About

Homelander Blow, also known as Stressed Homelander, Homelander Puffing, Homelander Blowing or Homelander Exhale, is a clip of the character Homelander, played by actor Antony Starr, from the Amazon superhero series The Boys acting stressed and exhaling deeply through his mouth with his cheeks puffed out. In early July 2022, the clip gained virality as an exploitable and source material for video or GIF caption memes. Absurd photoshops and AI images of the screencap, in which Homelander's cheeks were enlarged, then trended on TikTok in late 2025, largely surfacing as reaction images in comment sections on the app.

Origin

On July 1st, 2022, episode seven, titled "Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed," of season three of the superhero series The Boys premiered on Amazon.^[1] In one scene of the episode, the main villain, Homelander, portrayed by Antony Starr, is giving a speech in which he denies allegations against him and Vought International, a company that manages him and his team. During the speech, Homelander briefly mistakes a stranger for another superhero who recently attempted to kill him. After giving the speech, Homelander goes backstage, where he acts stressed and hyperventilates.

On July 2nd, gimmick Twitter^[2] account @GenZlaughs posted a user-submitted video caption meme in which the clip was captioned with the When the Hoes Arrive meme. The video received over 854,000 views, 8,800 retweets and 71,400 likes in one week. The tweet has since been deleted.^[6]

Spread

In the following days, the clip was used in more video caption memes on Twitter and TikTok. For example, on July 2nd, 2022, TikToker^[3] @new.sigma posted a Sigma Male meme that gained over 1.3 million views and 201,700 likes in one week.

On July 5th, 2022, Twitter^[4] user @myvillaneve posted a caption meme about introverts that received over 23,000 retweets and 114,000 likes in three days.

me when i have to go outside and socialize pic.twitter.com/0BAJYb8pmI

— k | the boys spoilers (@myvillaneve) July 5, 2022

On October 4th, Redditor Alarmed-Ad-436 shared a GIF Caption meme to the /r/memes ^[5] subreddit, which showed Homelander exhaling and looking at an anime girl behind him. The caption read, "Me having one last look at my girlfriend before my alarm wakes me up." Over three years, the post received over 19,000 upvotes.

Viral posts using the format continued to surface on TikTok^[7] and elsewhere heading into 2023.

In September 2025, the Homelander Blow meme resurfaced en masse on TikTok, largely due to a series of Photoshop and AI edits of the original image in which Homelander's cheeks were enlarged and distorted. The images appeared in comment sections across the app, and a direct catalyst for the trend is currently unknown.

However, one of the earliest posts about the Homeland Blow edits was shared by TikToker^[8] @cookiefan9000 on September 9th, 2025. It was a photo slideshow that showed the "Homelander Base" and an edited "Homelander Bloodlusted." Over one week, the post received roughly 2,200 likes.

On that same day, TikToker @theworstmoonn posted a comment on the abovementioned post, which attached a further AI-altered image of the Homelander Blow screencap. Over one week, the comment gained over 350 likes.

On September 9th, 2025, TikToker^[9] Cookie King on his account @unbancookie shared a slideshow that tagged TikToker^[8] @cookiefan9000, including similar edits of the Homelander Blow meme. The slideshow gained over 5,000 likes in a week.

On September 12th, TikToker^[10] @cookiefan9000 shared a video of himself recreating a combination of the Homelander Blow and W Speed memes in real life, gaining over 125,200 likes in four days.

In the comment section of the abovementioned video, TikToker @dy9n8eobtpf9 shared a meme that showed a scale of Homelander Blow memes (using the Big Forehead Homer / Homers Guide format), in which Homelander's cheeks became larger from left to right, ending with a deep red Homelander with warning symbols. Over four days, the comment received over 10,900 likes.

In the same comment section on that same day, TikToker @rip_vanwinkle5000 shared an AI edit of American Psycho character Patrick Bateman, played by actor Christian Bale, making the Homelander Blow face in place of his Ooh Face. Over four days, the comment received over 18,200 likes.

Various Examples

Introverts after a Zoom call. pic.twitter.com/Qw1wOi1PYW

— Ariel Relaford (@ArielRelaford) July 5, 2022

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External References