One major factor of My Hero Academia’s recent anime episodes is the villains who have decided to throw their lot behind Deku and the students of UA Academy. So far, we’ve seen Lady Nagant, La Brava, and Gentle Criminal joining the fight during an essential moment in the battle against Shigaraki and All For One. Even when the heroes have been gaining the advantage in this final fight, the villains are able to make up ground thanks to some swings and surprises. Now, the crime fighters have received another unexpected combatant as a major villain has flipped the script on their allegiance.
Warning. If you have yet to watch the latest episode of My Hero Academia’s seventh season, Episode 17, be forewarned that we’ll be diving into major spoiler territory. Thanks to the actions of Lady Nagant, Shigaraki found himself without his arms for a brief moment, stopping the young antagonist from destroying the battlefield beneath his feet. Luckily, Midoriya was able to take advantage of this event as he took the battle away from UA Academy. Unfortunately for the heroes that remain on the floating battlefield, the fight is far from over. Toga has unleashed countless doubles thanks to the power of Twice, and Eraserhead and Present Mic are suffering the consequences.
As Aizawa and Mic find themselves being jettisoned off the floating academy, an unexpected ally arrives. Kurogiri, the Nomu that was tailored by All For One to be Shigaraki’s bodyguard, begins to fight against his programming. As his former self, Oboru Shirakumo, once again thinks of his past friendship with the two Class 1-A teachers, his change of heart comes in the nick of time as he saves Eraserhead and Present Mic from a watery grave. Now that the League of Villains has once again lost their teleporter, Hero Society’s top heroes are in a better place.
While Oboro’s early days at UA Academy haven’t been explored in the anime, they have been told in the shonen franchise’s spin-off story. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes didn’t just follow heroes operating outside of the official channels such as Crawler, Pop Step, and Knuckleduster, but the manga also followed the early days of Eraserhead, Present Mic, Midnight, and Oboro during their time as teenagers. There has been no official word that Vigilantes is on its way to receiving an anime adaptation, though it is something that anime fans have been clamoring for.
Long before Oboro was transformed into a Nomu who harbored the power of teleportation, the hero harbored a Quirk dubbed “Cloud”. This superpower allowed the future Kurogiri to create clouds that could both carry objects as well as give Oboro some quick moves on the battlefield. During a past battle, Oboro’s life was cut short and All For One wasted no time in both scooping up the young hero’s body and transforming him into a Nomu.
Even with Kurogiri no longer an ace in the hole for the villains, the damage might have already been done. Toga’s doubles are now spread across the world, with there seemingly being no end of the doppelgangers that she can create. On top of this fact, All For One is now also joined by Dabi who has his sights set on his abusive father, aka the number one hero Endeavor. In the case of UA Academy, the final fight appears to be a situation of “two steps forward, one step back”.
Luckily, Class 1-A’s students are stepping up to the plate in some big ways. Tokoyami has unleashed his ultimate attack, transforming “Dark Shadow” into what may be considered a kaiju. With All For One in his sights, the victor of this war remains anyone’s guess.
Want to follow along with My Hero Academia’s final fight? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on UA Academy.