My Hero Academia 3: Villainous Interlude

[Cozzer]

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I think there are two possibilities: either the 4th holder wasn't really heroic, or he killed himself by overdoing things with One for All somehow. Notice how Bakugo brought up the topic while discussing how Deku tends to sacrifice himself too much...

[Julian84]

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I think there are two possibilities: either the 4th holder wasn't really heroic, or he killed himself by overdoing things with One for All somehow. Notice how Bakugo brought up the topic while discussing how Deku tends to sacrifice himself too much...

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Hmm, now that is an interesting possibility, that 4th was like Deku and overused his power to the point his body just failed. It's possible that perhaps his heart began to fail from the strain. I mean, forget Deku's arms, his cardiovascular system has to be at the breaking point after using 100% so many times without being fully prepared for it.

Looking back at when 4th transferred his power, what I find interesting is that while Banjo and 6th are clearly beaten and bloody, handing off their power to the nearest person they could trust, 4th looks more like a vagabond. Maybe he'd been in hiding, waiting to find the person who could inherit One for All since he couldn't hack it? The possibility of him being a coward is also there.



It also looks more ceremonial and like he's giving an apology, not a last-ditch effort to continue OfA before he dies.

[Traab]

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Maybe the 4th wielder was the first time it became enough of a quirk to require heavy training to be physically capable of using it safely? Iirc, when it started out it was barely something that existed as a quirk. It wasnt till we had All Might that One For All was powerful enough to be legendary by itself, but even at a far lower level, an unprepared body would still suffer tons of damage by "going beyond" what it can handle. So like, the training deku went through before all might gave him the quirk? That would have been enough to handle the 4th generation level of power, but since he didnt know he needed it, it ended up crippling him much like it did for deku early on. From then on it was only passed on to wielders who were aware of how much effort it would take to survive using it (even as it increased each generation)

[LaZodiac]

New My Hero Vigilantes!

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What you thought this arc would be ending soon? Nope time for a flashback to Knuckleduster's time as O'Clock to set up for some stuff in the finale. Also Rappa is here **** yeah the best Yakuza punch boy.

[Julian84]

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This arc has certainly bounced into something new that I wasn't expecting - I did think that the Rescue Pop-Step arc was not gonna be the end necessarily, but I'm glad to see that they've found clever ways to keep exploring the MHA world.

Also, never in a million years would I have expected Rappa of all people to show up It's good to see the big lug of a blood knight.

[LaZodiac]

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This arc has certainly bounced into something new that I wasn't expecting - I did think that the Rescue Pop-Step arc was not gonna be the end necessarily, but I'm glad to see that they've found clever ways to keep exploring the MHA world.

Also, never in a million years would I have expected Rappa of all people to show up It's good to see the big lug of a blood knight.

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I told my friend about the fight arena and he was like "oh like Rappa" and I was like "man I bet he cameos" and the exact next page was Rappa showing up. It ruled.

It seems like, in terms of canon characters getting cameos, Vigilantes is 2.5/3. Eraser's stuff was amazing, Rappa is going to be just casually good, and- I mean... most of Stendahl/Stain was alright?

[Majin]

Spoiler: New MHA chapter

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Oh damn, that's pretty dramatic... It does look bad, but I don't think Bakugo's gonna die here. Might loose his powers temporarily though, that'd be a pretty big blow to him. Maybe Eri could reverse something like that, if she ever gains control of her powers.

But Bakugo's words were a nice callback, guess they're even now.

Also, looks like All For One hijacked Shigaraki's body somehow... I wonder if there are other bodies he can control like that.

[Ramza00]

Spoiler: New MHA Chapter, how does this influence our theories of the story?

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So what is the final story going to be about?

¹It is the story of Izuku being Deku who tries his best, followed by ²Eri inheriting One for All, followed by timeskip ³Kacchan inheriting the power?

Much like how in Naruto we have Kakashi becoming Hokage^{the 6th} prior to Naruto^{the 7th}. Or is my guess completely wrong?

[Rater202]

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We are told at the beginning that Izuku becomes the greatest hero in the world, so...

Look, considering how dangerous it was to give him One For All and that it's already more powerful now than it was when he got it, unless he finds someone whose Quirk is "can survive exploding" I think that either One For All is going to die with him or he's just gonna live forever.

[Ramza00]

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We are told at the beginning that Izuku becomes the greatest hero in the world, so...

Look, considering how dangerous it was to give him One For All and that it's already more powerful now than it was when he got it, unless he finds someone whose Quirk is "can survive exploding" I think that either One For All is going to die with him or he's just gonna live forever.

Spoiler: Counter Argument.

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If given to Eri she has her temporal powers. If given to her AFTER she master her temporal powers than One for All enhances it and gives her even more power if she already has the skill and technique. Eri's powers have two downsides 1) she needs to learn how to use them and 2) she has a storage problem. #2 is fixed by One for All for it is an enhancer power especially on storage quirks, #1 is why you do not give it till she has time to master her base abilities.

Yet simultaneously there is too much mirroring with Kacchan* and Deku (I am using Izuku's term of endearment with Bakugo here, the nickname that Bakugo HATES for it makes him red in the face and he does not like how he has no control some of the time.)

[Julian84]

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This is definitely a situation where "winning" has no longer become a feasible endgame. At this point, Deku, Bakugo, Endeavor, and Shigaraki are all pretty much KO'd or on their way to that point, with a potential recovery time of months-years or never, depending on the person. Gran Torino is likely dead at the end of this arc. So at this point "surviving" has become the feasible endgame. Make it out alive, lick your wounds, plan for the next fight. Honestly it's interesting how neither side can really retreat from this fight because for both the heroes and Shigaraki the final objective is right in front of them and within reach. It's driving them to insane lengths just to finish the battle once and for all.

That said, I predict that Gigantomachia and co. will forcibly remove Shigaraki from the battlefield because he's probably at his limit after that prominence burn and whatever Deku does to him to avenge Bakugo. At the same time they'll probably drive off the rest of the heroes, who will seriously need to regroup and figure out how bad their losses were.

[Traab]

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This is definitely a situation where "winning" has no longer become a feasible endgame. At this point, Deku, Bakugo, Endeavor, and Shigaraki are all pretty much KO'd or on their way to that point, with a potential recovery time of months-years or never, depending on the person. Gran Torino is likely dead at the end of this arc. So at this point "surviving" has become the feasible endgame. Make it out alive, lick your wounds, plan for the next fight. Honestly it's interesting how neither side can really retreat from this fight because for both the heroes and Shigaraki the final objective is right in front of them and within reach. It's driving them to insane lengths just to finish the battle once and for all.

That said, I predict that Gigantomachia and co. will forcibly remove Shigaraki from the battlefield because he's probably at his limit after that prominence burn and whatever Deku does to him to avenge Bakugo. At the same time they'll probably drive off the rest of the heroes, who will seriously need to regroup and figure out how bad their losses were.

Yeah im pretty sure at this point its going to be an ugly draw or pyrrhic victory at best.

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I honestly think Eri will have a role to play as her power to rewind is just too huge to have in the back pocket of the good guys without it sooner or later making an appearance. Im not saying she will show up to save the day, or even just reject the damage from the good guys when they get to hospital, but I fully expect her to make the decision to try and help the most desperately injured at some vital point. Like, this battle ends, the good guys are all laid up badly hurt, and shigaraki comes out swinging somewhere in japan a couple days later because he holds the advantage. Everyone who can even try to stand up to him and his forces are badly injured, but they cant let him rampage freely, so here comes eri with a desperate hope that she can heal them without dequirking them. Something like that.

[LaZodiac]

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I think an important thing to keep in mind with regards to Super Regeneration as a quirk is that we've seen that intense damage can cause it to be delayed, or not stick properly. All For One doesn't have an upper half of his entire face because it got punched off.

Shigaraki, assuming we get that pyrric victory, isn't going to be active for AWHILE. He was uh... rendered into a burned to near ash corpse only living on because and additional will behind his body is safely behind bars.

[Ramza00]

Responding to LaZodiac and the most recent chapter

Spoiler: Shigaraki

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Looks like he gots some new scars to scratch, not just scabs and allergies.

A joke done via google translate ^{(and thus likely wrong)}

私がこれらの傷をどうやって手に入れたのか知りたいですか

[Claudius Maximus]

私がこれらの傷をどうやって手に入れたのか知りたいですか

I understood that clearly, so good job on Google, other than that 手に入れる seems a bit off for getting a scar.

I actually checked the Japanese version of The Dark Knight and he says 「俺の顔の傷はどうしたと思う？」 (lit. sort of like "What do you think happened with my face scars?") in the dub, but the English line gets subbed as 「この口の傷の物語を？」 (more like "Want to hear/know the story of my mouth scars?")

[Spacewolf]

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I think an important thing to keep in mind with regards to Super Regeneration as a quirk is that we've seen that intense damage can cause it to be delayed, or not stick properly. All For One doesn't have an upper half of his entire face because it got punched off.

Shigaraki, assuming we get that pyrric victory, isn't going to be active for AWHILE. He was uh... rendered into a burned to near ash corpse only living on because and additional will behind his body is safely behind bars.

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To be fair AfO had his face punched off before he got the regen quirk, so maybe it only works on damage that was inflicted after you get it.

As for a random plot twist I kind of expect, I dont think shigarakis original quirk was his destroy quirk. I think it was given to him to set up the situation. I'd place a second bet on his original being the healing quirk but I have no idea if the time scale works.

[LaZodiac]

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To be fair AfO had his face punched off before he got the regen quirk, so maybe it only works on damage that was inflicted after you get it.

As for a random plot twist I kind of expect, I dont think shigarakis original quirk was his destroy quirk. I think it was given to him to set up the situation. I'd place a second bet on his original being the healing quirk but I have no idea if the time scale works.

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Unlikely. Everything we've been told about the entire situation has it that decay is Shigaraki's base quirk. It is the entire reason he is as corrupted as he is; the world broke him before A4O every met him.

[Spacewolf]

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Unlikely. Everything we've been told about the entire situation has it that decay is Shigaraki's base quirk. It is the entire reason he is as corrupted as he is; the world broke him before A4O every met him.

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Before shigaraki met AfO yes but we dont know how long AfO has known about shigaraki before that and considering he has contacts in the medical world he could have easily set up shigarakis fall.

[Julian84]

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I'm gonna have to weigh in with Spacewolf, it's pretty strongly implied that AfO gave Shigaraki his Decay quirk in order to kick off the events that killed the Shimura family. It's not been confirmed outright, but the fact that Tomura gets lost and picked up by a random, faceless stranger who is seen in a bespoke suit and not long after Decay activates in a moment of extreme stress... Seems to me that AfO was watching the Shimuras for a while before selecting Tomura as his instrument of revenge on All Might.

[LaZodiac]

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I'm gonna have to weigh in with Spacewolf, it's pretty strongly implied that AfO gave Shigaraki his Decay quirk in order to kick off the events that killed the Shimura family. It's not been confirmed outright, but the fact that Tomura gets lost and picked up by a random, faceless stranger who is seen in a bespoke suit and not long after Decay activates in a moment of extreme stress... Seems to me that AfO was watching the Shimuras for a while before selecting Tomura as his instrument of revenge on All Might.

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Where was it implied at all?

We also don't know how long it took for A4O to find Shigaraki. We haven't been given a time frame, just shown scenes of it. Shigaraki was a mess when A4O found him, which implies at least a few months. You'd think he'd have swept in immediately.

And from a writing standpoint, A4O being the responsible party for Shigaraki's disastrous life completely neuters the entire point it's presenting; that Shimura Nana's being a hero did cause damage to happen, that this heroic society DOES have some serious flaws in it. That anyone can be a hero or a villain if they receive the right push. It makes more sense in every way possible that this is just Shigaraki's natural quirk.

[Julian84]

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Where was it implied at all?

We also don't know how long it took for A4O to find Shigaraki. We haven't been given a time frame, just shown scenes of it. Shigaraki was a mess when A4O found him, which implies at least a few months. You'd think he'd have swept in immediately.

And from a writing standpoint, A4O being the responsible party for Shigaraki's disastrous life completely neuters the entire point it's presenting; that Shimura Nana's being a hero did cause damage to happen, that this heroic society DOES have some serious flaws in it. That anyone can be a hero or a villain if they receive the right push. It makes more sense in every way possible that this is just Shigaraki's natural quirk.

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Uh, not to be that guy but coming on a little strong there

Again, there's the very weird discrepancy of Tomura being alone and isolated and encountering the mysterious person who brings him back. This could be foreshadowing and hinting that it was AfO. It could be a red herring, but I interpreted it as AfO having an opportunity to implant a quirk into Tomura.

AfO wouldn't sweep in immediately because he would want for Tomura to be broken psychologically and come to resent hero society. I think AfO is a huge chessmaster who is trying to construct Tomura's worldview for him, because AfO is obsessed with controlling people.

As far as narrative rules, I think you aren't necessarily wrong, but perhaps that's the lesson someone like AfO or Shigaraki would want for you to believe - just because it's an ongoing message doesn't mean it's going to be proven right by the end of the ongoing story. A villain's motivation doesn't define the story as a whole. Shigaraki being given Decay would support the narrative foil of Shigaraki vs Deku - both being given their quirks and rising to become the number 1 villain and hero, respectively.

[LaZodiac]

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Uh, not to be that guy but coming on a little strong there

Again, there's the very weird discrepancy of Tomura being alone and isolated and encountering the mysterious person who brings him back. This could be foreshadowing and hinting that it was AfO. It could be a red herring, but I interpreted it as AfO having an opportunity to implant a quirk into Tomura.

AfO wouldn't sweep in immediately because he would want for Tomura to be broken psychologically and come to resent hero society. I think AfO is a huge chessmaster who is trying to construct Tomura's worldview for him, because AfO is obsessed with controlling people.

As far as narrative rules, I think you aren't necessarily wrong, but perhaps that's the lesson someone like AfO or Shigaraki would want for you to believe - just because it's an ongoing message doesn't mean it's going to be proven right by the end of the ongoing story. A villain's motivation doesn't define the story as a whole. Shigaraki being given Decay would support the narrative foil of Shigaraki vs Deku - both being given their quirks and rising to become the number 1 villain and hero, respectively.

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Yeah sorry about that, I'm very sick-brained at the moment. Been coughing so hard my ribs hurt.

Tomura was alone and isolated... after killing his family. People just didn't stop to help this poor kid since "someone else will save him". I don't really know what you're getting at otherwise. We know that the man who does eventually find Tomura after he kills his family is A4O, but we also know that that's the first time they ever met.

He was already pretty broken by murdering his entire family. Letting him wander around unsupervised risked someone actually good coming along and helping him.

I mean the thing is... it IS right. Endeavor may be doing his best to become a better person but he's a filthy eugenics utilizing bastard who is only able to get away with the legitimate evils he commits due to his being the number two. Stain was right that some heroes are just actually garbage and are doing this for fame and fortune- we've been shown that even heroes like that ARE heroes, with Mt Lady constantly facetanking things, but the unfortunate truth is that the bad guys are RIGHT. Tomura wasn't helped, no one saved him. Society failed him. If even one person has acted properly he might have been okay.

This ties into Deku. If Tomura had met Deku before A4O, Deku for sure would have helped him out. That's the type of person he is, a true blue hero. If it wasn't for All Might finding him, society would have failed Deku too; a genuinely good hero who never gets the chance because he's lacking in power. The hard truth is that he would have ended up like Gentle only worse, since he didn't even have a quirk. This is a pretty direct theme throughout the entire series- that society is heavily damaged, and needs to be fixed. Tomura is right about that, his methods are just tinged with evil because of A4O being the one who gave him the support he needed.

I'm not saying the series will end with "society bad". I'm saying it is clearly going down the line of "society IS flawed. What are we doing to fix it?". In order for that theme to work, it has to be true. A4O being responsible is taking a tragic moment and saying it was just the evil bad guys fault when it... clearly isn't. Tomura's father was abusive because his mother abandoned him. His family enabled this abuse. Having A4O be responsible for decay takes away from this, I think, because it removes Tomura's own complicity in killing his family.

Also, Tomura getting A4O's powers in this arc is meant to be the contrast between him and Deku.

[Ramza00]

Agrees with LaZodiac, not going to argue the various cases for or against. This is just something people are going to disagree about.

[Spacewolf]

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I did say it was a pretty out there theory and honestly I hope it doesnt happen because I'd lose any interest I have left in the series.

As for Deku becoming Gentle I dunno I honestly dislike Deku more and more whenever I think of it. He'd have been a failure for sure since he doesn't seem to actually put effort into stuff before he gets gifted the strongest quirk because All might happened to be around when he does something brave.

The simple fact is the teacher was right he shouldn't be a hero, but that doesn't mean he couldn't of done something, he could have easily joined the police or done any number of other things. If he had become like Gentle that's because he focused too strongly on his idolisation of heroes to the point he loses sight of what he can actually do. That is an issue of the society where heroes are put on pedestals but I've seen it happen in real life as well.

Whenever I think of things I'd change in this series Deku is probably the main one.

[Julian84]

Agrees with LaZodiac, not going to argue the various cases for or against. This is just something people are going to disagree about.

Yeah I’m just gonna drop it since this hasn’t been a particularly “fun” conversation. Not really interested in participating if it’s going to get like that.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Spoiler: New Chapter

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Shigaraki's burnt up body was bad enough, but then AFO's face appears to break through in what has to be some kind of symbolic but still super creepy image.

So, I always assumed that Sensei was all in on the mentor game, but now that he's arrived in person (from within Shigaraki, even if figuratively) I have doubts. But then they are in this weird mental landscape thing so who the heck knows.

[GloatingSwine]

Spoiler: New Chapter

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Shigaraki's burnt up body was bad enough, but then AFO's face appears to break through in what has to be some kind of symbolic but still super creepy image.

So, I always assumed that Sensei was all in on the mentor game, but now that he's arrived in person (from within Shigaraki, even if figuratively) I have doubts. But then they are in this weird mental landscape thing so who the heck knows.

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My read on it is that he's able to ride along in Shigaraki's mind, probably influence or outright control him if he wants. That's why he doesn't mind sitting in his nice safe prison.

[LaZodiac]

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The art in this new chapter is so god damn good. From Deku basically tearing at the seams with full power rage, to Shigaraki's... lets be honest her, flame ridden desiccated corpse that refuses to stop moving. All For One peering through the cracks in his skin like a grinning mad man who truly believes he is seconds away from winning.

And that ending. Within Shigaraki's and Deku's mind palace it is time for the previous wielders to put an end to this shade once and for all, so that Shigaraki can finally be taken out! HELL YEAH!

[Rater202]

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All For One and One For All are, ultimately, the same Quirk. AllFor One just has a stealing aspect added to it.

It was already implied that All For One was connected to the collective of spirits within One For All. It only makes sense that he has a more active and parasitic manifestation of that connection with the host of his own Quirk.

[Dragonus45]

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All For One and One For All are, ultimately, the same Quirk. AllFor One just has a stealing aspect added to it.

It was already implied that All For One was connected to the collective of spirits within One For All. It only makes sense that he has a more active and parasitic manifestation of that connection with the host of his own Quirk.

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Keeping that in mind, I wonder now if there isn't a piece of every person AFO ever stole a quirk from floating around in there. Or, more interestingly, what if we fundamentally misunderstand something about OFA. What if it's not a weird combined stockpiling quirk fusion, but a sibling power to AFO's ability to steal or gift a quirk that can only give something away. Now I'm reaaaaaaly curious if Deku can't solve a few problems with a quick quirk donation if he gives someone a hair while thinking about only willing on one specific power instead of the whole thing.