Warning: Contains spoilers for One-Punch Man chapter #166

Chapter #166 of One-Punch Man was full of surprises and exciting developments, but it also trolled fans and readers of the webcomic in a great way. Those familiar with the plot of the current "Human Monster Saga" were expecting a brutal showdown between the Hero Hunter Garou and the S-Class heroes of the Hero Association, and instead, they got something completely different and unexpected.

The digital manga version of One-Punch Man is a remake of One's original webcomic with art provided by Yusuke Murata. Until now, the story remained mostly the same, with minor adjustments and some new plot threads introduced. This is why fans who are already familiar with the webcomic were expecting one of their favorite moments, the battle between Garou and the S-Class heroes. This was a major turning point in the webcomic. Garou got to express all his hatred against what heroes represent by taking on their strongest members and showing how futile their efforts were. It also motivated Saitama to intervene and defeat Garou. However, the manga took a completely different approach.

Related: One-Punch Man: Saitama Finally Gets Serious, Changing The Series Forever

Chapter #165 ended on a cliffhanger, showing Garou about to face the assembled S-Class heroes after blasting Saitama away. However,  in chapter #166 the heroes, who were already grievously wounded after a long and gruesome battle against the Monster Association, simply collapsed due to the amount of poisonous radiation emitted by Garou's body. This is when something unexpected happened, and S-Class rank 1 hero Blast appeared and fully showed his powers, for the first time in the webcomic and the manga both. After a brief battle between Blas and Garou, things got even more heated up as Garou killed Genos, Saitama's best friend and self-proclaimed disciple, only to provoke the bald hero into getting serious and showing his full strength.

The One-Punch Man manga managed to be hugely successful despite the fact that many readers already know where the story is going. Starting with chapter 164, however, the digital manga totally stepped away from the webcomic's story, and it was the best thing that could ever happen to the series. While the fight between Garou and the S-Class heroes was an epic moment in the webcomic, it would have made little sense now. In the new story, Garou received a huge upgrade from the mysterious villain God, which makes him the strongest enemy to appear in the series, perhaps even as strong as Saitama. One of the main reasons behind Garou's original battle with the S-Class heroes was to give Saitama a reason to fight him, but the manga did something way better with the death of Genos.

One and Yusuke Murata decided to play a little trick on readers of the webcomic, teasing a battle that did not actually happen, and then giving them something much better instead. It is clear that One-Punch Man has stepped away from its origins, and the manga has now its own, unique story that is getting more exciting with each new chapter. Any disappointment fans may have felt for not seeing the battle between Garou and the S-Class heroes surely melted away after reading chapter #166 of One-Punch Man, perhaps the best in the series' history.

Next: One-Punch Man's Garou Retcon Has a Brilliant In-Universe Explanation

You can read One-Punch Man's newest chapter now from Viz Media.