Warning: Spoilers for My Hero Academia’s EndingMy Hero Academiashocked fans with its final chapters, taking away Deku’s One for All powers and leaving the boy as Quirkless as when he started. However, those who are familiar withMy Hero Academia’s origins may have had some idea of what was to ultimately happen to Deku, as his prototype was very similar.
InMy Hero Academia’s ending, Deku must forcibly transfer his One for All powers to Shigaraki in order to damage him, leaving him powerless after the final boss is defeated. Despite not having a Quirk, Deku is allowed to continue attending UA High, and in the distant epilogue, is shown having become a teacher at his old alma mater. Deku seems happy with his life as a teacher, but still can’t help but miss doing hero work. That’s when All Might reveals that his classmates, led by Bakugo, have spent a great deal of money constructing a special suit, similar to the one All Might used, that will allow him to do hero work again.
Deku’s Final Look is Influenced by My Hero Academia’s Prototype
Deku Takes Inspiration from His Predecessor, Jack Midoriya
TheMy Hero Academiamanga may have started in 2014, but it actually hada prototype that dates far earlier:My Hero, a one-shotreleased in 2008. It stars a salaryman by the name of Jack Midoriya, who, like Izuku, idolized a famous hero, in this version a hero known as Positive. Jack is unable to become a hero not only because he doesn’t have a power, but because his body is afflicted with anemia, making him ineligible for a hero license. Jack instead works for a company manufacturing hero support items, and makes use of these items to perform vigilante activities while dressed like Positive.
It’s not hard to see the pieces that would becomeMy Hero Academiahere–Jack was aged down and became a high schooler, while Positive was given the debilitating physical condition and became All Might.A high school-age protagonist is more relatable to shonen manga’s primary demographic than a salaryman, and Horikoshi was encouraged by editors to give his protagonist a superpower to prevent them from being overshadowed by other characters. What’s interesting for the ending, though, is thatJack has no powers, and like Batman, uses gadgetsand a fair dash of good luck to get by, exactly how Izuku ended up.
Given that Izuku is much older, closer to Jack’s age in the ending, it would seem that Horikoshi went back and borrowed his initial premise to help devise Deku’s ending. The only real difference is that Izuku doesn’t work for a support items manufacturer, and he is able to get a hero’s license, since he had a provisional license as a high schooler.
Deku’s MHA Ending Makes for a Great Callback to the Series' Origins
Deku’s Ending Echoes the Foundations of the Series
The ending ofMy Hero Academiarequires that Deku make an enormous sacrifice, one that proves beyond a doubt his heroic credentials, as it means throwing his dream away. That kind of selfless act needs to be rewarded in kind, so finding a way for Deku to live his dream and become a hero again was the only way to really end the series once it was decided that Deku would have to sacrifice One for All. Given that it wasalready established with All Might’s armorthat it was possible to create a suit capable of allowing a Quirkless person to fight villains, it only made sense to give Deku such an advanced suit as well.
Jack Midoriya is a far sight more pathetic than Izuku is in the ending, as he’s surrounded by friends and a celebrated hero, but the similarities are quite apparent. The fact that this called back to what Horikoshi originally wanted his protagonist to look like was a fortunate turn of events, and it gives the feeling thatMy Hero Academiareally came full circle from its origins to its ending. Deku doesn’t need powers to be a hero, just like Jack didn’t.
The ending ofMy Hero Academiamay have been controversial with some fans, but this callback to its earliest incarnation proves that Horikoshi was really thinking about the ending and how to make it as interesting and satisfying as possible.My Hero Academiamanaged to channel the very premise of its prototype into a fitting ending for Deku, and that’s an amazing achievement on Horikoshi’s part.
My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia is a multimedia franchise that follows a young boy named Izuku Midoriya, who dreams of becoming a hero despite being born without superpowers. These superpowers, known as “Quirks” are found in most people after birth, but Izuku wasn’t so lucky - until a fateful encounter with All Might, Japan’s greatest hero, Izuku inherits his Quirk and enrolls in U.A. High School to learn the true meaning of heroism. Alongside his classmates, each endowed with unique abilities, Izuku faces rigorous training and lethal threats from villainous forces.
