S3, P1 - Ep 4: A Late Start To A Wacky World - Part 4
As All For One recalls his childhood, Toshiko continues her walk through the Boiling Isles. While exploring this new world, she comes across another person who suffered from All For One and challenges her to a fight.
This chapter contains examples of:
- Absurdly Sharp Claws: King's big, sharp claws can cut right through people, as Toshiko found out first hand.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: As a child, King was kidnapped by All For One and a swarm of Nomu wduring the wafor his blood. During the Ten-Year War he suffered Facial Horror and witnessed his adoptive mother get mortally wounded on the battlefield.
- Adaptational Badass:
- In the show, King isn't much of a fighter due to his small size and young age. Here in this story, due to being in his 20s, he much bigger and more powerful, having access to to Titan Magic that he had yet to develop throughout the show. He's also strong enough he's regularly tasked with restraining Eda when she loses control of her Owl Beast curse.
- Eda has working on controlling the Owl Beast rather than supressing it, since during the war now. So far it has gained her a Healing Factor and can temporarily control the One-Winged Angel form for a limited time.
- Adoptive Name Change: Some time between the start of the Ten-Year War and the beginning of the story, King had his name legally changed to King Clawthorne.
- Age Lift: In the show, King's confirmed to be only 8-years old, here he's 24-years old. By Titan standards, he's a young adolescent.
- Bad Vibrations: In his Establishing Character Moment, King's so massive that he causes the ground to shake.
- Berserk Button: Downplayed but anything that reminds King of All For One puts him in a foul mood.
- The Bet: With her appearance resembling All For One's, King tells Toshiko to beat it before he takes his anger out on her. Instead of running away, the girl smirks wanting to test her powers on the monster. She makes a deal with him: If he can beat her unconscious within a full minute she'll leave. But, if can't she'll fight back and he has to take her to his home. The King of Demons accepts the challenge.Toshiko: How about this, I’ll give you a full minute to beat me into submission. If you can render me unconscious, once I wake up, I’ll leave. But, if you fail to do so, I get to retaliate against you, and then, you’ll take me to your home. Sound fair?
- The Big Guy: King's much bigger than in the show, standing over 11ft. tall, due to being older here. He's become so big and intimidating that the normally stoic Toshiko is doing all she can to not show fear in the presence of the young Titan.
- Blinded by Rage: All For One last remembers seeing King in this state after he mortally wounded Eda.
- Breath Weapon: King's Fire Magic is described as looking like a plasma beam, and the sheer heat can leave 3rd degree burns everywhere on a victim's body.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: Averted. Unlike the show, King calls Eda "Ma".
- Creepy Cockroach: While walking down the forest path, Toshiko could’ve sworn she saw a massive cockroach flying by her.
- Dark and Troubled Past: The flashback of All For One shows us how bleak his childhood was with his younger brother. They were 12-year old street urchins that wore nothing but rags and where forced to shelter in rundown houses with no adults to look after them. They often went without food for a week with Yoichi getting excited at getting fed an un-moldy but stale loaf of bread instead of half-eaten or rotten meals.
- Dark Is Not Evil: King is a giant, black demon with a skull for a face, but most of his actions lean more to the side of good and he cares about the lives of his friends and family.
- Death by Adaptation: O'clock was killed by All For One in the past.
- Defeat Equals Friendship: After getting beaten by Toshiko, King quickly become friends with her as they see each other as a Worthy Opponent.
- Didn't See That Coming: When Eda arrived at the torn up site King and Toshiko's fight, she wasn't expecting to see King was sitting across a naked Shigaraki sharing a good laugh and becoming friends. It takes her a few seconds to process the sight.
- Distressed Dude: King got captured by All For One for his Titan Blood when he was a baby in the Mutant Realm, until Eda rescued him. During the war, he was kidnapped again by some Nomu.
- Facepalm Of Doom: King does this a lot in his fight with Toshiko, tossing her around like a ragdoll.
- Flashback: The chapter starts with a flashback about All For One's childhood.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: King's eyes glow green when he first encounters Toshiko in the forest.
- Godzilla Threshold: Eda considered bringing out her Owl Beast form on Toshiko if she hurt King or Hooty, despite haven't got control of it yet. Luckily, this wasn't necessary as everyone there was okay and cool with each other.
- Good Is Not Soft: King maybe a chill guy when you get to know him, however, he's still a giant, powerful demon that can match Toshiko blow for blow.
- Green Thumb: King can also do Plant Magic, summoning tree roots as Vine Tentacles to bind and hold his foe in place. If he's feeling particularly nasty he can draw and quarter them.
- Gutted Like a Fish: As King pulls out his fist out of her torso, Toshiko is almost becomes this if not for her insane Healing Factor.
- Happily Adopted: King recognises Eda as his mom.
- Hates Baths: Downplayed. When Eda orders King to take a bath, he grumbles but complies.
- Hates Their Parent: Downplayed. Not only does Toshiko blame The Governor and Wittebanes for her life going to shit, but to a smaller extent her mother too, even though she admits that it wasn’t fair on her to say that.
- Healing Hands: All For One had a "Repair" Quirk for his brother's sake.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Despite Yoichi's disapproval, Rikitatsu stole other people's Quirks to better take care of himself and his little brother. With Yoichi's hemophilia, Rikitatsu feared his little brother would die with out him.Yoichi saw him taking other people's Meta-Abilities as cruel, and while that was fine—Rikitatsu didn’t care what his brother thought of him in that regard—it was him taking those Meta-Abilities that ensured his brother's survival. After all, who would he have without him? Yoichi would have died before the age of four without Rikitatsu being around.
- An Ice Person: King also has access to Ice Magic, too. He can summon several icicle spears that can leave his enemy Impaled with Extreme Prejudice.
- In a Single Bound: Despite his huge size, King can do this, much to Toshiko's surprise.
- Instant Runes: As a Titan, King has the power to simply conjure different glyphs at will.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: King can be aggressive and violent when provoked, with his size and strength makes him a dangerous enemy to cross, but it's abundantly clear he loves his friends and family.
- Light 'em Up: King has access to Light Magic, firing beams of light from his fingertips that can turn a person into swiss cheese.
- Like a Son to Me: King is this to Eda, which was why she adopted him.
- Magikarp Power: King was once weak and powerless during most of the Ten-Year War, but being a titan means that he's on his way to growing up to be one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Currently, he's strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Toshiko and is becoming too strong for Eda to train.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Toshiko has rather blase reactions to otherwise fatal injuries King gives her. Justified thanks to her Pain Nullification and Super Regeneration.
- Mama Bear: When she sees a column of fire from King's fight with Toshiko near her house, Eda immediately guns it towards them and even considered bringing out the Owl Beast on the girl.A million different thoughts raced through the Wild Witch’s head. Was King alright? Was Hooty nearby, and was he safe? Was King still alive after that? She knew he was strong but was he that strong? Just what was that Shigaraki girl doing to her adopted son?
- Muscles Are Meaningful: Toshiko describes King as having the same physic as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and is easily able to ragdoll her for a full minute.
- The Needless: Rikitatsu had to steal the "Energy Saver" Quirk so that he could give more food to Yoichi and not starve himself.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: King does this to Toshiko at the climax of their fight when all else fails. The girl just gets back up with little worse for wear.
- No Mouth: King has a mouth, but it is rarely visible, and talks without ever moving it. He typically only opens it to use his Breath Weapon attacks.
- "Not So Different" Remark: When fighting King, Toshiko mentally notes that she's just as excited as he is to find a Worthy Opponent to test out their powers to the limits: Her Combo Platter Powers and his growing Titan abilities. They agree to become sparring partners together.Toshiko: So, it’s just like me. Too strong to practice its powers, but now found someone of its equal to do so. Interesting…
- Not Quite Dead: All For One is surprised to see Eda alive after 14 years, as he last recalled leaving the Owl Lady for dead.
- Oh, Crap!: King has this look when Toshiko is till able to get up and still fight even after the minute long thrashing he gave her. He only achieved wearing himself out.
- Out of the Inferno: Toshiko comes out of the create with hot blue fire she summoned while brushing herself of dust no worse for wear with a smirk on her face, much to the the young Titan's shock.
- Playing with Fire, Unlike the show, King can perform Fire Magic, which takes the form of a fire breath.
- Please Put Some Clothes On: The first thing Eda does before she let's Toshiko in her house is to magic up a dress for her wear because her Censor Steam flames wasn't cutting it for the old witch.
- Scars Are Forever: King has got a fracture on the left-side of his skull during the Ten-Year War, curtesy of All For One and hasn't fully healed.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Toshiko is still haunted by her actions at the Death Camp, even though she barely recalls killing the others. She comments she's sometimes Hearing Voices of her victims blaming her for their deaths whenever she's in a forest.It wasn’t often, but whenever she was in the forest, she could hear their screams. Their pained cries and their pleas for mercy. She could hear the sound of blood squelching and bones cracking—ruptured limbs and faces torn asunder. When she committed the act that she had done all of those months ago, she never really saw what she was doing. She only acted on her emotions. But the phantoms she saw… the faces, or lack thereof of some of the people she had killed, haunted her. Every now and again, she could hear faint whispers in the back of her head. Telling her that everything was her fault.
- Shock and Awe: King also demonstrated lighting magic in his fight with Toshiko.
- Slowly Slipping Into Evil: Implied. When looking at her reflection, Toshiko comments she looks more like her Evil Mentor now without concern, even referring to her as sensei, like Tomura. She's been groomed thoroughly that she doesn't mind looking like someone that she views as a monster.
- Super-Scream: Like in the show, King can do this with his Sonic Shout. However, its even more powerful now, so much so, that the shockwaves it creates can tear off a person's skin and shatter bones, bypassing Toshiko's Shock Absorption.
- Super-Strength: Thanks to his larger size, King has great physical strength and can throw a person so hard that he can break the sound-barrier and can deliver punches that can leave a victim with a Torso with a View.
- Super-Toughness: Even after taking a point-blank full blast of Toshiko's Flamethrower, which destroys a good portion of the area they were fighting in, King comes out of it mostly unscathed.
- Torso with a View: King's punch at one point does this to Toshiko. It doesn't stick.
- Utopia Justifies the Means: At the end of the flashback, Rikitatsu announces to his brother he intends to save the world via domination: as an all-powerful dictator iron fist and stealing enough Quirks. While its a step up from him wanting to become a Demon Lord, this mentality can be seen as rationalizing his worldview as seeing people as his possessions to take care of. Given the Crapsack World that they lived him even Yoichi ponders if a world ruled by his brother would be such a bad thing, since this All For One takes good care of him.Rikitatsu: With my power… once I get enough Meta-Abilities, I’ll be able to rule the world with an iron fist. No one will have to worry about wars because I’ll end them before they begin. No one will have to worry about hunger because I’ll stop hunger from getting nearly as bad as it is now. No one will have to worry about electricity because I’ll provide it. Everyone will rely on me because by then I’ll be immortal. I’ll be this world’s saviour! (Wide Smile) I’ll own this world, and when it’s in my possession, I’ll take great care of it. Just like how I take great care of you! Wouldn’t that be great?
- Wham Line: At the end of the chapter, All For One's last sentence is a massive twist. It turns out the vestiges in Toshiko's Mental World can gain sentience if they give their allegiance to Luz...Rikitatsu: Quite the turn of events, don’t you think? I find it peculiar how this happened, but then again, I suppose it was bound to eventually. After all, you were the only person who truly vowed allegiance to dear Luz. Or, should I say, Toshiko now? Isn’t that right… Julia Wittebane.
- Winged Humanoid: King possesses a pair of small wings on his back.
- Wings Do Nothing: However, they're too small to allow him to fly or even glide.
- Wipe the Floor with You: King does this to Toshiko in their fight stretching for a mile, tearing up the ground as they went. still not enough to bring her down.
- Worthy Opponent: Despite being annoyed that Toshiko just doesn't go down no matter what he throws at her, King becomes excited to have an opponent that can match him blow for blow. By the end of the fight they're both laughing like they were old friends.
- Would Hit a Girl: King did not pull any punches when he fought Toshiko.
- Would Hurt a Child: King has no problems throwing down with Toshiko, a 14-year old girl, even before he knew she had powerful Quirks that allowed her to content with his might.
- You Remind Me of X: When King first looks at Toshiko, he angrily says she reminds him of All For One, the villain that attacked his homeland and fractured his face and broke one of his horns. Toshiko’s disinterested demeanor doesn't help, only acknowledging the fact, prompting the much larger magical beast to threaten to take his anger out on her if she doesn't leave him alone.
