Viewer Log: My Adventures With Superman ep 22

Conventions are always such a hassle. 

Last time on My Adventures With Superman, the spooky season got spookier. It’s Halloween at the Kent family farm. Since defeating Brainiac, everyone has seemingly got comfortable in their new normal. Jimmy and Kara are extremely close, although Jimmy is denying his feelings for her to himself because he’s positive that she’ll move on from him eventually. Lois meanwhile got hit with her quarterlife crisis as Clark started talking about getting a farm together in a good school district. Thankfully, they all get distracted when Lois’ dad shows up, to enjoy one of Martha’s pumpkin pies, and to tell Lois that someone broke into the Pentagon and stole files on Project: Caliban, a side project under Project: Cadmus. The crew go to investigate and find just an extremely empty set of warehouses, but after chasing a two-faced deer that Kara wanted to pet, they found the secret entrance to the underground lab. Inside they find a massive cloning operation and what looked to be an attempt at replicating the biosphere of Krypton. There’s a bunch of Kryptonian plants, a Kryptonian lizard tiger, and a bulky, Tarzan style Superman clone running around. They find the grave of one Dr. George Otto Binder, who had raised the clone, B-1Z, like a son and gave B-1Z an encouraging message about how he should live life. The crew then find out the lab had been under attack by a robot and B-1Z was just defending himself. Clark is able to destroy the robot, but is injured in the process and the lab starts to flood. B-1Z saves him and wonders off into the world. He gets some candy from a trick-or-treater, and sees Superman on the big screen, which seems to encourage him. Meanwhile, we learn that Lex was the one that sent the robot and had tried to get data from Caliban for his own project. Foiled by Superman, again, he decides to grab Hank Henshaw, who’d been on life support since his plane got shot down in Brainiac’s invasion, for his new project. Enough recapping. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

We open on Clark and Kara saving the day across Metropolis. Kara takes the lead for most of it, stopping a distracted driver from hitting a kid, and Clark warns the kid to look both ways before crossing the street, the two Supers share a high five; Kara stops a jewel thief, the Supers share a high five, the thief tries to get in on it but Kara slaps his hand away; They stop a bank robbery, Kara heat visioning their blasters into pieces, and then Kara hi fiving herself when they run away. She’s fitting well into the Supergirl role.

 

We then shift to Super-Fest, a convention both celebrating fictional superheroes as well as the two real ones of Metropolis; Superman and Supergirl. Jimmy is setting up a booth at the event. Kara is excited to help Jimmy set up his booth and announces her desire to try to rebrand herself as Power Woman to the people of Metropolis… but we see the sheer number of Supergirl merch already out there, so odds of that seem slim. Kara asks what Clark is going to be doing. He says that he’s going to introduce Kara at a Supergirl panel, but then he’s going to enjoy the con as himself, Clark Kent. Jimmy asks for a box, which Kara gives him while giving him significant eye contact. Lois gives Jimmy a knowing look, which causes him to quickly explain what’s inside. Flamebird themed holographic video phones, so the two humans can call their super pals if something goes wrong. Lois asks if these are really necessary and Jimmy asks her when they have ever gone to a large event that wasn’t attacked by supervillains. Kara says she appreciates this token of his affection, and Jimmy tries to insist it’s a platonic gift. Causing Lois to yell at him for fumbling things with Kara because he’s being a wienie. She thinks he’s going to hurt her, while Jimmy insists that he won’t trap Kara in a relationship that they know won’t work. Which causes Lois to scream, “NOBODY KNOWS THAT!” at him. But Jimmy’s in full self-pity mode. He thinks that, because she was a caged bird for most of her life, she deserves to see the world and find what makes her happy. Lois asks, “And what if that’s you, Jimmy?” but he refuses to answer that. He says that everything will stay the same, no relationships will be complicated, and everything is perfect as it is. It’s like he wants the writers to screw him over. They head to Jimmy’s booth.  

 

The booth had already been set up by Team Flamebird: Steve and the News Kid Legion. Jimmy got a booth in order to sell a line of comics, Flamebird Presents: Superman’s Pal: Jimmy Olsen. This was in fact a series from the Silver age of comics that ran from 1954-74 and were a string of comedic adventures featuring Jimmy. The comics Jimmy shows covers of are all references to real issues, just with Jimmy and Superman’s positions flipped. So, Superman is bound up in chains while Jimmy burst through a wall to save him instead of vice versa. Clark says that Jimmy is taking a lot of… creative license with their adventures, but Jimmy insists that that is what sells. Jimmy says that he’s grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle and that these comics will help him recoup the losses he made to his net worth in season 2. Lois throws a bunch of the comics at him, demanding to know why she’s the villain in these comics, and why she’s drawn with jagged teeth. Jimmy insists that people love enemies to lovers’ stories, and that metrics show that Lois, girl frenemy of Superman will be a surefire hit. I disagree with his data, but I enjoy that Gabby and Patty of the News Kids help with his visual aids. Lois is annoyed that she even has to be at this convention to write a puff piece. Cat Grant then springs in, revealing that she insisted that Perry assign Lois to cover this event, believing that if there’s a story to be had at Super-Fest, Lois will find it. Cat then pirouettes into the crowd, cackling like a crazy person.

 

Lois does a visual sweep of the Fest and spots none other than Winslow Schott! … He’s the Toyman, he was an associate of her father’s that tried to turn him in to Taskforce X last season, if the name doesn’t ring a bell. Lois, obviously still furious at this guy that betrayed her dad, grabs her emotional support Superman and drags him after Slott. They pass by some cosplayers that look suspiciously like Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy from the Teen Titans, before Clark is briefly distracted by a miniature tractor. Lois says that the tractor looks great, but they don’t have time for this.

 

Lois explains to Clark who Schott is as he reaches his Toy booth. She seems most upset about how the explosive Schott used was a teddy bear. Clark tells Lois that she should have fun… stalking this guy, but he’s has to go introduce Kara. He warns his beloved to not do anything too extreme while he’s gone. As Clark leaves, we see B-1Z is at the event in his homemade Superman suit. A photographer, who looks suspiciously like a comic accurate Jimmy Olsen, and the Teen Titans cosplayers get a photo with him, which seems to excite the big lug.

 

Back at Jimmy’s booth, Kara is trying to find ways to help Jimmy while getting as physically close to him as she can without touching him. Given the suite of Kryptonian powers, I think she could get as within a hairs breadth of actually touching him. Jimmy keeps telling her its fine, so Kara suggests that she get them hotdogs. They’re interrupted by Cat, who has noticed that Kara spends a lot of time with Jimmy and wants to know what’s up. Jimmy asks Kara to get them two single hotdogs. When Kara zooms away, Jimmy insists to Cat that nothing is going on between him and Kara. Only for her to ruin that by super speeding over with hotdogs while also carrying the two main actors from Challengers of the Unknown, the X-Files parody that they dressed up as for Halloween. Kara is super excited to show them off, making it clear that there is something going on here. Kara puts the two actors down, who grab the hotdogs and run, before taking Jimmy’s hand and asking to speak to him candidly. She says that he might not have noticed, ha, but she has romantic interest in him and wants for him to be her mate, like Clark and Lois. This gives me flashbacks to the Orville, where Bortus, one of the alien crewmen of the ship, his husband asks to “Experience the Sexual Event.” Ha. Jimmy is touched that Kara just asked him that, but insists that she shouldn’t jump into a relationship with the first person (literally) that she ever met. He tells her that Clark, Kal-El, had a chance to experience the world before he and Lois got together, and that she hasn’t. He tells her that she needs to experience more of the world before making a big decision like this. They’re interrupted by the Supergirl panel being announced. Clark, in his Superman gear, flies over and grabs Kara for the event.

 

Meanwhile, a group of thieves drive up to Metropolis First National Bank. The normal crew want to go in quick and quiet, but his hired muscle disagrees. The muscle, a Russian woman with cybernetic whips, throws a fire hydrant through the doors of the bank and stabs a bunch of cars with her whips. She insists that if she wants to be the highest paid muscle in Metropolis, she has to prove that she can party with the Man of Steel.

 

At the Fest, Superman introduces Kara Zor-El, Supergirl of Metropolis, to the event. He then hears the alarm and super speeds away to handle it. Cat, who is MC this Q and A (why would you get her to do that?) asks the first question, asking Kara about her ‘sign.’ Kara doesn’t know what that means, answering the House of El sign is “Your letter S.” Cat asks the next question, what’s her secret to her skin. Kara answers, “I wash it.” Cat laughs at that response but Kara looks like she’s uncomfortable.

 

Superman flies into the bank and asks the robbers, “Didn’t we already do this today?” before he’s grabbed by a whip and whipped into the wall. The muscle introduces herself as the Whip as the rest of the crew run away. Clark says that he doesn’t want to hurt her, and she replies she wants him to try. Before powering up her whips and revealing that she’s got a Kryptonite boosted mode. She whips the weakened Superman around and into a wall. He’s shocked to see someone with that. Whip says that she always brings the best treats to the party… and that Kryptonite is super easy to get now after Brainiac and the Metallos spread them all over the place.

 

Back at the Fest, Lois monitors Schott. She sees him sell a bear to Libby, the little girl Superman saved in season 1, before getting in his face. Schott tries to pretend he doesn’t know who she is, but Lois loudly accuses him of trying to kill her, which makes him drop the act. He claims that she and Sam ruined his life and asks her to just leave him alone so he can share a love of toys with the other Fest goers. Lois stares daggers at him for thirty seconds before announcing, “NO!”

 

At the interview, Cat is, shockingly, dominating the conversation. She asks Kara to “face the elephant in the room,” (Kara asks if she can pet it), and Cat asks what about her is unique. Cat claims that Metropolis doesn’t really need TWO superheroes, so what is it about Kara that’s different from Superman. Kara is thrown off by this question, but looks into the crowd and suggests that a girl in that group looks like she has something to say. The girl, Jessica Cruz, explains that she thinks that Supergirl is ‘brave’ that she’s a warrior that fights for people and that she wishes that she was as brave as Supergirl. Kara thanks her for saying that, and decides that she should act Brave. She flies up and tells any eligible Earthling suitors to meet her at her booth once the interview is over. Cat, and Jimmy in the crowd, are shocked by this announcement.

 

Superman is thrown around by the Whip and asks her what her plan is. The Whip has a full action plan here, she’s going to beat Superman, increasing her reputation in the criminal underworld and become the highest paid muscle in town. Just like Superman. Clark tells her that he works pro-bono… and the Whip tells him that is incredibly sad. You shouldn’t do things for free when people can pay you. She catches his leg and slams him into the ground. Clark tells her that he’s not interested in career advice from her, and she says too bad, as she’s interested in him. Clark zooms around her, and discovers that she’s got a crystal battery back on her harness, like Livewire’s suit had in the second episode, and that it’s rapidly depleting.

 

Back with Kara, her booth has a line like 100 people deep. She’s getting gifts and meeting with all sorts of people that are interested in her. One of them is a big, beefy dude that looks exactly like Jimmy. He asks her to sign a photo for his boyfriend. Jimmy, glaring from across the room, just sees “Muscle Jimmy,” talking to Kara and is immediately jealous. He’s pulled from his jealous spiral by Lex, who is examining Jimmy’s comic and being judgy. Jimmy demands to know why he’s there, and Lex reveals that he’s at the Fest also looking for new opportunities. He gives Jimmy his card and tells him to come to LexCorp’s presentation, he’ll love what Lex has to offer. Jimmy immediately throws it out.

 

Lois, meanwhile, is digging throw Schott’s supplies, looking for any toys that might actually be weapons. That’s the Toyman’s whole thing. Schott insists that he’s reformed, but Lois refuse to believe that. She sees Libby holding her bear, the same style as the bomb thrown at her, and take it, saying it’s filled with explosive… fluff as she rips its head off. Libby stars crying as her mom calls Lois a monster. And Lois is horrified to realize that she IS Villain Lois!

 

Kara’s booth is getting a lot of traffic and gifts. She gets a song from a guy, a valentine card from a ten-year-old shooting his shot, and a mime presentation. Jimmy is flustered mostly by the mime, saying that he’s “Capturing her heart from his invisible prison!” Jimmy tries to focus, but Cat appears behind, and tries to interview him, asking if he regrets letting Kara get away. Jimmy says that Kara is Supergirl, and he’s… just Superman’s pal.

 

Sidenote, Cat and the rest of the Daily Planet crew know Clark is Superman, right? Just from Jimmy insisting that they’re best friends, and yet he’s also best friends with Clark. That’s gotta trip up people that know him.

 

Whip flings Clark into a wall, saying his low income is a turnoff. Clark insists that he won’t discuss his personal finances with a supervillain. Whip says that she’s going to finish him, tangling him in her whips and strangling him… but then her Kryptonite boost runs out. Without that, her whips are just hardened metal, can’t really even annoy Superman. He quickly catches her and ties her to a traffic light outside. She asks why he is leaving when the fun is just starting. Clark bids her good day and flies away. Whip blushes to herself as she announces, “I love him,” to Superman’s back. Good thing Lois is distracted or else her Hussy Sense might have gone off and she’d have to do something about this Whip.

 

Clark returns to Jimmy’s booth and sits beside him, seeming pretty out of it. Jimmy asks what’s up and Clark says that being Superman is harder than it used to be. Being hit on by criminals will do that to a fella. Lucky that Silver Banshee is seemingly not interested in him and Livewire and Heatwave are lesbians or he’d have had to deal with this sooner. Clark hears the commotion happening around Lois and goes to check on his… overly enthusiastic love. Clark, ever the peacemaker, give Libby a new bear, apologizes for his pocket reporter and offering to pay for the damages. He also asks to buy Schott’s miniature farm set. Lois begins to apologize… but then notices that Schott’s booth has rocket launchers, a machine gun, bullets, and several other weapons hidden amongst the toys. She decides to pick on Schott some more and accuse him of not being good enough to be up to something nefarious. This thoroughly pisses off Schott, who hits a button and screams “How’s this for a threat!?” his booth transforms into robot reminiscent of but legally distinct from a Gundam. Lois shrieks, “I knew it!” B-1Z sees and prepares to leap in to help. Clark takes off his glasses and mutters, “I can’t believe I do this for free,” when something else Super speeds in, slams Toyman’s robot through a wall and outside.

 

We’re introduced to Captain Hank Henshaw, the new Superman presented by LexCorp. Lex appears and takes a mic to introduce his creation. He explains that Hank was shot down during the Brainiac invasion last year, but his will and Lex’s brilliance, he’s back, stronger than ever. He claims that with Henshaw, the people of Metropolis don’t need to rely on the generosity of aliens. As he speaks, we see Henshaw slamming Toyman’s robot into the ground over and over again before cracking the pilot window. B-1Z looks on, terrified, before slipping away. Lex notices Lois and asks for a blurb for the Planet. Lois doesn’t pay attention to him and asks Hank, “Why? What is this about?” Hank claims that his is about taking back humanity’s future.

 

The crew walk home. Kara asks if Lex is upset and built this new Superman because of something she did or screwed up. Clark tells her of course not, that Lex was like this even before they’d met. Clark says that they just need to keep working and hopefully they can change Lex’s mind, as well as anyone else who is afraid of them. Lois wonders what could have happened to make Hank agree to be Lex’s personal Superman. Jimmy says whatever the reason, they can just use real Superman and Supergirl to stop him.

 

At LexCorp, Hank gets into his repair station. Lex is amazed that Wilsom Schott gave them such an opportunity to show off Hank’s new hardware. He says they’re one step closer to wining the hearts and minds of Metropolis, Hank adding, “And saving them from Superman.” As he does, the pod removes the outer plating of his jaw, revealing a metal one underneath.

 

Okay, did anyone reading this go into this not knowing that Hank Henshaw was Cyborg Superman? Was this reveal surprising or just ‘Oh, they revealed it, neat!”

 

Alright, so that’s two more subplots to add to the pile. So, in total we have: 1. Lois is feeling anxious about moving forward with her relationship with Clark. 2. Kara is trying to take Jimmy’s advice and see more of the world and potential suitors. And 3. Jimmy having a petty, jealous freakout about Kara taking his advice. Which is especially stupid when you consider that Kara was 100% going to go on a few first dates, maybe even a second date, with some other guys before super speeding over to Jimmy and asking if that is enough experience for her to be able to say they should be together. Like, bro, grow a spine! I suppose that the fourth subplot would be Clark feeling kind of exhausted from Superheroing… but that’s less of a subplot and more of a genre convention for him. If it’s a Superman series, Clark starts to feel a bit overwhelmed on occasion. His battle with the Whip was fun, just a simple fight to keep him busy while his friends have their social plots running. The idea that Kryptonite has spread across the city isn’t great for Clark, but hey, it lets the criminals have a leg up on him on occasion and that’s just good story telling. Lois’ s stalking Winslow Schott to prove that he’s still an unconventional arms dealer is classic Lois. If you look up Obsessive in the dictionary, her picture is right there. It’s kind of funny that she was so hung up on Schott’s titular toys that she didn’t notice his booth was outfitted with actual weapons. It’s a ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’ sort of thing. Her vindication scream as the giant robot powers up is also classic her. Doesn’t matter that Lois is in danger, what matters is that she is right. Jimmy and Kara’s subplot… well, it’s a bit irritating. On the one hand, I get when Jimmy is coming from with his fear about Kara. He is a normal guy whereas Kara is someone that walks on air, they don’t exactly click on that level. And, unlike Lois, who knows that Clark has had experiences with other people and thus is completely genuine and informed on his decision to be with her, Jimmy always has that worry that this is only happening because he’s literally the first guy Kara met. It’s the sort of doubt that would eat away at a man. So, his advice that Kara try seeing other people for a bit? Good! Getting immediately jealous because the cute, friendly, and sincere blonde with superpowers is immediately getting guys lining up to meet her? Dude, what did you THINK was going to happen! For Kara’s end, I like that she is trying to do what Jimmy told her to do. It is better to get an idea of what your interests are and of other people before you rush into a long-time commitment. Mom, if you’re reading this, this isn’t an attack on you, just an acknowledgement that whirlwind romances don’t always work out as well as yours did. And Hank’s reveal was good. He comes in, shows off his costume and powers, makes it clear that he’s the Temu Superman, and everyone looks on in a mix of shock and horror at seeing him beat an old man’s giant robot. This whole reveal actually characterizes the difference between Clark and Hank exactly. Clark, had he gotten the chance to suit up and face Schott, would have tried to talk him down. Clark always tries to communicate with his villains and get them to surrender whenever he can. Hank dives right in and starts wailing on Winslow until the robot is broken. It’s brutal, efficient, and just not very Superman, other than how he uses his powers. So… ya, Subplots are set up and now we get to see what comes next. Oh, and it was good seeing more Bizarro. See you later. Have a goodnight and stay safe. 

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Bluesky: @basicssuperhero.bsky.social

Viewer Log: My Adventures With Superman ep 21

 Season 3 starts with candy and ends with mad science. 

Last time on My Adventures with Superman, Clark and Kara teamed up to defeat Brainiac. The scions of the house of El had to fight off waves of hacked Metallo robots and Brainiac’s archer cannon but got backup from Clark’s rogues and General Lane to fight them off. Clark and Kara tried to reason with Brainiac, but he instead activates Kara’s Eradicator Protocol which turns her into a rage monster and sends her after Clark. He also monologues for a bit and revealed that he was the one that killed Krypton after learning they’d brokered a peace with their unnamed enemy. Clark breaks through to Kara with the power of friendship, and the cousins send Brainiac’s ship, the Kandor, into space towards the sun. Brainiac, being a sore loser, activates his Black Zero protocol which infuses the Kandor and himself with Kryptonite. He fires a Kryptonite infused shot at them, hitting Kara. She falls into the sun and Clark dives in after her. Their combined powers plus a solar boost allowed them to overcome Brainiac’s Kryptonite based armor and they shattered him into a billion pieces, grabbing his processor in the rubble. Kara gets adopted not only by the friend group of Clark, Lois and Jimmy, but also by Clark’s parents. The season ended with Clark and Kara grabbing their preferred human and flying off into the sunset. Enough recapping. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

The episode begins at the Fortress of Solitude, which has been transformed into a proper Kryptonian building since the last time Clark had visited. Clark comments on the change in décor and that he and Kara will start a new chapter of their lives here. He offers to go down with Kara, as she’s come to put Brainiac’s CPU into storage at the Fortress. She thanks him but says she has to do this on her own. Clark is then met by the Stewarts, the robots that are seemingly running the fortress. They all sound distressed about something but are super vague about what they’re stressed out about, so Clark can’t make heads or tails of it. I heard the words “Kandorian Crystals,” which has me… concerned. As Kara puts the CPU into storage, Brainiac wakes up and warns Kara that this won’t last. He’s impressed that she’s convinced Clark and the humans that she’s a hero, but at the end of the day, she’s her father’s daughter and she’ll show her true colors. Kara denies that this’ll happen and says that she knows who she is. Then Brainiac asks the surprisingly difficult question, “Then who are you, child?” Kara flies off in a huff. Clark sees her go and flies after her, which upsets the observers more. Considering they’re saying things like “Rao’s Child Stirs” and “Overcome him with strength of will” I think they’ve a right to be concerned. They agree that Kal-El doesn’t know their ways, the lead robot saying that he will learn, he has to. Kara heads up into the upper atmosphere, looks down on Earth and asks the same question that Clark did all the way back in Season 1, “Who am I?”

 

We then get an updated opening sequence! It adds Kara to most of the moments, swapping Clark and Lois staring longingly at each other while Jimmy laughs for Jimmy and Kara staring at each other while Lois laughs and Clark blushes. There’s then a shot of Clark and Lois looking at a boy with a sword on his back and the House of El S on his chest before vanishing, and then Jimmy and Kara joining those two to stare down their combined rogue’s gallery. It’s a good update.

 

After the new opener, we join the Super Crew at the Kent Family Farm. Ma and Pa Kent are running a corn maze and general Halloween celebration for the local kids, and Jimmy is promoting it with his Flamebird page. He shows the highlights of the event, Pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, the corn maze, and finally, Kara, who is super excited to pet a dog dressed up as a Pumpkin. Jimmy makes a joke about the corn maze being so scary that Supergirl had to save him. Kara says that his distress was very audible. She reassures Jimmy’s viewers that she is in fact Supergirl, don’t be fooled by her disguise, and she’s here to protect everyone. As they finish the video, Lois sneaks up on them and notices that something is… up with these two. She notes that they’re wearing matching costumes and excitedly asks if it’s a couple’s costume. Kara tells her that it is based on their version of the X-Files, Challengers of the Unknown. Lois is very delighted to hear that Kara and Jimmy had watched the whole show, together, alone, with POPCORN! Lois almost asks if they’re dating, but Kara gets pulled aside to help Clark and Pa fix the tractor. Jimmy tells Lois not to put him on the spot with Kara like that. Lois asks what’s up and Jimmy tells her that there’s nothing going on between him and Kara. While there’s a spark between them that literally anyone can see, he insists nothing will come of it because he knows that Kara can do better. He knows that she’ll ditch him the moment she realizes that too. Bro has got extremely low self-esteem, it seems. Jimmy, she might walk on air, but she clearly likes you! Kara comes over to tell them they need more small value Earth Currency for the Plant Maze and Jimmy takes her to go do that.

 

Lois, who is dressed as Dr. Frankenstein, complains to Clark, dressed as the Creature, about how Jimmy is fumbling things with Kara. Clark tells her that they shouldn’t butt in and that the two of them need to figure this out on their own, as this is both of their first relationship. Lois is a bit surprised to hear that about Jimmy, but Clark insists he hasn’t ever seen Jimmy romantically involved before, and they’ve known each other since college. Lois teases him about this being why they have bunkbeds. While they’re discussing this, they watch a cute moment where Kara uses the fact that Kryptonians don’t need to breath to scare Jimmy into thinking she drowned bobbing for apples.

 

Clark loves fall on the farm and when Lois agrees it’s pretty, he brings up that he’s been… thinking about things. Turns out, Clark’s been looking at listings for small hobby farms near Metropolis for them to move in together. Lois is down for a ‘hypothetical’ farm, but then Clark also points out that they could also get a dog. Which Lois is also down for… but then Clark mentions that he’s been looking at prospective three-bedroom two-bathroom farmhouses near Metropolis in a good school district… it’s the prospect of reproducing that makes Lois panic a little and ask how long he’s been ‘thinking’ about this. Clark admits it’s been since Brainiac almost destroyed the world, it made him think about ‘the future.’ Lois is clearly scared of change. Clark sounds a little disappointed but understanding when it sounds like Lois might not be into the idea. Lois quickly backpedals, saying that she does want that life with him, but maybe they should take it slowly. She knows that he had a good childhood with Ma and Pa at the farm but her relationship with her dad was… weird. She’s pulled out of the conversation when Lois notices her DAD is at the event. He’s in his dress uniform and enjoys Martha’s apple pie. General Sam Lane tells her that the Kents invited him, he’s retired now but is doing work at the Pentagon. It’s much lower stress than when he was running Taskforce X. He says he’s at the event just to see her and enjoy the holiday. He even gives Lois her old compass from when they used to do wilderness weekends that he’d found in his office. In case she needs help finding her way.

 

Sam then ruins the moment by revealing that there was a break in at the Pentagon and he wants Lois to tell Superman to check it out. He says that someone stole files on a program connected to Project: Cadmus and Taskforce X dubbed Project: Caliban. Lois clarifies that this Project: Caliban is a Kryptonian bio-weapon project, which, ya know, is bad. She agrees to help and runs to get everyone, with Sam shouting after her the clarification that he wants Superman to check it out.

 

Clark, Kara, Lois and Jimmy head out and find a fenced off area and some old warehouse looking buildings. Clark makes her promise that they’d be back in time to hand out candy, which Lois does, and then he hurls the fence out of the way. Inside, they just find a dilapidated warehouse. Lois thinks they’ve really cleaned out the place, but Jimmy thinks otherwise. He noticed that there are no roads, trails, or plumbing for this building. It’s like someone built a shell and left it empty. Kara notices what she calls a dog. Kara seems to be under the impression that all Earth animals are dogs. Jimmy tries to correct her and says it’s a deer… but then the deer turns its head and its revealed to have a two headed monster. It’s a deer with a second head, a wolf. The two heads are connected by the eye. Kara chases after the dog-deer, saying she wants to pet it. Deeper in the woods, they find a hidden bunker.

 

The group quickly deduce that something really strong broke out of the bunker and then tried to force the door back into place. Kara, Jimmy and Lois want to go inside, but Clark is less than enthused. Jimmy asks, “What could be better than solving a mystery on Halloween with your three best friends?” with Clark responding, “I don’t know, bobbing for apples!” Lois tells him to lighten up a little and they head inside.

 

They descend several flights of stairs, Jimmy mentioning that he hopes the digging didn’t disrupt the race of dino people living beneath the earth. Lois tells him that the Earth isn’t hollow and filled with Dino-people. Jimmy counters by asking ‘Like how aliens and bigfoot weren’t real?” Lois claims Clark doesn’t count as an alien, and Bigfoot was Monsieur Mallah. They find the biolab; it’s filled with huge incubation tubes with various experiments growing inside. Lois notices one of the tubes is damaged and tells the others there’s been fighting in there. Jimmy finds a filing cabinet full of documents. He looks through it while Lois walks in deeper. She hears something running around in the background and we see canine-like feet run passed her. She finds an empty tube, its plaque reads: Subject B-1Z, DNA Sequence: Extraterrestrial, Outcome: Viable. Lois hears glass breaking and sees another empty tube.

 

Jimmy leaf’s through the documents, learning that the creatures here were made from DNA taken from the Zero-Day event and wonders if this was a weapons program. Clark and Kara go off together and Kara tells Clark that Kryptonian DNA is in those tanks. Clark ominously states, “They were trying to create us…”

 

Losi realizes she was separated from everyone and starts to freak out. She gets ambushed by a mutant animal. It’s like a six limbed, five-eyed lizard. Clark and Kara hear Lois scream and super speed to her. Kara asks, “Is this a dog?” as Clark charges it, shouting, “No.” Whatever this creature is made out of, it’s a sturdy beast. It slices through Clark’s shirt, revealing his costume, before firing a freeze ray from its mouth. It freezes Clark in place, but Kara knocks it back and he’s able to break free. They fall back from the creature, grabbing Jimmy and enter into a decontamination chamber.

 

After being sterilized, they find a room filled with Kryptonian plants that Kara recognizes. Jimmy gets grabbed by Kandorian Ivy, but Kara saves him. They have a moment, but Lois ruins it by saying that the forest thins out ahead. The find a clearing with a single oak tree growing in the middle. Clark sees a mound of dirt and uses his X-Ray vision to confirm there’s a body buried there. It’s old, the body is just a skeleton in a lab coat now. His ID says he’s George Otto Binder. Lois thinks that something got loose in the lab and killed the scientists. Clark points out that it’s weird that whatever killed him buried the guy. He goes to grab Binder’s glasses that were left like a headstone, causing a hulking creature to lunge at him. Everyone, say hi to B-1Z, aka Bizarro! B-1Z attacks Clark, his huge frame letting him overpower even Clark’s spectacular strength. Unbeknownst to them, a flying robot is tracking their movements. Kara decks B-1Z to get it off Clark, calling it a Kryptonian Clone, an abomination. The lizard thing leaps out of the foliage to guard B-1Z. Before they can do anything about it, there’s an earth-shaking slam that scares B-1Z off. Jimmy asks the obvious, what scares something like that?

 

Clark and Kara force open a door in the direction of the quake. They find a forest of trees, more oaks. Weirdly, they find things like a kite in a tree (exactly like the one Clark had to fly up and free), blocks, child drawings, making everyone realize that a child was being raised here. Clark hears a noise in the distance, someone calling for help and he super speeds away to investigate. Kara also hears something and goes to investigate. She finds a little classroom setup on the outskirts of the trees and a TV playing a video of Dr. Binder giving a lesson. The advice Binder gives is ‘no matter what, choose to be kind.’

 

Clark finds a shattered wall and hears someone calling for help. He rips the wall open and they find a robot inside, it playing the cry for help. The Robot charges Clark, knocking him aside. It flies out and connects with that robot we saw earlier, turns out that small robot was its head. It flies away and attacks B-1Z. Clark tells his humans to stay with Kara. He super speeds over and saves B-1Z from being shot with a blast of energy. He realizes that the robot was the one destroying the lab and that B-1Z was just defending himself. B-1Z warns Clark as the Robot charges him again.

 

Back in the lab, Jimmy and Lois find Kara watching Binder’s lesson. Jimmy reveals that Binder was the head scientist of this project, based on the files he found. Lois guesses that Binder was raising the clone as a weapon, but Kara corrects her, saying that Binder was raising the clone as his son. Which, ya, tracks with the children’s toys and drawings. Kara says that Binder taught B-1Z how to grow things, gave him a reverence for life that her own father, Brainiac, never allowed to form in his weapon. She claims to not even know how to grieve, so there’s no way B-1Z was raised like her. Jimmy realizes that Binder was protecting the clone from people that wanted to exploit him.

 

Clark fights off the robot, though it is able to shoot a laser through the lizard’s side. He asks B-1Z if he’s alright. The robot attacks Clark, grappling him and attempts to self-destruct to kill him. Clark tells B-1Z to run as he flies up to get him clear. The root explodes and the blast is intense enough to knock out Clark. This triggers a lab failsafe, and the building starts to flood. B-1Z finds the knocked-out Clark. He grabs Clark and leaps them out of the building to safety. He calls Clark his “friend,” before he hears the others approaching. He grabs his lizard and leaps away.

 

That night, Clark answers the door for some trick-or-treaters. They’re dressed as a reference. … A bird, a plane and a little superman. Clark passes out candy and the start struck little superman is pulled along by his siblings. Clark stands and Lois puts an arm around his waist, a motion Kara copies immediately with Jimmy. Totally, Jimmy, she’s so not in to you. She’s just copying casual touching for no reason.

 

We cut to the streets of Metropolis where B-1Z is wandering around. He remembers his father’s message about choosing to be good and kind, and how his choices will shape the world. A child hands B-1Z a sucker, and he sees his ‘friend’ on the big screen as Superman saves the day, causing the big lug to smile.

 

We cut to LexCorp. Lex is looking through the footage his robot sent him. Slade walks in and asks about Caliban. Lex says that the project is a bust, they didn’t get a viable sample and Superman ruined everything. Slade offered to go get the drone, but Lex tells him not to bother. He says they’ll go see Henshaw. Slade asks why, when Hank Henshaw needs machines to breathe. Lex says that’s what makes him perfect. We get a shot of Hank Henshaw, and he’s not looking good. His face is covered in metal bits, his head is hooked up to a brain scanner of some kind, and he’s wrapped up like a mummy. If you know anything about Hank Henshaw, you know where this is going…

 

This was a great start to the new season. My theory is that the only reason we’re picking up on Halloween is to set up Clark and Lois’ personal drama for the season. They chose Halloween as a timestamp, to show us that it has been at least a year since the season 1 finale, which took place on Thanksgiving. Why? To make it clear that neither Clark nor Lois is ‘wrong’ with this drama. Clark is ready to move onto the next phase of their relationship, going from long time dating to cohabitation and/or marriage. And when you’ve been with a partner for 1.5-2 years, that’s a reasonable expectation. Lois is definitely not, which, when you’ve been with a partner for 1.5-2 years, isn’t an unreasonable reaction. Which isn’t to say that she doesn’t want to settle down and start a family with Clark… but she’s (about) 25, and that’s a huge lifestyle change. She’s enjoying the adventure and freedom she has right now, something that could end at least for a while if they go the farm and kids’ route. Lois is 25 going on 26, and Clark is 24 going on 40, they need to make some adjustments. Jimmy and Kara’s relationship drama is going to be… a trip. Let’s just say, we’re starting a plot point that is… divisive online. The lab is interesting, and getting a new spin on Bizarro is always fun. I should note that his creator, Dr. George Otto Binder, is his creator in multiple senses. The character is named after DC artis Otto Binder, who created the original Bizarro, and is also credited for co-creating Supergirl and being a major writer for the Captain Marvel series. Due was a big deal. Now, typically, Bizarro is depicted as a failed clone of Superman, with chalky white, rocklike skin, and usually displays some kind of diminished intelligence. Sometimes he’s stupid, sometimes he’s confused, sometimes he speaks with the opposite meaning. (He says, “I hate you,” when he means “I love you,” that sort of thing.) This version they seem to be playing up more of a naiveite, since he was raised in isolation and had been along since Binder’s death. So, he’s not stupid, just timid and lacking in real world skills. We’ll see him a few times in this season and he adjusts well to his new surroundings. He’s a very good boy at heart. And the tease with Hank, oo, that’s a good tease. For those NOT in the know, Hank Henshaw is mostly known in the DC mythos by the name “Cyborg Superman.” So, you can probably guess from that name alone what Lex is going to do with that broken man. But more on that next time. Have a good night and stay safe, everyone. 

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Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 171

 The kids are all grown up. But two of them still need a little push. 

Last time on My Hero Academia, Izuku got on with his life. He passed his classes, got his hero license and graduated from UA. He inspired people to do better and helped change the world for the better. Eight years after his second year, Izuku is now a teacher at UA high and is training the next generation of heroes. His friends are doing well, but there is a bit of distance between them now what with their jobs and his retirement from active hero work. He meets a young man named Dai at the All Might statue whom he encourages to try for UA, Dai’s dream school, even if his Quirk isn’t impressive. He too can become a hero. Izuku heads into school the next day, where he’s met by All Might. All Might just got back from a trip to the US and he brought back a souvenir. Using the Data from his Hercules system, with the help of Mei Hatsume and his ‘friend’ over seas (its Melissa Shield even if they didn’t use her name) and funds raised by his classmates (especially Bakugo) they designed Izuku an Iron Man suit that let him mimic his old powers. With his new suit, Izuku rushed out and got to fly again along side his class as they banded together to deal with a landslide. Enough recapping. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

Uraraka wakes up in a field. She’s confused about why she’s here, but can’t worry about it, she has to get back to work. She turns to find Himeko Toga standing behind her. She says, “Hi Ochako,” before Uraraka wakes up. She fell asleep at her desk, it seems and has been having this dream a lot, she mutters that she’d had it ‘again.’

 

Uraraka (we learn that she’s 24 on the chart) meets with Tsu (34), Mirio (1), Nejire (7) and Amajiki (18) as the four are going to help her with her Quirk Counseling gig. She tells them not to be fooled by kids who seem like everything is fine. They need to have patience and help those that are reticent talking to adults to open up. She thinks this will take about a month, and they have a lot of support from her own staff and the PSC. Hawks is even pitching it to try to take her program nationwide… though he sounds like a con artist when he talks about it.

 

Amajiki notes that this must take up a lot of her time and wonders if Uraraka is making time for herself. She’s stunned by this question, but the students come running up and start begging for attention before she can answer. They get Mirio to do ‘the thing,” which is to jump into a tree and use his phasing power to make his ass appear in multiple places while shouting, “uh-ho, time to harvest some peaches.” I doubt he realized that this would be his signature ‘thing’ when he said it to Tomura Shigaraki. Nejire looks despondently at her friend and mutters, “So awkward.” The kids start firing at his ass with their quirks. From how everyone is reacting, this is something Mirio does for kids a lot. Uraraka notices one kid is hesitant to participate and offers her hand in encouragement. She floats the kid up; he gets in close and hits Mirio with a beam from the kid’s helmet. The kid, Oshima, got the first hit on Mirio in about a year. Oshima gets cheered on by his classmates as Mirio climbs out of the tree. Uraraka is excited to see the kids happy and is just happy that this is her job. Nejire complements her and says that she sounds like Amajiki. He’s embarrassed by that and grows a mole claw to dig a hole to hide in. Uraraka explains that she works with Tsu a lot for this, and she gets to see her other friends as well. She says she has plenty of free time for herself… but Tsu gives a look proving this a lie.

 

Uraraka and Tsu head home together on the train. Uraraka tells Tsu about the dream, saying that she’s been having it for about a month. She’s spoken to a doctor about it, but they couldn’t find anything medically wrong with her and wonders if it’s just stress. Tsu tells her to get a second opinion, as Uraraka tends to let things like this build up. Uraraka wonders if Himeko is trying to reach out to her, like she’s a Vestige. One she gained from Himeko transferring her blood into Uraraka to save her life. There’s a spooky visual of Himeko’s head being reflected in the glass behind Uraraka instead of herself. Tsu leans in to put her head on Uraraka’s shoulder and tells her to figure out the dream.

 

We jump over to Izuku, Bakugo, and Kirishima driving. Bakugo is pissed he’s playing chauffer for them. Izuku thanks him for the lift, and Kirishima says that he should lighten up. This is just the excuse he needs to show off his car, and they’re headed to the same place anyway. Bakugo angrily says that he’s only driving them because Kirishima threatened to do hardened punches on the hood if he didn’t. Kirishima (revealed to be #12) tease him about crumbling to threats when he swore he never would. Izuku tries to make small talk about the car, but Bakugo demands to know WHY he needs a ride, is he really that hard up for time. Izuku says that he is, and that this ride let him finish a lesson plan for his kids. Kirishima asks if any of the students might be a good fit for him as a sidekick. He says that Fat Gum (11) and Amajiki have helped him out, but now that he’s gone independent, he wants to not rely on them as much. Kirishima says the others are doing well, but a few of them went independent before him so he wants to catch up. Izuku says that he heard Bakugo got a lot of applicants, but he scared them off. Bakugo tells him to shut it. Present Mic narrates, saying that Bakugo debuted as 4^th but dropped to 15^th after some gaffs. Bakugo angrily says that he’s waiting for an applicant that claims he wants to surpass him, and that he’ll hire that person on the spot. Izuku notes that Bakugo still carries his All Might signed trading card on a lanyard. Bakugo asks if he’s staying at UA. Izuku says he is, he’s working part time as a hero like All Might and Aizawa used to. He says that he’s doing two different, but important jobs. He claims that even if he still had OFA, he’d still want to be a teacher. He thanks them both for their support. Kirishima starts laughing hard, revealing that Bakugo was going to ask Izuku to join his agency, but Izuku turned him down before he could ask. Bakugo tells him to shut it and tells Izuku to start thinking more highly about himself or he’ll miss out on things. “If everyone is special to you, no one is,” is how he puts it. Izuku is confused by this and gets sucked further into the backseat, Kirishima finally asking what is up with those.

 

We cut to their destination, a party with the former Class A to celebrate Shoto making it to the number 2 spot. He thanks everyone for coming to celebrate him, which Kaminari (44) kind of ruins by saying that he’d take any excuse to party. That makes Shoto a bit depressed, but Kaminari tries to back peddle on that. Sero (38) says that maybe 44 shouldn’t tease 2, and Kaminari asks that they not litigate that again. Iida (14) is on his side, saying that the chart is more expansive and diverse now, so the flat number doesn’t mean as much. Yaoyorozu (19) points out that things like philanthropy and other good deeds are being factored in, Shoji (9) nods in agreement. Mineta tells Sero to show some restraint as “Numbers are Hurtful!” and it’s revealed he’s 108. I imagine he gets dinged a lot for his… antics. Ashido (28) and Jiro (30) shockingly tell him that this number is still respectable… even though I’m pretty sure he’s the only one in their class that is in triple digits. Which includes Izuku, who’s been back on active duty for like a month. Shinso is revealed to be an independent and thus isn’t on the chart, he can’t relate to wanting that kind of exposure. Hagakure (39) isn’t shocked by his attitude. Sato is impressed that everyone could make their schedules work for this (he’s unranked) and Ojiro (32) points out that they’re all so busy despite villain rates dropping. Tokoyami (17) says that despite them, crime is ever present, and Aoyama (unranked) agrees.

 

Tokoyami points out that the other big heroes are still working hard as well. Best Jeanist (5), Mirko (6 with two weaponized prosthetic arms) Mt. Lady (3), Gang Orca (21), Kamui Woods (4), Wash (how the hell is he 8^th?) Death Arms (42, and I’m glad he got back to work), Ryukyu (40) and Present Mic (45) are all still active. He also points out their generation is going strong. We see several heroes from around their year, but only Yo Shido (20), Monoma (10), Kendo (23), Honenuki (14), Tetsutetsu (26), Fukidashi (33), Tokage (22), Yoarashi (16), Shishikura (41) are ranked. I’m sorry, they aren’t translating what exactly characters like Camie are doing, but she and others are apparently still working. Tokoyami says they’re all fighting for a better world where they won’t be needed. He wants the job of a hero to fade into obscurity. He then puts down his drink and vents how his ad agency has asked him to try to be more fabulous, which he took offense to as he IS the darkness. Ojiro asks if he’s drinking a ‘mocktail’ as a subtle way to check how drunk Tokoyami is.

 

Everyone gets comfortable and enjoys the party. Shoto, Izuku and Bakugo sit together and Shoto starts talking. Bakugo warns him not to brag. Shoto says he’s not sure he is and points out how folks are always talking about how he overcame a ‘difficult fate’ and that he’s doing his ‘duty.’ Shoto says that when he hears about destiny and fate, he feels like he’s a player in someone else’s story. All of his words are played over his career highlights, the sports festival, fighting Dabi a few times and reconciling with his older brother once he was in hospice. He admits that to combat this he’s taking an artisan class that teaches how to make bowls and chopsticks. Such a rich guy hobby. He’s doing it because he figured Soba would taste better with handmade tools. They ask some questions about it, and Shoto says that he got the idea while praying at Toya’s alter. FYI, this is confirming that Toya has died at some point between episode 168 and now. Obviously, one doesn’t pray to the shrine of a living person. Shoto says that its because eating is something he enjoys, and that it shows the world he has other interests besides hero stuff. Bakugo teases him about his choice. They get distracted by Ashido squealing. She just heard the gossip that Komori the mushroom girl and Kuroiro the shadow guy from Class B are dating. Sero upon hearing this asks if Kaminari and Jiro are a thing, as they spend a lot of time together and even have agencies right next door to each other. They deny it, but the vibe is still there. Kaminari says he picked the spot as he just went solo and felt he needed support from someone and when he saw the place next door to Jiro was open he jumped on it. They very much have a ‘we’re seeing each other on the down low and don’t want to talk about it just yet,’ vibe. But maybe I’m reading too much into it. Bakugo mutters Kaminari needs a villain.

 

Izuku thinks about inevitability. He says that he’s living the life that he wants, has the career he wants, and is doing well overall. He remembers his last words with Tomura when their minds connected, and the troubled villain told him to ‘do (his) damned best.’ Izuku wonders if he’s been overlooking something… right as he looks at Uraraka. An alert goes off that there’s been a carjacking and that quirks involved make it a dangerous situation. Everyone suits up, and Sero mutters that this is why they can’t get drinks together.

 

They head out... and imagine you’re doing a carjacking, and you get met with a sizeable chunk of the top 100 heroes in Japan to stop you. Its overkill is what it is. Iida speeds ahead and causes the car to swerve, letting Bakugo blast the door off, Izuku captures them in his artificial Black Whip, and Shoto to stop the car with an ice wall. Everyone else lands and poses. The thieves are taken away. Bakugo claims he got their first, but Izuku says that Iida technically did. Iida mentions that random crimes like this will always be an issue and the others agree. It’s also revealed that while Izuku has the most advanced version of power suit, basically everyone has a transforming briefcase that holds their equipment.

 

The students break up for the night, promising to meet up again sometime soon. Shoto admits that he paid the bill so they can all go home. Ashido yells at him for doing that when everyone was supposed to treat HIM as the guest of honor, so everyone else pays him their share. Bakugo offers to drive Izuku home as they’ve got an early morning with Edgeshot tomorrow, but Izuku turns him down. Kirishima, Ashido, and Kaminari all accept the offer he didn’t give. Kirishima and Ashido chant ‘brand new car’ as they head to Bakugo’s car, making me pretty sure they’re a thing as well, while Kaminari laughs. Bakugo says they’ll see each other soon, and Izuku says he should come by the school soon, as Aizawa wants to give him another lesson on good communication. Bakugo snorts angrily at that jab before walking off with a wave. Izuku walks off and remembers what Bakugo said about ‘special people’ to him.

 

Uraraka says bye to Tsu at the train station and promises to see her bright and early the next day. She heads off and thinks that she’ll be back at it again tomorrow. As she walks, she remembers that because Izuku and her didn’t sit next to each other, they didn’t get to chat. They made significant eye contact at one point in the night, though, and she mentions that they see each other at work sometimes. She stops as she remembers him saying that she was his hero back in high school. Right in front of billboards featuring Izuku, Bakugo and Shoto, how odd. She thinks about how everyone figured out what they wanted to do after the war. They’ve stayed close and respect each other’s goals. She thinks she shouldn’t ask for much more… but then she remembers her fight with Himeko and how she announced to Himeko that she loved Izuku.  She admits that she wants more, and that she wished they could have talked more. She looks up and sees none other than Izuku Midoriya running to her with a grin on his face and saying how good it is she’s still here. She suddenly remembers her dream, Himeko telling her that it’s okay. Izuku reaches her and tells her that their class is special to him, and he cares about them all. He thought that would be enough for him… but he admits that today that he had hopped he’d get to talk to her more and that he felt that way a lot. She blushes furiously at this admission and remembers more of her dream. Himeko says that she lived life how she wanted, and she loves Uraraka. And that’s why she wants to push her to love to. And as she said that, she shoves Uraraka forward, making her stumble into Izuku’s chest. She remembers her conversation with Tsu and how she’d had the dream for about a month… and realizes that about a month ago was when she started seeing Izuku more as he got back on active duty. Izuku wonders if spending more time together would be… cool, while blushing. Uraraka is nervous, looks back and is encouraged by Himeko. So, she holds up a hand and says “I feel the same.” They clasp hands, Himeko nods and fades away, and the credits roll.

 

This is a headcanon, but until Horikoshi says otherwise, I believe these two will be engaged by the following Christmas. They meet each other’s parents after a month, Izuku goes ring shopping after three, he proposes Christmas day, which in Japan is more of a couple’s holiday. When you’ve met your person, ya know.

 

There’s not that much to say about this episode. It’s kind of the epilogue equivalent of those recap premier episodes that they did for the first few seasons. The majority of the episode was just to show us where everyone ended up after graduation, and it did that well. Everyone seems to be where they want to be, even if some like Mineta want to be higher up on the popularity charts. I do wish they’d translated what the kids not on the Hero Billboard charts were doing, but I don’t care so much that I want to look it up for this summary. Everyone seems happy. Despite Izuku feeling like they don’t see each other as much, like he said last episode, it’s clear that these kids still have a strong bond and do enjoy being around each other when they can make it. I like that Horikoshi took a moment to spell out that Izuku would have ended up in the classroom even if he hadn’t lost OFA, as Izuku is self-aware enough to know that’s where his heart lay. And I like that he and Bakugo have clearly hit a point where they’re not actively fighting anymore. They’re friend-friends now, not frenemies. And finally there’s the Izuku-Uraraka relationship. There are some folks that were upset by this, feeling that there wasn’t enough romantic build up, or feeling that this was too ‘vanilla’ or that Izuku should have ended up in a queer relationship. To those I say… tough. Izuku and Uraraka are pretty obviously the male and female leads of this story, and while outliers obviously exists (Naruto, Bleach, Dragonball, Harry Potter, etc) in the VAST majority of stories, I’d go so far as to say 90% easy, the lead boy and girl end up together. That’s just kind of how stories work. And, I’ll just say it, if you didn’t think there was that much build up, you weren’t paying attention. Uraraka was the first girl that Izuku spent much time around, and while that quickly changed as he got to know his class, she was the one most often to make him blush or flustered in situations. Same goes for her, hell, her subplot for at least a third of the story was dealing with the fact that she had feelings for Izuku and what that would mean for their friendship. I’m sorry if you’re a queer person watching or reading My Hero Academia, really resonated with Izuku and were disappointed when he ended up in a straight relationship… but like, Izuku being gay was never in the cards. I’m not saying queer shonen protagonists don’t exist, but if that’s the route the story is going to take it has to be the focus. Izuku never showed interest in boys, that’s just fact. I personally am in the opposite camp, I wish we could have gotten more than just both of them admitting they wanted to spend more time together… but this is a shonen anime. Romance is never really a focus of those… unless it’s written by a woman. Or Yukinobu Tatsu (Dandadan). Besides, these two are incredibly shy and a bit socially awkward. Izuku saying that he wants to spend more time with her specifically was like at the end of Fullmetal Alchemist. If ya know, ya know. As I said above, unless Horikoshi contradicts me, those two are endgame and Ochako will be Ochako Midoriya before long in universe. I’m a hopeless romantic, so sue me.

 

I should probably sum up my thoughts on the series as a whole. … I’ve been watching My Hero Academia for ten years. It was the second series I ever did a Viewer Log for. When it began, I was 25, living with my parents and sort of coasting through life at the moment. I still remember how I got started. My younger brother who was also living at home at the time, ran into my room and said he’d just finished MHA and I needed to check it out. I put him off for a few days, as I like to annoy him by doing that sometimes. But I finally sat down and watched it… and I finished season 1 in an afternoon. I started the writeups not long after that, and I’ve been coming back to blog about it every few months to a year ever since. It’s a story I turned to when I needed a pick-me-up and it’s one I introduced to a few people, both IRL and I’d like to think with these 171 episodes and 4 movie posts gushing about how much I like the series. Is it perfect? No. I think certain plot points are kind of rushed, the anti-heteromorph stuff seems to just kind of come out of no where in the latter half of the series, and the fact that this entire story, from Izuku meeting All Might to the defeat of AFO is just over like 18 months is INSANE. But it’s a very heartfelt story. It’s a story about growth and perseverance. It’s about hope, and diligence. It’s about hard work and luck. Some argue that Izuku Midoriya lied at the start of this series when he claimed that this was the story about how he became the greatest hero, but I disagree. He fought and defeated an evil so old and so entrenched in the world that eight of his predecessors couldn’t stop him. He helped change his world for the better and he kept doing it every day as he trained the next generation. He’s a hero through and through, the greatest in my eyes. The story is over, but the journey never ends. I’m just sorry this is where me and Deku part ways. In short, as if 175 posts didn’t let you know, I love this story.

 

I’ll cover My Hero Academia: Vigilantes at some point, but I’ve got a few new shows to cover. Like tomorrow’s post. Season 3 of My Adventures With Superman. See you then. Have a good night and stay safe.

 

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Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 170

 The story is over, but the journey never ends. 

Last time on My Hero Academia Izuku honored Tomura Shigaraki’s last request. He met with Spinner, who doctors were able to save from transforming into a full Nomu. Izuku told him Tomura’s last words, that he fought to destroy everything. Spinner has a bit of a breakdown as he says that Tomura was his first, best friend and his hero. Izuku tells him that he thinks Tomura felt the same. As he left, Spinner promised to write a book about the League of Villains and Tomura Shigaraki so no one can ever forget the group and move on. Izuku thinks that’s a good idea and says that he hopes it’s a comic. Izuku went on to start his second year with helping with cleaning up the debris and learning that the new crop of first years is already idealizing him and the rest of his class. Later, Uraraka heads to the Troy base to be alone and to have a hard cry about failing to save Himiko Toga. She’s interrupted by Izuku, who knew where she’d be, and had deduced that he and the rest of class 1A/2A’s supporter needed support for once. He tells her that he also feels like he failed to really save Tenko, Tomura Shigaraki, and that he thinks that they’ll need to help each other. The rest of the class shows up, all also insisting that they need to support one another, and Izuku puts his money where his mouth is and tells them about how his power is fading. They have a goodbye party for Aoyama, and Izuku looks hopefully to the future. In a post credit scene, we see a child with an implied destructive power escape from a ruin and ask why it was only him. Enough recapping. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

We open with this scared Edward Scissorhands-looking child, named Koki, as he escapes from wherever he was being held. The boy wore what looks like a fancy straitjacket and his threads coming off of his face. He thinks, “Was it just me?’ as he stumbles out into the busy street and sees people walking around.

 

Keigo and All Might have lunch and Keigo tells the former hero that he’s planning on expanding the Hero Billboard chart. His plan is to expand it out so that it can include both professional, capital H heroes as well as the normies that just try to help out. He figured it’s a way to show recognition to the folks that stepped up and helped out during the fighting. All Might says he’s surprised Keigo doesn’t want to just get rid of the glorified popularity contest, and Keigo says that it’s a flawed system, but it’s the best one they’ve got right now. He says that heroes need help to save more people.

 

We return Koki as the boy wanders the street. He has a flashback to when his Quirk first manifested. It’s kind of vague, but it looks like he’s got some kind of destructive quirk that causes things to break down in a black-purple smoke. His father is horrified by this and says that if Koki’s Quirk gets out, the family will be ruined. He orders someone kill his son and hide the body. When one of Koki’s siblings points out that that’s an insane request, his father changes it to lock him up and hide him where no one will find the boy. Furthermore, they’ll need to keep him silent. He’s not supposed to speak again. Koki is paced in a cell in what looks like a fancy house and left to rot. He escapes after the destruction, and wonders what he did wrong. We see his Quirk is active, causing more of that black-purple smoke to rise from his shadow. He wants to know wants to know what he did wrong, why was he forced to suffer alone in the dark while everyone else got to go around being happy. He’s about 5 seconds away from going on a rampage with his quirk… when a little old lady grabs him by the arm and asks him what’s wrong. This woman was the one that found a young Tenko Shimura wandering the streets and almost helped him… but pulled back when she saw the crazed look in his eye and said that the police will find him, eventually. She says that she often wonders if that boy did get help… and that question has kept her up at night for a long time.

 

We jump back to Keigo and All Might. Keigo says that Izuku was a beacon during the battle. Folks watched him fight and he taught them all something.

 

The old lady goes from holding Koki’s wrist to grasping his hand and says that everything is going to be alright. Granny is here for him. This causes Koki to cry and for his Quirk to dissipate. We pull out and see Izuku and Uraraka on patrol. They’d been headed over to handle this, but smile when they see that Granny has it covered. Keigo says that he hopes the changes they’re making, based on what Izuku showed them, will make the world a better place and make a world that heroes can take it easy.

 

If this old lady had a nickel for every disturbed child with a destructive power she came across, she’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?

 

We flashback all the way to the first episode, where young Izuku tries to defend a bullied kid from Bakugo and his cronies. He gets his ass kicked. Narrator Izuku says that not everyone is created equal, people are different in large and small ways. But those differences are what lead us to care about one another. We see that we’ve jumped forward about eight years. Izuku is now a teacher at UA, the embers of OFA having faded a while back. He’s taking notes in the teachers lounge as a now teenage Kota comes in to talk to him. He calls him Midoriya, but quickly corrects it to “Mr. Deku,” and asks where the class is meeting for the practical course. Izuku tells him to head to the bus stop and they’ll be headed to the USJ.

 

We’re shown snippets of what has happened since Izuku was at UA. He attended classes and graduated. All Might spent time with Recovery Girl as he healed up. Heroes like Mirko and Mt Lady did hero stuff. Shoji got some kind of award from a Heteromorph group, Koda applauding him. Enji and Rei continued to visit with Dabi. And it looks like Eri was adopted by Mandalay of the Wild, Wild Pussycats and started going to school with Koda. Aizawa and Present Mic visited Shirakumo’s grave. Izuku trained with his classmates and prepared for the hero licensing exam. Izuku and a bunch of the boys did their best to encourage Bakugo through his physical therapy, and he tells them to shut the hell up. Spinner released his book and it’s at least a marginal success. I’d like to think Izuku has a copy, and he too suggests it to anyone that wants or needs another perspective on villains and hero society.

 

We pick up with Izuku and Uraraka as they walk home from class, Uraraka commenting on the snow falling and Izuku saying they’re just three months out from Graduation. They confirm with each other that they’re sticking to their plans post-graduation. We then head to graduation, and every one of Izuku’s class get their diplomas. Izuku is told by Nezu that he knows this world wouldn’t be the same without him. Izuku, humble as ever, says that they all did this. After the diplomas are handed out, Tenya Iida aka Ingenium is called up to give a speech. His speech is encouraging and ends with him saying that they need to GO BEYOND! This being the cue for their vision of the surprise thing-breaks-through-the-wall moment. Theirs is Bakugo and Monoma using Explosion to burst through it, Bakugo shouting “And show the world what we can do!”

 

Izuku sums up the story thus far, that All Might gave him power and he started on an incredible journey. He then says that that journey is over, but you maybe are asking why he’s still talking. And in the first meta joke from Future Narrator Izuku, he says “It’s because there’s still runtime in the episode.”

 

8 Years later we join a middle school class as they discuss their high school prospects. One kid wants to go to UA. One kid wants to build support items and wants to study at Lightly Labs, which is where Hatsume ended up and has been excelling. We cut to Hatsume as she works on her latest Baby and her supervisor orders her to go take a bath as she’s been focused on building for the last few days. Another student wants to be a doctor, like Ryu Yoshida, the lizard doctor. That name is literally Dr. Dragon Yoshi-da, which is a punny name even for Horikoshi. A fox girl wants to be a professional coder and wants to work for GeL Inc, the programing firm that Danjuro and Manami Tobita (Gentle Criminal and La Brava) started. Yes, they’re still together and it makes me smile. One kid, Dai, gets teased for applying for UA when he’s got a less than impressive Quirk. He says that he won’t know if he can do it if he doesn’t try. The first UA kid says that he shouldn’t bother because the villain rate is dropping. By the time they graduate, only the best of the best will be able to make it, and that’s not him. He students are told to turn in their surveys.

 

Dai heads home, musing about how much his classmates have changed. He thinks about the heroes the idolized when they were younger, All Might, Endeavor, Deku, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite (hey, someone said the whole thing), and Shoto. He seems to be the only one that still feels that way about them. He heads to the All Might statue, and says that whenever he feels anxious, he heads there.  

 

We cut to a news report about Shoji, the hero Tentacole and how he’s doing his best to bring awareness to Heteromorph discrimination. He’s given the Imamura Peace Prize. We then cut to a report about how Iida (Ingenium), Froppy (Tsu), Creati (Yaoyorozu) and Uravity (Uraraka) are doing a nation-wide tour of elementary schools. They’re apparently working on different programs to fill time as villain rates have dropped. Uraraka is spearheading a Quirk counseling program that people are saying is the social program the world needs most. She’s trying to pull other heroes into the program as well. We see Eri, now a high schooler, meeting with friends.

 

Izuku gets shown a video of Bakugo freaking out while handling a fire by Aizawa. He says that Bakugo’s rating is going to nosedive, again. In the video, Bakugo shrieks at the kid taking the video to leave or die as he’s not here for his entertainment. Izuku asks Aizawa how trying to get Bakugo to calm down and speak more nicely has gone, and Aizawa shrugs, saying he failed. He adds that Shoto is going to get a big lead on Bakugo now, as he’s an extremely diligent, hardworking hero. He’s so good that most folks don’t bring up that he’s Endeavor’s son anymore. Izuku is pretty jazzed about that, saying that he’s sure he’ll rocket up past Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, and maybe even dethrone Mirio from the top spot. He mentions that Monoma and Honenuki are hot on their heels. Aizawa gives him a look and asks Izuku if he misses it. Izuku nods, but says that he realized something when Fuwa spoke to their class at the start of second year. Sure, he was going to lose his powers, but he still had experiences that would be worthwhile to share with others. We pull in on some photos Izuku has taped up on his desk, showing him with various students he’s had. He figured doing that would make him ‘cool.’ He asks Aizawa if he’s cool, and Aizawa flatly tells him to be stricter with his students. Aizawa says that these days, UA graduates are all but guaranteed hero spots, so they need to give the students discipline so they don’t end up arrogant and lazy. Izuku points out that Aizawa was pretty nice to his class, all things considered. Thus, proving to me that he’s blocking out a LOT of his first year.

 

Izuku walks home and sees Tokoyami and Hagakure on product advertisements. He sighs and mentions that since getting jobs, he and the former Class 1A have had trouble meeting up. Which, ya, that’s a tough part of adulthood. Gotta make time for friends and hobbies as an adult, kiddo. He passes by a statue that commemorated him and his class. A report on a billboard talks about how Kirishima is super popular among male fans and some boys shout about how they’re Unbreakable like him. Izuku thinks about how much he likes seeing his classmates’ exploits. He mentions when he thinks about his school days, he often ends up at the All Might statue. One of the kids runs by and nearly falls on his face. Izuku dives to keep him from hitting the ground to hard, and sees Dai also tried to help, but he misjudged the jump and ate it really bad. Izuku sees the kid run off, and then helps Dai up, who geeks out when he realizes he’s looking at the Deku. They talk, and Dai mentions how he’s got a weak quirk and how that makes him anxious. He comes to the All Might statue and asks the statue if he can be a hero like them. Izuku realizes that Dai is in the same spot he was back in the day. He starts doing his analysis muttering, talking about how Dai’s ability to throw the large dots that grown on his head is a hair-based power like Mineta. Dai realizes that he’s trying to help but wonders why he’s being creepy about it. Izuku gives him the ‘You, too, can become a hero.”

 

Izuku says that he misses being a hero. But so long as he can keep inspiring others, this is still the story about how we became the greatest heroes. We get a “The End” graphic, but Old All Might grabs it and crushes it in his hands, telling Young Midoriya to hurry or he’ll be late to class. Izuku is excited to see him and asks why All Might didn’t tell him he was headed in, as Izuku would have gladly picked him up at the Airport. All Might reveals that he picked up a lot of data from his final battle with AFO. He hands Izuku a brief case designed like his Deku costume, saying that while the data he got was good, he and some others want Izuku to gather more. Since Izuku is one of the few people alive that has experience with multiple Quirks, he’s uniquely suited for it. The suitcase opens up and transforms Iron Man style into suit. All Might reveals that Hatsume and Melissa Shield’s made it, thanks to donations from his classmates and particularly a large donation from Bakugo. All Might tells him not to hide his excitement and get on out there.

 

We cut to Keigo, who mutters things are easier now but there’s still excitement. He calls heroes in to handle a landslide, and Izuku and former class 1A gather to handle it. Bakugo holds out his hand to him and tells Deku to come on. Izuku leaps into action with his friends, including Aoyama who must have gotten certified as well. As they charge, he sees a ghostly vestige of Tomura Shigaraki looking up at him from a roof and nodding approvingly. Narrator Izuku says that he and his friends will keep trying to save people and help others.

 

Over the ending credits, we see where everyone ended up. Hagakure and Aoyama are working together independently. Kirishima and Ashido are working together, Ashido using her charisma and zealous comments to earn him media attention. He’s selling a manly calendar and Ashido keeps her fans entertained with her breakdancing. Tsu and Uraraka are working with kids and on that Quirk counseling program. Shoji and Koda are dealing with human rights issues, and Shoji is now confident enough to go without his mask more often. Kaminari and Jiro work together, doing both hero work and training Eri on instruments. Ojiro and Sato are massively popular and Ojiro plans to open a marital arts studio. Tokoyami and Shinso are working together and are famous men of mystery. Tenya Iida took the lead on the Ingenium Agency, but his brother Tensei has made a recovery due to support items so is also helping out. I don’t have proof Hatsume is the one that built him the tech, I just know she did. Yaoyorozu works in a lab and is a lecturer in her spare time. Sero and Mineta are working together, Sero’s popularity annoys the shrimp who thought he’d be the more popular of the two. Shoto is also massively popular and doing good works. Bakugo is doing well but his attitude keeps him from staying high on the popularity charts. He’s still really close with Best Jeanist and Edgeshot, who did get to be human sized again. And finally, Izuku works as a teacher but is taking up hero work again. The story ends with a “the story continues on…” tease.

 

Well, that was a hell of an ending. I remember when the manga first finished up and there was some outrage over how it ended. There were folks that were upset that Izuku ended up retiring from hero’s work to become a teacher. I chock this up to some folks not fully understanding the story. Izuku from minute one was an inquisitive child that liked making notes, analyzing others and figuring out the best way to use the abilities he was eventually given by All Might. That’s a skill he showed off a few times in the various training arcs and would be ideally used in a classroom where he’s training the next generation of heroes. And from there, he can use his natural charisma and empathy to help raise up future heroes that are powerful enough to stand up to someone like Tomura Shigaraki, but with the necessary empathy and intelligence to stop those kinds of threats before they happened. His actions inspired that old lady to not wait for someone else to stop a threat, but to be the hand of comfort for someone who needed it. Being a hero in his eyes was never about the fame or power, it was about helping people, something he can do in spades as a teacher. The worst folks mocking this choice made a bunch of AI pictures of Izuku working at McDonalds which, like, wow, way to be a dick. I love that we went full circle with him. All Might once told a powerless boy that he too can become a hero, so too the hero Deku told a boy without much power that he too could become a hero. There are folks on the other end of the spectrum that didn’t like that Izuku got an Iron Man suit that lets him continue to be a hero, they feel like it cheapens his sacrifice if he just gets tech-based replacements. I think this argument has a bit more weight to it, but I like the suit. Being a hero does matter to Izuku, and being given the chance to continue to help people along with his friends feels like a reward that I don’t want to take from him. It’s having his cake and eating it too, to some, but folks only complain about that when they didn’t get that option, ya know? Okay, so that’s the main story of My Hero Academia. The extremely hectic two years in the life of Izuku Midoriya, the hero Deku, the Ninth Wielder of One For All that faced off against and defeated the generational evil of All For One and saved the soul of his greatest victim, Tomura Shigaraki. It was a hell of a ride. But we’ve got one more epilogue to cover before I do a total wrap up. See you for that tomorrow. Have a good night and stay safe. 

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Bluesky: @basicssuperhero.bsky.social

Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 169

The best way to change the world is to support each other. 

Last time on My Hero Academia, everyone started adjusting to the new normal. Izuku and friends were taken to the hospital and given the emergency medical care they desperately needed. Bakugo’s right arm was pretty messed up, to the point where the doctor suggested he might want to consider amputation and a weaponized prosthetic, but he refused, wanting to do the physical therapy. He also learned that Izuku only has embers left of OFA after beating AFO, which was a gut punch to Bakugo. He really thought he and Izuku would be competing forever. Izuku and co were finally able to officially move up to the second year, they’ve still got Aizawa as their homeroom teacher because. They learn that part of their school activities this year is to help with the reconstruction of Japan and do PR for heroes. Aoyama announced that he’s withdrawing from school, but he intends to still become a hero, he just wants to start over and do it the right way. His spot is getting taken by Shinso, who everyone is excited to include. Uraraka looks like she’s holding some things back, but Izuku isn’t able to talk to her one on one to find out what. Shoto and his family visit Toya. The villain, formerly known as Dabi is basically a burnt corpse that the doctors are trying to keep as comfortable as they can before he dies. Enji, the man formerly known as the hero Endeavor, tells his oldest that he’s retiring from Hero work and that he intends to spend whatever time they have left being with him. He knows it won’t make up for much of anything, but he does at least want to be there for Toya in whatever capacity he can. Toya gets agitated and they try to sedate him, but Shoto asks him one last question, “what food do you like?” Dabi says Soba, and Shoto says that’s his too. Dabi starts tearing up as he gets put to sleep and apologizes to his baby brother for the fighting. Outside, Natsuo informs his family he’s going no contact with his parents, at least, and that he’s going to get married soon. Enji respects his decision and swears that he’ll spend the rest of his life trying to make up for some of the harm he caused. Natsuo tells him that that’s a hell of a thing to try to do. Enji says that that’s the dance he agreed to. The Todoroki children leave, but Shoto tells his parents that he has his friends and thus will be okay going forward. When alone Rei agrees that they’re in hell, when she realizes that they’ll be dealing with Enji’s former sidekicks as they ‘help’ their boss, and the new Public Safety Commission President, Hawks, calls in to check on him. Enough recapping. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

We open on a very sweet scene, of La Brava and Gentle Criminal reuniting. The former wanna be Villain TikToker has been paroled due in no small part to his help during the battle and his fiancée’s help on the technical side. Like, they don’t say they’re engaged, but come on, he’s buying a ring for her with the first paycheck he gets. We then cut to Hawks… or I suppose he’s just Keigo Takami now, Takami having a meeting with Lady Nagant. She was paroled as well, but she’s electing to finish her sentence. She’s… apprehensive of someone finding a way to use her like the previous PSC, so she’s fine having her room and board covered by the taxpayer until Izuku Midoriya can prove he’s changed the world. So, no pressure on the 16-year-old.

 

We then cut to a TV documentary focused on ‘who is Tomura Shigaraki?” Tomura is obviously pretty universally despised after what happened, the man did try to overthrow the government and possibly destroy the entire island nation, but these folks obviously don’t have the full context. Was Tomura a monster? Yes. But he was the monster a madman and society made. Interestingly, one of the people interviewed is clearly the old lady that once met a crying Tenko Shimura and didn’t do much to help him. How interesting… A new reporter tells us that cuts in to mention that repairs across Japan are going well, but the widespread destruction across the country is just absurd. The reporter promises to inform everyone on who Tomura Shigaraki was in the second half of their special. As he speaks, Izuku is brought in to speak with Spinner.

 

The doctor on staff, the one with a mushroom cap on his head, says that Spinner was beginning to turn into a Nomu because of the extra Quirks he was given, but they’d found a way to reverse the damage as he wasn’t too far gone at that point. Spinner calls Izuku a murderer and says he’s got a lot of nerve showing up here. Izuku says he deserves that, but they need to talk about Shigaraki’s death. He gives Spinner Tomura’s last words, and that they were specifically for him. Not for Toga, Dabi and Compress, just him. Hearing that causes Spinner to snap, saying that Tomura was his hero and the man he looked up to. Tomura showed him that he was worth something and gave him hope that one day he’d be able to do something great. He hated being a heteromorph, but Tomura gave him a reason to live. He starts hulking out as he talks, he screams as Izuku that Tomura was everything to him as he grabs the boy in his claws. The doctor threatens to call security, but Izuku tells him to hold off. We cut back and forth between the news report and Spinners words here. The folks on the report all describe Shigaraki as a monster, some are more empathetic than others, but they all are wary of accidentally sugarcoating the situation and inspiring copycats. The classic, “ya, he had a traumatic childhood but is that REALLY an excuse?” type stuff. Spinner yells at Izuku that he and Tomura were both gamers, and they liked a lot of the same games, and he goes so far as to call Tomura his best friend, the first he’d ever made in his life. Izuku tells Spinner that Tomura said he had to be the league’s hero, to be their example, and that makes Izuku think that Tomura felt the same way about Spinner. The League was important to him, they were his friends.

 

Spinner starts to shrink down and admit that he got caught up in their movement. He thinks back to just before the fighting, when he saw Tomura in pain as he was processing the mutations that were given to him, and asks if he’d been braver, if he’d taken one more step, could he have saved Tomura. The report concludes with one of the interviewees saying that they always need to be on the lookout for the next All For One and Tomura Shigaraki. Izuku gets up to leave, and Spinner asks if he and the heroes will keep fighting. Spinner thinks that Izuku and the heroes will go off, be all smiles, and try to forget about him and the league. He tells Izuku that he’s not going to let that happen, he’s going to write a book about the Symbol of Fear, Tomura Shigaraki and how he tried and almost succeeded in tearing everything down. Izuku says that he hopes it’s a comic book. Spinner is angry at that comment, until Izuku says that he’s worried over nothing, they won’t forget. They had a mild stare off, and then Spinner tells Izuku to tell Shoji to keep up the good fight. Once alone, he admits that having illustrations in his book might be a good idea, pictures are super important.

 

Outside, Izuku meets with All Might and Tsukauchi. Tsukauchi tells Izuku that he fulfilled the request he made. The request? He arranged to have Overhaul get a visitor, his ‘Pops’ the former head of their Shie Hassaikai and Eri’s grandfather. They’d been able to reverse the coma that Overhaul put him in with a support item. Pops chastises Overhaul for all the damage he did and for destroying their organization. Overhaul begs for forgiveness, but Pops sternly tells him Eri is the one he should be begging for forgiveness from. He hopes his granddaughter will be able to forget about what Overhaul did to her, but he swears that he’ll see to it that Overhaul never will. Izuku thanks Tsukauchi for that and asks if they can make sure nothing like this happens again. Tsukauchi says no, they can only prepare. All Might jokes that Hawks could recruit an army of heroes but tells Izuku that he was joking when the young man gets excited. He tells Izuku they need to hurry back to UA to meet the new students. Izuku says that he’s not sure why, as upper and lower classmen rarely interact.

 

He’s proven that isn’t so true this year, as Bakugo and Shoto are being chased down the halls by exuberate freshmen. The new students gush about how cool they think Bakugo and Shoto are. Iida tells them all that their support is appreciated but to tone it down a few notches. Shoto and Bakugo, who were hiding behind him, agree. Shoto says that he’ll speak to people one on one if they like, and Bakugo tells Iida to give ‘em hell for running in the halls. Inside the classroom, Shinso says that he’d though Bakugo would like groupies, but Sero says that even Bakugo can handle only so much attention. Izuku tells him that this is also a bit new for Bakugo as girls have actively avoided him for… some reason. Bakugo tells everyone to screw off, and we see Mineta and Kaminari are extremely jealous that Bakugo is now so beloved. One of the students forces his way in just to say that he respects Izuku and he wishes he can be brave and help others like him. Izuku thinks about Spinners face and feels a weird intensity in his chest. Uraraka is apparently watching him very carefully during that exchange and seems to be feeling something similar.

 

We shift to the staff room where Aizawa, Present Mic, and Ectoplasm are working. Present Mic says that he’d gotten another interview request for class 2A. Aizawa says to just delete it. Ectoplasm points out that some of the students, like Mineta, might like the attention, but Aizawa says that some might NOT like it, so they’re erring on the side of caution.

 

Later, the students are sent out to help with clean up alongside Fat Gum, Best Jeanist and their sidekicks. The students start the clean-up, Shoto freezes a bunch of rubble into a glacier that Izuku shoves away. Bakugo has a moment with Jeanist and Edgeshot. Jeanist points out that he’s still looking warn out and maybe he should rest, but Bakugo ignores the comment. He notes that Edgeshot is still pocket sized. The ninja themed hero tells him not to worry as he is recovering, he’s grown back his hands after all. Bakugo asks if he’ll ever be back to normal, and Edgeshot says he’ll never settle for anything less. The students clean for a while, and some of the locals make them a big lunch. The spokesman for the group says that this is their way of thanking them for their hard work, as it didn’t feel right to just sit back and let others do all the work. Kaminari says that they need to finish the clean up so they can feel like they earned the food, but the lead man says that they’d need a few more workers for that. A bus pulls up and Cementoss gets out, saying his students insisted on coming out here to say they’re sorry for being nuances to class 2A. They do a group bow and then insist that they can help with cleanup. Cementoss tells them to find something small on the sidelines and not to get in the way. The headman says that he’s not sure of the whole story, but it seems like 2A’s work ethic is contagious. Izuku stands with Tsu and Uraraka, Tsu noticing Uraraka is zoning out and asks what’s up. She nods and say that the world is starting to look up before rushing over to get food. Seeing Uraraka eat food causes Izuku to feel that beat again.

 

… Like, kid, you know you have feelings for her, right? This isn’t news for you? I knew that that’s how this would go down in Uraraka’s debut episode for goodness’ sake!
 

Later, Ashido tells Tsu that Uraraka is headed home for a bit when the froggy girl asks. Tsu says the weird thing is that Uraraka is leaving her unread. Which is weird for Uraraka.

 

We flashback to the end of Uraraka’s battle with Himeko, as the Twice clones turn to ash and float away. We learn that there isn’t any footage of this part of the battle as the camera gal working with the reporter didn’t bring a fresh battery for the camera. Uraraka says that only memories remain. We find her standing back at Troy, looking over the city. She notices that the lights are coming back online and things are starting to get back to normal. She thinks about how things had just been getting progressively worse since the original USJ attack by Tomura and OG League. Now, they’re making repairs, people are getting back to their lives and are starting to smile again. Things are looking up, like she said before. And then her eyes start welling up with tears and she admits that she’s holding feeling in because she doesn’t want to spoil that happy feeling for everyone. She’s repressing her pain, as she feels like garbage that she’s alive because Himeko gave her all of her blood. I know I’m a 35-year-old man taking to a fictional 16-year-old… but to any actual young people who might be reading my work: Do. Not. Do. This! Repressing things messes you up! Anyway, she’s crying and holding her stomach like she’s about to throw up with Izuku leaps over to her.

 

She tries to hide her face and act like nothing is wrong and asks how he knew where she was. He remembered that they’d had an important conversation here before and had a hunch she’d be there. She politely asks him to leave her alone for a bit, but Izuku bulldozes past that and says that she doesn’t have to pretend to be okay. He tells her that she’s always hiding how she feels and focusing on what others feel. He realized that she’s always prioritizing others over herself. Hell, that was literally their first interaction. She’s always been supporting him and everyone else, giving them strength and support. He calls her his hero and refuses to take the strength she’s giving out for granted. He takes her hand and says that that sometimes eases the pain. She lets him se her face and her tears and admits that all she can think about how Himeko is dead because of her. She sobs at having failed Himeko and how she could have done something different to save her. He asks himself who is there to support heroes when they need someone to ease their minds. Izuku admits he’s been doing the same thing with his thoughts about Tenko. He knew that he couldn’t face the battle against Shigaraki like the others he has. He says that heroes might ‘meddle’ with other people, but when they reach out, they can help.

 

Their conversation is interrupted by the rest of their friend’s arrival. Everyone knew something was up with Uraraka and they came to the same conclusion as Izuku, that she needed support for once. Tsu specifically calls her a dummy for shutting her out like that, and that Uraraka should know she can tell Tsu anything. Izuku feels his ember grow a little smaller, but he’s happy. Bakugo asks about it and accidentally tips the class off to Izuku’s powers running out. He offers to tell them everything.

 

We jump forward and see that class 2B, formerly 1B, had busts-built commemorating them, and Monoma is, shockingly, being a dick about it. We then head into the dorm to see the students throwing a farewell party for Aoyama. Izuku narrates that he has completed OFA’s mission as Eri and Jiro set up to sing for the class. Izuku muses that he hopes that they can keep helping each other. He trails off, but the implication is that helping others is how you actually change the world.

 

In a post credit scene, damn it, this better be the last one, we see a crying child stumble out of a destroyed house. His hands are glowing with a dark light of some kind, and he asks why is it just him.

 

Once again, I like we’re taking this slowly to tie off loose ends. It lets me savor the ending. I liked Izuku’s meeting with Spinner. At this point in the story, I think everyone who has been paying attention knows that Spinner is just a lonely guy that got wrapped up in something huge. Despite designing his costume after Stain’s and talking a big game when he first appeared, he’s just a former shut-in that wanted to rebel a little and ended up becoming a supervillain and a figurehead of a social movement. Who hasn’t dealt with something like that? I like that he’s sticking to his personal ideals, that from his perspective, Izuku is the villain and he killed Spinner’s friend. I think he’s being a little dramatic when he says Tomura was his only friend, but I do buy that he saw Tomura as both a role model and best friend. It’s a real shame that they met like they did, as if the two of them had just been able to meet up in League of Legends game or something, they probably could have been friends without the villainy. I really like his resolve to write a book in order to not let Tomura Shigaraki and his other friends be forgotten or turned into one-dimensional monsters. And it being a comic book or at least having a fair number of illustrations is a good idea. AFO nearly destroyed the world because of a comic for goodness’ sake. I doubt history will ever look kindly on Tomura or the League, its good to have a multitude of perspectives out there. It was also nice to finally address Uraraka’s pent up guilt. In universe its been at least a few weeks since the battle, and it’s clear she’s been bottling up her emotions the entire time. I’ve never had to bottle up survivors’ guilt, but I am a bit experienced in repressing and it’s not good for you, man. Uraraka has been supporting her class a lot from the start, so I like it that everyone realized that she was the one having trouble for once and they rushed to help her. It’s the ones who lift other people up that often have the worst time asking for help. Izuku calling her his hero as she exemplifies everything he wants to be going forward, someone that is kind, and helpful, and wants to heal the world, was really nice. He recognizes her contributions. So… ya, we got one more main episode and then a flash forward epilogue-epilogue left. See you there. Have a good night and stay safe. 

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Bluesky: @basicssuperhero.bsky.social