u/DrBooBear2004

After rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender, I thought about the character of Azula a lot, and the more I did, I realized she’s very similar to Homelander in The Boys TV show. It sounds weird to compare a character from a non-violent show to another from a very violent show, but if you think about it, these characters are similar.

Similarities

-They’re psychologically damaged and unhinged tirades, who make the audience uncomfortable every time they’re on screen

-They’re considered the most powerful and skilled people in their fields, having various abilities when it comes to their bodies

-Their minds become more unstable as both shows go on, believing in delusions about themselves

-Their childhoods consisted of indoctrination, and they were made to be products of their environments

-They tormented members of their teams or family to manipulate, physically and emotionally damage them by using the power of fear

-People keep leaving them or get thrown under the bus, even struggling to find love

-Their fathers look at their sons in disappointment

-One of their members ends up betraying them and joining the main trio

-An iconic scene with them looking in a mirror and also hallucinating a woman they know, showing their current state of mind

-Everything they say makes you uncomfortable as a viewer

-They have their own recognizable theme music and chimes when they appear, and they represent their state of mind

-They messed with a blind person’s abilities

-They remove people who fear them and their power

-Their final battle took place at a political location, right before they were about to change the world forever

-The traitor faces and outnumbers the source of their pain

-They are outsmarted by a vengeful person, and show how weak and scared they are on the inside

Of course, there are differences.

-For their powers, Azula is the most powerful and skilled firebender in the Fire Nation, while also being able to shoot lightning from her fingers. Homelander is the most powerful superhero in Vought’s lineup, having multiple abilities like flying, X-ray vision, laser eyes, super speed, and others. He becomes more powerful when he takes V1 in the final season, but it doesn’t last long.

-In childhood, Azula was raised in royalty, indoctrinated by most of her family and taught the ideologies of the Fire Nation. Homelander was raised in a lab by Vought scientists, designed as a product for the company, and raised with the values of America.

-Azula torments her brother Zuko and even manipulates him on various occasions, often putting her friends Mai and Ty Lee into dangerous situations to make things go her way. Homelander, on the other hand, torments Starlight (Annie January) by threatening her with death and destruction, while also tormenting members of The Seven by making them as uncomfortable as possible.

-As for father issues, Azula’s father, Fire Lord Ozai, looks down on Zuko in disappointment, and Homelander’s father, Soldier Boy, sees him as a letdown.

-The traitor to Azula is Zuko, who joins Team Avatar after his change of heart, while the traitor to Homelander is Annie (Starlight), who joins The Boys after leaving the Seven on her own terms.

-When Azula looks in the mirror during the final scene of ATLA, she hallucinates her mother telling her that she loves her despite seeing her as a monster, destroying her mind further. When Homelander looks in the mirror during season three of The Boys, he sees himself telling him how strong he is, further feeding into his head. In season four, he sees various versions of himself in the mirror, telling him all sorts of things that go on in his head, giving him the motivation to return home (the lab). Then, in the final season, Homelander also hallucinates a woman, but this time, it’s Madelyn Stillwell, who appears as an “exquisite angel” that gives him a God complex.

-When it comes to blind people, Azula messed with Toph (using her feet to see) by using her lying ability, while Homelander messed with Blindspot by bashing his ears, his main source of sight.

-For removing people, Azula either banishes them for the smallest of imperfections, while Homelander straight-up kills people who stand against him.

-In their final battles, Azula was about to become the new ruler of the Fire Nation when Zuko and Katara stepped in with a big fight ensuing at the Royal Palace in the Fire Nation Capital. Meanwhile, Homelander was about to declare himself God on national TV when he had a psychotic break in the middle of the broadcast, and continuing to do so, Billy Butcher, Ryan, and Kimiko confronted him, leading to a brawl at the White House.

-For the traitors, Zuko faces Azula in battle, taunting her to show that he’s had enough of her. When Azula is outmatched, Zuko shows a sigh of relief that he doesn’t have to deal with his sister anymore. On the other hand, Annie faces The Deep and tells him that everything he’s done was all his fault, but refuses to admit it. After The Deep was thrown into the ocean and killed by an octopus, she also shows a sigh of relief after suffering for long enough.

-For their defeats, during their battle, Katara (whose mother died when the Fire Nation invaded her village and let go of her vengeance) notices water underneath her and uses it to freeze Azula, chaining her hands down. As she’s defeated, Azula begins to have a psychological breakdown as she breathes fire from her mouth and cries in agony, while Zuko and Katara watch in silence. On the other hand, during their fight, Homelander is pinned down by Butcher (whose wife Becca was raped) and Ryan (who accidentally kills Becca in season two but is forgiven) as he attempts to fly off. Kimiko hits Homelander with Soldier Boy’s radiation blast, taking away his powers, along with Butcher’s and Ryan’s. Now powerless, he begs for mercy and says he’ll do anything, but he soon meets his end when Butcher shoves a crowbar through his head, killing him.

I’ve played all the mainline Resident Evil games for the first time, and it was a really great journey. These are some of the most challenging, terrifying, ridiculous, and action packed games I’ve ever played. There’s no other franchise like it out there, and makes me want to play more Japanese games. I’ll be going in chronological order.

Resident Evil (2002)

It’s one of the most unique experiences I’ve had playing a game. It has an entertaining story, with some solid gameplay that may seem rough at first, but you’ll get the hang of it, due to the fixed camera angles. Speaking of which, that’s what gives this game a personality, and even makes it feel cinematic. It’s refreshing even today because both games don’t do something like this. However, it can make the controls the little difficult because depending on the angles, the characters will change direction while you use the controller to go in the direction you want them to. Like I said, you’ll get used to it. The puzzles were challenging, but can get a little tedious after running through hallway after hallway, seeing those doors over and over. Seriously, this game has an obsession with door shots. The enemies were nothing to write home about, and the boss fights, while challenging, feel super easy. Like, there’s hardly any obstacles to face when it comes to them other than charge it you and ya shoot them a bunch of times. The characters are iconic, but there nothing to write home about, because they don’t go through any arcs whatsoever, as the plot is focused more on mystery. I mean, you got Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Albert Wesker, and other, but can you name me one thing they’ve learned? Nothing, but that’s okay, because it’s too entertaining to play. Overall, it’s a great start for the franchise and for a beginner that just got their hands on it.

8/10

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

Chronologically speaking, this is a complete step up from the original, something that most sequels failed to achieve. The story is engaging and filled with stakes, even having some emotional moments that really make you feel. The gameplay is really well done, as despite having no fixed camera angles, it makes things a lot easier as you navigate through the police station and shoot at enemies, who are a lot keeper in this game. I love just shooting at the zombies, and depending on the weapon you’re using, can really destroy them in such satisfying ways. Speaking of creepy, I personally think as a horror game, it’s a lot scarier than the original, which I personally didn’t find all that creepy. What makes this game scary is one character in particular, and his name is Mr. X. Jesus Christ, this guy. From the moment he appears, this giant man in an insanely big trench code follows you everywhere you go, no matter how far or how well you hide, this guy always find you. You can’t kill him either, so when you better keep moving as soon as he pops up. Don’t stop, not because you got a platypus controlling you. He’s like the entity from It Follows on steroids. Thankfully, at a certain point he stops chasing you, those moments with him are unforgettable. There’s other great enemies in this game like the Lickers and William Birkin, who has some of the craziest boss battles I’ve ever played through. This guy’s body just mutates to the point of insanity and got so ridiculous, that’s it’s entertaining to play. The puzzles are challenging and easy to follow this time around, as the game offers many creative ways to solve them. The only problem I have with this game is how when you do the second campaign, the story feels exactly the same, like with Birkin’s boss fights, the puzzles, and other stuff, despite some parts that differentiate from each. Oh well, what can you do. We also get some great characters, like Claire Redfield, Leon Kennedy, Ada Wong, Sherry Birkin, Chief Brian Irons (a sick son of a bitch), among others, who have their own distinct personalities and people you route for, expect Irons, of course. Overall, it’s a massive improvement over the original and something I would replay more often.

9/10

Resident Evil 3 (2020)

I really enjoyed this game, but I prefer RE2 more than this one. The story was engaging and entertaining, the gameplay is enjoyable as you like the previous game, but it’s not as scary. It just felt more action focused and mostly felt out the horror aspects, with only thing in this game that felt scary, being the character of Nemesis. He was terrifying in the game, as he hunted you down wherever you go, similar to Mr. X, but we don’t spend much time with him. He has more stuff like weapons and can jump from a distance to kill you, but for the rest of the game, he mutates into a monster, like William Birkin. The puzzles weren’t that challenging, and could easily be solved without any challenge. The characters were alright, but felt a little one note, as the game doesn’t do much for you to care about them other than “we gotta get out of the city before shit goes down.” Yeah, there wasn’t a whole lot to say about, and overall, a pretty good game, but has a lot of flaws.

7/10

Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Wow, this was such a fun game to play, and refreshing for the franchise as it tries something new by being more action focused. Despite this franchise being horror driven, it does have those elements, while balancing them out with some action without feeling like tonal whiplash. The story is really engaging, and is a lot longer than the first three. I’m okay with that, because everything in it felt necessary without any pointless filler. The gameplay was a lot of fun, as I enjoyed battling the enemies, who aren’t zombies this time, but other people infected by a very contagious disease. It’s not just them, as we also get giants, wolfs, people’s heads mutating from the disease, and other, who all have their own unique ways of defeating them. What I also like is how it has a lot more boss battles, compared to the original, and these were some of the most challenging and batshit insane ones I’ve played, the hardest of all being Ramon Salazar. I’ve died multiple times trying to beat him, and when I did, I felt rewarded and relieved. The puzzles were challenging, but easy to understand. The characters were entertaining to watch and even went through some arcs, and the new characters like Ashley Graham, Luis Serra, and The Merchant were entertaining and have their own personalities. I also like how you now can get new weapons from buying them, rather than just picking them off the floor. Overall, a really fun game that I would replay over and over again.

10/10

Resident Evil 5

This was a fun and enjoyable game, and it’s better than the first game. The plot is entertaining, as it manages to give me action moments without going overboard to deviate from the horror of the games. The gameplay was entertaining as hell, and having two playable characters was interesting to see, but I wish that you could switch between them and it can get unresponsive at times. It has a variety of interesting enemies too, but the boss battles weren’t the most memorable, but were really challenging. The puzzles in this game were a little lacking, and the characters I don’t have anything to write home about. Yeah, I don’t have that much to say and overall, this is a great game, and I hope the next game doesn’t suck.

8/10

Resident Evil 6

This game was a massive disappointment, and kind of sucks the more I think about it. First of all, it didn’t feel like Resident Evil at all, but rather more like a stereotypical Hollywood action movie, similar to a Michael Bay movie. The plot is has way too much going on, and you have to play through FOUR CAMPAIGNS. FOUR CAMPAIGNS!!! The gameplay is kind of fun I guess, but can be a little rough at times and sometimes your other character doesn’t respond when you’re in danger. I didn’t play the online version, and I wished that I did, but this game again isn’t good. I’ll give it this, though. It has a variety of enemies and does feel fun to take them down. The puzzles were super easy, barely an inconvenience, basically lacking any challenge at all. The characters were done dirty, like Leon, Ada, Chris, and Sherry don’t feel like themselves in some ways. The tone is also way too over the top and ridiculous, even by Resident Evil standards, which was better in RE5 but overblown in this. Overall, a mediocre game with some solid gameplay, but a terrible plot and characters that are done dirty. Please, I hope this franchise is saved.

5/10 (it could change the more I think about it)

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

You know, we all thought Resident Evil was dead after six, and there was no coming back after that. Then, this game came along and oh boy did it save the franchise. Not only that, but I also consider this to be my favorite Resident Evil game, as it’s everything you ever want, everything you ever need, and it’s right here in front of you. This game is scary from beginning to end, as once you enter the Baker home, things go downhill fast. We have some of the most terrifying characters in the franchise in this game, such as Jack Baker, whose screen presence haunts you for the entire game. The most interesting thing about these villains is that they’re the embodiment of three different types of horror, such as Jack, whose represents the slasher genre as he hunts you down while making a bunch of entertaining one liners. Marguerite Baker, another terrifying character, represents body horror, as she becomes more distorted in appearance as you progress through her section. Lucas Baker, a less terrifying but still great character, represents torture porn (Saw franchise), as he places you in various deadly and unfair tasks that lead you to death. The boss battles were full of tension, and hit you really hard. The puzzles were challenging and felt like Resident Evil. Overall, the best game in the franchise and nothing is going to top it.

10/10

Resident Evil: Village

This was a lot weaker than RE7, but it’s still nonetheless a great game. It blends the horror of the previous game, along with having some similarities to Resident Evil 4, making the plot really interesting. Plus, we get some great characters, like Lady Dimitrescu, who intimidating and entertaining to watch. But the past that I’m excited to talk about the most is the House Beneviento segment. It’s one of the most terrifying parts to a video game that I’ve ever played, giving me vibes to Outlast and Amnesia: The Bunker. The Baby is one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever seen in my entire life, and when it appeared a got scared like so many others. The gameplay is great, as you take down a variety of enemies with various weapons at your disposal. The boss battles were amazing, and the some of the best in the franchise. Yeah, I don’t have much to say and overall, an amazing game that I would replay.

9/10

Resident Evil: Requiem

This was a pretty unique game for the franchise, as it goes for two different styles depending on who you’re playing as. The plot is really engaging, as everything in it felt necessary with no filler. The gameplay is fun, as it manages to be terrifying when you play as Grace and hardcore when you’re playing as Leon. The villain was kind of forgettable, but the enemies were pretty good, especially the Girl, who isn’t one of the best stalker enemies in the franchise, but is great nonetheless. Yeah, I also don’t have that much to say, and overall, a great game that I would replay.

8/10

Resident Evil 0

This was good game, but it has its issues. The plot was good, I’ll say, but there’s nothing much to it. The gameplay was pretty solid, but I don’t like that there’s no chest you can store your items so you have to like leave them around and come back for them in such an agonizing way. It becomes apparent when you’re in a different location far away from the item that you need, and you have to get it back. The puzzles were pretty good, and the characters were fine. I also don’t have that much to say about it. Overall, a good game.

7/10

Resident Evil: Revelations 1 & 2

These were also interesting games in the franchise, as they were chapter and episode based in terms of storytelling, something I’ve ever seen before in these games. The plot of the first game was alright, but the plot was the second game was better, as it provides a nonlinear structure that makes the twists really shocking as they go on. The gameplay in the first game is good, but the second game is smoother. The enemies were really good, and have a lot of unique ways of attacking you. The puzzles were enjoyable in both games, and as were the characters, who have their own interests stories. Overall, RE: Revelations 1 was okay, but RE: Revelations 2 was better.

6/10 and 7/10

It’s been quite the journey playing these games, I hope to replay most of them for October this year.

While watching the Scary Movie kill count, I noticed he didn’t count Cindy’s grandma, who got hit by a piano going down the stairs. That’s one of my favorite moments from Scary Movie, and gets me laughing every time I watch it, but I think her grandma is dead. No one can survive something like getting hit by a piano going that fast down the stairs.

The day started out like any other day. I did all my usual stuff, went to therapy, and saw this in theaters, alone. As soon as it was over, I started sobbing and stayed through the end credits. Then, I walked out slowly, going on a walk.

I’m still processing what I just watched, but Obsession is the best film of 2026, and nothing could top it. I can’t wait to write an analysis it, and I recommend you go and check it out right now.

Ever since I saw the teaser trailer in February, I was immediately intrigued by the movie’s premise. As a hopeless romantic, I found this movie super relatable, as I’ve struggled with finding a relationship for most of my life. It’s like this movie reads my mind, plus I’ve heard that it’s batshit crazy. I love crazy horror movies, so I can’t wait to see this movie next week.

You know what, maybe I’ll use the One Wish Willow to wish for a friend of mine to fall in love with me. Also If you got to see the movie at TIFF or anywhere else, NO SPOILERS.