My Hero Academy may have had its finale earlier this year, but there’s a pretty substantial plot that received only the most basic resolutions. It could have been the basis for a fantastic story arc, but circumstances prevented the idea from being properly explored.
My Hero AcademyThe ending tried to tie up loose ends where it could and, mostly, it did a good job. Given that the final battle lasted for years in real time, it’s understandable that some things got a little lost in the fray, especially when a plot was already on the backburner without receiving attention. This led to one of the biggest missed opportunities in the entire manga, as the series concluded without ever delving deeply into the topic of corruption in the heroes’ society. This corruption was absolutely present in the series, but at the end of the manga it was almost completely ignored.
Corruption in the Heroes Commission needed to be addressed
Hawks’ story arc was not resolved due to this missed opportunity
Hawks is a character who works for a group known as the Hero Public Safety Commission, or HPSC, and they are the ones responsible for ordering him to do some of the more questionable things he does in the series. They recruited Hawks at a young age and trained him to be their agent after his predecessor, Lady Nagant, turned against them. However, Lady Nagant had good reason to turn against them – the HPSC was significantly corrupt and abused their power, making her murder villains and other heroes to maintain the narrative they wanted.
In the manga, the HPSC suffers a major blow when the president is killed by a Twice clone of Re-Destro, who was brought to his office in an attempt to arrest the real Re-Destro. The HPSC president was certainly among the most corrupt, but the corruption was widespread throughout the organization. The HPSC continues to function at a reduced capacity even after this loss, providing information and support to Hawks as he remains its agent. When Deku confronted Lady Nagant, he learned firsthand about the HPSC’s corruption, and this could have been an important moment for Deku realizing that evil also exists on the heroes’ side.
The corruption in the HPSC supports the villains’ criticism of the hero society, proving that despite their methods, they have some valid grievances. Hawks, as a member of the HPSC, was the one in a position to change things, and the manga’s distant ending puts Hawks in charge of the organization, presumably giving him the power to clean up any remaining corruption. However, this is a rather unsatisfactory way of dealing with the issue, especially after Lady Nagant has given so much attention to the problem.
Why My Hero Academia Couldn’t Tackle Its Corruption Arc
The pieces were already in motion for the finale
The main problem that My Hero Academy faced when it came to trying to make an arc about the dismantling of HPSC corruption was simply when a lot of this information was revealed. Most of the information about the HPSC comes from Lady Nagant, who attacks Deku during the period when the villains are rampant following All for One’s escape and the country is in ruins. While fighting corruption is certainly important, there are much bigger issues to deal with than a corrupt bureaucracy.
Once Deku is brought back to UA, there is also no good opportunity to attempt such an arc, as the countdown to the final battle has already begun. The way the end of My Hero Academy is structured has such a tight schedule that there is simply no opportunity to deal with this problemwhich almost begs the question of why it was mentioned in the first place. It would also be difficult to work Deku into such a story arc, as the story would almost certainly have to revolve specifically around Hawks, as he is a member of the organization.
A corruption story arc could have forced Deku to directly confront the idea that hero society has its problems, something he often seems to ignore since it works for most people. Deku was already in his “dark” phase at the time, so it wouldn’t have been much longer for him to turn against the HPSC either. Hawks would be the true winner of such a story arc, finally managing to do what his predecessor couldn’t and force this organization to purge its corrupt members and expose them for what they are. It’s a shame that My Hero Academy I never managed to challenge this corruption, as Hawks’ character arc would have greatly benefited from it.