Wiz: You mean like you?
Boomstick: (with anime-style tears) Don't be silly, Wiz. I'm not an anime character. Like Prince Zuko, the firebending hunter of the Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Wiz: And Shoto Todoroki, the prodigal son of fire and ice from My Hero Academia.
The twelfth episode of season seven offers a pair of pyrokinetic prodigies burdened by the scars, physical and otherwise, of the hateful fathers whose legacies they live under. Born with their powers, these two youths chose to forge their own path in life; and today, discipline does battle with talent, for Zuko and Shoto Todoroki are destined to exchange fire and wits alike in a death battle.
The first combatant featured would be Prince Zuko, heir to the Fire Nation and the death and destruction left in its wake. One of the four nations of the world, the Fire Nation lived alongside its contemporaries of water, earth, and air. This peace was broken a hundred years in the past, when Sozin, ruler of the Fire Nation, set out to bring the world under his grip; decades passed and his grandson Ozai ascended to the Fire Lord's throne. Whilst aiming to achieve victory in the war started by Sozin, Ozai fathered two children: Zuko and his younger sister Azula. Ozai showered Azula with praise for her inherent talents in manipulating flame and heat, leaving Zuko with only his contempt. The crown prince was undeterred in his efforts to make his father proud even then, training to hone his skills in firebending. Reluctantly, Ozai brought Zuko along to a meeting of the Fire Nation's generals. Zuko spoke out against the tactics discussed by the generals, which Ozai saw as an act of insubordination. In their ensuing duel, Ozai scorched his son's face with a blast of fire, permanently disfiguring him. Ozai then cast Zuko out of the Fire Nation in disgrace. This exile came with one stipulation: only upon capturing the Avatar, mediator of all four nations and the gravest threat to the Fire Nation's mission of conquest, would Zuko regain his honor and be permitted to return home. Ozai considered this a fool's errand; no Avatar had been seen since the war began, but the Fire Lord used it as a means to rid himself of his son. The banished prince, clinging to this last strand of hope, set out alongside his uncle Iroh on a worldwide voyage to track down the Avatar and earn back the favor he had lost with his father.
Despite living in the shadow of Azula, the crown prince of the Fire Nation has proven himself a talented warrior in his own right. Though not his go-to method of attack, Zuko consistently displays an adept knowledge of martial arts. The basis for his fighting style is heavily inspired by Northern Shaolin kung fu, a branch of Chinese martial arts that prioritizes aggression through swift motion and wide stances. Zuko is similarly proficient in swordplay as an alternative for close-quarters. However, the true hallmark of Zuko's martial prowess stems not from his worthwhile when engaged up close, but his capacity to control fire. In an area warm enough to sustain it, firebenders such as Zuko can create and redirect flame; his specific techniques are reflected in the Dancing Dragon style of firebending, similar in form to Northern Shaolin. These blazes can take a number of shapes, such as concentrated streams, whips, fireballs, and condensed blades, and the disgraced heir easily shifts these flames from form to form. Firebending can similarly be used for protective measures, creating walls of fire to block enemy attacks and force others to keep their distance. Just as Zuko can firebend to attack and defend, the son of Ozai uses it for utility with similar ease, as he can generate intense heat around him or jets of fire to propel himself in a manner similar to flight.
In his travels hunting for the Avatar, Zuko displayed a tremendous amount of skill. An average firebender can produce flames hot enough to burn through cast iron doors, whereas the flames produced by Zuko have proven capable of melting glaciers in seconds. More talented firebenders such as Iroh can even use its power to blast holes through immensely thick city walls. In the way of speed, the prince's reflexes permit him to catch incoming lightning and use firebending techniques to redirect it across and out from his body. With strength and speed such as this, it seems as if Zuko makes for a formidable foe and master firebender, and true that may be, his signature ability has its drawbacks. Firebending depends heavily on a proper breathing technique and an adequate amount of warmth in one's surroundings; being deprived of at least one will render firebending inert. External sources of heat, such as comets and the sun, provide additional power to a firebender, but are situational and their absence weakens firebenders accordingly. The Fire Nation prince stayed the course, fighting through his weaknesses, but found redemption by seeing the Avatar as an partner rather than a quarry. Zuko, motivated by Iroh's wisdom, eventually turned his back on Ozai to join Avatar Aang and friends, aiding them in their quest to stop the Fire Nation. Doing so proved to be wiser than asserting loyalty to his homeland, as alongside Aang's allies, he helped defeat Ozai, end the Fire Nation's reign of tyranny, and take the mantle of Fire Lord in his father's place, earning back his honor and a greater position than Ozai could have ever promised him.
- Zuko: (waving happily) Hello, Zuko here.
Having wrapped up with Zuko's analysis, the show then addresses his upcoming opponent, Shoto Todoroki. In the future Earth that Shoto calls home, eighty percent of humanity have developed fantastic superhuman abilities known as quirks, and superhero-centric societies have become a burgeoning trend. Keeping track of their accomplishments are various ranking systems where heroes are categorized by their merit; at the top of the Japanese circuit is the Symbol of Peace, All Might. The proud All Might was beloved the nation over for his bravery and optimism, except for his immediate runner-up in the rankings, Enji "Endeavor" Todoroki. The fire-based pro hero tried and failed for years to usurp All Might's position as the greatest hero. To that end, Enji arranged a marriage with a heroine possessing an ice-based quirk in the hopes of producing a child who combined the strengths of both quirks and could fulfill his ambitions by proxy. Enji and his eventual wife Rei bore several offspring, and Shoto, the youngest of the four, gave him the desired results. In Enji's eyes, Shoto was the only one of his children who mattered thanks to his manifested quirk; thus, he separated Shoto from his siblings, enforcing a brutal training regimen in the hopes of molding Shoto into a greater hero than All Might. The mental strain this forced upon Rei reached a breaking point when she saw too much of Endeavor in her son, permanently scarring Shoto with scalding hot water during a mental breakdown. This, for Shoto, was the point where he became consumed by hatred for his father. He enrolled in U.A. High, an academy designed to take students with great potential and mold them into the heroes of tomorrow, and he did so promising to himself that he would become a hero without relying on Endeavor's genes.
Familial misfortune has followed Endeavor's son to U.A., but it has failed to keep him from getting closer to his own dreams. Shoto is an expert tactician, with a capacity for adapting to his foes' strategies mid-fight and littering the battlefield with traps well in advance. Such intellect is matched only by his quirk, as per Endeavor's aim. True to its name of Half-Cold Half-Hot, it gives Shoto the cryokinetic abilities of his mother and his father's control over fire. The ice he generates from the right side of his body can be so large as to create glacials walls or precise enough to target small, moving objects while activating his powers. This ice can also be used for mobility; Shoto can create sheets of ice to slide on or push him forward. So powerfully overwhelming is the coldness from Shoto's quirk that, with enough intensity, its ice can cause flesh to rot and break apart. This frigidity is utilized well when Shoto unleashes the Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall, an enormous jagged glacier that spans Todoroki's field of vision and can be considered as his specialty. After fellow U.A. pupil Izuku Midoriya forced him to reconsider the circumstances behind his quirk, Shoto has begun to acknowledge the fire side of his quirk as his own power, even while also accepting the fact he inherited it from his father. From the left side of his body, Shoto produces intense streams and waves of fire that cover vast distances. Flashfire, his father's own signature attack, is another skill that Shoto inherited from Enji; with it, he condenses a blaze under intense temperatures before releasing it in a concentrated strike. Other skills that Endeavor has demonstrated using his quirk, such as climbing walls and flight, should theoretically be ones that Shoto can also perform.
Shoto has overcome many a trial in his quest for identity. The youngest Todoroki is able to match his classmates in speed; no minor feat considering students like Tokoyami and Katsuki Bakugo are able to react to and avoid lightning. Tetsutetsu, a student at U.A. whose quirk allows him to transform into metal, ran the risk of being melted alive by Todoroki's flames as a testament to his strength. As for the scope of his ice-based power, Shoto can create glacial structures like the Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall and envelop buildings with frost in mere seconds. Endeavor's zeal, though misplaced and ultimately destructive, has given his son an outstanding and impressive skillset; even still, this quirk is not as perfect as Endeavor may have hoped. Shoto's overuse of one side will result in frostbite or heatstroke; though this can be fixed by simply using the other element, it demonstrates that his quirk grants him resistance to extreme temperatures, but not full immunity. Similarly, Shoto has only recently begun to accept using his fire-based abilities, leaving his proficiency in the field less refined than that with ice. These weaknesses, while understandably daunting to break through, Shoto has in fact overcome, becoming a stronger person and defeating friend and enemy alike. In time, Shoto was able to make peace with Rei and even help influence Enji's life decisions, inspiring Endeavor to become a better hero and father. Shoto continues to prove himself to be one of the leading youths of U.A. High, and in doing so, proves his actions define him more than his origins.
- Shoto Todoroki: I want it too... I'll be a hero!
With the episode's combatants fully studied, nothing stops them from turning their flames upon one another. One advertisement for Bluechew ED treatment later, and now, it's time for a death battle!
Amongst a thicket of trees, Zuko, proud firebender, practices his people's craft. Labored grunts emphasize the vigor by which Zuko sweeps himself across the forest floor, plumes of flame erupting from his outstretched limbs. Deeper in the wood, Shoto Todoroki strolls along in solitude; a sweeping kick sends an errant fireball his way right as the U.A. pupil reaches the same clearing. With a gesture of his right arm does Todoroki conjure a block of ice to deflect the fireball, sending it hurtling into the forest and setting the trees ablaze. Despite Zuko's claims to the contrary, Shoto sees the accident as a surprise attack from a would-be evildoer. Infuriated and primed for a fight, Shoto slams a foot against the verdant ground...
FIGHT!
... and not a second after does a set of increasingly large icicles snake across the dirt. Zuko leaps into the air and melts a safe patch to land on as he considers his next move. Shoto, meanwhile, witnesses this display, and the memories of Endeavor's hellish teachings resurface to haunt the fledgling hero. A stream of flame shoots out Todoroki's left hand, which Zuko diverts around him. The firebender closes in on Shoto and punches through the glacial barrier raised before him. Quick to steady himself, the son of Endeavor forms another ice wall, but Zuko shatters it just as easily as the first. The young Fire Lord pushes his offensive, charging towards Shoto while smashing through further blockades. Vaulting off one icy shield, Zuko reorients himself in midair, focusing a blaze towards the Half-Cold Half-Hot hero. The sounds of crackling fire catch Shoto's attention, and he meets the oncoming pyrokinetic surge with one of his own. The two streams collide mid-flight and promptly erupt, enveloping the forest in a greater firestorm. Both the combatants take a moment in shock to realize how alike they truly are, but stifle any further surprise as the firebender lands anew on terra firma.
A pair of roundhouse kicks launch two more fireballs towards the U.A. student. Shoto, ever alert, dispels the projectiles with a pair of arm swipes. Thrusting that same arm outward, Shoto unleashes a massive conflagration upon Zuko, but the firebender braves through the attack, diving in and tackling Shoto down. Now is Zuko's turn to send a concentrated inferno towards his foe, only for Shoto to come to his senses in time; a pillar of ice is erected to send Shoto skyward. Ice and fire collide in a tremendous flash of energy, blanketing the battlefield with a thick hazy mist. For a moment, the son of Ozai loses track of his foe, but is caught unawares witnessing the skill the hero-in-training demonstrates with his quirk; Shoto skates along the battlefield and takes aim at Zuko with jets of fire. The firebender's reflexes stand him in good stead, keeping him out the range of his foe's attacks. The youngest Todoroki son continues swerving about on his frigid slide, forcing Zuko to give chase. Elements collide in a series of explosions that stretch beyond the canopy before Shoto finally casts aside the ice; the entire left half of his body is set aflame before he redirects that inferno towards the firebender.
Rocketing upwards with fire from his palms, Zuko safely avoids the attack. The firebending master retaliates with an axe kick that forces a crescent of flame towards Shoto. The blaze seems to slow down as Shoto prepares to draw from the colder side of Half-Cold Half-Hot. A second surge of fire, absolutely gargantuan in size, is sent towards Shoto, but this attack collides with the Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall; the colossal elemental formations destroy each other, with chunks of ice flying out the forest and demolishing a certain merchant's goods once again. The wildfire now extinguished, Shoto looks at what remains of his masterwork; having deduced Zuko's ability to redirect fire, he assumes what remains of the ice wall will keep his foe immobilized. Frost decorates Shoto across his body, but he has no time to assess his injuries as the glacier begins to emanate a foreboding glow. Zuko, melting his way free, leaps out the ice wall, eager to continue the battle. The son of Ozai launches another blaze, and the pride of U.A. creates another shield to protect himself. Frostbite begins to take hold as Shoto shudders in anguish. Zuko begins a steady march forward, keeping his fire concentrated on breaking through Shoto's defenses. Faced with an even greater inferno, the youngest of Endeavor's offspring stakes the battle's outcome on one final gambit.
With his left arm keeping the blaze at bay, Shoto swings his right arm, casting another set of arctic spikes to catch Zuko off guard and pin him against the remains of the ice cap. A second sheet of ice holds the firebender firmly in place; as further frost envelops itself around his lower torso, the Fire Lord looks upon his enemy channeling his signature elements in tandem. Embers from Todoroki's outstretched palm begin to lick Zuko's vulnerable face, but the hero of the Fire Nation remains defiant. After assuring himself of his impending triumph and his honor, he draws a deep breath and spews a bonfire from his exhalation. Silently gesturing around himself, Shoto flash-freezes the surrounding air, harmlessly diverting the inferno away. In one swipe of Shoto's right arm, a second Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall is channeled down the path in front of the academic prodigy, goring Zuko on its icicles and enveloping the first glacier within itself. The air within the forest heats back up and turns most of the ice cap into fine powder; a final heat wave surging through vaporizes the ice wall, and Zuko with it. Standing in the diamond dust of his own creation, Shoto sardonically laments the passing of the now-disintegrated Zuko, taking in the silence accompanying his victory.
K.O.!
As always, a match has drawn to its close, and the traditional retrospective analysis must follow. Each combatant is said to have his share of advantages over the other; for Zuko, his greater reflexes, better martial arts technique, and more athletic physique would benefit him in close-quarters combat. Zuko also had much greater control over his fire. By closing the distance and keeping himself in melee range, he could theoretically make short work of Shoto. However, Shoto's own advantages were what tipped the fight in his favor. Shoto has survived encounters with enemies like the hero killer Stain, who specialized in speed and deadly precision, traits that are also among Zuko's high points. Even then, the characters' lightning-related reflex feats are closer than one would assume. The Dark Shadow familiar of Tokoyami Fumikage, another one of Shoto's classmates, could intercept fellow classmate Denki Kaminari's lightning after Kaminari had directed it at Dark Shadow. Quirks are established as obeying real-world physics, meaning Kaminari's own quirk operates much the same as normal lightning, being a path of ionized air that electricity travels through. A good estimate of Todoroki's speed can be gleamed via sequential scaling; that is, Shoto is shown on multiple occasions to be an equal to Bakugo, who can react to speeds faster than Tokoyami's Dark Shadow, which in turn is faster than Kaminari's lightning. Thus, Todoroki, much like Zuko, has reflexes capable of reacting to lightning. The U.A. student also had a healthy number of mobility options offered through sliding on ice and impromptu barricades, meaning between those and their nearly equal speed, Zuko would be unable to keep within striking distance. In the way of their elemental manipulation, Zuko's more well-honed pyrokinesis could easily be countered by Shoto's unrefined but stronger style. Being able to melt the steel Tetsutetsu also means Shoto's fire can reach greater temperatures than Zuko's iron-melting flames by hundreds of degrees. Zuko did not have a natural immunity to fire, only resistance, but his vulnerability to ice proved to be even more crucial to his downfall. The stadium Todoroki enveloped when first demonstrating the Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall had a circumference of four kilometers and covered half that area in nearly a second. Shoto's ice is also powerful enough to cripple Zuko's internal organs, something the firebender would have no answer for. Indeed, while firebenders can melt their way through ice, the inherent decrease in temperature makes it difficult to manage, moreso when enveloped by ice on such a scale like Shoto can create. The ice barriers Zuko has broken out of in his home series were only ones that were loose enough to permit motion and breathing, key elements of firebending; in comparison, when Azula was trapped in ice, it was so dense that she could not manage either, effectively rendering her helpless. While Zuko may have had a chance at victory, Shoto's greater scale of power, ice-based counters to his bending, and better defensive and mobility are what give him the better odds and the overall win.
- Boomstick: Zuko flaimed for success, but his opponent Shoto put him on ice.
Wiz: The winner is Shoto Todoroki!
Zuko vs. Shoto Todoroki features examples of:
- Ambidextrous Sprite: Refreshingly averted! Both combatants have their scar (and hair color for Todoroki) stay on the correct side of the face even when they face the other direction, with the exception of one short scene when Zuko is partially trapped in ice.
- Bait-and-Switch: Given DUMMI's purpose and introduction in the last episode, it's safe to assume he'd take the brunt of Wiz's impromptu firebending; add a bit of recoil on the scientist's behalf, and Boomstick ends up being the one who takes the heat.
- Battle Amongst the Flames: The first half of the fight, courtesy of a redirected fireball, features the combatants going at it in the midst of a burning forest.
- Broken Win/Loss Streak:
- All previous fights between a Western Animation combatant and an Anime/Manga combatant (Gaara VS Toph, Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai, Optimus Prime VS Gundam and Aang VS Edward Elric) had the former winning. With Zuko's loss and Torodoki's victory, this is the first time the Anime/Manga combatant wins.
- With Zuko's loss to Todoroki, Nickelodeon's three-episode strong winning streak comes to an end; other Avatar characters contributed to the first two victories, so by extension, the winning streak for that series in particular is also cut short here.
- The Cameo: Like with prior fights, the cabbage merchant from the Avatar series shows up just to have his wares destroyed by debris formed by the actual fight.
- Canon Marches On: Boomstick is grossed out as he describes the Arranged Marriage between Endeavor and Rei, claiming that Endeavor "popped out kids until he got the right Quirk combo", implying that Shoto is a Child by Rape. Chapters released after this episode reveal that at first, Endeavor and Rei truly loved each other, and the relationship only turned abusive after Shoto's birth.
- Even the Guys Want Him: A Freudian Slip or two on his part gives away how Wiz is enamored by Zuko; Boomstick comforts him in saying that everyone feels that way.
- Everyone Has Standards: Our hosts may not be the best people, but even they're repulsed by Endeavor's behavior towards his own children.
- Funny Bruce Lee Noises: Wiz, of all people, gets in on this by making exaggerated kiais when mimicking the kung fu styles Zuko's firebending is based on.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Boomstick explains how Endeavor was at least correct about how combining fire and ice quirks would allow his son to use the full potential of both.
- Mundane Utility: After addressing Shoto by an in-universe nickname of IcyHot, Boomstick then ponders if Shoto could soothe his back using his quirk like a real tin of IcyHot.
- Running Gag: For most of the analyses, Boomstick moping over his Disappeared Dad and getting increasingly angsty over him.
