My Hero Academia: Why the New Arc Should Bring Back Stain

My Hero Academia's anime is set to return for its fifth season this spring, introducing a new battle between Class 1-A and their rivals in Class 1-B, and with the War Arc recently having wrapped within the pages of its manga, there's no better time to bring back one of the major villains that have yet to return following their initial appearance in Stain. Originally debuting in the anime's second season, Stain was an interesting character who was different from the villains under the sway of Shigaraki and All For One, but had a big impact on the world of villains all the same!

Stain first appeared as a villain that was stalking heroes, believing that the hero community was simply fighting crime in a bid to amass more fame and fortune for themselves while only seeing All Might as a "true hero". The villain who had the power to lock opponents in place after drinking their blood, found himself fighting against a combination of heroes in Midoriya, Ida, and Shoto Todoroki. Luckily for the heroes, they were able to defeat Stain, but not before he revealed his message to the world at large and rallied several new villains to the side of the League of Villains!

The likes of Dabi, Toga, and others found themselves recognizing Stain's message that the hero community was tainted, joining with the League of Villains and bolstering their ranks. Stain however was nothing like the villains he inspired, not using his power for personal gain, but rather attempting to "make better heroes" that would enter into the game of crime-fighting to benefit the world rather than themselves.

With the villains of the War Arc unleashing their forces in their major bid to change the world in their favor, Stain had no role to play, still locked in the prison that also held All For One in place following his battle against All For One. With the current manga arc focusing on a prison break that sees countless villains brought back to the forefront, this is definitely the best time for Stain to return and see how the character has changed during his imprisonment as well as how he reacts to the forces of the Paranormal Liberation Front!

Do you think the return of Stain is forthcoming in the pages of My Hero Academia? What other villains would you like to see return to the Shonen franchise? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of UA Academy!