Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia is a story all about how Izuku Midoriya enrolls in a hero school in order to someday become the number one hero, but as the series continues it started to raise questions about its nationalized pro hero system. It’s spin-off, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, is questioning this system even more by featuring characters who are working as heroes outside of this central network while poking holes in how pro heroes operate. Not only does it leave some poorer and isolated neighborhoods unprotected, but the pros themselves are in much more danger than they realize.
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Not only are they in physical danger as a result of the fights with villains (with Vigilantes already having some heroes die in the heat of battle), but continuing to be a part of this pro hero world will have its mental toll on someone as well. As Iwao Oguro (the former Knuckleduster) explains in Chapter 75, being a part of this societal machine will truly leave someone unprepared for anything that deviates from the career norm.
Knuckleduster was teased to be making a comeback in the previous chapter, but unfortunately this turned out not to be the case. What happens instead is that he leaves a note behind for Koichi and tells him that he lost his way after a run in with the villainous All For One left him quirkless and outside of the hero world that he firmly placed himself and operated within. He mentions how as a pro he was a “particularly efficient cog in the machine meant to protect societal order.”
By running into All For One and having his quirk stolen, Knuckleduster was left broken and unable to confront his own feeling of helplessness. He eventually became a monster vigilante, and it’s the same for many ostracized from the hero world as well. This further emphasizes that those pro heroes left out of combat don’t have the support system needed for someone who’s been defending society for so long who can no longer do so.
These kinds of questions have been raised in the main series as we continue to see how long some pros have to continue working (like Gran Torino and All Might after his retirement) because there don’t seem to be proper channels for those heroes to work through trauma. We see Midoriya in hero school, but he only learns to fight. There aren’t very many lessons as to how to handle oneself after these confrontations, and thus many heroes will be left lost and broken.
As the spin-off begins to raise questions about the darker corners of My Hero Academia‘s seemingly pristine hero world, Hero Killer Stain just might be making a lot of sense right now. But what do you think? Does this pro hero society protect those heroes who can no longer fight? Do we need more examples before you can make a decision? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!
