The Story of How We All Became Heroes, Part 1
All Might brings news to Class 1-A: though Shigaraki had eliminated the USA's No. 1 Hero Star and Stripe, her noble sacrifice has crippled him, allowing a window of opportunity to foil All For One's plans once and for all. With a week graced to them, he and the other Pros and authorities make plans while the students prepare for what may be their final battle against the League Of Villains.
However, Midoriya and Hagakure have stumbled onto a subject that has been left up in the air for a long time: the possibility of a mole leaking information from within the school, and now they seem to have finally found the culprit.
Just who is the fabled "U.A. Traitor"? Why did they put the school in constant danger all year? And how will this impact student and teacher alike?
Tropes
- Bittersweet Ending: While Yuga Aoyama's reveal as a traitor puts his future as a U.A. student into question, he is entrusted enough to be part of a plan to defeat All For One. Class 1-A leaves the school and moves to another complex as their field of operations as they prepare for their inevitable showdown against the League of Villains and their affiliates.
- But Thou Must!: Aizawa tells Aoyama that no matter how this ends, he will be forever haunted for being AFO's pawn, whether he wanted to or not. As such, he has no choice but to fight by his friends' side so he can at least live on to do so when the dust settles.
- Despair Event Horizon: Aoyama falls in to this even before he is discovered. His iconic smile is replaced by tears for the rest of the arc.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Spinner has been unsure about how he can continue representing Stain's ideals and has since decide to keep an eye on Shigaraki. All For One and Mr. Skeptic decide to help him with said purpose by showing him how he has become a symbol for downtrotten and discriminated Heteromorphs, and convince him to rally them all for their next mission.
- Easily Forgiven: Zig-Zagged. Despite being shaken by the news of Aoyama being the fabled traitor, his friends, especially Midoriya, soon know that he was nothing more than an unwilling pawn to All For One since his folks were desperate to make him happy. Even Aizawa promises he will not be expelled. That said, he has still been an aide so, even if All For One is defeated for good, he will surely lose trust from everyone else if or when his secret is out.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Kaminari suggest if All For One used Aoyama as The Mole against them, they could find a way to turn this against him, remembering how Bakugo explained beforehand how the Villains have a clear advantage over them and are free to make their first move. Midoriya believes there is a way to do it, but Aizawa takes over, since it won't be easy to fool someone who has been one step ahead of them.
- Foreshadowing: As the students bid farewell to their friends, family, and acquaintences, Shoji/Tentacole can be seen interacting with the "Ordinary Woman", the tall mutant woman Deku rescued. This particular interaction plays a big role for Shoji and Koda/Anima during the next arc.
- Internal Reveal: Alone with Uraraka, Midoriya expresses his thanks for her standing up for him during his return to U.A. Afterwards, they confide in each other that they feel a bit of sympathy to Shigaraki and Toga despite everything they have done. Even so, they would need to stop them before they and the other villains cause anymore damage.
- Ironic Echo: Both Izuku Midoriya and Yuga Aoyama were born quirkless but later received a quirk transfer. The big difference was that Midoriya's donor is the great hero, who gives the boy a chance to live out his dream. Aoyama, on the other hand, receives his from the Big Bad, eventually making him an unwilling pawn to his grand scheme.
- It Only Works Once: Yuga's father says that AFO brought a corpse to their doorstep as a warning to not cross him now that the son is part of his plan. Back when Lady Nagant had a change of heart after losing to Midoriya in their fight, AFO triggered something close to a bomb that was supposedly attached to the extra quirk he lent her. This knowledge prompts the police to silence Yuga as a precaution in case AFO is eavesdropping somewhere and decides to kill him. Later, a doctor confirms that no such "contingency" exists in Yuga, meaning that AFO's "bomb" was one-of-a-kind and he may have simply instilled fear in the boy.
- Meaningful Echo: When Midoriya and All Might first met, All Might told him he can't be a hero, at least without a suitable quirk. Seeing the boy's courageous, if not reckless, attempt to save Bakugo changed his view and declares Midoriya can. Even after learning how Aoyama was being AFO's pawn, the fact that he saved Bakugo and Tokoyami at the training camp, and left a message to Midoriya about how alike they are, means that he's has been risking his life to help despite his initial role and the consequences. It's because of this why Midoriya declares Aoyama can still be a hero.
- The Mole: While the arc reveals that Aoyama is the U.A. Traitor, the end of the arc reveals that he's not the only one anymore. A handful of refugees are operatives working undercover for AFO and are instructed to spark enough discourse to drive Midoriya out of U.A. again. With all of Class 1-A heading out to a new location anyway, time will tell what their master will want them to do next.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Aoyama's cheese message was from the knowledge that he is aware of how similar their Power Incontinence was and how much they had to improve. However, after reading Midoriya's letter, he discovered that they were far more alike than they thought because they were born quirkless and had similar methods of gaining new power.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Hagakure and Midoriya had noticed Aoyama was without his usual smile ever since Midoriya returned to U.A. After his reveal, Aoyama explains that he fell into despair well before that, when the classmates received Midoriya's letters about why he was leaving U.A, since he was born quirkless like him and had almost the same method of receiving a quirk. In fact, the entire arc has him no longer smiling at all, and completely reduced to tears, because of how deep the Aoyama family is in.
- The Reveal: Aoyama's dad explains that the son was born quirkless and mocked throughout his childhood. The parents had heard rumors about someone able to simply give a quirk to anyone in need and the boy is granted his Navel Laser quirk as a result. Though it causes bowel control problems, they buy a support item to somewhat alleviate this. Unfortunately, the man who gifted him this quirk was revealed to be All For One himself, who revisited the family years later to collect the "debt" they owed. Thus, Yuga became The Mole brought into U.A.
- Rule of Symbolism: Like Shigaraki, Toga felt like her household gave her nothing but stress, as her parents kept begging for her to fight her blood lust and be a "normal" girl. When she revisits the house, it is completely trashed and vandalized, with graffiti labeling her a "witch" and "vampire", among other things. She finally feels she has shed that past away, but thanks Dabi for burning the house down on her way out for some much-needed closure.
- Wham Episode: Ever since the attack on the training camp, Present Mic discussed that someone in the school may be a mole that has leaked sensitive information to the villains. Principal Nezu had set up security measures and approved of the dormitories being built to keep the student body safe and see any suspicious activity in the process. Now, after the subject was left in the dark for so long, the traitor of U.A. High is revealed to be none other than Can't Stop Twinkling, better known as Class 1-A's Yuga Aoyama. However, his role behind the League's attacks isn't as simple as his friends and teachers would have believed. Even so, the entire arc deals with this bombshell, how it affects Aoyama's future and everyone learning the awful truth, and how they can turn this around on All For One.
- Wham Shot: Hagakure reflected Aoyama's laser shot directed at Midorya and, in her What the Hell, Hero? moment, has a close-up that reveals a detailed outline of her true face, likely due to the laser's energy.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The brief look on Hagakure's face as described above is all that is needed to show how pissed off she is at Aoyama. Even so, she snaps at him, demanding just what went through his head, knowing that he not only helped endanger his fellow students, but might have played a part in Japan's current chaotic state.
- Xanatos Gambit: All For One explains to Dabi that just because his main goal is to obtain One For All, it doesn't mean that it's a straight shot to said goal. From experience against the other OFA torch bearers, he has spent many decades meticulously planning numerous routes and contingencies in case he ever needs them. In this arc's case, he soon instructs Aoyama to personally deliver Midoriya to him. If that fails, he can move on to a new route and enjoy the chaos if his mole ever gets caught.
- In relation to this, near the end of the arc, it is revealed that several refugees are new moles working for AFO. They are instructed to try and convince the others refugees to drive Midoriya out of U.A. once again, and seeing him and the students leave to a new location on their own seems to work out in their favor anyway, according to one operative.
