Warning: Spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter 386As My Hero Academia's villainous Dabi continues to burn himself down till there's nothing left but ash, it's becoming clear that if Dabi is to go down, he intends to take everyone with him, in a full explosive manner.

Dabi was seemingly defeated by Shoto, his younger brother, over 30 chapters ago, but it soon became apparent that the ghoulish remains of Dabi would continue to act, seeking only vengeance no matter the pain or damage he sustained. Dabi was then whisked away to where his father Endeavor was by Kurogiri, offering him a new set of opponents to go up against. However, chapter 386 reveals that for all that time, Dabi has been storing thermal energy in what's left of his body, and if he overflows with explosive power, he'll take out miles of area around him.

My Hero Academia Sets Up Dabi's Explosive Death

It was clear from the moment the final battle started that Dabi didn't much care if he walked away from it, so long as he was able to torture his father further. Pitting him up against Shoto gave Dabi the chance to destroy the Golden Child that had taken his place, but Dabi's hatred still wasn't quite enough to do the job. Now, as the headquarters detects that Dabi could blow as any moment, it's coming down to Shoto (and Iida) once again. If Dabi were to explode at this particular moment, it would lead to the deaths of dozens of innocents whose evacuation vehicle stalled in his range. Shoto himself is badly struggling at the moment, worn out from the super move he used to defeat Dabi originally, but he has no choice but to face his brother yet again, for the final time.

Thematically, it's very appropriate that Dabi would choose to go out in such a way; his defining character trait has always been his self-destructiveness, from the burns all over his body to the reckless way in which he battles against his father and brother. Even as a child, that was Toya's key trait, training to master a power that was literally burning away his body. From Dabi's warped perspective, what better way can there be to prove his Quirk superior to his father's and brother's than by generating the heat and pressure equivalent to a bomb going off? Even Endeavor has never managed that, although that's probably because Endeavor doesn't have a death wish.

Dabi is scarcely more than a monster now, a being beyond death who seeks only revenge. Stopping this disaster will be Shoto Todoroki's ultimate test, the culmination of a burden he's carried since Toya's disappearance all those years earlier. At least My Hero Academia's half-cold/half-hot hero won't be alone, and he'll have All Might's parting words on his mind: "Be your best self."

New chapters of My Hero Academia are typically released on Sundays, via Viz's Shonen Jump app. Chapter 387 is currently expected on May 7, 2023.