During the final moments of "Here Comes A Candle To Light You To Bed," Soldier Boy openly confirms for the first time that Homelander was born in 1981 and he is 41 years old.
The Boys just clarified two big question marks from Homelander's origin story - here's what we learn in season 3, episode 7. The Boys Presents: Diabolical's "One Plus One Equals Two" episode was filmed in the early 2000s due to Homelander's age. Since The Boys has never stated how long Vought's number one spot has been occupied by this blond egotistical nightmare, Homelander's age remained annoyingly ambiguous. Based on Black Noir's conversation in Nicaragua, we can conclude that Stan Edgar was the man who thought Soldier Boy wasn't good enough for Vought's future expansion.
Soldier Boy is referred to as the "former Homelander" in past episodes because he served as Vought's public face during their respective eras. The 1980s experiment was a direct upgrade of Soldier Boy's strength and resilience with laser eyes, x-ray vision, and flight. Since the TV adaptation first did a satirical superhero landing onto Amazon's Prime Video streaming service, Antony Starr's Homelander has been tormenting The Boys' fictional universe. Homelander was grown in a test tube and was designed to be the top of Compound-V superheroes. Ryan's powers are a direct mirror of his father's, and this process probably explains how Homelander was able to conceive Ryan naturally. Homelander is similar to Stormfront and Soldier Boy in that Antony Starr is a little older than his character. Ryan is the only known exception to the rule that Compound-V powers are not hereditary.
Vought created Homelander because of The Boys season 3, episode 7. Homelander was conceived via Soldier Boy "beating his meat into a cup" but then wanted to inherit the best parts of his father. Vought's lab-grown future figurehead was Homelander, but why was he targeted? The egg that produced Homelander was fertilized by Soldier Boy's DNA. The young Homelander was raised and trained in a sterile lab before being publicly introduced as Vought's next star. The Seven leader's story has been told in flashbacks and dialogue. The "Young Homelander" research video was released between The Boys seasons 1 & 2. All of the above are addressed in The Boys season 3, episode 7.
The Boys' Ryan Butcher birth mystery might be explained by the soldier boy being Homelander's dad. Homelander's Vought superhero career must last at least 20 years if he was to debut as a young adult. Maybe the company wanted a version of him who could fly. John was 13 at the time.
The Boys' Homelander has left two unanswered questions.