My Hero Academia Reveals How the Internet Creates Celebrity Villains

My Hero Academia has presented a new threat to the heroes of UA Academy with the villains of Gentle Criminal and La Brava who use Youtube in order to drum up support for their popularity, as well as their villainous deeds. With the likes of Stain and All For One gathering a number of followers to their cause via their nefarious machinations in the past of the anime franchise, Gentle is looking to do the same thanks to modern technology. With Midoriya and company still reeling from the fight against Overhaul, as well as prepping for the upcoming Cultural Festival, these new 'net criminals present a brand new problem!

Gentle is a different beast than anything the heroes have faced off against before. While the debonair antagonist certainly isn't on the same levels of power as Overhaul or All For One, the villain isn't looking to defeat the heroes necessarily, but rather, is looking to spread his name across the world and make himself a legend. Gentle Criminal creates the equivalent of a Youtube Channel, uploading his exploits against societty while culminating followers.

La Brava, the young girl that accompanies the silver haired villain, angrily believes that not enough followers are learning of Gentle's crimes, with the older villain assuring her that their day will come. With the UA Academy in their field of vision, it's clear that the internet based antagonists are looking to attack the heroes in order to bolster their own names.

A big part of the villains' journeys in My Hero Academia hasn't just been robbing banks, killing their heroic counterparts, or sowing chaos into the world, rather it's been about changing the world and gaining influence among citizens in order to spread their control. With the retirement of the "Symbol of Peace" All Might coming as a result of All For One's battle with him, crime is beginning to spike as more people see the opportunity to take advantage of the power vacuum.

When Stain first appeared, he wanted a world where heroes weren't in the practice of "saving the day" for fame and fortune, but rather, to truly make the world a better place. Stain's message began to spread across the world, with his ideology having a much larger impact than anything he had physically done during his time in the franchise. This is the desired effect that both Gentle Criminal and La Brava are looking to have, making them famous and creating a legacy for the villainous pair.

What do you think of Gentle Criminal's approach to villainy? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and UA Academy!