The Strongest Hero
is a One-Punch Man fanfiction by Josh Mystic, also known as The Lone Lobster, on FanFiction.Net and Archive of Our Own.
In canon, Saitama was looked down upon by other heroes despite his overwhelming power and started off as a lowly C-Class Hero before he gradually moved up the ranks. Here, Saitama finally gets the respect he deserves and is immediately promoted to S-Class by Agoni, with everyone acknowledging him as the strongest hero in the world. Of course, there's all the paparazzi to deal with, but that's a small price to pay when you're the strongest and most famous hero of the world.
The Strongest Hero features examples of:
- Adaptational Nice Guy:
- Most of the heroes of the Hero Association especially the S-Class look up to Saitama as The Paragon instead of belittling him or ignoring him like they did in canon.
- Dr. Genus and The House of Evolution's monsters are a lot nicer and humbled in general since they're not engaged in villainy in the first place, likely as a result of them seeing Saitama's 'battles' beforehand that made Dr. Genus want to form a partnership.
- Downplayed with Tatsumaki, who still throws insults at Saitama, but the esper is not hostile to him like in canon as she respects his strength, and Saitama isn't that bothered by her insults.
- Celebrity Is Overrated: Saitama has to deal with constant media attention and legions of rabid fans thanks to his fame. Luckily, the Heroes Association made a secured perimeter to protect Saitama's privacy, though there have been loitering fans once in a while.
- For Want Of A Nail:
- Because Agoni, the founder of the Hero Association, sought out Saitama after the man saved his grandson, Saitama has been part of the association since its creation and his heroic deeds are known from the start.
- Mosquito Girl goes to City-Z not to attack and cause trouble, but to find Saitama. Her leaving corpses was mostly to sustain herself and attacking Genos was more out of self-defense.
- Saitama and most of the the S-Class head over to the House of Evolution to find out about Dr. Genus' motives after receiving his rather humble message.
- Speed-o-Sound Sonic is hired by the Paradisers to be their guard and he actually knows of Saitama, but still thinks he can take him.
- After the Paradisers are taken of, Saitama's apartment and City-Z have been remodeled into a luxurious complex with most of the S-Class heroes becoming new neighbors.
- Humble Hero: Even though Saitama gets recognized here, he still isn't one for excessive accolades or rewards. In between fighting villains, he would love nothing more than to just live his life like any unpowered person. Many people interpret this as a lesson on controlling their egos.
- Hypocrite: Speed-o-Sound Sonic still has a low opinion on heroes for their arrogance, yet has that same arrogance about his own skills, most egregiously thinking that he can kill Saitama, who rightly points out the glaring contradiction within his logic.
- Know When to Fold Them: Some villains immediately surrenders once Saitama enters the scene, as they all know how easy it is for him to execute a One-Hit Kill.
- Marugori and his brother decide to surrender rather than fight Saitama when they accidentally run into him as he was shopping.
- Dr. Genus and the House of Evolution elect to partner themselves with the Hero Association rather than risk having Saitama wipe them out.
- The Paragon: The other heroes in the Hero Association view Saitama as one, seeing his humbleness in spite of his immense power as a lesson to never let their egos get in the way of their duty. Most of the S-Class heroes also yearn for Saitama's praise and acknowledgment.
