'My Hero Academia' Slips In Secret 'Killing Joke' Easter Egg

The creator of My Hero Academia is no superhero slacker. The artist has shown fans his love for [...]

The creator of My Hero Academia is no superhero slacker. The artist has shown fans his love for comics time and again, so it was a matter of time before one iconic DC Comics baddie got referenced. After all, the Joker doesn't deal with rejection well, and Kohei Horikoshi has folded the villain into his manga's new arc with a clever nod.

Now, all fans need is for the Penguin to pop up, and then all will be well with the world.

Recently, My Hero Academia set out with a new chapter, and it was there fans met a never-before-seen villain. The newcomer will hit up the manga as its latest arc's ringer leader, but his looks had fans feeling curious. His pointed nose and sharp features were too similar to overlook... and it is because the baddie is loosely based on the Joker.

Over on Twitter, a user named Straw Hat Noah was quick to point out how the new villain compares to the Joker. Specifically, it seems this yet-named baddie is inspired loosely by the Joker found in Batman: The Killing Joke. The baddie's share an elongated nose, wiry frame, and pushed-back hair.

In fact, it seems Horikoshi paid homage to The Killing Joke rather overtly. The artist mirrored a set of panels famously featured in the DC Comics title. My Hero Academia features its baddie giving a spiel about metahumans, and his posture is mirrored after several panels in The Killing Joke. The three blocks originally saw the Joker monologuing about the state of his fellow man's sanity, and the overlap here is hard for comic book junkies to miss. Clearly, Horikoshi is flexing his comic roots for keen-eyed fans, so readers may want to hit up this Batman title to see if it holds any secrets about the manga's new arc.

So, are you ready to learn more about this new villain? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi and has been running in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump since July 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who lives in a world where everyone has powers, even though he was born without them. Dreaming to become a superhero anyway, he's eventually scouted by the world's best hero All Might and enrolls in a school for professional heroes. The series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release since 2015.

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