Izuku is hitting walls but also hitting THE wall.
Last time on My Hero Academia,
Dark Deku faced off against a flying sniper. AFO, as part of his plan to
capture Izuku to steal OFA from him, sent Lady Nagant to try to capture him.
Nagant is an ex-hero that specialized in wet work missions, meaning she was the
PSC assassin. She used her rifle arm to execute villains and potentially
disgraceful heroes in order to cover over the cracks of the hero system. Such
work put a tremendous strain on her mental health until she finally snapped and
executed the PSC Chairman. She was arrested, charged with killing heroes instead
of her boss and locked away in Tartarus to rot. AFO gave her the additional quirk
Air Walk and sent her to face off against Izuku. Our hero was pushed to his limits,
but with his new quirks, specifically the kinetic energy amplifying Fa Jinn from
the 3rd wielder of OFA, he put her through her paces. Getting desperate,
Nagant tried to use Izuku’s fundamental kind nature against him and shot at Kai
Chisaki, aka Overhaul, who she’d brought along to identify Izuku. Izuku
outpaced her bullet, saving Overhaul, and then rocketed over and broke Nagant’s
rifle. He reached out to the former hero, pointing out that she’d been taking
only nonlethal shots for the whole fight and thus can’t have fallen as deeply
into nihilism as she claims. She’s moved by Izuku’s words and him grabbing her
so she doesn’t fall to her death. She tries to tell him about Shigaraki, but
the villain implanted a third quirk, one that caused Nagant to explode when she
tried to betray his secrets. She fell but was caught by Hawks, who rushed in to
help. They get Nagant to talk, who reveals that there was a plan to bring Izuku
to a mansion in the woods in two months after he was captured. And that she’s
not the only one hunting him. Enough recapping. Let’s get to it, shall we?
We open with a badly burnt Lady
Nagant repeating her message from the last episode, that in two months, she and
the other hunters sent out to find and capture Izuku Midoriya are to gather at
a hidden mansion in a nearby forest, Haibori Woods, to hand him over to All For
One. Izuku is obviously livid at hearing this information.
We cut to the mansion; it’s the
former hideout of that anti-animal Quirk group the Creature Rejection Clan
(stupid name) that the League of Villains thrashed before they joined up with
the Meta Liberation guys. Izuku is joined by his hero mentors, as well as Kamui
Woods, Mt. Lady, and Edgeshot. Dark Deku starts walking toward the mansion, and
Endeavor tells him to not jump the gun. They enter the mansion, only to find it
empty. A few seconds after entering, a prerecorded message from AFO plays via a
hologram generator. He gloats about being one step ahead of Izuku, how he
anticipated that Izuku might be able to break through to Lady Nagant, and has
evaded him again. He gives some very basic philosophy schpeel about how ‘oh
society is inherently evil, villains are just people that had a bad day, etc.”
I’m not exactly rejecting the idea that a lot of crime is just people trying to
survive in an imperfect system, but when a dude who’s greatest ambition is to
be a ‘demon lord’ talks like this, ya know he’s talking out of his ass mostly.
AFO admits that after all these years, he’s grown bored of dealing with All
Might and has thus decided to shift his full attention to Izuku. He closes out
his message with a mocking, “it’s your turn,” turning All Might’s last words as
a hero encouraging Izuku to take up his mantel into a threat. And then a bomb
goes off.
We jump to a warehouse district
where the heroes regroup. They somehow escaped the explosion, but, as Edgeshot
depressingly points out, any trace of the League burnt up in the explosion.
Edgeshot asks if they could get more info from Nagant, but Hawks says she’s
still out cold and the doctors are kind of amazed she’s still alive. Considering
how badly she was burnt in that explosion; I’m inclined to agree. Kamui Woods
compliments the woman’s tenacity, especially after all the hardship she’s
suffered. Edgeshot asks if it’s time that they expand their circle out some
more, get a few more heroes in on the danger of All For One and the danger to
Izuku Midoriya and the world if he’s captured. Mt. Lady says that, as unfortunate
as it is, they need to lean on Izuku to get to the League, so they need more
support to support him. Endeavor answers her comment by pointing out that her teammate
and friend Death Arms quit hero work a few days ago. We flashback to Death Arms
taking off his gear, complaining that despite everything he’s done to protect
people, all he’s received lately is ridicule and harassment. He says that he thought
he could take it, but one insult has more power than ten compliments. He says that
he thought he was a hero, but in the end he’s just a person and walks away.
Endeavor reminds them that Death Arms was a key component of their Raid on the PLA,
and he lead the charge on grabbing heroes working for that group. He and Jeanist
agree that it’s too dangerous to bring anyone else in if someone like Death
Arms quit. Furthermore, the news outlets seem to be getting close and closer to
Deku, making them think former heroes are leaking info to them. They’re worried
that if news of AFO gets out, it’ll just cause more chaos. Mt. Lady asks why
AFO just doesn’t do that, and Endeavor thinks its because if he did, that make
him a credible threat. They’d hide Deku behind all the heroes they’ve got, thus
making it difficult even for AFO to get at him. He’s clearly frustrated that their
only plan right now is to just wait for someone else to try to grab Midoriya.
He’s interrupted by a text from Shoto telling him to call him immediately. He remembers
Shoto saying that they’ll work together to stop Toya, and Endeavor asks him for
just a little more time to solve this current problem first. Hawks then gets a
call from All Might, telling him that Izuku is facing off against another hired
gun. But he finished it already.
We jump to Izuku having captured
the thug in Black Whip as All Might looks on in shock. Izuku says that the guy
didn’t have any useful information, but to be wary just in case he also was
given an explosive quirk as a failsafe. He tries to run, but All Might stops
him, offering his student another lunch box since he knows Izuku hasn’t eaten
in a while. Izuku refuses it, saying that he’s going to go along alone. He
repeats to himself the obvious lie that he’s fine. He’s better on his own. All
Might tries to stop him, but Izuku angrily lashes out at him, saying that he’s
as powerful now as All Might was at his pique and without any backlash like he
used to suffer. Izuku remembers the prediction from Nighteye that if All Might
continued on the path he was on, he’d die a gruesome death. All Might reaches
out to his student and tries to stop him, but Izuku leaps away. All Might
mentally begs his student to get that All Might knows where he’s coming from,
and begs Izuku to understand that it’s okay to take a break, to rely on others.
He trips, though, missing Izuku’s hand and dropping the lunch. He says he’s
sorry for putting this burden on Izuku, all while a man with a long tongue
watches him… Ohhh, no.
Izuku continues his mission solo. We
hear voiceover on how the populace are reacting. Some are cheered by this hero
working tirelessly to protect others, others are scared that he’s showing off
multiple powers like a Nomu and Shigaraki, and a few point out that he doesn’t
look very heroic in his Dark Deku gear and covered in dirt. Izuku flashes back to
Endeavor saying they’re shifting strategies. They’re waiting on news of foreign
heroes coming to help augment their forces. He advices Izuku take some time to
rest while they wait, but Izuku refuses. He refuses to allow the League of
Villains more time to prepare. His predecessors Vestiges also tell him to rest.
My dude, if ghosts are telling you to slow down, LISTEN TO THEM!
In the mental plane, the previous
users have a meeting. Nana thinks it’s her lingering feelings for her grandson
that is putting additional burdens on Izuku, but Banjo says that that’s just
one piece of the problem. Hikage says that the situation isn’t ideal, but their
Quirks give Izuku a chance to do what OFA was made for and they might have to
just let him do it. Kudo approves of Izuku’s work ethic, he acknowledges that Izuku
can’t sit by and wait for aide, but he does know that Izuku needs something
more than anything right now.
We see Izuku saving some civilians
from criminals. While they’re thankful for his help, his multiple Quirks freak
them out and they run the second they see an opening. Dark Deku leaps away, cursing
AFO for hiding from him. He swears he won’t let anyone from the League hurt
anyone else. He remembers all the people that he loves, like his mom, All
Might, his classmates, Eri, Mr. Aizawa and Gran Torino, and swears that he will
fix things so they can all go back to smiling. He trips and falls, exhausted,
but he doesn’t get time to breathe as a villain appears. The villain, Dictator,
has the ability to control others like puppets. He has a small horde of
civilians that he’s puppeteering attack Izuku with improvised weapons. As the
crowd rushes him, Izuku goes over what he knows. He knows that the hero Crust captured
Dictator five years ago. From that case, he knows that enough damage to Dictator’s
puppets or to the man himself will cause his Quirk, Despot, to short out, but he’s
got enough human shields to make hitting him difficult… and Izuku isn’t one for
attack civilians under any circumstances. He thinks about using his air shot to
stop them, but he doesn’t have his gloves. He settles on using Black Whip… but
he’s exhausted and starts passing out as the puppets start tearing at his mask.
We suddenly hear a familiar voice
say, “Damnit!” and then “ARMOR PIERCING SHOT!” as Bakugo blasts Dictator from
above, neatly getting around his human shields and knocking the puppet master
out. Kudo in the mindscape repeats that Izuku needs one more thing more than
ever as the word Friends appears by Bakugo’s face. Bakugo himself radios to his
classmates that he’s found Izuku.
We flashback to UA just after Izuku
left and gave everyone a goodbye note explaining why he’s leaving. Bakugo,
Shoto, and Tokoyami head a meeting with their classmates to let them know that
they suspect that their mentors are working with Izuku for this mission he’s
put himself on. Bakugo swears he’s going to kill that damn nerd. Iida asks if
they’ve contact their mentors to confirm, but all three say that their calls
are being dodged. Shoto says that it’s not a huge leap in logic to assume Jeanist,
Endeavor and Hawks are avoiding them to hide what’s going on. Jiro adds that All
Might has been MIA at campus for a while too, which adds weight to the idea. Bakugo
tells us that their classes are suspended, so they can’t move up a grade right now,
and they’ve been told to be on standby to help with civilians. He’s sure that
Izuku is out there fighting and that the other heroes are helping him. Kaminari
says that they only know for sure that the top three heroes are working
together, the news reports didn’t mention anyone else, and Bakugo tells him to
not be an idiot. Bakugo is sure that this is the sort of stupid plan that Deku
and All Might would come up with, distancing themselves from the students to
try to protect them. Kirishima says that that means they have to track down
Izuku and help him out however they can. Uraraka gets up and asks if Endeavor
is a UA alumnus and Shoto confirms that, so she says they will get some
answers.
We jump to Principal Nezu’s office.
Nezu, at 1A’s request, called Endeavor in for a meeting to allow Izuku’s
classmates to ambush the number 1 hero. Shoto confronts his father, asking why
he has been ignoring them and why has he not brought Deku back. Endeavor doesn’t
answer, but that confirms that he’s working with Deku and All Might as well.
Bakugo says that using Izuku as bait seemed like a smart move and it might have
worked with someone else, but Endeavor doesn’t know Deku. He’s known Izuku Midoriya
longer than anyone save Izuku’s own mom, and he knows that Izuku is just
going to keep pushing himself until he breaks. He’ll just say ‘I’m fine,’ until
he collapses. All Might is the same way, so he won’t be able to stop Izuku
either. Endeavor remembers hearing from Hawks that Izuku shook off All Might,
thus confirming Bakugo’s assessment. Endeavor holds up his GPS device that’s tracking
Deku, and about 1/5th of the class jump him, knocking it out of his
hand. Sero grabs it and apologizes for snatching it, but he needs to borrow it
for a bit. Class 1A refuses to let Izuku run off like this. They swear to track
him down and standby him as best they can. Endeavor says that its dangerous out
there. Nezu says that he understood Endeavor’s concerns, which is why he
allowed Izuku to be pulled out like this, but Izuku is part of UA and thus it’s
the school’s responsibility to protect him. Uraraka has a flashback to when she
was accepted into UA and she and her mom sobbed happy tears. She thinks that he’s
right and that this is all of their hero academia. Endeavor asks if Nezu has
thought about the refugees that the school is protecting, they could be in
danger and they could riot if Izuku is brought in and brings more danger. Nezu
says that he’ll make them understand, and that the school has additional
defenses that they setup before the Sports Festival, and this will be an
excellent time to test them out. He tells Class 1A to bring their friend back.
We see class 1A capture Dictator.
The civilians run off. Izuku asks what they’re doing here, and Uraraka says
they’re worried about him. Izuku says he’s fine and they should all leave now.
Bakugo mockingly applauds his speech and asks his frenemy if he’s even able to
smile right now. Izuku says that in order to bring smiles back to everyone else
he has to go, and he tells them to get out of his way. Bakugo says, “You’re
going to have to make us, you busted ass All Might wannabe!” Iida says that they
were sure Izuku would say something like that, so they’re prepared. It’s Class
1A vs Dark Deku! Next time.
The majority of this episode really
is just setting up that Izuku is hitting a physical, mental and emotional wall
and he’s refusing to admit it. Which I totally get. I’m infamous among my
relations as being the son/brother/nephew/grandson that will just keep saying, “this
is fine,” “I’m good,” “I don’t need help,” and so on to the point where it does
exasperate my mother. And I can say as a 35-year-old man to this fictional 17-year-old
and to any actual younger folks reading my work this: That mindset will break
you. I’m not a particular social person, I don’t like crowds, small talk, or
interactions with people longer than a few minutes if I can help it, but we humans
are social creatures and walling off your problems from the people that care
about you just magnify them. Izuku’s case is obviously the most extreme version
of that possible, but even if you’re just having a bad mental health week and
you’re not reaching out to people that care about you, you’re exacerbating the problem
in the long run. We see that class 1A are all worried sick about Izuku, to the
point where Bakugo is leading a charge to find him, and him cutting all ties
with them just makes it worse. He thinks he’s protecting them, but he’s just
adding to their stress, and his own as he tries to keep fighting alone. The bit
where he even tries to push All Might away for fear of his mentor getting hurt
chokes me up whenever I see it. Izuku is trying to do the noble thing, but its
hurting everyone around him, himself most of all. If 1A hadn’t been hunting
him, he very likely would have been captured by Dictator simply because he was
too exhausted to move. It’s not good bro. And now his friends are going to make
him come home, or else. But more on that next time. See you then!
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Bluesky: @basicssuperhero.bsky.social
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