#also hero killer stain is very very similar to red hood (dc) but y'all aren't ready for that convo yet

[scattered-winter]

this got really long but I’ve been thinking about the superhero genre and how the themes that usually go with that are inverted and reflected in bnha and how fuckin fascinating that is?!?!? like!

technically it still falls within the parameters of the genre in that it has superheroes who fight villains, but it’s twisting and flipping things on its head and making it so different than most of the other superhero media. the biggest thing is that superheroes are so integrated into society that they’re a part of the government. they’re an actual profession that requires certification and licensing and a whole assload of paperwork to be “legal.” but the interesting thing is that traditionally, the superhero genre is defined by vigilantism: forgoing laws in favor of the greater good; the “good guys” in the story break the law and go against authority (like the police) to help people in ways that nobody else can. and in bnha, with the acceptance of heroes in modern society, that aspect of the genre just casts more light on the society as a whole because the superheroes started as vigilantes but as time went on they were slowly accepted by laws and the government. and now, if a well-meaning but unlicensed hero started capturing villains and doing what the original heroes did, the pros would take him down. their ancestors and predecessors were vigilantes, but now they’re the farthest thing from it. maybe they mean well and are genuinely trying to do their jobs right and protect people, but the fact remains that if the heroes from both time periods were brought face to face, they’d likely be on opposite sides.

and hero killer: stain adds an ENTIRE new strain of thinking into the mix! he’s a mass murderer who specifically targets pro heroes, but there’s more to that. he isn’t targeting and slaughtering them at random, he’s specifically sifting through their ranks and weeding out the ones he believes to be unworthy. this is so interesting to me because stain holds everyone to a high standard of heroism. he believes heroes shouldn’t be paid for their work, or made to be celebrities. he thinks they should be more like the original superheroes were: vigilantes who do what they do to protect people, not for a paycheck. and I find myself agreeing with him!

positions of power have always attracted the people who most want to abuse that power, and I can’t see any reason why this would be different. in fact, the allure of being able to use their powers almost indiscriminately and not be questioned would probably, in my mind, make the hero profession even worse. maybe the pro hero origins started out in the right place, but now I feel like it has the potential to become a bigger and even more dangerous police force. the fact that the “force” of heroes are broken up into individual agencies probably helps keep corruption from the whole, but I’m positive there would be entire agencies that are corrupted.

and the ranking system!!!!! I understand why it’s a thing because internet society is just Like That, but I can’t deny that the ranking system also has a lot of potential to create the “fake heroes” stain hates so much. endeavor is actually a perfect example of this! he’s trying so hard to be the highest ranking hero that he goes to extremes to ensure that. and when it becomes clear that he’ll never surpass all might, he starts setting plans into place to have his kids surpass him. it isn’t even about being #1 for him anymore, it’s about having someone surpass all might, and having that someone be directly connected to him so he still gets some of the glory. I highly, highly doubt endeavor is the only one, because that society puts so much importance on the ranking system and how other heroes measure up to each other.

all that said, hero killer: stain is also interesting because at his core he’s what the superhero genre is usually about: he’s a vigilante. obviously I don’t condone what he does, because we know he’s killed/incapacitated many heroes who, despite what he thought of them, were actually very good at their jobs and were in the profession because they genuinely wanted to be there. and also ya know mass murder isn’t great. but despite all that I think stain’s character is so fascinating because the arguments he raises are all valid ones. in that society, what’s to stop all might from beating down on the very people he’s supposed to protect? what’s to stop endeavor from unleashing his flames on a peaceful protest? we know there are laws in place to prevent that, and we also know that all might would never do something like that, and even endeavor probably wouldn’t, but what if they got an order from the government? hero agencies answer to the government of their country so what if they were ordered to do things like that? some heroes would refuse, I think, but not all of them. and even if they weren’t ordered by the government, there’s still nothing to stop them from brutality! all might is so astronomically powerful, it’d take an entire agency of pro heroes to take him down in his prime. maybe even more. if that guy decided to throw his weight around and abuse his power, who’d be able to stop him??

I just *clenches fist* the superhero genre is already so fascinating and bnha just makes it even deeper

#disclaimer i dont read the manga and im SLOWLY catching up on the show (that i havent seen in YEARS) #but i'm still in season 2 and i vaguely remember stuff from later seasons but not in great detail #so some of these analyses might be out of date. but i dont care <3 #winter speaks #i'm so normal about this <- lying #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #also hero killer stain is very very similar to red hood (dc) but y'all aren't ready for that convo yet