My Hero Academia Surprises with All For One Comeback Tease

My Hero Academia's "Paranormal Liberation War" is heating up in a big way, as Pro Heroes are fighting to the death with an entire villain army - including new Intelligent Nomu monsters. The latest chapter of the manga saw the elite Top 10 Pro Hero force continue their assault on the research lab of All For One's disciple, Dr. Ujiko. It's a race against a ticking time bomb clock, as the heroes are trying to shut down Ujiko's lab, before the mad scientist can revive and activate his human doomsday weapon: Tomura Shigaraki. During that battle, we also get a tease that ALl For One may soon return!

Warning - My Hero Academia manga SPOILERS follow!

As stated above, one branch of My Hero Academia's new war storyline has followed an elite team featuring several of the top ten Pro Heroes. That part of the larger hero army has launched a surprise attack against Dr. Ujiko's secret lab, where the mad scientist has been experimenting with quirk combination and power boosting. Based on their intel from Hawks' time spying on the Paranormal Liberation Front group, Pro Heroes like Endeavor, Mirko, Present Mic, and Eraser Head have one main target: Tomura Shigaraki. Dr. Ujiko placed Shigaraki in a stasis tank, while he artificially boosted the psychotic boy's deadly disintegration quirk. As the heroes arrive, Shigaraki is seen to still be going through the enhancement process. Present Mic unleashes his "Loud Voice" attack, which takes out Ujiko's lab and Shigaraki's stasis tank in one blast. Shigaraki is left lifeless on the floor, leaving Ujiko emotionally distraught.

The end of My Hero Academia chapter 269 sees Dr. Ujiko make the bold proclamation that if Shigaraki is dead, "The Lord of Evil's dream will die!" We get a final panel of All for One locked in his prison cell, with a close-up of the archvillain's face. With no eyes and an oxygen mask over his face, it's hard to tell, exactly, what All For One is thinking. However, it's pretty easy to assume that the villain has some kind of contingency plan for this sort of circumstance.

The "Paranormal Liberation War" arc has made it clear that we still know very little about the process of quirk combinations that Ujiko and All For One have been experimenting with. We have no idea if the villain has been playing possum, and has the means to escape at any time - or if there is a power he possesses that could allow him to reach out from prison and affect Shigaraki mentally. The prelude to the "Paranormal Liberation War" arc revealed the true origin of Tomura Shigaraki, and in doing so, also revealed that All For One has been placing mental controls on the boy since his youth. Who knows how far those controls actually extend?

My Hero Academia has finished airing season 4 of the anime on Hulu and Funimation. Online chapters of the manga can be found HERE.