Antony Starr's Homelander gets a prequel in The Boys animated spin-off

Ever wonder what Antony Starr's Homelander was like before he started maiming and decapitating people with his laser vision on The Boys?

Amazon's Emmy-nominated superhero satire revealed a few bits and pieces from the character's past in season 1, but The Boys Presents: Diabolical, the upcoming animated spin-off, shares the story of how he was first inducted into the Seven.

Fans can see snippets of this prequel story in the new trailer for the show, which consists of eight short anthology episodes set in the world of The Boys. One episode focuses on Homelander speaking to reporters as he joins Vought's elite team of superheroes.

"A chance to use my gifts to help make the world a better place," he says. Now, is he lying or is this one of those times he genuinely believes he can make a difference? You know, before he becomes a sadistic sociopath.

"I understand your anger, but violence is never the answer," he says later. Then we see him show his true colors and totally go berserk.

The rest of Diabolical looks just as crazy. But would we expect anything less from The Boys?

The trailer boasts distinct animation styles for each of the eight episodes, including one from the Rick & Morty team featuring one dude with a boombox for a head and another with breasts for a face. Here's a breakdown of each.

"Laser Baby's Day Out"

Writers: Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen
Directors: Crystal Chesney-Thompson and Derek Thompson
Animation Style: Inspired by classic American animated shorts

"An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents"

Writers: Justin Roiland & Ben Bayouth
Director: Parker Simmons
Animation Style: Inspired by Justin Roiland's aesthetic

"I'm Your Pusher"

Writer: Garth Ennis
Director: Giancarlo Volpe
Animation Style: An homage to the original The Boys comics

"Boyd in 3D"

Writer: Eliot Glazer
Story by: Eliot Glazer & Ilana Glazer
Director: Naz Ghodrati-Azadi
Animation Style: Inspired by French comics and animation

"BFFs"

Writer: Awkwafina
Director: Madeleine Flores
Animation Style: Inspired by Saturday morning animation imports

"Nubian vs Nubian"

Writer: Aisha Tyler
Director: Matthew Bordenave
Animation Style: Inspired by anime

"John and Sun-Hee"

Writer: Andy Samberg
Director: Steve Ahn
Animation Style: Inspired by Korean drama and horror

"One Plus One Equals Two"

Writer: Simon Racioppa
Directors: Jae Kim and Giancarlo Volpe
Animation Style: A darker take on American superhero animation

There's already a lot of well-known actors among the voice cast, but now Amazon has gone ahead and announced two dozen more: Kimberly Brooks, Nicole Byer, Frances Conroy, Asjha Cooper, Chris Diamantopolous, John DiMaggio, Jermaine Fowler, Emily Gordon, Grey Griffin, Randall Duk Kim, David Marciano, Xolo Maridueña, Dominique McElligott, Caleb McLaughlin, Colby Minifie, Eugene Mirman, Retta, Kevin Michael Richardson, Somali Rose, Parker Simmons, Ursula Taherian, Fred Tatasciore, Sean Patrick Thomas, Angela Marie Volpe, Gary Antony Williams, and Jenny Yokobori.

The Boys Presents: Diabolical premieres March 4 on Amazon Prime Video.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content

• Homelander gets a Rick and Morty–style makeover in The Boys animated spin-off
• The Boys animated series gets a premiere date and a Looney Tunes-style laser baby
• The Boys will reveal 'unseen stories' in Diabolical animated series