Warning! Contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter 382!All For One is currently one of My Hero Academia‘s most powerful characters, but his latest powerup may be foreshadowing his ironic and surprising death. Given that mangaka Kohei Horikoshi has stated that he is trying to finish up the series soon, it makes sense that he is already laying the groundwork for the final fate of one of My Hero Academia‘s most important characters. Especially if that fate will be as shocking as it is being built up to be.
In chapter 382, Tokoyami notices that All For One has gotten even younger over the course of the battle. This age regression first began when All For One used Eri’s incredibly powerful quirk to rewind damage to himself and become younger in the process. However, while this was an incredibly powerful technique, the villain seemed loath to use it, only doing so as a last resort. Given this, it would make sense that this ability has an extreme drawback. All For One’s continued de-aging in this chapter implies that this downside might be an inability to stop growing younger. This would eventually lead him to dissolve into nothingness.
My Hero Academia Hints That All For One’s New Form Is His Downfall
Interestingly enough there is actually precedent for this sort of fate in Western superhero comics. Horikoshi has stated that he is a big fan of these comics, even including the character Sero as My Hero Academia’s homage to Spider-Man. In the classic The Amazing Spider-Man #75 by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr., Jim Mooney, and Artie Simek Spider-Man’s foe Silvermane also dies in this way after drinking an elixir of youth that works a little bit too well. Of course, since deaths are generally less permanent in Western superhero comics, Silvermane would eventually return, but given that My Hero Academia is ending soon, All For One’s similar fate would likely be much more final.
Beyond being a potential homage, this fate could also be thematically appropriate for the series. With Deku being All Might’s successor and Shigaraki being All For One’s, their final fight is essentially the culmination of the generation-spanning struggle between One For All and All For One. If Deku manages to actually reform Shigaraki like the series has been hinting at for some time, this would effectively erase All For One’s evil legacy. If All For One himself devolved into nothingness, leaving no trace of his existence, then this would mirror the loss of his lasting influence on the world.
All For One De-Aging to Death Would Be a Perfect Plot Twist
Whether Horikoshi is directly referencing the Western comics he loves or not, if All For One truly is going to de-age out of existence, it will be the perfect end to his character. The series has recently had mixed success in trying to give many of its side characters fitting endings, but with such a major character like All For One, his fate matters a lot more. If My Hero Academia is able to pay off on this foreshadowing, it could make All For One’s death one of the most unique and satisfying moments in the series.
My Hero Academia Chapter 382 is available from Viz Media.