I didn't fully get Homelander's explanation.
He said "I can't stand on air" or something like that.....but yet after they exit the plane, he and Queen Maeve are doing exactly that!!!! Basically floating stationary in the sky (assuming he was holding Maeve since they haven't shown her able to fly :(
He should've been able to do SOMEthing to try and save it. I know that was not his character but the explanation didn't make sense.
He explained it in a way that made sense at the time, though I can't recall quite what he said. It was along the lines of him being unable to prevent the plane from coming apart or crashing. If I ever rewatch it, I"ll watch for it, but at least the first time through it made sense to me.
shareHe said something like "what am i going to stand on, air?" and that his force would break through the plane, but my point is five minutes later he was standing on air, so why couldn't he do that?
shareActually it's a fair point that Superman films tend to overlook.
Lifting a moving plane from the outside would probably put enough dangerous stress on it to break it apart.
Still, I think Homelander's point is that he can only lift something as heavy as a plane if he's got ground to push against. Carrying Maeve is nothing compared to an entire jet. Maybe that's the upper limit of his strength
But the real reason, of course, is that he just doesn't want to bother. Saving an entire plane is too much hassle for him. Added to which, if the plane lands successfully, it'll come out that his heat vision is what fried the controls.
I think the plane was coming apart and he could probably only physically carry a few before the rest died. And he probably did not want to bother. If he definitely could have saved them all, like plane was safely on autopilot and he had time, he probably would have.
shareThat’s correct. If you recall the Lois Lane saving scene in Superman Returns (I think, the one with Spacey in ), Superman catches the plane by its nose and slows it down before resting it gently on a baseball field. As Homelander said, he would punch right through it in “reality”. The fuselage couldn’t bear that force in what is basically two handprints.
What annoyed me more was why he didn’t X-Ray the cockpit first, instead of breaking in and zapping everything.
What annoyed me more was why he didn’t X-Ray the cockpit first, instead of breaking in and zapping everything.
Just Homelander, but that’s a fair point. It’s his nature and once it’s gone wrong, make sure no one survives to ruin his character.
shareThe plane would have broken apart if he’d applied any pressure to redirect it or flown into it to bring it to a stop. This is different from merely standing and lifting something.
They explain it in the comics, where Black Noir is supposed to pilot the plane and make a landing.
makes sense. they were mocking all the superhero movies and books where the hero lifts a plane, or a ship or a building. it's not possible. he could have saved a few passengers, or maybe a dozen, but then the truth would get out and he wouldn't get the military contract.
shareHe said something like, "Lift it? There's no ground!"
I actually know an aircraft engineer and asked them about it and she said it's possible he may rip through the skin trying to push the plane's belly but probably could access the landing gear struts and pushed up on those, or pushed down on the tail to lift the nose, for a more controlled crash. But there would be no way to control the flaps, steer, or slow the plane. And without saving everyone he becomes the focus of people's anger. I'm not saying he did the right thing, but it is a reality that most people will save their own ass first even if it means people die.
Thanks. that makes sense. I guess hey were also trying to take a dig at Superman and similar where the Supe always just "lifts" the plane and rights it, which (I'm not a physicist!) apparently defies the laws of physics.
I wish they would give more details on Maeve's powers. Would she have survived if she stayed on the plane? Is she bullet proof, can she fly etc.
Does Homelander have super speed that rivals A-Train (the way Superman has super speed akin to the Flash)? If so, he could've superspeed-flown a lot of the passengers out, but as pointed out, he really didn't want to and was "over it" at that point.
A lot of it depends on the whatever magic allows him to fly and hover, no physics cover that. He must be super fast because he beat the fighter jets to the hijacked plane and saved Butcher after the bomb exploded.
shareYeah, I think they were saying that any sort of opposing force against a falling/speeding plain effectively just become a projectile against it, which is probably true. He would need somebody like Sue Storm to envelope the plane in a force field to hold it together, then he could pick that bubble up.
shareI didn't get the standing on air thing either. It makes sense that he would have punched a hole through the plane, since all the force he would be applying to hold the plane would be concentrated on a small area(his hands).
shareI scratched my head on that one for a second, too. Realistically, it makes more sense that he COULDN'T rather than like they CAN in comic books. But ultimately, whether he could do it or not, he clearly didn't want or care to. Dude is really a dick.
shareAircraft are designed to fly - a plane can slide in the air at a certain speed. Which means that Homelander doesn't really need to lift the whole damn thing. Instead, he just needs to give a little push to prevent the plane from rolling or stalling until it lands safely on the water. Homelander could save it from crashing, but he decided not to. Because he had accidentally destroyed the control panel and he didn't want the world to know about his negligence. His reputation is more important to him than all those passengers' lives. His explanation is just an excuse and lie.
sharehe had accidentally destroyed the control panel and he didn't want the world to know about his negligence. His reputation is more important to him than all those passengers' lives. His explanation is just an excuse and lie.
Imagine an entire jet plane supported by two car-jacks a few feet apart. They would break through ... just like Homelander's arms would.
shareBro what? Homelander has the powers of Superman, he’s indestructible. You really think it’s an issue of his arms breaking? Have you even watched the show?
shareYou obviously don't understand what I mean by "break through." You must have thought I only said "break."
Try this: Stop a falling watermelon with an unsharpened pencil.