My Hero Academia: Why Kohei Horikoshi's Love of Comics Will Keep Bakugo Safe
MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW! My Hero Academia has left fans reeling with its latest manga chapter in the Final War Arc. The big bad that is All For One/Shigaraki was laying waste to U.A.'s Big 3, and in order to stop the elite flegeling heroes from being slaughtered, Bakugo threw himself in front of an attack that literally left him heartless. Now My Hero Academia fans are in uproar about whether Bakugo's death s actually going to happen, or if it's some heart-wrenching fake-out by series creator Kohei Horikoshi.
The latter may well turn out to be true – but not because Horikoshi enjoys jerking fans around: the mangaka just loves comic books so much that he may be pulling this near-death cliffhanger with Bakugo out of pure homage.
If you've ever read a Marvel, DC, or any other superhero comic in your life, you know that permanence of death has never been the genre's strongest suit. Major heroes are regularly brought to the brink of death only to somehow triumph and/or evolve into a stronger form; sometimes, that process actually requires a hero really die – only to be reborn, of course. Superman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Flash, Thor – what major superhero hasn't gone through the death/rebirth cycle on the way to greater power? In manga/anime the trend is even more clear, as shonen heroes are almost obligated to have a transformative experience after hovering on a plane between life and death. And My Hero Academia has certainly been giving us vibes that it's headed in that direction...
The last few chapters focused on Bakugo have hit very different. Fans thought Bakugo definitely had death flags planted above him when he started getting all introspective about his life and views. Bakugo's resolution was that he's not as powerful as he arrogantly thought (AFO-Shigaraki thrashed him hard), and needed to instead have the true heart of a hero like Izuku Midoriya, to "catch up" to his friend and rival once again.
While that kind of sacrifice and death would bring Bakugo full-circle to the beginning of the series, Horikoshi has also been setting Bakugo up for a major evolution in his powers. Just before Bakugo's "death" we learn his explosive secretion power has been going through an evolution inside of him: that explosiveness could arguably be the new "battery" that keeps Bakugo alive.
There's also one remaining mystery power within One For All's lineup of quirks assimilated from past users. The Second User's power has never been revealed – but he definitely made an appearance in the manga just before Bakugo went down. Once Deku finally arrives on the scene, that final OFA power could be the one that saves Bakugo's life. Bakugo nearly dying saving others, and Midoriya saving him with the greatest power there is, would definitely bring this series full-circle in the best, most comic book-y, way.
My Hero Academia releases new manga chapters free online.