Fanfic / Prometheus Rising (MHA)

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As far as Aizawa's concerned, he did Midoriya a favor. Who cared if that kid got the top score in U.A.'s Entrance Exam? He was still Quirkless, and he had no place in the Hero Course. So he booted him out, and convinced Principal Nezu not to give the boy any chance at finding another path forward. After that, he put the brat out of mind. Telling himself he'd saved the fool's life — who cared if his mother reported him missing afterwards...? That wasn't his problem.

But Midoriya didn't forget about him. And if nobody wanted him to be a hero, well, there's other ways to cleanse society. Much like how Prometheus stole fire from the Greek gods, he'll bring the world out of darkness even if he has to burn it down to do it.

Prometheus Rising by moguera combines several popular Fandom-Specific Plotlines seen in fanworks for My Hero Academia. Specifically, it features Izuku attempting to become a Pro Hero despite his Quirklessness, only to get unceremoniously expelled on his first day by Aizawa. From there, he decides to follow in the footsteps of his chosen namesake and set the world as they know it ablaze.

See also No One Is Untouchable, another fanfic by the same author where Izuku becomes a Professional Killer.

Prometheus Rising contains examples of:

• Abled in the Adaptation: Ragdoll doesn't lose her quirk, since Izuku kills All For One before he can take it.
• Achievements in Ignorance: While delving into Overhaul's research, Izuku realizes that Overhaul may have overlooked the sheer scope of what he'd achieved; he was so laser-focused on erasing Quirks that he failed to realize he'd come across a way to access the Quirks themselves, which are separate from their Quirk Factor.
• Adaptational Badass: Itsuka Kendo gets One for All, adding its phenomenal power stockpile to her already great fighting style. Also, as she has a better handle on having a Quirk and doesn't let her admiration of All Might blind her, she manages to get a better handle of it earlier than Izuku, even unlocking Danger Sense by the time of the practical finals.
• Adaptational Dumbass: Downplayed for Nezu. While he remains one of the smartest beings in the world, his emotional intelligence is nowhere close to that level. It's stated that he continues to see the world as "predators" vs "prey" and he sees U.A. as his den, so he will do everything to ensure said den remains protected - but that means he fails to understand how his decisions actually affect individual people. Thus, he continues applying Selective Enforcement to the point of Sunk Cost Fallacy regarding Bakugou because, since he went to bat for him after the League kidnapped him, he believes Bakugou being disciplined for anything will make U.A. look weak: thus, when Bakugou attempts to attack Ojiro and Hagakure stops him using an Eraser Light, Bakugou is the only one that avoids punishment, while Hagakure is expelled and the rest of 1-A is punished for trying to hide information - which leads to nearly all of 1-A leaving U.A. and starting a class lawsuit against the academy.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Gentle Criminal and La Brava show up before their introduction in the Cultural Festival arc, being members of the Rationals in Chapter 1, but chronologically showing up after the USJ attack when they and Izuku head to Mawata to join the Rationals.
• Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: Kendo and most of 1-B become better friends with most of 1-A as Kendo and Yaoyorozu arrange both groups to train and study together. In exchange, Kendo can barely stand Monoma due to his obstinacy with trying to treat 1-A as his "fated rivals" - and it worsens when Monoma utterly screws up the practical test.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: Since Izuku spurns All Might when the hero tries to apologize, One for All ends up being passed onto Itsuka Kendo instead.
• Adaptational Wimp: Izuku never gets One for All. In exchange, though, he develops his own tech, allowing him to replicate a lot of Quirks for him to use, which grant him greater versatility than One for All.
• Affably Evil:
  • Izuku is this. While reserving his utmost hatred for the three people he blames the most (Bakugo, All Might, and Aizawa), he treats everyone else quite nicely.
  • Giran proves to be this as he teaches Mawata and her class the ropes of being a criminal, and eventually realizes he's become attached to the group.
• All for Nothing: Discussed in Chapter 11: Izuku hesitates at the prospect of destroying all of Overhaul's research outright; while he acknowledges that might be the more ethical decision, it would also mean that all of Eri's suffering over the last two years would have been completely pointless. Instead, he hopes to try and translate it into something positive, to ensure something good comes out of it all.
  • In a way, All Might's struggle. After so long fighting to secure peace for Japan, defeat All for One, and find a successor, he learns that his efforts only created unequality, All for One survived only to be killed by the Quirkless kid he had regarded as unfit for Pro Heroism, his legacy gets destroyed, and his chosen successor starts suffering from the unknown side effects of having One for All along with another Quirk, driving her to seek help from the aforementioned Quirkless kid.
• An Arm and a Leg: Izuku shuts down Overhaul's attempt to kill him by slicing off both of the man's hands.
• Apathetic Teacher: Aizawa doesn't really enjoy anything about his job at U.A., treating it mostly as a chance to block those he deems 'unworthy' from continuing down the Hero track. After expelling Fuwa's class in one fell swoop, he privately rejoices at the thought of having much more free time between his patrols as an underground hero.
• Arbitrarily Large Bank Account: By cleaning out All For One's accounts, The Rationals become wealthier than Nezu, which allows Izuku to send money to the members of class 1-A for the troubles they suffered, along with expensive gifts to the principal to taunt him.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • Aizawa thinks he's done this when he brings up the teenagers that suffered a Career-Ending Injury after Izuku started to sell his Eraser Lights. However, Izuku quickly turns it into another way to mock/call out Aizawa, as he points out that those teenagers were bullies that were getting scot-free with their actions because people claimed they were 'hero material'.
  • When Toshinori briefly considers tracking down Izuku to apologize, Gran Torino asks if he would have done it if Izuku hadn't become Prometheus.
  • Hizashi's callout of Aizawa starts when he bluntly asks him when the last time he visited his own apartment was, followed by "When was the last time you actually took care of your cats?"
  • When Monoma tries to defend how he's been mocking Tenya's death, Itsuka asks how he'd be handling it if she had died, reminding him that she was in Hosu was well. She wonders whether he'd have been happy that her demise drew attention to their class, the same way he's insisted that 1-A has supposedly benefitted from all the drama they've been through, and "What if someone came up and starting mocking you about my death?"
  • As Shigaraki rambles about how he hates how people keep talking up All Might like he could save them all, Kendo scores three in a row.
    Itsuka Kendo: Is it because he didn’t save you?
    (Shigaraki freezes, and slowly turns to her)
    Tomura Shigaraki: What?
    Itsuka Kendo: Did you need to be saved? And All Might wasn’t there…is that why you have so much hate?
  • When Kamakiri mentions one of the bullies that suffered a Career-Ending Injury was a bully at his old school, and Tsuburaba mentions he'd be more sympathetic if she hadn't brought it on herself, Shishida states that violent retaliation isn't justice.
    Nirengeki Shoda: And what is justice? When the teachers and authorities look the other way for stuff like this, just what’s someone supposed to do?
• Asshole Victim:
  • Downplayed for the students being beaten down, as while they aren't dying per se, they are being beaten to within an inch of their lives, with many getting Career Ending Injuries as a direct result of it.
  • Played straight with Overhaul and the Eight Bullets. No one will shed a tear for their deaths.
• Awesomeness by Analysis:
  • Izuku figures out how to recreate Quirks through his inventions, such as the Eraser Lights and his super suit.
  • He also figures out the true nature of Tooru's quirk in that it's an emitter-type light refraction Quirk that, in addition to being immune to Aizawa's quirk, could also replicate it.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • In the first chapter, Izuku tricks everyone present into believing that he really wants Erasure for himself. As he points out after springing his trap, he never actually needed a Quirk of his own, and had already figured out how to perfectly replicate Aizawa's power.
  • In Chapter 4, it initially appears that The Rationals broke into Aizawa's home, skinned his cats and left their pelts strung up like banners. However, it's swiftly revealed that they actually rescued his cats, as Aizawa had left them living in squalor and neglect.
  • The Cliffhanger that closes out Chapter 11 makes it initially appear that Aoyama activated his emergency extraction signal, only to reveal that Kendo used it instead.
• Batman Gambit: Izuku is able to cause a lot of trouble for the Commission and U.A. by simply doing a few things and letting their reactions blow in their faces.
• Be Careful What You Wish For:
  • In the first chapter, All For One muses that he spent ages yearning to possess the power of Erasure, coming up with various schemes that failed to obtain what he wanted. By the time he finally achieves his goal, he's no longer able to utilize it properly, as his eyes were irreparably damaged in his last fight with All Might. And just to twist the knife, he then dies with that power - thanks to Izuku's Eraser Light.
  • Played With in Chapter 6. Toshiro is fully convinced that Aizawa expels students like them expecting they'll wind up as petty criminals, the kind he can easily arrest to make more money off their suffering. So he suggests he and his former classmates should band together and become the kind of villains Aizawa can't easily dispose of.
• Big Jerk on Campus: Turns out Katsuki wasn't the only Jerkass who had teachers turning a blind eye to his Bully Brutality and keeping his records clean. Several other bullies across Japan were getting similarly special treatment, and taking full advantage of this to terrorize their classmates... until they started getting targeted themselves.
• Broken Pedestal: Here, after Izuku saved Bakugo from the Sludge Villain, All Might was ready to offer him One for All, but Izuku's reply makes it obvious that the previous encounter shattered any regard he had for the Number One Hero. He details it more thoroughly in his "The Reason You Suck" Speech at Kamino.
• Brought Down to Badass: Played with when Aizawa is defeated and depowered - Izuku notes that by all accounts that should have been the case, but Aizawa's personal hangups, including internalized Quirk-obsession, prevent it. Izuku, of course, mocks them extensively about it.
  Izuku: After all... what are you without your Quirk? I mean... it's not like you've cultivated the physical ability of a world-class athlete, top-class hand-to-hand combat skills, mastery of a unique and potent weapon, and a host of other tricks... Nope. Without the glowing eyes of doom, none of that matters.
• By the Hair: Izuku drags Aizawa around in this fashion after taking him down.
• Cannon Fodder: When meeting up with Giran in Chapter 13, he explains the League of Villains, while explaining they're looking for dross. Dross being a term to describe completely expendable people.
• Career-Ending Injury:
  • Several would-be nominal heroes like Katsuki suffer this fate when they get targeted by somebody capable of temporarily canceling out their Quirks, subjecting them to a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown and often leaving them with injuries preventing them from using their powers anymore.
  • In his debut, Prometheus inflicts one upon All Might by blowing open his ribcage.
• Cliffhanger: Chapter 11 ends with Kendo suffering the effects of One for All's Rapid Aging and asking Izuku for help.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Hagakure lets one out during her "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Nezu.
• Commonality Connection: Izuku suggests that Katsuki is Aizawa's favorite student because they're both sadistic bullies who enjoy tormenting others.
• Cover-Blowing Superpower: Defied. In the early stages of her villainy when she needed to protect her identity (especially since she had a civilian job to help pay the bills), Mawata knew her Quirk, Candy Clouds, in its normal state would be too recognizable and could potentially get her and her class arrested. As such, she trained herself to adjust how she creates the clouds, causing them to take on a more thread-like quality that can't be linked back to her civilian identity,
• Create Your Own Villain:
  • Deliberately Invoked by Izuku, who aims to ensure all of Japan knows how All Might, Aizawa and U.A. all contributed to his decision to become Prometheus.
  • Izuku wasn't the only victim of this; Fuwa Mawata and many of her former classmates wind up making up the bulk of his new villain team, The Rationals.
  • Hatsume Mei also joined The Rationals after she got expelled shortly after Power Loader resigned from U.A. and her parents kicked her out on the streets.
  • In Chapter 5, Principal Nezu expels Hagakure Toru for daring to use an Eraser Light to stop Katsuki from assaulting Ojiro. Later, Prometheus thanks him for the new recruit.
  • Discussed in Chapter 6, when Toshiro suggests that Aizawa fully expects the students he expels to be Driven to Villainy, expecting them to become easy marks he can then arrest to earn some quick cash. By Chapter 12, this belief has expanded into him colluding with his friends (Midnight, Present Mic, and Ms. Joke) so they'll arrest the villains he creates and send him a cut of the money for catching them.
• Crime of Self-Defense: After the HPSC makes owning an Eraser Light illegal, a woman who used one to fight off a mugger is arrested right alongside her assailant. And she's far from the only case, with Hagakure getting expelled for using one to protect Ojiro.
• Crippling Overspecialization:
  • Aizawa's overreliance upon his Erasure Quirk serves as a death knell after he's depowered, as he's no longer able to keep Class 1-A in line. Izuku taunts him over this, pointing out that he might have been able to continue his work had he not focused solely upon that one area.
  • Izuku also observes that an awful lot of heroes rely so much upon their Quirks that they don't know what to do when they're temporarily depowered. Something Aizawa constantly abused as a teacher, and something Izuku exploits after mass-producing his Eraser Lights.
• Cruel Mercy: As Izuku spells out in Chapter 4, he doesn't want Aizawa to die. He wants him to live as long as possible and be forced to face the fallout of his actions... and ideally, have a Heel Realization. Toshiro, who was the most adamant in killing Aizawa in revenge, admits that Izuku's idea is far better than his.
  Izuku: He won't be allowed to die... I won't even let him kill himself, if I have any say in it... not while he still thinks he was right. If he dies now, then he'll at least meet his end able to think of himself as the poor, pitiful soul, suffering unjustly at the hands of a bunch of ungrateful brats, who don't appreciate everything he did for them. He'll go out a martyr in his own mind.
  Only once he's comprehended the enormity of his sins and realizes what he truly is, a scumbag who ruined people's lives out of spite and resentment, only when he truly understands just how far he is from the ideal he envisioned himself to be... that's when he'll have the freedom to die.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Having realized how much of a Neat Freak Overhaul is, and seen how much of a bastard he is, Izuku decides that the perfect punishment for him is to send him to drown into a septic tank.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • When Izuku enters the fight at Kamino, he quickly hands the present Pro Heroes their asses, a crowd that includes All Might, Endeavor, Edgeshot, and Gran Torino. And that's him on his own - when The Rationals arrive, all the police officers nearby also get curb-stomped.
  • Izuku and Toru singlehandedly kill Chronostasis and the Eight Bullets.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check:
  • Izuku's inventions are capable of reproducing the effects of various Quirks that he's sufficiently studied and analyzed. When Aizawa expels him, Power Loader attempts to recruit him into the Support Course, but gets denied; Izuku outright accuses Aizawa of being threatened by the technology.
  • After perfecting the Eraser Light, Izuku sells it to villains and civilians alike, arming all his customers with the ability to cancel out Quirks. The HPSC promptly makes owning these illegal upon learning about their existence, terrified of the implications.
• Deal with the Devil: Izuku struck one with All For One, agreeing to work with him so long as he got a Quirk in return. Specifically Aizawa's. Turns out this was actually a ruse to lure All For One off-guard and kill him.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Izuku's expulsion means he isn't able to prevent Tenya from getting killed when he goes after Stain.
  • Chronostasis and the Eight Bullets are killed in a vicious Curb-Stomp Battle by Izuku and Toru, while Overhaul is warped into a full sewage tank, to essentially drown and choke on shit.
• Death by Irony: All for One dies after stealing Erasure - because Izuku uses his technological copy of the Quirk on the former.
• De-power: Aizawa suffers this fate after All For One steals Erasure, then is abruptly murdered by Izuku canceling out the Quirks keeping the supervillain alive with an Eraser Light, ensuring all his stolen powers die with him.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Aizawa intentionally fudges the Quirk Assessment Test to expel Izuku, viewing a Quirkless Kid as nothing more than a liability in the Hero Field, and even tells Nezu that Power Loader doesn't know what he's talking about when he wanted to take Izuku in. This results in a Resign in Protest from Power Loader, which later results in Mei being expelled for her creative inventions exploding one too many times, Izuku to become Prometheus, and Inko to sue UA for Fantastic Racism, though this doesn't get anywhere until after the Yaoyorozus join in on Chapter 5.
  • The HPSC illegalizing Eraser Lights as people living in areas where hero patrols are next to none buy them in bulk only serves to turn the public against the HPSC, as well as caused the bulk of 1A to leave when Nezu expels Toru for using one to protect one of her classmates from Bakugou. It also causes a rise in vigilante brutality: Since using an Eraser Light even in self-defense will get you thrown into prison, why bother calling the police or the heroes? Better to just make sure the thugs can't attack someone again…
    • Further than that, when Nezu expels Hagakure for the Crime of Self-Defense, not only does he get reamed out by a pissed off Hagakure who angrily points out that this is a blatant case of Selective Enforcement, but the bulk of 1A transfers out, many out of solidarity, while others leave when they realize that UA will refuse to do anything about Bakugou's Bully Brutality, which further causes the Yaoyorozus to join Inko's lawsuit against UA. And then Izuku sends him a gift basket, both to thank him for the new recruit, and to mock him for his short-sightedness.
  • When Monoma ditches Itsuka to run for the exit so that she can be the sacrifice to his victory, he fails to consider how it would look to others viewing this display. It ends with him failing the practical while being seen as a Dirty Coward by Itsuka.
  • Itsuka's opinion of David Shield's "plan" to get the Quirk Amplifier device to All Might. First, even if All Might hadn't given One for All to her, All Might would at best retire within two years even if he used it. Second, if, after all the rigmarole, the authorities investigated and realized the only thing gone missing was the one thing David Shield was told to lock up and forget, it wouldn't take long for people to connect the dots. And third, Shield didn't even bother checking whether the "actors" he was hiring were actors, as opposed to villains. In the end, not only does David Shield completely ruin his career and legacy, he also ruins Melissa's future.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: Instead of dying from deaging himself, All for One turns into dust when Izuku uses his Eraser Light to block all the Quirks the former was using, including the ones he relied on to survive, and then blows his head with his exploding gauntlets.
• Dramatic Unmask: Prometheus does this to himself during his debut at Kamino, wanting the whole world to know his identity and how he was driven From Nobody to Nightmare.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: When he finds out that Mawata learned of a chance to infiltrate U.A. and take revenge on Aizawa but rejected it, Toshiro becomes angry at the lost chance - even though Mawata tells him that the villains behind the offer would have only used them as Cannon Fodder at best. Even learning about how the USJ attack ended (which vindicated Mawata's warning) isn't enough to make him let it go.
• Driven to Suicide:
  • Some of Mawata's former classmates took their own lives out of despair following their expulsion.
  • Chapter 12 reveals that Orihime ultimately took their own life as well.
• Driven to Villainy: As Izuku points out to Aizawa, getting expelled from U.A. left him with a black mark on his record that ensured he couldn't get into any other school or find a decent job.
  Izuku: If I hadn't turned to villainy, I probably would have died out in the streets. Not that you'd care about that. You said you were saving my life, when you kicked me out. I guess killing students yourself is one way to keep them from dying in the field.
• Dwindling Party: 1-A suffers this - Izuku gets expelled on the first day, then Iida dies at the hands of Stain, Hagakure gets expelled after the Provisional License Exam for using an Eraser Light to protect Ojiro from Bakugo, and then nearly everyone else leaves over the blatant double standards employed by Nezu, with the only remaining members being Aoyama, Bakugo, Kirishima, Mineta, and Todoroki.
  • Mawata's group also undergoes this - several of their classmates are Driven to Suicide before she can unite them, Hirano Kei gets captured by Ingenium when robbing a load of diamonds from an armored car, Kobayashi Mika dies when a negotiation between groups of villains goes apeshit as one of the groups breaks the truce, Ishiro gets burned beyond recognition by Endeavor when he holds the line against him to let the others escape, and Orihime is Driven to Suicide.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • While Izuku does bring Ragdoll to All for One as part of his plot, he treats her much more gently than he does Aizawa, ensures All for One dies before he can steal Ragdoll's Quirk, and apologizes for using her as bait.
  • Even when they have the heroes at their mercy, The Rationals don't do anything lethal or too bad to them (apart from the injuries Izuku gives to All Might, that is).
  • Pretty much everyone agrees that Aizawa's actions were completely out of place, and wish they had stopped him earlier.
  • The Rationals had only planned to make Aizawa think his cats were dead - but when they found out that the cats were actually at risk of death from Aizawa's negligence, they instead took the poor animals away to a vet and adopted the lot.
  • Izuku may be a villain, but seeing the way Overhaul treats Eri makes him furious enough to plot the Yakuza's Cruel and Unusual Death.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
  • Exploited by Izuku, who banked on the idea that All For One would never consider the possibility that he might not want a Quirk of his own, spinning a yarn where he specifically wanted Erasure despite being able to replicate it already with his inventions.
  • Overhaul believed that Izuku, being Quirkless, would hate Quirks as much as he did, and would support his "crusade" to destroy them. He didn't understand that Izuku actually loves Quirks - much less that he'd be quite ticked off by Overhaul's methods, particularly his torture of Eri.
• Fantastic Ableism: Aizawa dismissed Izuku's potential to become a hero simply because he was Quirkless. Didn't matter how well he'd performed during the Entrance Exam, or how impressive his equipment was; all Aizawa cared about was that he didn't have a Quirk.
• Foil: Giran is one to Aizawa. Both are people who are/were supposed to manage the Rationals training as they made there way in society. Despite it being his job, Aizawa expelled the entirety of the class for not having enough "potential", destroying them in one fell swoop and forcing them to abandon hero society. Giran, despite it not being his job, supports the Rationals in their early days and helps guide them through villain society purely because he can see the potential of their group, especially Mawata.
• Foregone Conclusion: Orihime keeps showing hints that she isn't comfortable with the turn to villainy she and her friends have gone for. Given that, by the "present" timeline, she isn't mentioned and Mawata is in a relationship with Izuku instead of her, something clearly happened to her... which Chapter 12 reveals as her being Driven to Suicide out of Self-Deprecation.
• Fury-Fueled Foolishness: Izuku notes that Mimic can be easily riled up into leaving whichever object he's inhabiting simply by disrespecting Overhaul and the Yakuza, so, during the last meeting he has with the Shie Hassaikai, he keeps pressing the man's Berserk Button until he tries to attack him, which makes him vulnerable to Toru's Eraser Light and lets Izuku end him.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Izuku's analytical abilities are so strong that he's capable of working out precisely how a Quirk works and reproduces its effects with his inventions.
• The Heart: Orihime is this to Mawata's class, because, while she doesn't want to engage in crime, she's the one that ensures their refuge is clean, that their clothes are in good state and that they are healthy. And everyone loves her for being the rock. When she kills herself, everyone becomes so shocked and broken they have to take time off for weeks.
• Honor Before Reason: Defied. Kendo's grandfather taught them to never value honor over staying alive, and encouraged them to use everything they had at their disposal in a fight.
• Hypocrite:
  • Aizawa, many, many times over. For all that he tells himself — and the people he expels — that he's being Cruel to Be Kind, his actions only serve to ruin their lives, something for which he shows absolutely no remorse. Nor does he spare any thought to those he's failed.
    • While not noted in the story, one of the points he liked to make was that heroes should become more than "one-trick ponies" and avoid relying on their Quirks. He expelled Izuku even though he had proven he was exactly what Aizawa claimed - someone working to be versatile and avoid being a "one-trick pony".
    • Furthermore, Aizawa attempts to chew out Izuku for the fact that his crimes have gotten children hurt, completely ignoring the fact that he himself has ruined the lives of many children with his expulsion scheme, to the point that plenty of them were driven to villainy or even suicide.
  • Toshinori realizes that while he wanted to help protect people like himself who'd been disenfranchised and neglected, he wound up reinforcing the very inequality he'd hoped to stand against.
  • Hagakure calls Nezu out for claiming he's got no choice to expel them over their Crime of Self-Defense, pointing out the guidelines he's citing also state that people like Bakugo are considered villains, and yet he's allowed to do whatever he wants.
  • Despite Overhaul claiming that Izuku is the perfect example of what he wants to achieve, Izuku dryly notes that Overhaul uses the exact same rhetoric as the heroes and villains, and still regards himself as superior on the basis of having a Quirk.
    • Furthermore, Izuku observes that despite viewing Quirks like a disease, Overhaul is very quick to rely on his own power.
• I Have No Son!: This is a major problem when Mawata's group is expelled by Aizawa for shits and giggles. Despite getting whatever they could, their families are quick to disown them for being expelled. Which is why, to Mawata, Izuku not being kicked out of his house by his mom is a genuine surprise, and even suing UA for what amounts to Fantastic Racism.
• I'll Kill You!: While Izuku wants Aizawa to remain alive as long as possible (see Cruel Mercy), he'll make an exception if Aizawa attempts to remain a Pro Hero after losing his Quirk (and thus becoming what he denied to Izuku by expelling him from U.A. - a Quirkless Pro Hero).
  Izuku: And if you think you can do otherwise… if you try to be a hero without a Quirk… I will hunt you down, kill you, rip off your head, and mount it on a spike in front of UA’s gates as a message describing what happens to fucking hypocrites who only follow the rules when it suits them. You’ve ruined countless lives with your logic… now you have to live by it too.
• Internal Reveal: Izuku has Kurogiri take off his "mask" so Aizawa can learn that the villain is actually a Nomu created out of his old friend Oboro Shirakumo.
• Ironic Echo:
  • Izuku reveals his identity to All Might and the rest of the world while mocking the 'advice' his former idol gave him when they first met.
    All Might: …It's not wrong to dream. However, you should be realistic, kid.
    Izuku: [following a Dramatic Unmask] Hey, All Might, how's this for being realistic?
  • Toshinori also reflects that Izuku's speech to him at Kamino echoed what he'd said to Nana years ago, about how he couldn't accept a world where those who took from others came out on top while those who were taken from grew bitter and hateful.
• Ironic Nickname: Izuku's group names itself The Rationals as yet another way to drive in how Shota "Mr. Rational" Aizawa was the one that caused the group to form through his (in)actions.
• Irony: Izuku notes that despite the Hero Commission's attempts to crack down on sales and usage of his Eraser Lights, their attempts have only serve to highlight the failings of society that drives sales up. Every person punished for owning or using an Eraser Light only serves to highlight that the Commission isn't there to protect them, but to keep their own power in check. Meanwhile, they attempt to deal with All Might's retirement by having heroes make more appearances in high visibility areas, which in turn means less visible areas are left even more neglected, again showcasing the failures of the hero system and creating a market for Izuku's invention.
• It's All My Fault: Mawata blames herself for Orihime's suicide, fearing the latter took her life because she was too afraid of Mawata.
• Jerkass Realization: When Toshiro looks through all the ledgers of their group, he starts to realize that he's been unjustly harsh on Mawata and was prioritizing his hatred of Aizawa over what's best for their group. She accepts his apology, in part because she knew his anger was clouding his judgment.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Subverted with Aizawa. While he does love his cats, he keeps neglecting them for weeks at a time. When the Rationals visit his apartment to play a prank, they discover the cats had run completely out of food, their water had molded over and their self-cleaning litter box had completely broken down. Upon seeing the poor condition of his apartment, Hizashi realizes that he's treated his pets no better than he has his students.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Aizawa expelled Izuku while claiming he was 'saving' him, and that nothing he accomplished mattered because it didn't involve a Quirk. So Izuku joined forces with All For One with the intent of taking Aizawa's Quirk. Or at least, that's what he told the supervillain… but he ensured Aizawa wouldn't be getting Erasure back. Izuku also makes clear that he intends to ensure the whole world knows the part he played in turning him From Nobody to Nightmare.
    Izuku: You've always hated the spotlight... but you're about to become a household name… as the man who fostered the next generation of villains. That's going to be your legacy from now on, Aizawa.
  • Inflicted upon several bullies who ruled their respective schools much like Katsuki ruled over Aldera. All of them were ambushed while going after one of their favorite targets, brutally beaten the same way they'd brutalized their victims, and left with injuries that ended their careers before they ever began.
  • Overhaul/Chisaki Kai is repaid for all the suffering he inflicted upon Eri by being teleported directly into a sewage tank to drown.
  • During his first (and last) time at the joint 1-A/1-B training, Mineta tried to latch onto Pony Tsunotori's rear to "Ride her like the horse she is!" He was promptly sent to the nurse's office and never invited again.
• Little "No": Overhaul lets one out upon realizing just what kind of fate Izuku's about to inflict upon him.
• Loophole Abuse: Aizawa believes he defied this by convincing Nezu not to let Izuku into the Support Course. Had he been permitted to join Power Loader's class, Izuku might have performed well enough to make it back onto the Hero track. (The notion that he would have earned his position is completely lost upon Aizawa, who refuses to recognize any of Izuku's accomplishments.)
• Malicious Misnaming: Variation - Izuku keeps calling Aizawa by his name, but does it to deliberately drive home that he no longer can claim to be Eraserhead, on account of losing his Quirk.
• Mama Bear: Inko Midoriya, even after the reveal of her son becoming the villain Prometheus, continues to pursue the suit she filed against U.A. for their discrimination and negligence.
• Might Makes Right: According to Izuku, Japan's Hero Society runs heavily on this concept, with All Might serving not as a "Symbol of Peace", but a symbol of this mentality.
• Minor Symptom Foreshadowing: While it doesn't work out as actual foreshadowing due to how the story jumps back and forth in time, in Chapter 14, after the finals practical test, where she was forced to go beyond her limits to pass, Itsuka notices a black, crack-like line over her forehead, showing that One for All is starting to take a toll on her.
• Mood Whiplash: Itsuka's grandfather's Rousing Speech about being a Combat Pragmatist gets ruined when his trousers fall off, revealing his flower-print boxers.
• Motive Decay:
  • Aizawa became a teacher out of a desire to ensure nobody else died the way his friend Oboro did. By the time Prometheus Rising begins, he's degraded into an Apathetic, Sadist Teacher who doesn't care that Izuku disappeared after his expulsion, and tells himself he can't be blamed for the oversight that led to Tenya's death at Stain's hands.
  • Toshinori also comes to realize that at some point in the process of becoming the Symbol of Peace, he stopped fighting to improve the lives of those society dismissed as powerless and weak, much like he himself had once been.
• Mundane Utility: Mawata's Candy Cloud Quirk is very good for immobilizing people or cushion them against attacks - and it also feels nice and relaxing to be enveloped with, as many of the Rationals can attest.
• Never My Fault:
  • While Aizawa privately admits he was rushing through approving all the internship requests so he could squeeze in a quick nap before his next patrol, he still blames Tenya for foolishly thinking he could take down Stain. (He also barely acknowledges that preventing students from dying such tragically preventable deaths was the whole reason he became a teacher in the first place.)
  • Aizawa also refuses to take any responsibility for Izuku turning to villainy, insisting it's entirely Izuku's own fault that he couldn't make anything of himself post-expulsion, ignoring that the black mark he put on him ensured he'd be unable to "make anything of himself".
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!:
  • Aizawa's decision to expel Izuku (and Mawata's class before that) ends up causing a lot more trouble for the heroes than they would have liked.
  • The HPSC's decision to illegalize Eraser Lights not only comes off as an attempt to secure power and reinforces the main issues in areas heroes don't frequent, but causes Hero Schools to start expelling people for having them. The former causes people to resent the HPSC and Hero Society even more and brings an upsurge of violent vigilantism, while the latter causes Hagakure to join the Rationals, and the bulk of 1A to abandon UA either in solidarity with Hagakure, because they don't want to continue dealing with Bakugou, or because they're fed up with Mineta's perversions, and it's heavily implied the entire world is starting to get irritated at the mess Japan has put itself in.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Hagakure Toru gets unceremoniously expelled from U.A. for daring to defend a friend from Katsuki's Bully Brutality.
• No Sympathy: After Orihime's suicide in Chapter 12, Mawata stops working her regular job, knowing her Bad Boss was just looking for an excuse to fire her. She even suspects he'd make a callous comment about Orihime's death sparing him having to fire her as well.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Aizawa's main justification for expelling people like Izuku and an entire class in one fell swoop is that he's ensuring they don't kill themselves trying to be heroes. However, he doesn't give a damn what happens to them afterwards. When he hears Izuku disappeared shortly after being expelled, he doesn't even bat a lash, much less attempt to help find the boy. Nor does he care about anyone who's still under his care but hasn't been singled out for special treatment like Bakugo or Mineta.
• Now What?: Aizawa was so Married to the Job that he barely spent any of his paychecks from teaching and heroing, meaning he has a substantial amount of money saved… but after losing his Quirk and resigning from U.A., he now realizes he has nothing to spend that money on, because he never bothered on building up a life outside work. Of course, given that he's being targeted by a lawsuit that has a good chance of being successful, it's likely that he'll be losing a good chunk of that money.
• Oh, Crap!: Aizawa's mouth goes dry after Izuku introduces his new 'Sensei' as All For One, weakly echoing "All... For..."
• Off with His Head!: Izuku blows All for One's head after nullifying his Quirks.
• Omake: invoked Chapter 10, "A Fistful of Quirks", is a non-canon story released on April Fools' Day.
• Out-Gambitted: Overhaul thought he had tricked Izuku into putting himself in a position of weakness. The reality is that Izuku had seen that coming days before and had already planned his devastating counter.
• Pet the Dog:
  • As soon as All for One dies, Izuku apologizes to Ragdoll for kidnapping her.
  • Izuku calls Aoyama after All for One's death to tell him he and his family do not need to fear Izuku trying to collect on their deal with All for One, and wishes him well, whatever path he chooses.
  • When most of 1-A's students get fined for trying to cover up Hagakure's use of an Eraser Light to protect Ojiro from Bakugo, Izuku anonymously reimburses their families for the fines.
  • Giran takes Mawata and her friends under his umbrella, teaching them how to work as villains and even becoming attached to them. When Orihime kills herself, Giran arranges her burial for free, and gently tells them to take some time away until they can get back on their feet.
• Plot Parallel:
  • While Aizawa himself refuses to acknowledge it, the narrative quietly underscores how Tenya died during an internship gone wrong, the very thing Aizawa supposedly became a teacher to prevent in the first place. This highlights Aizawa's hypocrisy and Motive Decay.
  • In "Quirkless Cat-astrophe", Aizawa and Hizashi return to the former's apartment and discover that The Rationals raided and stole his cats, leaving behind a grotesque tableau to make it look like they'd skinned them. Hizashi then takes Aizawa to task for having left his cats unattended for so long that they were completely out of food, the water dispenser molded over and the self-cleaning litter box broke down, comparing this directly to how poorly Aizawa treated his students.
• Point of Divergence:
  • All Might was going to ask Izuku to become his successor... but then Izuku angrily called him out for his hypocrisy and left.
  • Ashido and Kaminari pass the practical test
• Power Nullifier: By figuring out the band of light erasure emits, Izuku invents the "Eraser Light", emulating the quirk without the drawback of the limited up-time and direction, then distributing it to low level villains and bullied students to give them the edge. This tech threatens to upend hero society, so the HPSC cracks down harshly on anyone possessing one, even to defend themselves.
• Post-Support Regret: Hizashi ignored just how poorly Aizawa was treating his students out of a sense of loyalty to his long-time friend. After seeing the horrific conditions he'd been raising his cats in, he admits that he and Nemuri made a serious mistake helping him get his teaching position in the first place.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • During their reunion, Izuku mocks Aizawa's concern for Katsuki's safety, suggesting he sees a lot of himself in his favorite student:
    Izuku: Wow... you really like Bakugo. Let me guess, he's your favorite student... because he has so much potential, right...? It doesn't matter that he's a deranged, narcissistic sociopath who delights in the pain of others... No! Actually, that's probably why you like him so much. You're birds of a feather, aren't you? You both enjoy being in that position of power, where you can torment those who are powerless to fight back against you. That's why you do what you do isn't it? It isn't out of some supposed desire to stop students from getting themselves killed, it's because you get off on being an object of fear to them.
  • He follows this up with another volley after ensuring Erasure is lost alongside All For One, taunting Aizawa about how much he relied upon his Quirk and that according to his own logic, he's just a useless, Quirkless loser.
  • Izuku dishes out a third one when Aizawa protests that his Eraser Lights are being used to hurt children, calling out his blatant hypocrisy:
    Izuku: The truth... is that children were always being hurt. You just didn't give a fuck about it… not until your next crop of precious future child soldiers was being threatened. You think that school violence is increasing, but it's actually been on a downward trend... after all... I've empowered the victims to put a stop to the ones constantly abusing them, the main instigators. After all, it's not like they could depend on heroes like you to protect them...
    No... not when you let people like Bakugo fucking Katsuki walk through the doors of U.A. like he belongs anywhere other than a cell in Asphodel^*the name for the juvenile equivalent of Tartarus in this work. If you'd bothered to look, you would have booked him for the hundreds of blatant violations of Quirk-use laws, usually in the execution of assault, battery, and destruction of property... among plenty of other crimes.
    But nooooooooo... Because he's overflowing with so much 'potential'... because he has a strong, convenient Quirk, in other words... he gets a free pass, and all you heroes and police look the other way, because he has a bright future and is sure to be a great hero someday. You aid and abet lawbreakers, protect abusers, and punish people for trying to build a better future... while I empower those who were helpless before, helping them obtain the means to protect themselves and what's important to them. Which of us is the hero now?
  • After revealing his identity to All Might, Izuku gives him a speech about how he used to admire him... and how he wasn't the only one who did:
    Izuku: I admired you more than anything. You were my inspiration, my hope, what got me through the days of suffering I endured, being perpetually punished for the sin of being born without a Quirk. I lived in hope of the day that I could give people hope like you gave me hope... especially the people like me... the ones kicked down, the ones who always get taken from by those more powerful than them.
    But after you broke me, after you left me on that rooftop... I realized something. You never saved me. All those times... all those days that I was attacked, beaten, and taken from... you never showed up to save the day for me... and the takers... they were the ones everyone said would become great heroes... just like you.
    You never saved me... but you were there... you were always there. Your smile was there, when Bakugo beat me, burned me, scarred me... He was your biggest fan, your greatest admirer, and every hurt he inflicted on me was inspired by you. Every time he beat me, he was following the example you set... at least according to him. And no one ever told him otherwise.
    The bullies... the takers... you're their symbol. You were never a symbol for the weak... for the helpless... You're the symbol of those born with power... the natural-born heroes... And I will be the symbol for the weak... the helpless... those who live at the mercy of the strong. And by the time I'm finished... the whole world will see you for the fraud you truly are.
  • In Chapter 4, Hizashi lays into Aizawa for expelling students for the most arbitrary reasons as well as raking him over the coals for alternating between being an Apathetic and a Sadist Teacher:
    Hizashi: It's a miracle none of those cats died before this, And when it comes to that, I'm glad those kids took ‘em.
    Aizawa: You're glad my cats are in the hands of a bunch of villains?
    Hizashi: Considering that those villains might actually care more about those cats than you do... yeah.
    Aizawa: If you've got something to say... say it.
    Hizashi: Just that... if this is the way you handle cats... then it was a mistake to think you could ever be trusted with children.
    Aizawa: Children... you mean those villains?
    Hizashi: They wouldn't be villains, if it weren't for you. You're the one who kicked them to the curb... and for what? For not coming into U.A. already knowing how to handle themselves as professional heroes... for expecting to be taught... for actually needing training...?
    Aizawa: They didn't have potential.
    Hizashi: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!!!? Seriously...! What even is potential in your eyes!?
    Aizawa: They were just going to get themselves killed.
    Hizashi: Why?
    Aizawa: They weren't taking it seriously.
    Hizashi: Why didn't you teach them about how serious it was?
    Aizawa: I did.
    Hizashi: How?! How can you teach them anything, when you boot them out at the first sign of trouble? That's not teaching, that's just throwing in the towel, and refusing to do your job!
    Aizawa: You never had a problem with it before.
    Hizashi: You're right. You're fucking right. You caused all that damage... and I didn't lift a finger. I just... looked the other way. Nem and I... we stumped to get you that position to help you... and that was a mistake.
    Aizawa: What!?
    Hizashi: It never should have been about helping you. This job is all about helping them. And I forgot that. I made that mistake... and now, your former students are villains wreaking havoc... because Nezu, Nem, and I all let you get away with this bullshit for so long. Those kids... you treated them just as badly as you treated your cats... and now they've turned around and bitten you, because you couldn't be bothered to do right by them. You get to live with the consequences of those failures... just like I have to live with mine.
    Aizawa: Zashi...
    Hizashi: Maybe I shouldn't say this, given that you've lost your position as a hero, but... give up on being a teacher, Sho. You’re not cut out for it... and that's the best way to help those kids. You've done enough damage.
  • Hagakure tells Principal Nezu off in Chapter 5 for how he signed off on Aizawa's Selective Enforcement and blatant favoritism of Katsuki:
    Nezu: I didn’t wish for it to be this way, Hagakure-kun. But the Commission’s new guidelines are quite clear. Possession and usage of Eraser Lights is illegal, and they have left us with no choice, which leaves me with no choice.
    Hagakure: Funny... and what about their ‘guidelines’ about asshats who use their Quirks illegally to assault people? I thought those people were called 'villains'. But here you are, doing everything you can to cover for one of those villains, and acting like he's going to be the next big thing in heroism, all because of that Quirk of his. So you can talk all the shit you want about how your hands are fucking tied. But we know it's bullshit. You'll keep giving Bakugo smoke enemas until he gets fucking rectal cancer, because you don't give a fuck about making him a hero. Those reporters during that press conference... they were right. The League saw what a villain Bakugo was, and realized that he's more like them than a hero. And you went to fucking bat for that piece of shit. So don't think you can make me feel ashamed of doing what I needed to to protect my friends from that scumbag. You've made it clear we can't depend on you for that.
  • In Chapter 9, Kendo and Vlad King both lambast Monoma for mocking 1-A for Iida's death:
    Kendo: Kan-sensei, I'm reporting Monoma-kun for harassment.
    Monoma: What!?
    Vlad King: Okay... explain to me what happened.
    Monoma: I-I was merely engaging in some light banter...
    Kendo: So insulting our peers by mocking their dead friend is "light banter"?
    Monoma: I-that-I was... I...
    Vlad King: Is this true, Monoma-kun?
    Monoma: N-No.
    Kendo: You said, and I quote, "One of you already got himself killed, grandstanding like a fool".
    Monoma: I-I meant for it to be motivational!
    Vlad King: Monoma-kun... I'm disappointed in you.
    Monoma: B-B-B-But Kan-sensei...! This isn't fair at all! 1-A is hogging the spotlight! All anyone ever talks about is them! It's like they've all forgotten that we even exist! If they aren't being lionized for surviving that damn villain attack, they're making that idiotic fool who went of to Hosu on a doomed revenge quest into a martyr! At this point, the rest of the world has forgotten 1-B even exists! If we do not do something to put them in their places-!
    Kendo: And if it had been me...?
    Monoma: I-what?
    Kendo: I was in Hosu too, I could've died that night. And if it had been me... what would you have done? Would you be crowing to the heavens about my "noble sacrifice"? Would you be happy that I finally got attention for 1-B? What if someone came up and starting mocking you about my death?
    Monoma: I-I...
    Kendo: If that's the case, then I don't want anything to do with you. Mocking someone for the death of their friend is lower than what most villains would do. If that's what constitutes heroic behavior in that head of yours, then I no longer consider you a classmate or a peer. [turns to Vlad King] Do something about him, I'm done with him.
• Resign in Protest:
  • Majima Higari, aka Power Loader, resigned from U.A. after Principal Nezu ignored his pleas to let Izuku into the Support Course.
  • Played With in regards to Class 1-A. While some resign in solidarity for how Tooru was expelled and the continued failings of the staff, in particular how they refuse to discipline Bakugou and Mineta, some leave because the dwindling number of students means that Bakugou will have less people to target with his abuse.
• The Runaway: Izuku runs away from home because while Inko didn't disown him for being expelled from UA and even filed a lawsuit against them for discrimination, he knows Inko will run out of money sooner or later, and she can't watch over him forever.
• Sadist Teacher: About the only part of his work at U.A. which Aizawa actually enjoys is the amount of control he has over his students. Particularly when it comes to kicking them out of the school entirely, supposedly in the name of "protecting" them from their own foolish ambitions, or torturing them with his "logical ruses".
• Second Love: Izuku becomes this to Mawata, after Mawata's first girlfriend Orihime took her life because she thought she was being a burden on her and couldn't handle the thought.
• Secret Identity: Deliberately averted by Izuku, Mawata and most of The Rationals. While Izuku still dubs himself Prometheus, he unmasks himself at Kamino so that everyone can learn who is he and how he was unjustly expelled from U.A., along with the bulk of his allies.
• Secretly Selfish: After Orihime's suicide, Mawata blames herself and laments that all her efforts to keep her former classmates together were motivated mainly by her desire not to face a bleak and uncertain future alone. Kaede and several others rush to reassure her that she's better than she thinks she is.
• Selective Enforcement:
  • A major issue at U.A., especially in Aizawa's class. As expulsion-happy as he is, he turns a blind eye towards how Bakugo and Mineta harass their classmates, even punishing the victims if they stand up for themselves in ways he doesn't like. As Hagakure points out when Nezu expels her, Bakugo keeps getting away with acting like a villain while everyone else gets punished simply for defending themselves.
  • This issue is widespread across Japan, to the point where there's a rash of incidents where aspiring 'heroes' are forced to withdraw their applications after The Dog Bites Back and they suffer Career-Ending Injuries before their dream careers even begin. Kamakiri mentions one of them was one year behind him in his old school, and every time someone tried to complain to the police, the teachers either claimed there was no evidence or that something else invalidated what evidence was found, and the police didn't bother to actually investigate.
• Shout-Out:
  • While explaining his plan to Aizawa, Izuku states "After all... as a great man once said... Once everyone is super... then no one will be."
  • When he goes to Overhaul's compound for a meeting, Chronostasis berates him for being "late", and Izuku replies "A villain is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."
  • When Shinso trains himself by running on U.A.'s track, he keeps getting lapped by someone that says "On your left!" multiple times.
• Simple Solution Won't Work: Izuku notes that the Eraser Lights are incredibly easy to protect against - as long as the light doesn't touch skin, it doesn't affect the target. But given how much Pro Heroes rely on exposure and being seen, if they suddenly started to cover up they would look like they are afraid.
• Sink-or-Swim Mentor: If Aizawa decides you don't have potential, you can forget about getting any support from him. Either he'll kick you out of U.A. "for your own safety", or he'll leave you to fend for yourself. Heaven help you if you get targeted by someone like Bakugo or Mineta, especially if you DARE defend yourself in a way he doesn't like.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • Aizawa considers his hero work infinitely more important than any of his other responsibilities as a teacher or pet owner. After expelling Fuwa and her whole class in one fell swoop, he smugly thinks about how much time he's just freed up for himself, and he privately admits that the main reason why he didn't think twice about Tenya's internship request is because he was rushing through and rubber-stamping everything so he'd have time to take a nap before his next patrol.
    • On a second layer, he prioritizes teaching Hitoshi Shinso over doing anything with the class he's supposed to teach.
  • During the finals, Kendo and Monoma have to fight All Might. True to form, Monoma puts more weight into self-aggrandizing over actually passing the exam, to the point of sabotaging Kendo just for the chance of copying All Might's Quirk. This, combined with throwing Kendo at All Might while he runs away, ensures he fails the exam.
    • Similarly, Bakugo and Todoroki got paired to fight All Might - and ended up fighting each other.
• Speak Ill of the Dead: Monoma gleefully mocks Tenya's death. When confronted about this, he claims Class 1-A has been milking their classmate's death for sympathy points and trying to paint him as a martyr rather than an idiot who got himself killed trying to get revenge.
• Stalker Without a Crush: In order to figure out how Aizawa's power worked, Izuku secretly shadowed him on several of his patrols, recording him with various types of cameras meant to help him measure the precise wavelength his Quirk used.
• Stealth Expert: Izuku gets so good that he was able to stalk Aizawa for weeks during his patrols and was never detected.
• Sunk Cost Fallacy: Even though a large number of problems, including pretty much all of Class 1-A leaving U.A., can be tied to his continued protection of Bakugo, Nezu is unwilling to remove him from U.A., because after all he and the Commission have done to bat for him, kicking him out would only validate those critical of U.A., thus "forcing" Nezu to keep Bakugo as a student.
• Swiss-Cheese Security: Overhaul's obsession with his idea of creating a way to destroy Quirks causes his organization to bleed a lot of money, meaning he has to skimp on other things... such as the scanners they use. Izuku takes advantage of this to bring the Shie Hassaikai leadership into a position where they think they have the upper hand, only for him to turn the tables and kill all of them in the blink of an eye.
• Tempting Fate:
  • Upon hearing that Katsuki, Ragdoll and Eraserhead have all been recovered without a hitch and that almost all the members of the League of Villains have been arrested, Toshinori murmurs to himself that "It's almost too easy..." Cue shit hitting the fan.
  • In Chapter 5, Nezu repeatedly notes to himself that, as long as All Might's successor is on side, things might be salvageable from Prometheus' plots. Chapter 11 ends with Itsuka Kendo, All Might's successor, begging Prometheus for help as One for All's unknown Rapid Aging side-effect starts hitting her.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Invoked by Toshiro in Chapter 6. He fully believes Aizawa expects those he expels to be Driven to Villainy so he can then exploit them further, and argues he and his classmates should focus on becoming a serious threat — the kind he can't easily dispose of.
  Hideki: If that sack of shit's trying to make us become villains... why should we give him the satisfaction?
  Toshiro: Because he's expecting us to become villains that he can take down easily. We're a bunch of kids basically. Sure, we passed the entrance exam, but we've got nothing on actual heroes with real-world experience. Plus, he's got that freaky Quirk of his that shuts other people's Quirks down. I know you all felt that, when he used it on us.
  So the kind of villains he expects us to become are the dumb, easy kind; the kind who use their Quirks to shoplift at convenience stores or bust up ATMs and vending machines for a quick buck. And those will be the kind of villains that he can drop like a hot rock. But instead... I think we should become the kind of villains who can fight back against that sack of shit. If he wants us to be villains so bad, we'll do what he wants... and then make him choke on it.
• Think of the Children!: Mocked by Izuku when Aizawa protests that his Eraser Lights are being used to hurt children. Izuku shoots back the children were always getting hurt by bullying, and now those incidents have declined since those bullies got their comeuppance.
  Izuku: [shrilly] Oh no! Not the children... Those poor poor children... Won't somebody please think of the children! [bares his teeth in a snarl] Oh please, spare me your hypocritical sanctimony, you fucking sack of shit.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Izuku had already made his mind not to collaborate with Overhaul, but seeing him torture Eri - and sadistically enjoying it - makes Izuku promise to himself he'll slaughter Overhaul and the Eight Bullets.
• Troll: After being expelled from U.A. and learning how to really use her Quirk, Hagakure takes joy in tripping Aizawa in the middle of the street.
• Underestimating Badassery:
  • Aizawa gets taken down by Izuku during the raid on the summer camp in no small part because he refused to believe a Quirkless kid could pose any serious threat.
  • Similarly, Overhaul regards The Rationals as little more than teenagers that don't know what they are doing, and "generously" offers to take control of the assets they took from All for One. Izuku takes advantage of said underestimation to figure out how to hit him and quickly kills all of the Eight Bullets while rendering Overhaul unable to do anything else.
• The Un-Smile: Aizawa sports an absolutely wicked smile after expelling Mawata and the rest of her class at the start of Chapter 6, smugly patting himself on the back for breaking all their spirits in one fell swoop.
• Vigilante Man: These start to spring up after All Might's retirement as Izuku's Eraser Lights hit the market. The HPSC's attempts to shut that down by making them illegal and arresting anyone that uses them, even in self-defense, simply ensures that people just won't report crimes in less visible areas and instead carry out their own justice.
• Visionary Villain: Ultimately, Izuku's goal is to completely revamp and rebuild society, stripping power away from the corrupt HPSC and Nominal Heroes by arming civilians with ways of evening the playing field.
• Wham Shot: Chapter 11 ends with Itsuka Kendo not only using Aoyama's emergency extraction signal, but sporting multiple jagged lines over her skin - the sign of her suffering the effects of One for All's Rapid Aging.
• Who Murdered the Asshole?: Downplayed in that the victims aren't dying, but several would-be heroes are forced to withdraw their applications to U.A. and other Hero schools after suffering career-ending injuries. Investigating the trend reveals that there's simply too many suspects in every case, as all the victims were bullies who'd gotten special treatment like Katsuki.
• Whole Episode Flashback:
  • Chapter 6, "The Softest Villain", flashes back to when Mawata and her whole class were unceremoniously expelled, chronicling her efforts to pull everyone together and help them all survive.
  • Chapter 8, "The World is Unfair", continues a few weeks after Chapter 6 left off.
  • Chapters 7 and 9, meanwhile, focus on Itsuka as she becomes the ninth holder of One for All.
  • Chapter 12 returns to Mawata's past, with Chapter 13 showing her first meeting with Izuku, Gentle Criminal and La Brava.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: In Chapter 12, Kaede and several others do their best to reassure Mawata that despite the setbacks and tragedies they've faced, all her efforts to keep her ex-classmates together have paid off and ensured they're far better off than they would have been otherwise.