Why Does Deku have to Give up his Quirk?

My Hero Academia Final Season Ep 5 Review

All for One is dead. The greatest villain in history is finally dead. But the battle is not over. Thanks to All for One, Tomura Shigaraki has been molded into someone who wishes to see the entire world reduced to dust. If Deku doesn’t stop him, he will destroy everything, starting with Japan. However, this is when the series decides to do something that never sat right with me. It may have to do with the themes of heroism, or Horikoshi couldn’t figure out a better way to end this, but for Midoriya to beat Shigaraki, he has to give up something important. Something that he shouldn’t have to give up in the first place. Deku really is like Spider-Man, but in this case, that’s not a good thing.

Shigaraki is Really Just that Tough!

With All for One finally dead thanks to Bakugo delivering the final blow, all that is left is for Deku to defeat Shigaraki. A task that is made infinitely harder by virtue of the fact that Deku, despite everything, still wants to help Shigaraki. Or rather, he wants to help Tenko Shimura, the little boy that Shigaraki has suppressed for all these years. Having spent years watching Naruto try to save Sasuke from his own darkness, I get where Deku’s coming from. However, Shigaraki’s gotten to the point where beating him by conventional means may no longer be possible.

Then it gets worse. Using the All for One Quirk, Shigaraki manages to reach into Deku and grab the fourth user, Shinomori, and his Danger Sense.

Suddenly, the game changes entirely. With Shigaraki now having anime Spider-Sense, Deku’s forced on the defensive, and the show really sells to us how bad this is. Even worse, Shigaraki manages to bring their fight to Mount Fuji. AKA one of the most important symbols of Japan as well as an active volcano. If Shigaraki uses Decay on it, it will erupt and take Tokyo along with it. In other words, even if Midoriya wanted to run (which he doesn’t), Japan would be screwed. If he stays and fights in his current state, Deku is screwed. He’s effectively boxed in with no way out. And this is when Deku and the past users of One for All come up with a truly insane plan.

A Plan of Self-Sacrifice

Thanks to Star and Stripe’s Quirk Vestige, a tiny crack appeared in the mental barriers that Shigaraki created to suppress his childhood self. If Deku transfers each Quirk Vesitge into Shigaraki, they could break the sphere and let him reach his true self, taking away his reason to be evil. However, the catch to all this is that this means Izuku Midoriya will have to sacrifice One for All forever. He’ll be Quirkless once more.

I’m sorry, but even as I was reading this in the manga, I was not okay with it. Becoming a Hero was Deku’s dream, and he worked so hard to make it come true. It won’t be impossible for him to keep being a Hero without a Quirk, but it won’t be the same. And I hate that he has to make this kind of decision!

I’m Still Upset about Spider-Man: No Way Home

My reasons for hating it stem from my feelings about Deku’s inspiration, Spider-Man. I’ve been a fan of Spider-Man most of my life. I’ve read the comics, watched the cartoons, played the games, and seen the movies. For many, he’s the ideal hero. But despite deserving all the happiness in the world, the universe (and the writers) find a way to screw him over. I told myself that he could keep bouncing back, but then I saw Spider-Man: No Way Home. I watched as Spidey had to wipe the entire world’s memories of him to save all of reality, and I hated it.

No Way Home was my breaking point when it came to watching Spider-Man suffer. Yes, he did act impulsively and didn’t think things through, but he was a teenager. That’s what most teens are like! But he had to watch as his secret identity was outed, his name unfairly dragged through the mud, his aunt died, and his friends had to forget he ever existed. For God’s sake, Spider-Man doesn’t deserve to suffer that much! Is it so wrong for him to want to think about his own happiness a little? Because looking at Deku, I’m reminded of this exact thing, and I hated it!

With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility

In the end, though, I have to remind myself that, powers or not, Deku doesn’t need them to be a hero. He’s always been a hero at heart, and nothing can take that away from him. Granted, he technically needs those powers to have a job as a Hero, but Horikoshi has already shown us the workaround for that. In other words, I’m just bummed that Deku won’t be as strong as before. But if he weren’t willing to give up One for All for the greater good, he wouldn’t have been worthy of it in the first place. So, for one last time, it’s time to go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!

I Give “History’s Greatest Villain” a 4.5/5

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