My Hero Academia‘s current Paranormal Liberation War story arc has delivered an epic showdown between heroes and villains. many fans thought the thrills and intrigue of the battle were limited to who survived it, and who didn’t. However, My Hero Academia’s latest big twist has put the entire future of Hero Society in doubt. (Spoilers) League of Villains’ psycho pyrokinetic Dabi revealed that he’s actually the son of no. 1 hero Endeavor and brother of U.A. star student ShotoTodoroki. In addition, Dabi used some Dark Knight Joker-style video editing to frame pro heroes as morally-compromised liars. That confession has rocked public faith in pro heroes – even the “Can’t You See?” Kid is shook!
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So what’s next for My Hero Academia’s pro hero world after the war arc ends? It’s actually a big question to answer:
Battle For Perception
Dabi has damaged hero society in a fundamental way with his confession. In doing so, he’s also changed the nature of this war between the top pro heroes, and the League of Villains’ Paranormal Liberation Front army. Now the heroes don’t just have to defeat the villains in battle and arrest them. They now have to do all that in a way that restores public faith in them, as an institution. No pressure.
Best Jeanist Returns
One easy win for the heroes may be achieved with the return of one pro hero who’s been missing from the battlefield for some time: Best Jeanist. Dabi’s entire mind-screw scheme involves using no. 2 hero Hawks’ apparent murder of Jeanist (in order to win the League of Villains’ trust) to make heroes as a whole look dirty. With Best Jeanist returning to the battlefield to face Dabi and co., in full public eye, society will at least know that their trusted heroes aren’t killers. That’s a good start.
Survival of the Fittest
Dabi may have hit the heroes with a major psychological/ideological blow, but Tomura Shigaraki and the Paranormal Liberation Front are still a very real immediate threat that needs dealing with. Shigaraki is hurt bad, but his “Plus-Ultra” new powers are still insanely deadly; the League of Villains is truly out for blood after losing one of their own (Twice), and their Gigantomachia monster is ready to wreak havoc as well. Then there’s Dabi, who’s totally unhinged and seemingly ready to burn everything down (including himself).
Before we talk about what’s next for Hero Society, we have to talk about which heroes will even survive long enough to be a part of that future.
A More Complicated Truth
Even if the Pro Heroes manage to stop the villains now – even with minimal to no losses – there’s still a strange new world waiting for them on the other side of this war. Not only has Dabi caused society to re-examine its assumptions about the role and character of heroes, but the level of destruction that has been caused by Plus Ultra Shigaraki and/or Gigantomachia has been next-level bad. Everyday citizens are not going to feel the same kind of safety and comfort they’ve been living within a hero society – and heroes are now being exposed as much more complicated figures than they initially seemed to be.
No More Line
If recent history has taught us anything, it’s that moral complication quickly leads to moral uncertainty. With villains now presenting themselves as “Truth-tellers,” and heroes now seeming much more morally gray than before, it’s not hard to see how the line between heroes and villains will get dangerously blurred in society. Imagine if Dabi becomes a cultural icon and cult-like celebrity? Couldn’t happen right? Or…
Destro’s Utopia
To form the Paranormal Liberation Front, the League of Villains merged with the Meta Liberation Front, an army of extremists who believe quirk use in society shouldn’t be restricted to heroes. That philosophy was based on the writings of the infamous villain Destro, with the modern MLF run by his son, Re-Destro. Even if the villains lose the battle, with the line between heroes and villains blurred too far, society may end up choosing to make Destro’s utopia of unrestricted quirk use a reality.
What Does It Mean to Be A Hero?
The biggest question that will be hanging over Hero Society after this war is: What does it mean to be a hero? All Might is gone, and the things that heroes like Endeavor and Hawks have done (and who they are in their personal lives) will beg the question within Hero Society about who they are, and how they do things.
A New Symbol of Peace
Finally, to right the ship of Hero Society after this, there will likely need to be a new Symbol of Peace to reassure citizens. Endeavor managed to inherit that mantle from All Might during his furious battle with the Nomu, but now that faith has been shattered by Dabi.
So who can the new Symbol of Peace be? Well, Izuku Midoriya may soon have to stand in a spotlight he’s hardly ready for…
