My Hero Academia Flashback Explains Lady Nagant's Comeback

My Hero Academia fans were given a big surprise in the latest chapters of the manga, as some of the key villains that Izuku Midoriya did battle with along the way to this Final War showed a change of heart and came to Deku's aid against Tomura Shigaraki and All for One! Danjuro Tobita  – aka "Gentle Criminal" – showed up with his assistant La Brava, to keep the floating arena containing Shigaraki from finally crashing – while superpowered sniper/assassin Kaina Tsutsumi (aka "Lady Nagant") showed up to make a clutch shot that kept Shigaraki from disintegrating everything in sight. 

In My Hero Academia Chapter 379, we get the now-standard MHA flashback that updates us on how Lady Nagant made it onto the battlefield in time to save the day! 

WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW! 

The flashback that opens My Hero Academia Chapter 379 reveals Lady Nagant still suffering critical injuries in Central Hospital, at the moment when All For One's plot to re-activate Kurogiri finally gets enacted, and the League of Villains get warped together to the front line to mount a deadly counterattack against the heroes. 

Nagant is found by pro hero Ken Takagi (aka Lock Hero: Rock Lock) shrugging off her doctors and wandering the halls of the hospital, determined to aid Deku. After demanding to know "where the enemy is" Nagant explains her new conviction to the heroes and officials who show doubt in her as a former villain: 

"Izuku Midoriya asked me to do this! He asked me to fight alongside him!" Later on, in voiceover, Nagant further explains that "I'd been stained by darkness and lost faith in the light... until you [Izuku] and my successor came around to remind me of how I felt back then, with my bright and shining hopes. And of my reason for being." 

These last chapters of My Hero Academia are adding some necessary (if minor) pieces to the puzzle of building up Izuku Midoriya into the series' ultimate champion. From the beginning, My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi has been careful to accentuate the fact that it is Deku's heroic strength of character that makes him unique and worthy of that chosen one status. In a world where virtually everyone had a superpower to make them special, the boy without powers developed an appreciation for it that will save the world. 

Better yet, unlike so many other hero tales, Deku's "victory" is clearly connected to the idea of working with others and everyone improving and lifting one another up to a brighter future (of smiles, of course...). The villains Deku's reformed are a last key call-back before we get to the series' final battle. So strap in! 

New chapters of My Hero Academia are free online!