By Mark Rodriguez
In a world full of people born with super powers called Quirks, Izuku Midoriya is a big fan of the greatest hero of them all, All Might. He wishes to someday become a great hero like him once his Quirk kicks in. Can he still be a hero when it turns out that he was actually born without a Quirk??
I checked out the first 2 seasons of the anime series and am slowly working on catching up. Now that I got my hands on the manga, let's check it out and see if there were any major differences between the original manga and the anime adaptation.
No. 1- Izuku Midoriya: Origin
The issue opens with a young Midoriya defending a kid from Katsuki Bakugo and his crew. Midoriya says the kid is crying and has had enough. Bakugo who has explosive powers asks if 'Deku' wants to play hero. The kids beat Midoriya up as he protects the kid behind him. He monologues that something he learned since age 4 was that no one was created equal. It was his first and last setback.
We flash forward to modern day as Midoriya is surprised to see a giant villain attacking the city as the Pro Heroes try to contain the situation.
Midoriya explains everything started in Kekei city in China, where a bio-luminescent baby was born. Suddenly more and more people with superpowers were born and this eventually became the norm. About 80% of the world population has some sort of superpower and a new type of career was formed.
The villain is causing chaos during rush hour traffic. The people in the crowd say he stole a purse and transformed into a giant monster once he was cornered. Kamui Woods is the hero on the scene, which Midoriya recognizes as he's a big fanboy of the Pro Heroes. Kamui Woods extends his arm which unleashes a series of branches to contain the villain. Before he can do this, a giant woman appears and sends the villain back with a jumpkick.
The woman's name is Mount Lady, making her big debut. Midoriya explains that as more powers appeared, crime ran rampant. While the governments of the world were busy trying to figure out what to do, heroes stepped up to stop the villains. This eventually made the heroes officially sanctioned in an official capacity, giving them the chance to earn government pay, fame and glory. Midoriya writes notes on Mount Lady's powers and a bystander wishes him luck in becoming a hero. Midoriya thanks him and says he'll try.
At school, the teacher reminds them they're third-years now so they should start thinking about their futures. He says he would give them future career forms but he knows they all want to be superheroes. The kids show off their quirks and the teacher reminds them not to do them in class. One of the students tells the teacher not to lump the other extras with him. This is Katsuki Bakugo and he's very sure of himself. The teacher sees he's applying for UA High School, which barely accepts anyone. Bakugo already passed the mock exams. He says he's the only one qualified for UA and he'll get to surpass All Might and become the richest person in the world.
The teacher then says that Midoriya is also applying to UA. The class laughs at him and someone says good grades alone aren't enough to get into UA. Bakugo sends him flying back with an explosion. He says Midoriya doesn't even have a quirk and says he's trying to compete with him. Midoriya says he's not competing at all. He's always wanted to be a hero since he was little and it doesn't hurt to try. The class laughs and asks what he can do.
At 12:02 PM, a sludge-type villain is running through the streets and nobody is able to catch him. Bystanders say he must be taking advantage of the chaos from earlier in the day. Suddenly a hero shows up and says there will be a stop to this since he is here.
Back at school as class is over for the day, Midoriya is checking out news regarding the earlier attack on his phone. Bakugo snatches his notebook, which are his notes for hero analysis for his future. He says they're not done talking yet. Midoriya wants his notebook back and Bakugo burns it with his hands. Bakugo tosses the toasted notebook out the window and says the best heroes show signs of greatness even as students, so he wants to be the only student from their current school to make it. He tells Midoriya, who he calls Deku, to forget about UA. As he says this, he sets a hand on Deku's shoulder, burning him slightly.
Bakugo's friends comment that Midoriya isn't even talking back as they start to leave. Bakugo says he hasn't faced reality, though if he wants to be a hero, he can just jump out the window and hopefully get a quirk in the next life. Midoriya angrily glares at Bakugo, who quickly make sparks light up in his hand. Midoriya chooses to stay quiet and lets them leave.
Outside, the notebook has landed in a fountain and Midoriya grabs it before the fish can get to it. He says Bakugo is an idiot and had he actually jumped he would have been charged with bullying him into committing suicide.
Midoriya remembers back to when he was a kid and excited for his mother to play a video for him. It was an older video that was a news report showing an overturned bus and a hero rescuing everybody. The hero has a big smile and says everything will be ok because 'I am here!!' Midoriya wants to be just like him whenever he gets his quirk.
Later on a doctor says there isn't any hope for him. Midoriya's mother asks if he's sure, the other kindergarteners have already started showing signs of quirks by now. The doctor asks if she is a fourth generation quirk user. She says she can pull small objects towards her and her husband can breathe fire. The doctor explains at that age the child should have manifested either one of the parent's quirks or a mixture of the two. One of their findings also determine that a factor is based on if they have one or two joints in the pinkie toe. Midoriya has two joints in his toe, so he is one of the rare people born without a quirk. The poor kid is in shock.
Later on Midoriya points to the video, his eyes full of tears, saying how the hero is always smiling. He wants to be someone cool like that. His mother hugs him and cries and says she's sorry. Back in the present day Midoriya says that's not what he needed his mother to say that day. He says that was the moment he decided to keep moving forward no matter what.
Midoriya is suddenly attacked by the sludge villain from earlier, that crawls out of the sewer lid behind him. Since the villain is liquid, he forces himself into Midoriya's mouth and nose, and he's unable to pull him off. The villain says he will hijack his body and it'll all be over for him in about 45 seconds. He wasn't counting on the hero showing up in this town, so Midoriya will be his way out of here. Midoriya is feeling his body weaken and is unable to do anything.
The sewer lid behind them flies off and the hero finally arrives, telling Midoriya that he has to nothing to fear since he is here. He holds back and releases a punch called the Texas Smash that sends shockwaves that blast the villain off Midoriya. Midoriya recognizes this man as All Might before he passes out.
Midoriya wakes up and All Might is glad to see that he's alright. He apologizes for getting him involved in his villain hunt, but thanks to him, he has captured the villain in a water bottle. Midoriya is amazed at having his favorite hero in front of him, and even notices he's drawn in a different art style. Midoriya looks for his notebook to have him sign it but he sees that he's already autographed it.
All Might puts the water bottle in his pocket and says he must hand the villain over to the authorities. Midoriya still has so many questions for him. All Might braces himself to jump away, saying he can catch him on TV. He leaps out of the scene thanking him for his support.
As All Might soars through the air, he notices that Midoriya is still hanging onto his leg. All Might tell him to let go, and Midoriya tells him that if he does, he'll die, seeing as they're both so high up in the sky. All Might realizes this and finds a place to land, telling him to cover his eyes and mouth. He bleeds a little from his mouth.
The bottled-up water villain wakes up, having fallen out of All Might's pocket. Bakugo and his friends are walking nearby and the explosive guy happens to kick the bottle out of the way. Bakugo's friends say he went too far today, especially since he knew Deku when they were both kids. Bakugo says seeing him so full of dreams pisses him off as he makes the soda can in his hand explode. He also tells his friends to stop smoking because if they get caught it'll also go on his record. Bakugo is suddenly attacked by the sludge villain.
All Might and Midoriya land on the roof of a building. All Might is in a hurry to leave and he says someone will let him down. Midoriya asks if he can be a hero even without a quirk. He says the coolest thing he can think of is rescuing people, and he wants to be a big hero like him, saving people with a fearless smile. Midoriya doesn't notice that steam is coming out from All Might. All Might has now turned into a smaller thinner version of himself.
Midoriya is confused and asks if this guy was an imposter. All Might assures him that it really is him. He explains that this is similar to someone at a swimming pool sucking in their gut to show off. All Might says he knows his secret now and he better not spread it across the internet. He lifts his shirt to show off an old injury from five years ago, caused by an enemy. He says his respiratory system was destroyed and his stomach was removed. His body suffered from all the surgeries he'd had. He can only do his hero work for three hours a day.
Midoriya asks if this was when he fought against Toxic Chainsaw. All Might says this battle was never made public. He says the Symbol of Peace must never be thwarted by evil. He then explains he smiles to hide the pressure and fear he feels. He says a Pro Hero must always be ready to put their life on the line. One can't become a Pro Hero without a quirk. He tells Midoriya he can always become a police officer. It's fine to have dreams but he has to be realistic. Midoriya is devastated. All Might heads out and has to turn the bad guy in, when he realizes he no longer has the water bottle in his pocket. He then hears explosions happening in the distance.
Bakugo is blowing things up, trying to get the sludge monster off of him. The villain thinks with the kind of quirk that Bakugo has, he can get his revenge on All Might. Mount Lady can't get to the scene since she is too giant-sized to fit through a one-lane street. Kamui Woods is weak against fire and explosions. The other heroes in the area are have a difficult time since the villain is liquid and he has a hostage that's blowing things up. The heroes have to wait until someone with the right quirk shows up. All Might realizes he must have dropped the bottled-up villain when Midoriya was hanging onto his leg in mid-air.
Midoriya is sadly walking down the stairs of the building he was on, looking at his notebook. He remembers everyone saying he can't do anything, and even his greatest hero told him he has to be realistic. Midoriya suddenly hears the commotion and goes over to check it out. He recognizes the sludge monster from earlier, and realizes it was his fault that he got away after All Might captured him.
The onlookers are wondering why the heroes aren't doing anything since the monster captured a middle schooler. Some people recognize the monster as the villain All Might was chasing after earlier. They ask where he is now and Midoriya says its his fault that he can't act now. He hopes the kid can hold out until a hero comes to save him. Midoriya then notices that the kid in trouble happens to be Bakugo. Midoriya suddenly starts running into action.
All Might and the other heroes are shocked. Midoriya himself doesn't understand why he's running. The villain recognizes the kid from earlier and says he's dead. Midoriya thinks about what he can do in this situation and he flings his book bag at the villain. Bakugo asks why he's there. Midoriya thinks of all the things he's heard this day, including how it doesn't hurt to try. He tells Bakugo that he looked like he needed saving. All Might reacts to this.
The villain tells him to get out of his way. The other heroes think Midoriya has a death wish. All Might shows up, back in his super powered form, and grabs onto the villain as he was trying to grab onto Midoriya. He says he should have practiced what he preached, that a Pro Hero always has to be ready to put his life on the line. He completely evaporates the villain with a Detroit Smash. The intense air pressure caused it to rain. The crowd is amazed. All Might can barely stand but smiles towards the crowd.
Later on, the Pro Heroes collect the bits of the villain to send to the authorities. The heroes chew out Midoriya for taking such a risk, and they praise Bakugo for his amazing quirk. Bakugo isn't happy about this though.
Later on Midoriya heads home, he couldn't talk to All Might so he'll leave him a message on his website. Just then Bakugo appears and tells him he didn't need his help and he could have beaten the guy himself. He heads off angrily. Midoriya thinks there wasn't much he could do, but he's glad he acted. He can now focus on a more realistic dream.
Just then All Might appears in front of him. All Might wants to thank him and also offers a proposal. Midoriya asks how he got away from all the reporters and he says that's nothing to him, as he turns back into his smaller form. All Might says that of all the people there, only he, the one without a quirk, was the one to act, and that spurred him into action. If he hasn't heard his story, All Might would just be fake muscle and insecurity. Midoriya says it's his fault that all of this started and he got in his way.
All Might says that most of the top heroes have shown moments of greatness even as children, they claim that their bodies move on their own before they could think. Midoriya clutches his heart as he's overwhelmed with emotion as All Might asks if it was the same for him. He says yes.
Midoriya remembers his mother telling him she was sorry. That wasn't what he wanted her to say back then. All Might tells Midoriya that he can be a hero. Midoriya tells the reader that this is the story of how he became a great hero.
My thoughts-
This has always been a great way to start the series. It's an interesting concept about a world where almost everyone is born with some sort of super power, only to find out that you were one of the very few to not have one. This a great way to introduce Midoriya and show how despite his hardships of growing up without a quirk, he still wants to be a hero and still jumped into action when no one else would.
The concept of people being born with super powers is similar to the X-Men but it goes in the opposite direction. With Marvel, mutants are people born with super powers or unique abilities, but they are feared and hated. They are also the minority as opposed to regular non-powered human. In My Hero Academia, at least 80% of the world has some sort of unique ability and it's actually regular people that are the minority. Unfortunately, in both cases these abilities are random, where you could either be born with the ability to cause explosions, or just be born with a snake tongue or something and not really be able to anything except have a snake tongue. This is why things like a giant villain attacking doesn't freak the average person out, but also why the regular onlookers don't jump in to help. It seems the majority of people have what one can consider 'useless quirks' while the ones born with greater abilities decide to either become villains to abuse their powers, or become Pro Heroes to stop them.
I was surprised how close the anime was to the manga, and how the manga chapter was long enough to cover an entire episode. It might be something common to more modern day manga, but I usually see other manga like Dragonball and Death Note have two chapters be adapted into one episode whenever the anime version is created. I didn't see any major changes. The anime just stretched out a few parts here and there to add to the tension (and the run time) such as when both Deku and Bakugo were struggling against the sludge monster. There were several heroes introduced during this scene besides Mount Lady and Kamui Woods, but the manga doesn't name them just yet like the anime did. I'll hold off on naming them until the manga itself does.
Probably the only difference I noticed here was that in the manga Kamui Woods and Mount Lady were the only ones to stop the giant villain at the beginning. In the manga version the other heroes didn't appear until the sludge villain has captured Bakugo. We got to see these other heroes go against the giant villain in the anime.
One thing I like about the manga is that it takes a lot of cues from American comics during their heyday. The chapter title art looks like American comic book covers. All Might is also as American as it gets, a Superman type and he names all of his moves after states and cities, like the Detroit Smash and the Texas Smash that we see here. The most noticeable thing though, is that All Might is always drawn with extra shading and shadows, also reminiscent of the American comic book style. One thing the manga added was Midoriya actually pointing it out. I notice sometimes manga add these little fourth wall breaks that the anime leaves out.
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