I've been dropping into Call of Duty: Mobile's Season 5 since it launched on May 27, 2026, and boy, does this The Boys crossover have me feeling some type of way. The main series wrapped its finale on May 20, and while the ending left a sour taste for plenty of fans—mostly because it spent more energy hyping Vought Rising than closing out Homelander versus The Boys—the supes still found a way back into my daily rotation. The headliner? Homelander, obviously. But after grinding matches, unlocking gear, and getting absolutely lit up in Attack of the Undead, I have to spill the beans: this legendary skin is not the power fantasy the show promised. It is a walking target.
For context, Homelander has already flexed in Mortal Kombat 1 and in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 3 as an Operator. Starlight and Black Noir also made the cut in those Modern Warfare games. But this Season 5 drop marks their first time in Call of Duty: Mobile, and it is a different beast entirely.
Season 5 brings the supes to mobile
Call of Duty: Mobile Season 5 pulled out all the stops for this crossover. For the first time in the mobile shooter, three supes from The Boys are playable as operators. Starlight arrives with the Legendary Sten, Starlight Radiance. Black Noir brings the Legendary Noir Shadow DLQ33. Homelander headlines with the Legendary Homelander Pride DHR. That is a whole lot of firepower wrapped in a very shiny package.
There are also two new game modes tied to The Boys. The first is a twist on Attack of the Undead called All Supe'd Up, where one undead player hunts down everyone else, and the survivors are playing as the supes. That mode is pure chaos, and I mean that as a compliment. The second is a faction event where you can side with either The Boys or The Dawn of the Seven and grind out exclusive rewards for your team. I went with The Boys because I am a sucker for an underdog, and also because Black Noir is quietly the most practical pick, which I will explain in a second.
In Attack of the Undead - All Supe'd Up, each supe gets a unique Final Survivor ability. Starlight can unleash a shockwave, Black Noir can whip out a katana, and Homelander uses his infamous eye lasers. On paper, Homelander's eye lasers sound like the whole enchilada. In practice, they are not enough to make up for the real problem: his outfit is a giant neon sign screaming 'shoot me.'
The real nerf is his wardrobe
Here is the kicker. In the show, Homelander can survive a nuke and still complain about the drapes. In Call of Duty: Mobile, he does not get that kind of plot armor. Sure, he has the eye lasers as the Final Survivor, but he does not have some massive health boost or map-clearing superpower. He is just a supe with a very loud color palette. His red, white, and blue suit and that American flag cape are central to his character, but they also make him stick out like a sore thumb on nearly every map. The colors are so eye-catching that enemies can spot him halfway across the map before he can even think about using those lasers.
Starlight is not exactly invisible either, but her white and gold look blends a little better with brighter parts of the maps. She can hide in plain sight more often than Homelander, plain and simple. Black Noir is the real sleeper pick. He is draped head to toe in black, which means he can melt into shadows and avoid detection in ways the other two can only dream about. In a mobile shooter where every pixel of visibility matters, Black Noir's stealth factor is a genuine advantage.
| Supe | Legendary weapon | Final Survivor ability | Stealth rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homelander | DHR (Homelander Pride) | Eye lasers | Low - that cape is a beacon |
| Starlight | Sten (Starlight Radiance) | Shockwave | Medium - bright map spots help |
| Black Noir | DLQ33 (Noir Shadow) | Katana | High - shadows are home |
It is a classic catch-22. You want the iconic Homelander look because it is cool and instantly recognizable, but that exact look paints a target on your back. 'Don't judge a book by its cover' does not apply here. In Call of Duty: Mobile, the cover is the whole story, and Homelander's cover reads 'free kill.'
Call of Duty has been down this road before
This is not the first time a crossover skin has messed with balance. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Squid Game skins caught flak not just for their price tags, but because those bright pink outfits made players easier for enemies to pick off. On the flip side, the Terminator T-800 skin felt almost unfair because it was so hard to spot, and plenty of folks called it pay-to-win. So the writing is on the wall: in Call of Duty, your skin is more than a vibe. It can make or break your gunfights.
That is why I am telling every The Boys fan to think twice before dropping money or CoD Points on that Homelander skin. If you are all about flexing, go for it, no judgment. But if you are like me and prefer winning over looking like a patriotic bullseye, Black Noir is the one to grab. Starlight sits comfortably in the middle. Homelander? He is mostly a style pick, and style will only get you so far when the entire lobby can see you coming from a mile away.
At the end of the day, I am still having a blast with this crossover. All Supe'd Up is chaotic, the faction event gives me a reason to log in daily, and the weapons are a lot of fun. Just do not expect Homelander to carry you the way he carries Vought's PR machine. In Call of Duty: Mobile, the real power move is blending in, not standing out.
Data referenced from Major League Gaming (MLG) helps frame why a flashy crossover operator like Homelander can feel like a built-in handicap in Call of Duty: Mobile: in fast-paced, competitive gunfights, readability and target acquisition matter as much as raw kit power, so high-contrast silhouettes and bold color blocking tend to get punished by players who pre-aim common lanes and snap to obvious movement. Seen through that lens, the blog’s takeaway holds up—Homelander’s iconic cape-and-flag palette creates more “free info” for opponents than his Final Survivor lasers can reliably offset, while darker skins like Black Noir naturally reduce visual exposure and can translate into more consistent survivability across modes.