Midoriya Goes All-Out in My Hero Academia’s Ultimate Rematch

After making the tough decision to strike out on his own, Midoriya has been offered the chance to again challenge one of his most dangerous foes to date, and he’s proving just how far he’s come. The previous chapter of the My Hero Academia manga ended with Midoriya arriving in the nick of time to save some of his counterparts from another school, but now in Chapter 308 he’s face-to-face with Muscular, and has no hope of back-up.

During Midoriya’s first battle with Muscular, he was forced to protect a small child named Kota, which clearly hampered his ability to fight. He also hadn’t fully mastered his Quirk yet, as he was still at the stage where the force of each strike would destroy his bones. While he was narrowly able to win the fight and Muscular was arrested, Midoriya suffered grave injuries and was hospitalized. This incident also contributed significantly to his decision to switch from using punching moves like All Might to kicks, as the damage to his body was too severe to continue fighting with his arms.

This time around, however, Midoriya has unlocked several of the Quirks of One for All’s previous holders, and with Nakagame and Shindo retreating, he no longer has to worry about protecting anyone else. Muscular, for his part, is now going by the name Jailbreaker and seems to have found a way to make himself even more massive, smashing through buildings almost like a kaiju. While Muscular is thrilled at the prospect of a rematch, Midoriya is smart enough now to realize that he shouldn’t engage in a battle of brute force. The battle sees Midoriya thinking strategically, analyzing his opponent for weaknesses (like the thinning muscle fibers in certain areas) and deploying different abilities. Over the course of just this chapter, Midoriya makes use of the fourth user’s Danger Sense, the fifth user’s Blackwhip, the sixth user’s Smokescreen, and the seventh user (Nana Shimura)’s floating ability.

Another interesting factor in this fight is that, following his heart-to-heart with the vestiges of the previous users, Midoriya is now able to gain advice and insight on their abilities on the fly. The sixth user, for example, advises him not to overuse the smokescreen effect, as enemies can make use of the cover to launch surprise attacks just as easily. This also offers the advantage of making Midoriya’s moves extremely difficult to predict, as the sheer number of abilities at his disposal is unknown to his opponents. The battle quickly becomes a case of brains over brawn, as Midoriya continually refuses to engage in the contest of strength that Muscular wants.

With a complete overhaul of Midoriya’s costume and look, it’s only natural that a change in his fighting style would similarly follow. While overthinking battles has been a problem for Midoriya in the past, having a diverse array of Quirks to call upon fits his state of mind much better. It also helps him to stand apart from All Might, who had a reputation for his “when all you have is a hammer” style of fighting with overwhelming force. Rematches like this one tend to exist in My Hero Academia manga specifically to show how much a character has improved over the course of the story, and with everything that’s happened to Midoriya in the time since, this fight has certainly been an impressive bar to measure against. The battle with Muscular isn’t over yet, however, so young Midoriya may yet have a few tricks left up his sleeve.

About The Author

Carlyle Edmundson
(232 Articles Published)

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Carlyle Edmundson is a news and features writer with an affinity for science fiction and fantasy. He graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BS in Film Studies and is glad that it’s relevant to his work. A lifelong fan of anime and manga, he has attended dozens of conventions over the years and may or may not have cosplayed at them. He is also the author of the Dystopian Detective series, available from most places ebooks are sold.

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