Volume 1: The Early Years

Chapter 1: One Boy and a Billion

~ 1951: South Dakota ~

Vought American Consolidated – megacorp extraordinaire – has "Project Golden Boy" in the works. After years of extensive R-and-D, they've finally managed to produce a superhuman from the womb, thanks to Jonah Vogelbaum's super-serum Compound V. Same old story here compared to canon, except for one critical difference:

A billion dollars.

Scraped from various accounts or acquired from a high-risk bank loan, who knows? All that matters is that the surplus of money is there. And with this additional amount, Vought's able to afford more resources and accommodations for their ultimate product, destined to spend his childhood in a secret super-complex.

The young boy, christened Jonathan at birth, is cautiously raised from infancy and taught the early fundamentals. Fortunately the process is made remarkably safer with Suppressant V. An experimental drug made possible by the billion, the formula temporarily reduces his powers to manageable levels, making it the best supplement in the minds of the supervising staff.

But the most critical supplement of all, which will change our protagonist's fate, is not a commodity or service. It is a person.

A very special person the boy will be introduced to three years later…

~ 1954 ~

"Hello, Johnny."

Little Jonathan tilts his head, curiously looking up at the newcomer.

"Who awe you?"

The middle-aged man, with big square glasses and wavy hair, kneels down to his level.

"I'm Mister Wilson! As your new caretaker, I'll be teaching you everything to become the best you can be! What do you say to that?"

The kindly stranger smiles and offers his hand.

The boy can immediately see he's different from the scientists and overseers he's grown up with. He seems… warmer, gentler… And instinctively like something missing in his life.

Now that something is right before him, he beams with a grateful heart.

"Supah-dee-dupah!"

"Excellent! Come with me, my friend!"

And so the future Homelander follows Mister Wilson, now accompanied by the one thing his canonical counterpart never had.

A good father figure.

~ Author's Notes ~

So concludes Chapter 1, where Little Johnny begins his journey to become – hopefully – a better Homelander than the original. Start of the story here, so here's a list of important things to know and expect:

#1: This fanfic is based on the original comic series. So apologies to the Amazon fans, as I'm aware that the TV version may have a better following. But I decided to choose the source material that started it all, as I'm more familiar with it and interested in working out the "gnarlier" bits that make it so contentious. Though some of the Amazon tweaks will be mixed in to make things more interesting.

#2: This won't be a scene-by-scene retelling. The first third will be a made-by-scratch prologue establishing what makes this Homelander and the world around him different. Certain events from the comics will occur, but may – or may not – diverge from the original script.

#3: There will be original characters. I know OCs receive mixed reactions, but they'll be necessary to help the story flow more smoothly. However I fully intend to control their appearances so they don't overcome the main cast.

#4: This is NOT a pure fluff fic. Homelander (and other Supes) may be getting a moral upgrade, plus certain characters won't experience all their canonical misfortunes. But there will still be death, tragedy, mature themes, course language, and some classic Boyish humor. The cleaner FFN version here will be Rated Teen, while the one on AO3 will be uncensored in its full glory.

With all that said, strap in and enjoy the ride!