Izuku Midoriya’s path has been set on My Hero Academia’s fourth season as he has signed up with Sir Nighteye for his first official work study as a provisionally licensed hero. But things were quiet so easy as Midoriya had to work his way from a bad first impression in which he tried to make Nighteye laugh with his spot-on All Might impression. This backfired as Nighteye not only didn’t laugh, but was angered at the thought of Midoriya trying to mock All Might. But he wasn’t quite angry for the reasons you’d expect.
In trying to explain where his particular impression came from, Midoriya reveals a hilarious story about an All Might rescue that we haven’t been privy to in the anime yet. So while All Might might be retired, we’re still getting fresh new adventures from the former number one hero.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In Episode 66 of the series, Midoriya talks to Sir Nighteye about the “vinegar riverbank incident.” As he explains, this was when a middle schooler was drowning in the river. But because his quirk caused the quality of the water to change, those around him couldn’t get near enough to help. But soon All Might arrives, and quickly dives in to save the young boy.
Although he saves the boy without any problem, the vinegar gets in his eyes and causes him to squint a little more than usual. Remarking about how it stung, but he still kept his smile, is why Midoriya chose this face to recreate. He notes how it wasn’t the most popular rescue nor has a notable villain fight, but Midoriya loved how All Might responded to the young boy thanking him for the rescue. All Might hilariously noted how his skin felt ten years younger thanks to the vinegar, and it’s a great example of his work as the Symbol of Peace.
While we have been aware of the big changes of All Might’s retirement, the fourth season has been great at how influential All Might was on the micro level too. He’s been integral in many people’s lives with each of his rescues, so his absence has created a much bigger rift than one would expect at first. But that also shows just how much more Midoriya has to work in order to take over as this symbol.
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. My Hero Academia will also be launching its second big movie, Heroes Rising, in Japan this December.