Warning: Revealed contents for Chapter #396 of My Hero AcademiaMy Hero Academy heavily inspired by western superhero comics, the inspiration is clearly visible in comparison All is possible like of Superman. From the design of the Peace Symbol to his dedication to trying to keep everyone safe no matter the cost, Toshinori Yagi could easily pass as an improved version of Clark Kent would be an exaggerated way. However, All Might has certain quirks about him (no pun intended) that help distinguish him from his Western counterpart… some of which seem to be entirely inspired from others.
Chapter 396 of the My Hero Academia manga shows a weakened All Might preparing to stand up to All for One. With power it would be an uphill fight pushing All Might to his limits, without power it’s basically impossible. Key to All Might’s plan is the use of a new assistive device: the Armored All Might, a set of motorized armor deeply reminiscent of another popular Western hero, Iron Man.
All Might’s final form is more like Iron Man than Superman
With this physical similarity between Iron Man and All Might came even more connections. In a way, the respective storylines of Stark and Toshinori seem parallel to each other. Toshinori was originally incapacitated. He can only become a hero after inheriting his power from Nana Shimura. The goal of One for All’s pursuers is to defeat All for One, ending the atrocities committed by the original user’s brother. Similarly, Stark started out as a commoner who inherited a weapons company. Only after falling victim to those weapons did he realize the terrible legacy of the name Stark, gain his own “powers” and embark on a crusade to correct his wrongs. his father.
There are even differences between Stark and Toshinori that act as inversions of each other but still strengthen their connection. Stark’s father is a man of the here and now. The problems of the world are never his own unless they affect him directly. After becoming Iron Man, Stark began focusing on the big picture, trying to find a way to keep the world at large. In the world of MHA, these views are turned upside down. All for One has big ambitions, his plans go far beyond taking over Japan. However, All Might tends to be too fixed, focusing on one small goal at a time rather than seeing how they all come together.
All superhero stories tend to corrode each other. They inspire each other, exchanging jokes, plots, and plot twists. This makes for an interesting parallel that fans can draw between the different media installments as if each one is some sort of alternate universe of its predecessor. All Might and Iron Man are prime examples of this phenomenon. Their similarities are hard to deny, but their differences are equally powerful in making them their own characters while still paying homage to All Might’s inspiration. The addition of armor All is possible ARRIVE My Hero Academy just to prove that Toshinori is actually more of a mirror image of Tony Stark than of himself Superman.
Chapter 396 of My Hero Academy now available to read on Viz Media!
