ray vision , which enables him to see through anything except items made out of, or lined with zinc , a reference to Superman's inability to see through lead . Compound V can also bring life back to a dead brain, but limits the cognitive abilities of the user. He is much stronger than everyone else in The Boys universe. In the television series, The Boys , in
3857-495: A promotional campaign. Homelander witnesses his drug overdose (induced by Billy Butcher ) lead him to crash into Ironcast during a stunt, killing them both. In order to cover up what happened, Homelander, Queen Maeve , and Jack from Jupiter blame a " Cold War satellite " controlled by the evil Galaxius for their deaths claiming it is "hidden in the light of the Sun " which the watching crowd eagerly believed as they flew away. In
3990-492: A proto-comic book titled Detective Dan: Secret Operative 48 . It contained all-original stories as opposed to reprints of newspaper strips, which was a novelty at the time. Siegel and Shuster put together a comic book in a similar format called The Superman . A delegation from Consolidated visited Cleveland that summer on a business trip and Siegel and Shuster took the opportunity to present their work in person. Although Consolidated expressed interest, they later pulled out of
4123-533: A public campaign for better compensation and treatment of comic creators. Warner Brothers agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a yearly stipend, full medical benefits, and credit their names in all future Superman productions in exchange for never contesting ownership of Superman. Siegel and Shuster upheld this bargain. Shuster died in 1992. DC Comics offered Shuster's heirs a stipend in exchange for never challenging ownership of Superman, which they accepted for some years. Siegel died in 1996. His heirs attempted to take
Homelander - Misplaced Pages Continue
4256-507: A rage destroys his apartment and scolds Ryan making him leave. Afterwards, Homelander reveals Neuman as Super and orders The Seven to kill everyone in Vought who knows about his dirty laundry. When Neuman dies, Sage reveals to him that it was all part of her plan and the new president of the United States , Steven Calhoun, swears loyalty to Homelander, declares martial law and deputizes him and his superhuman army. Calhoun would show Homelander
4389-418: A sexual relationship with Stormfront , despite a difficult beginning, and conspires with her to remove his son from Becca 's care and turn the public against "supervillains," creating public outcry for the creation of more superheroes. Stormfront is critically injured by Homelander's son Ryan and Maeve blackmails Homelander into letting the boy go and leaving her alone. In a series of television interviews, he
4522-417: A superhuman baby Butcher had then killed . In Issue #40, the Boys receive a series of incriminating doctored photos seemingly showing Homelander engaging in grisly acts of murder, cannibalism, and necrophilia against men, women, and children. In private, Homelander shows signs of suffering a mental breakdown , talking to his own reflection in a mirror, and having bouts of nausea. He eventually decides that he
4655-576: A television anchor, and he retired overused plot elements such as kryptonite and robot doppelgangers. Schwartz also scaled Superman's powers down to a level closer to Siegel's original. These changes would eventually be reversed by later writers. Schwartz allowed stories with serious drama such as " For the Man Who Has Everything " ( Superman Annual #11), in which the villain Mongul torments Superman with an illusion of happy family life on
4788-557: A time-machine to the modern era, whereupon he immediately begins using his superpowers to fight crime. O'Mealia produced a few strips and showed them to his newspaper syndicate, but they were rejected. O'Mealia did not send to Siegel any copies of his strips, and they have been lost. In June 1934, Siegel found another partner, an artist in Chicago named Russell Keaton. Keaton drew the Buck Rogers and Skyroads comic strips. In
4921-574: A vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis , where he works as a journalist for the Daily Planet . Superman's supporting characters include his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane , Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen , and editor-in-chief Perry White , and his enemies include Brainiac , General Zod , and archenemy Lex Luthor . Superman
5054-433: A writer and Shuster aspired to become an illustrator. Siegel wrote amateur science fiction stories, which he self-published as a magazine called Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization . His friend Shuster often provided illustrations for his work. In January 1933, Siegel published a short story in his magazine titled " The Reign of the Superman ". The titular character is a homeless man named Bill Dunn who
5187-521: A writer in 1959. In 1965, Siegel and Shuster attempted to regain rights to Superman using the renewal option in the Copyright Act of 1909 , but the court ruled Siegel and Shuster had transferred the renewal rights to DC Comics in 1938. Siegel and Shuster appealed, but the appeals court upheld this decision. DC Comics fired Siegel once again, when he filed this second lawsuit. In 1975, Siegel and several other comic book writers and artists launched
5320-478: Is Superman , which began in June 1939. Action Comics and Superman have been published without interruption (ignoring changes to the title and numbering scheme). Several other shorter-lived Superman periodicals have been published over the years. Superman is part of the DC Universe , which is a shared setting of superhero characters owned by DC Comics, and consequently he frequently appears in stories alongside
5453-466: Is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics . The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster , and debuted in the comic book Action Comics #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and published April 18, 1938). Superman has been adapted to several other media including radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games. Superman
Homelander - Misplaced Pages Continue
5586-707: Is also available, which was initially exclusive to Sony Bravia smart TVs running Android TV, and Nvidia Shield . Amazon had historically withheld support for Apple TV and Google's Chromecast platform. In October 2015, the company banned the sale of these devices on its online marketplace because they do not support the Prime Video ecosystem. This led to critics arguing that Amazon was displaying protectionism against devices that could be competitors to its own Amazon Fire TV products. However, in December 2017, Amazon released an Apple TV app for Prime Video, and announced in April 2019 that it would add Chromecast support to
5719-595: Is attracted to the bold and mighty Superman but does not realize that he and Kent are the same person. In June 1935 Siegel and Shuster finally found work with National Allied Publications, a comic magazine publishing company in New York owned by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson . Wheeler-Nicholson published two of their strips in New Fun Comics #6 (1935): "Henri Duval" and " Doctor Occult ". Siegel and Shuster also showed him Superman and asked him to market Superman to
5852-454: Is available and movies/television shows can be purchased or rented, Prime Video is offered on the local Amazon website (e.g. amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk etc.). Although a local Amazon website might be available, the full range of digital content services (e.g. Amazon Music , Amazon Video, Kindle Store ) might not be available in that particular country (e.g. amazon.in, amazon.sg, amazon.com.tr etc.). In other countries where Amazon Video
5985-497: Is available worldwide (except for Mainland China , Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Russia, Belarus , Syria and Vietnam ). Initially it was available only to residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and Austria. The service supports online streaming via web player, as well as apps on Amazon Fire -branded devices, and supported third-party mobile devices, digital media players (particularly Roku ), video game consoles , and smart TVs . An Android TV app
6118-511: Is damned anyway for the acts depicted in the photos, and decides to give in to any intrusive thoughts that cross his mind. From Herogasm onward, Homelander resolves to free himself and the superhero community from Vought-American's control. In Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men , he leads the other superheroes in a coup d'etat against the United States, launching an attack on
6251-424: Is forced to denounce his relationship with Stormfront and apologize for his actions. Partly to moderate Homelander's behavior, CEO Stan Edgar and Vought's board of directors install Starlight as co-captain of The Seven. However, in response to this, Homelander bribes Edgar's secret adoptive daughter Victoria Neuman into opening an investigation into Edgar, ousting him from Vought, with Homelander assuming control of
6384-521: Is made for customers in Mexico. As of 2023, some countries (such as France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Luxembourg, Portugal) have added support for paying Amazon Prime subscription fees with Amazon Gift Card balance; however this does not apply to content add-ons such as Prime Video Channels ( See: Amazon Prime#Availability ). In August 2022, customers living in Indonesia,
6517-485: Is really just a series of unpleasant urges kept in check by his own intelligence, which is enough to understand that he can have anything he wants so long as he doesn't push his luck too far." Also: "It might help to think of the Homelander as having all the self-control of... let's say... a fourteen-year-old." The Boys producer and showrunner Eric Kripke has stated that while Homelander can "in theory" be killed,
6650-677: Is the archetypal superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a codename , is unfailingly good and honest, and fights evil with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, Superman popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster met in 1932 while attending Glenville High School in Cleveland and bonded over their admiration of fiction. Siegel aspired to become
6783-555: Is tricked by an evil scientist into consuming an experimental drug. The drug gives Dunn the powers of mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance. He uses these powers maliciously for profit and amusement, but then the drug wears off, leaving him a powerless vagrant again. Shuster provided illustrations, depicting Dunn as a bald man. Siegel and Shuster shifted to making comic strips , with a focus on adventure and comedy. They wanted to become syndicated newspaper strip authors, so they showed their ideas to various newspaper editors. However,
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#17327978337106916-419: Is unavailable and movies/television shows cannot be purchased or rented, Prime Video is offered as a standalone service on a separate website. Amazon Gift Card balance can be used to buy/rent individual titles on local Amazon websites, but not on primevideo.com. In Brazil, a similar Amazon Video was launched, but under the name Loja Prime Video ("Prime Video Shop"), and for renting of movies only. Depending on
7049-476: Is unclear whether Siegel and Shuster were influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche 's concept of the Übermensch ; they never acknowledged as much. Since 1938, Superman stories have been regularly published in periodical comic books published by DC Comics . The first and oldest of these is Action Comics , which began in April 1938. Action Comics was initially an anthology magazine, but it eventually became dedicated to Superman stories. The second oldest periodical
7182-587: The Motion Picture Association (MPA), which it joined on October 1, 2024. The service debuted on September 7, 2006, as Amazon Unbox in the United States. On September 4, 2008, the service was renamed Amazon Video on Demand. As of August 2014 the service is no longer available for downloading purchased instant videos. On February 22, 2011, the service rebranded as Amazon Instant Video and added access to 5,000 movies and TV shows for Amazon Prime members. On February 8, 2012, Amazon signed
7315-695: The Next Generation ATP Finals . In November it was announced that Amazon had acquired the British television rights to the US Open for five years from the 2018 edition, for a reported £30 million. Eurosport who owned the pan European rights extended their deal with the US Open but excluded the UK, which was ironic as Amazon had reached a deal with the broadcaster to stream their channels on their station. The ATP additionally announced that Amazon in
7448-424: The first season finale " You Found Me ", when asked about Homelander's weakness, Madelyn Stillwell claims he does not have one, saying, "There isn't a weapon on Earth that they haven't thrown at him. They've all failed." The Homelander's powers and sense of entitlement have led him to exhibit extreme megalomania , causing him to commit crimes against innocent people, including acts of rape and mass murder , out of
7581-419: The spin-off and promotional web series The Boys Presents: Diabolical and Death Battle! , respectively. The Homelander is a patriotic superhero who leads the superhero team, The Seven, and the most powerful superhuman created by Vought-American . The company's cover story for the Homelander is that he is an alien who landed in the United States as an infant, much like Superman . In reality, he and
7714-472: The television adaptation , Antony Starr plays Homelander as an adult, with Rowan Smyth playing him as a child in the first season , and Isaac Weeks playing him as a child in the fourth season . As interpreted within the television series, he is considered by some reviewers to be analogous to DC's Superman . Grown from the DNA samples taken from Soldier Boy 's semen by Jonah Vogelbaum and having been reared in
7847-581: The British television rights to the ATP World Tour beginning 2019, replacing Sky Sports . The deal will run until 2023 and will exclusively show all masters 1000 events and 12 500 and 250 series tournaments. Amazon will be the third party pay TV provider for the ATP finals and starting in 2018 for Queens Club and Eastbourne tournaments. The ATP announced a two-year deal in September for Amazon to stream
7980-437: The Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men ". Ghost was the only survivor of the attack. Vought covered up all the deaths that were caused where one news report states that Homelander saved Ghost's mother from a "natural gas explosion" that took the life of Ghost's dad. Homelander next appears in the episode " I'm Your Pusher ", set in the same continuity as The Boys comic book series while honoring Great Wide Wonder during
8113-738: The Instant Video service on February 26, 2014. In January 2015, Transparent became the first show produced by Amazon Studios to win a major award and the first series from a streaming video service to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy . On July 30, 2015, Amazon announced that they had hired Jeremy Clarkson , Richard Hammond , and James May to produce an untitled motoring show for Amazon Prime Video that would later be named The Grand Tour . Neither Jeff Bezos nor Amazon stated how much Clarkson, Hammond, or May were being paid to produce
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#17327978337108246-598: The North American market). For comparison, in the same year, Spider-Man merchandise made $ 1.075 billion and Star Wars merchandise made $ 1.923 billion globally. The earliest paraphernalia appeared in 1939: a button proclaiming membership in the Supermen of America club. The first toy was a wooden doll in 1939 made by the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. Superman #5 (May 1940) carried an advertisement for
8379-578: The October 2001 letter was binding. In 2003, the Shuster heirs served a termination notice for Shuster's grant of his half of the copyright to Superman. DC Comics sued the Shuster heirs in 2010, and the court ruled in DC's favor on the grounds that the 1992 agreement with the Shuster heirs barred them from terminating the grant. Under current US copyright law, Superman is due to enter the public domain on January 1, 2034. However, this will only apply (at first) to
8512-521: The Philippines, Thailand can start making payments using digital wallets (such as DANA, ShopeePay, OVO, GoPay, GCash, Maya, Rabbit LINE Pay, TrueMoney). In April 2020, Amazon and Apple formed a deal that allowed Amazon to process in-app payments on the Prime Video app on iOS, without using Apple's official in-app purchase mechanism. Apple's official in-app purchase mechanism is used when a user does not have an existing Prime subscription. This move
8645-612: The Prime Video membership upon the development of the Prime subscription. It was then renamed as Amazon Instant Video on Demand . After acquiring the UK-based streaming and DVD-by-mail service LoveFilm in 2011, Prime Video was added to the Prime subscription in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria in 2014; continuing the plan of LoveFilm Instant, it is available on a monthly subscription of £/€8.99 per month. The service
8778-478: The Prime Video mobile app and perform a wider release of Prime Video's Android TV app. This was delivered in July 2020 as part of concessions to restore access to YouTube on Fire TV devices after a related feud with Google. In most countries, a Prime Video subscription can be paid for with debit and credit cards. Amazon Gift Card balance generally cannot be used for recurring subscription orders; however, an exemption
8911-487: The Rings , which streams on Prime Video. On May 17, 2021, parent company Amazon entered negotiations to acquire Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). On May 26, 2021, it was officially announced that they would acquire MGM for $ 8.45 billion, subject to regulatory approvals and other routine closing conditions; with the studio continuing to operate as a label alongside Amazon Studios and Amazon Prime Video. The deal
9044-523: The UK; in the UK, the company reached deals to offer channels from Discovery Communications (including Eurosport ), and live/on-demand content from ITV . Recently Amazon inks deal with award winning film director Vipin Agnihotri announcing the all girl reality show Hype Factory. Furthermore, Anime Strike and Heera (a second Channel devoted to Indian films and series) would be discontinued as separate services, and that their content would be merged into
9177-468: The US would screen the tennis channel, Tennis TV from 2018. In June 2018, it was announced that Amazon had secured the UK rights to broadcast 20 live Premier League football matches from the 2019–20 season on a three-year deal. This will be the first time that the league will be shown on a domestic live streaming service, as opposed to being shown exclusively on television. The deal has since been extended for
9310-605: The White House and killing everyone inside, including the President . During the subsequent confrontation between Homelander and Butcher, the masked Black Noir arrives in the Oval Office and reveals himself as a clone of Homelander (the first of the Seven grown after him), created solely to kill Homelander if he ever went rogue. Gradually driven insane due to not being allowed to kill Homelander, Noir reveals he committed
9443-431: The atrocities in the photos, including raping Butcher's wife, to trick the initially truly benevolent Homelander so that Noir would finally be allowed to fulfill his purpose. Outraged, Homelander attacks Black Noir. The remainder of their fight takes place off-panel, with a greatly injured Noir reappearing several pages later holding the headless remains of Homelander's torso, before being killed himself by Billy Butcher. In
9576-502: The boy and name him Clark, and teach him that he must use his fantastic natural gifts for the benefit of humanity. In November, Siegel sent Keaton an extension of his script: an adventure where Superman foils a conspiracy to kidnap a star football player. The extended script mentions that Clark puts on a special "uniform" when assuming the identity of Superman, but it is not described. Keaton produced two weeks' worth of strips based on Siegel's script. In November, Keaton showed his strips to
9709-590: The character as he is depicted in Action Comics #1 , which was published in 1938. Versions of him with later developments, such as his power of "heat vision", may persist under copyright until the works they were introduced in enter the public domain. Lois Lane, who also debuted in Action Comics #1, is expected to enter public domain in 2034, but supporting characters introduced in later publications, such as Jimmy Olsen and Supergirl , will pass into
9842-575: The character. After Siegel's discharge from the Army, he and Shuster sued DC Comics in 1947 for the rights to Superman and Superboy . The judge ruled that Superman belonged to DC Comics, but that Superboy was a separate entity that belonged to Siegel. Siegel and Shuster settled out-of-court with DC Comics, which paid the pair $ 94,013.16 (equivalent to $ 1,192,222 in 2023) in exchange for the full rights to both Superman and Superboy. DC Comics then fired Siegel and Shuster. DC Comics rehired Jerry Siegel as
9975-738: The characters of Douglas Fairbanks , who starred in adventure films such as The Mark of Zorro and Robin Hood . The name of Superman's home city, Metropolis, was taken from the 1927 film of the same name . Popeye cartoons were also an influence. Clark Kent's harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in The Mark of Zorro and Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel . Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor. Another inspiration
10108-475: The comedies Alpha House and Betas , which are original series available exclusively online via the Prime Instant Video service. Amazon offered the first three episodes of both series at once for free, with each subsequent episode released weekly thereafter for Prime members. In February 2014, Amazon announced that the streaming service of its UK subsidiary LoveFilm would be folded into
10241-488: The comic magazine industry and they had done the same with their previous published works ( Slam Bradley , Doctor Occult , etc.), but Superman became far more popular and valuable than they anticipated and they much regretted giving him away. DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster, and they were paid well because they were popular with the readers. Between 1938 and 1947, DC Comics paid them together at least $ 401,194.85 (equivalent to $ 7,310,000 in 2023). Siegel wrote most of
10374-450: The comics business without ever offering a book deal because the sales of Detective Dan were disappointing. Siegel believed publishers kept rejecting them because he and Shuster were young and unknown, so he looked for an established artist to replace Shuster. When Siegel told Shuster what he was doing, Shuster reacted by burning their rejected Superman comic, sparing only the cover. They continued collaborating on other projects, but for
10507-422: The company himself. Before leaving, Edgar warns Homelander that he will not be here to clean up his messes. He appoints Ashley Barrett as his puppet ruler and antagonizes Starlight by reinstating The Deep as a member of the Seven and falsely announcing that the two are in a relationship during the finale of American Hero . After Starlight denounces Homelander and Vought and abandons her persona as Starlight via
10640-618: The daily strips, possibly because Siegel had to delegate the Sunday strips to ghostwriters . By 1941, the newspaper strips had an estimated readership of 20 million. Joe Shuster drew the early strips, then passed the job to Wayne Boring . From 1949 to 1956, the newspaper strips were drawn by Win Mortimer . The strip ended in May 1966, but was revived from 1977 to 1983 to coincide with a series of movies released by Warner Bros. Initially, Siegel
10773-523: The device, Amazon supports up to 4K (UHD) and high-dynamic-range (HDR) streaming. UHD/HDR rolled out with its original content. Other titles support 1080p (HD) streaming with 5.1 Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus audio, with Dolby Atmos coming soon to certain titles. For titles available for purchase (and not included in a customer's Amazon Prime subscription), the HD option is often offered at an additional price. On March 18, 2020, Thierry Breton ,
10906-430: The effort to reduce streaming bitrates while also maintaining a quality streaming, "We support the need for careful management of telecom services to ensure they can handle the increased internet demand with so many people now at home full-time due to COVID-19 . Prime Video is working with local authorities and Internet Service Providers where needed to help mitigate any network congestion." Superman Superman
11039-436: The end of January 2024, the service began featuring "limited" advertisements. Avoiding them would cost an additional $ 2.99 per month. With this move, Prime Video joined many other streaming services in featuring ads, which could be more lucrative than non-ad supported options. Currently, the ad-supported tier was available in selected markets, such as United States, Canada, the U.K. and some European territories. Prime Video
11172-431: The erratic pay, Siegel and Shuster kept working for Wheeler-Nicholson because he was the only publisher who was buying their work, and over the years they produced other adventure strips for his magazines. Wheeler-Nicholson's financial difficulties continued to mount. In 1936, he formed a joint corporation with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz called Detective Comics, Inc. in order to release his third magazine, which
11305-399: The financial thumb of V, as their money funds the Seven's hedonistic lifestyle. Homelander eventually tries to encourage the other superheroes to do what they want, but relents due to his fear of his boss "The Vought Guy"/"The Guy From Vought" . Until the events of the series' climax, Billy Butcher is tricked into thinking Homelander had raped his wife Becky , who then died giving birth to
11438-482: The franchise beyond the comic books. Superman, Inc. merged with DC Comics in October 1946. After DC Comics merged with Warner Communications in 1967, licensing for Superman was handled by the Licensing Corporation of America. The Licensing Letter (an American market research firm) estimated that Superman licensed merchandise made $ 634 million in sales globally in 2018 (43.3% of this revenue came from
11571-434: The full Prime Video service would begin a wider international rollout to compete with Netflix . On December 14, 2016, Prime Video expanded into 200 additional territories. In 2020, Prime Video expanded its marketing campaigns and local productions to Latin America with El Presidente ( Chile & Colombia ), La Jauría (Chile), and Súbete a mi moto. Amazon Studios owns global television adaptation rights to The Lord of
11704-479: The greater good just before he orders The Seven to kill Cameron Coleman, who is believed to have leaked the video. Homelander, along with most of The Seven and Neuman, attend a party organized by Tek Knight , in which he plans to turn, along with Sage and Neuman, the congressmen against Singer. Homelander learns from Firecracker that the mole is still alive and they become intimate when she feeds him her breast milk . Homelander begins to give Firecracker more weight on
11837-495: The idea that he can do anything he wants because of who he is. Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video , or simply Prime Video , is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered both as a stand-alone service and as part of Amazon's Prime subscription . The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios or licensed to Amazon, as Amazon Originals , with
11970-433: The lab where he was created and kept locked up. He proceeds to kill all of the people responsible for testing on him in an act of revenge, with the exception of Dr. Barbara Findley, whom he leaves locked up along with the rest of the dead staff. Following the events at the lab, Homelander begins to connect with Ryan and starts to support him. Later, Homelander tells his team that they will have to be more cruel and ruthless for
12103-440: The laser baby to fight Stormfront, a consequence of which Wiz and Boomstick are uneasy of. In a 2022 episode, Homelander is pitted against Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man (from Invincible ). Through a simulated battle, the hosts determined Omni-Man's superior strength, skill, and experience would prevail against Homelander if the two fought to the death. In The Boys Presents: Diabolical , Starr reprises his role as Homelander from
12236-443: The latter strikes Ryan, but is forced to reluctantly fight Queen Maeve. He later introduces his son Ryan to his and Stormfront's supporters at Vought Tower. There, a pro-Starlight protestor hits Ryan in the face with a soft drink can, provoking Homelander to kill him with his heat vision. This grants him the applause of his and Stormfront's supporters, while Ryan is impressed. Homelander, after getting everything he's ever wanted, faces
12369-410: The likes of Batman , Wonder Woman , and others. More Superman comic books have been sold in publication history than any other American superhero character. Exact sales figures for the early decades of Superman comic books are hard to find because, like most publishers at the time, DC Comics concealed this data from its competitors and thereby the general public, but given the general market trends at
12502-540: The live-action series. Homelander first appears in the final moments of the episode " An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents ", executing the title characters (escaped Supe teenagers with abnormal powers from the Red River Assisted Living for the Gifted Child) with his heat vision on Vought's behalf, after they kill their parents due to the events of The Boys episode " Over
12635-470: The magazine and daily newspaper stories until he was conscripted into the United States Army in 1943, whereupon the task was passed to ghostwriters. While Siegel was serving in Hawaii, DC Comics published a story featuring a child version of Superman called " Superboy ", which was based on a script Siegel had submitted several years before. Siegel was furious because DC Comics did this without having bought
12768-454: The main Prime Video library at no additional charge. In April 2017, Amazon began to make sports-related content acquisitions, first acquiring non-exclusive rights to stream portions of the NFL 's Thursday Night Football games during the 2017 NFL season to Prime subscribers in the United States as part of a $ 50 million deal, replacing a previous deal with Twitter . In August, Amazon acquired
12901-440: The movies and television shows. Comic book stories can be produced quickly and cheaply, and are thus an ideal medium for experimentation. Whereas comic books in the 1950s were read by children, since the 1990s the average reader has been an adult. A major reason for this shift was DC Comics' decision in the 1970s to sell its comic books to specialty stores instead of traditional magazine retailers (supermarkets, newsstands, etc.) —
13034-473: The new territories, the service was included with Prime in Belgium , Brazil , Canada , France , India , Ireland , Italy , Poland , Turkey , and Spain , while for all other countries, it was made available for a monthly promotional price of $ /€2.99 per month for the first six months and $ /€5.99 per month thereafter. Alongside Amazon MGM Studios, Prime Video constitutes one half of Amazon's membership in
13167-562: The newspaper editors were not impressed, and told them that if they wanted to make a successful comic strip, it had to be something more sensational than anything else on the market. This prompted Siegel to revisit Superman as a comic strip character. Siegel modified Superman's powers to make him even more sensational. Like Bill Dunn, the second prototype of Superman is given powers against his will by an unscrupulous scientist, but instead of psychic abilities, he acquires superhuman strength and bullet-proof skin . Additionally, this new Superman
13300-434: The newspapers on their behalf. In October, Wheeler-Nicholson offered to publish Superman in one of his own magazines. Siegel and Shuster refused his offer because Wheeler-Nicholson had demonstrated himself to be an irresponsible businessman. He had been slow to respond to their letters and had not paid them for their work in New Fun Comics #6. They chose to keep marketing Superman to newspaper syndicates themselves. Despite
13433-550: The original productions for both Southeast Asia and Middle East and North Africa as they shifted on European productions and even licensing. Similar layoffs took place in West and South Africa divisions few months later amidst fierce competition with Showmax . In 2015, Amazon launched the Streaming Partners Program (now known as Amazon Channels), a platform allowing subscription-based third-party channels (
13566-577: The pod that Soldier Boy is held in. Homelander looks at it with a sad expression. Homelander appears during the chaos at Godolkin University in the first season finale of Gen V after being called by Ashley Barrett. Upon arrival, he sees the fallen Supes from "the Woods" and Cate Dunlap's left arm being blown off as he asks Marie what kind of Supe attacks her own kind. Before Marie can explain, Homelander blasts his heat vision at her. After this, he makes
13699-684: The pool of writers grew, Weisinger demanded a more disciplined approach. Weisinger assigned story ideas, and the logic of Superman's powers, his origin, the locales, and his relationships with his growing cast of supporting characters were carefully planned. Elements such as Bizarro , his cousin Supergirl , the Phantom Zone , the Fortress of Solitude , alternate varieties of kryptonite , robot doppelgangers , and Krypto were introduced during this era. The complicated universe built under Weisinger
13832-414: The programme via their production company The Grand Tour , but Jeff Bezos stated that the deal was "very expensive, but worth it." The budget for the show has not officially been announced, but Andy Wilman , the former executive producer of Top Gear stated that each episode would have a budget of around £4.5 million, nine times larger than Top Gear's budget. Also in July, Amazon announced plans to expand
13965-441: The real perpetrators of the attack, Cate and Sam Riordan, the ones who saved the day, and Marie and her group are locked up. Homelander watches his cover-up be mentioned by Cameron Coleman with satisfaction. In the following 2020–2021 promotional web series , Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman , which bridges the events of the second and third seasons, Homelander continues dealing with the aftermath of Stormfront being revealed to be
14098-487: The rest of the original roster of the Seven were grown in a secret laboratory, the progeny of genetic material taken from Stormfront , who was injected with Compound V while still a member of the Hitler Youth . Homelander spent most of his young life chained down with a hydrogen bomb strapped to him in case he tried to escape. His mother was a mentally disabled woman who died giving birth to him. Homelander remains under
14231-661: The rights to Superman using the termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976 . DC Comics negotiated an agreement wherein it would pay the Siegel heirs several million dollars and a yearly stipend of $ 500,000 in exchange for permanently granting DC the rights to Superman. DC Comics also agreed to insert the line "By Special Arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family" in all future Superman productions. The Siegels accepted DC's offer in an October 2001 letter. Copyright lawyer and movie producer Marc Toberoff then struck
14364-461: The scene, Homelander attempts to explain his actions before resolving to kill Noir to cover them up. After Noir tricks Homelander into blowing up the compound, he gains his trust by mercy killing the last witness to Homelander's murders in its aftermath, and writes him an excusatory speech to provide to the press outside, claiming the eco-terrorists had a bomb. Everyone bought that speech. Later at Vought headquarters, Homelander tells Stillwell that she
14497-496: The script that Siegel sent Keaton in June, Superman's origin story further evolved: In the distant future, when Earth is on the verge of exploding due to "giant cataclysms", the last surviving man sends his three-year-old son back in time to the year 1935. The time-machine appears on a road where it is discovered by motorists Sam and Molly Kent. They leave the boy in an orphanage, but the staff struggle to control him because he has superhuman strength and impenetrable skin. The Kents adopt
14630-465: The season finale, the prequel episode " One Plus One Equals Two ", a young Homelander makes his debut as a member of the Seven. Flashbacks of his childhood reveal the systematic torture he received from Vought scientists testing the extent of his powers. His superior Madelyn Stillwell, who has been manipulating him , warns him of Black Noir , the "Homelander before Homelander", claiming that he will seek every opportunity to destroy him. Assigned to tackle
14763-527: The service also hosting content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events, and video rental and purchasing services. Operating worldwide, the service may require a full Prime subscription to be accessed. In countries such as the United States , United Kingdom , and Germany , the service can be accessed without a full Prime subscription, whereas in Australia , Canada , France , India , Turkey , and Italy , it can only be accessed through
14896-512: The service to India. In September 2015, the word "Instant" was dropped from its title in the US, and it was renamed simply Amazon Video . In November 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon was pursuing streaming rights to U.S. professional sports leagues to further differentiate the service. Amazon announced in November 2016 that it planned to stream The Grand Tour globally, which led to speculation over whether
15029-400: The strips, and they asked Siegel and Shuster to develop the strips into 13 pages for Action Comics . Having grown tired of rejections, Siegel and Shuster accepted the offer. At least now they would see Superman published. Siegel and Shuster submitted their work in late February and were paid US$ 130 (equivalent to $ 2,800 in 2023) for their work ($ 10 per page). In early March they signed
15162-420: The team. Homelander kills Webweaver thinking he is the mole and sends The Deep and Black Noir II to kill Butcher and the rest of The Boys, without success. Feeling betrayed by A-Train, Homelander expels Sage from The Seven after hiding that A-Train was the mole. That night, Homelander sees how his son talks live about his mother Becca and Butcher, which leaves him in shock. Homelander discovers Butcher's gift and in
15295-461: The teams. On July 1, 2022, Amazon announced a deal with UEFA Champions League football. Prime Video will air 17 games for the 2024–25 season in the United Kingdom. On October 20, 2022, Prime Video acquired the rights to broadcast NBA during the 2022–23 season in Brazil. On November 9, 2022, Prime Video launched seven sports talk shows from 8 AM to 8 PM. They air Monday through Friday. At
15428-599: The time being Shuster was through with Superman. Siegel wrote to numerous artists. The first response came in July 1933 from Leo O'Mealia, who drew the Fu Manchu strip for the Bell Syndicate . In the script that Siegel sent to O'Mealia, Superman's origin story changes: He is a "scientist-adventurer" from the far future when humanity has naturally evolved "superpowers". Just before the Earth explodes, he escapes in
15561-538: The time, negotiating a deal with the McClure Newspaper Syndicate for Superman. In early January 1938, Siegel had a three-way telephone conversation with Liebowitz and an employee of McClure named Max Gaines . Gaines informed Siegel that McClure had rejected Superman, and asked if he could forward their Superman strips to Liebowitz so that Liebowitz could consider them for Action Comics . Siegel agreed. Liebowitz and his colleagues were impressed by
15694-415: The time, sales of Action Comics and Superman probably peaked in the mid-1940s and thereafter steadily declined. Sales data first became public in 1960, and showed that Superman was the best-selling comic book character of the 1960s and 1970s. Sales rose again starting in 1987. Superman #75 (Nov 1992) had over 23 million copies sold, making it the best-selling issue of a comic book of all time, due to
15827-423: Was John Carter of Mars from the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs . John Carter is a human who is transported to Mars, where the lower gravity makes him stronger than the natives and allows him to leap great distances. Another influence was Philip Wylie 's 1930 novel Gladiator , featuring a protagonist named Hugo Danner who had similar powers. Superman's stance and devil-may-care attitude were influenced by
15960-507: Was a crime-fighting hero instead of a villain, because Siegel noted that comic strips with heroic protagonists tended to be more successful. In later years, Siegel once recalled that this Superman wore a "bat-like" cape in some panels, but typically he and Shuster agreed there was no costume yet, and there is none apparent in the surviving artwork. Siegel and Shuster showed this second concept of Superman to Consolidated Book Publishers, based in Chicago. In May 1933, Consolidated had published
16093-491: Was a radio show, The Adventures of Superman , which ran from 1940 to 1951 for 2,088 episodes, most of which were aimed at children. The episodes were initially 15 minutes long, but after 1949 they were lengthened to 30 minutes. Most episodes were done live. Bud Collyer was the voice actor for Superman in most episodes. The show was produced by Robert Maxwell and Allen Ducovny, who were employees of Superman, Inc. and Detective Comics, Inc. respectively. In 1966 Superman had
16226-432: Was allowed to write Superman more or less as he saw fit because nobody had anticipated the success and rapid expansion of the franchise. But soon Siegel and Shuster's work was put under careful oversight for fear of trouble with censors. Siegel was forced to tone down the violence and social crusading that characterized his early stories. Editor Whitney Ellsworth , hired in 1940, dictated that Superman not kill. Sexuality
16359-417: Was banned, and colorfully outlandish villains such as Ultra-Humanite and Toyman were thought to be less nightmarish for young readers. Mort Weisinger was the editor on Superman comics from 1941 to 1970, his tenure briefly interrupted by military service. Siegel and his fellow writers had developed the character with little thought of building a coherent mythology, but as the number of Superman titles and
16492-697: Was beguiling to devoted readers but alienating to casuals. Weisinger favored lighthearted stories over serious drama, and avoided sensitive subjects such as the Vietnam War and the American civil rights movement because he feared his right-wing views would alienate his left-leaning writers and readers. Weisinger also introduced letters columns in 1958 to encourage feedback and build intimacy with readers. Weisinger retired in 1970 and Julius Schwartz took over. By his own admission, Weisinger had grown out of touch with newer readers. Starting with The Sandman Saga , Schwartz updated Superman by making Clark Kent
16625-585: Was born Kal-El , on the fictional planet Krypton . As a baby, his parents Jor-El and Lara sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of Smallville , Kansas. He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent , who named him Clark Kent . Clark began developing superhuman abilities , such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His adoptive parents advised him to use his powers to benefit of humanity, and he decided to fight crime as
16758-624: Was closed after receiving all governmental approvals on March 17, 2022. In July 2021, Amazon and Universal Pictures reached a multi-year deal to bring Universal's films to Prime Video, as well as IMDb TV (now Amazon Freevee ). As part of the deal, titles from Universal's library as well as future theatrical releases would become available on Amazon's streaming services following their first pay window and four months after release on Peacock . The deal makes major franchises such as Fast & Furious , Jurassic Park and Bourne eligible to stream on Prime Video. Most recently, Prime Video had signed
16891-496: Was considered notable as most apps on the App Store are not allowed to use their own payment processor; in-app transactions for digital content have to be handled by Apple. However, in May 2022, Amazon removed the ability for iOS and Android users to make in-app purchases on several of Amazon's digital storefronts, including Kindle, Audible and Music apps, due to disputes over transaction fees. In some countries where Amazon Video
17024-486: Was inspired by heraldic crests . Many pulp action heroes such as swashbucklers wore capes. Superman's face was based on Johnny Weissmuller with touches derived from the comic-strip character Dick Tracy and from the work of cartoonist Roy Crane. The word "superman" was commonly used in the 1920s and 1930s to describe men of great ability, most often athletes and politicians. It occasionally appeared in pulp fiction stories as well, such as "The Superman of Dr. Jukes". It
17157-484: Was previously available in Norway , Denmark , and Sweden in 2012, but was discontinued in 2013. On April 18, 2016, Amazon split Prime Video from Amazon Prime in the US for $ 8.99 per month. On December 14, 2016, Prime Video launched worldwide (except for Mainland China , Cuba , Iran , North Korea , Sudan , and Syria ) expanding its reach beyond the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Japan . Among
17290-450: Was slapstick comedian Harold Lloyd . The archetypal Lloyd character was a mild-mannered man who finds himself abused by bullies but later in the story snaps and fights back furiously. Kent is a journalist because Siegel often imagined himself becoming one after leaving school. The love triangle between Lois Lane , Clark, and Superman was inspired by Siegel's own awkwardness with girls. The pair collected comic strips in their youth, with
17423-574: Was titled Detective Comics . Siegel and Shuster produced stories for Detective Comics too, such as " Slam Bradley ". Wheeler-Nicholson fell into deep debt to Donenfeld and Liebowitz, and in early January 1938, Donenfeld and Liebowitz petitioned Wheeler-Nicholson's company into bankruptcy and seized it. In early December 1937, Siegel visited Liebowitz in New York, and Liebowitz asked Siegel to produce some comics for an upcoming comic anthology magazine called Action Comics . Siegel proposed some new stories, but not Superman. Siegel and Shuster were, at
17556-452: Was unaware of it until the end of the season, pregnant with his son, Ryan. His discovery of the lies surrounding Ryan's existence influences his decision to maim the scientist responsible for his upbringing, Jonah Vogelbaum, and murder Madelyn Stillwell . However, his emotional incompetence and sociopathic traits initially alienate him from his son, and the loss of Stillwell's moderating influence on his behavior unbalances him further. He enters
17689-478: Was wrong about Noir. The character was designed as an evil version of Superman and Captain America in terms of powerset and costume. His cape pulled to the left resembles the first costume of Captain Marvel a.k.a. Shazam . Homelander's backstory in the original comics is similar to that in the television adaption of The Boys . Garth Ennis describes Homelander as: "an almost entirely negative character. He
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