Spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter 369The previous users of One for All in My Hero Academia have been a slowly unwrapping mystery, but two previous users are still so little known that fans haven't even learned their names. And while that fact hasn't changed, a flashback to the Second User's time reveals that he may have been more like Bakugo than Midoriya, in more ways than one.
Before Midoriya's arrival to the final battlefield, My Hero Academia killed Bakugo with a combination of devastating attacks from the Shigaraki/All for One fusion and a flaw of his own quirk, which left explosive capsules of nitroglycerin scattered throughout his body. It's a fate that many a hero who has gone up against All for One has shared, and that includes previous users of One for All, a situation that forced them to pass the quirk on to the next.
Chapter 369 opens by showing one such case: the Second User is held by the neck by All for One, who disparages him and his quirk (One for All's final quirk) as pathetic. Despite being defeated, the Second User is defiant to the end even as All For One refers to him as a bug waiting to be squashed. The scene is highly reminiscent of Bakugo's battle with the Shigaraki/All for One fusion, who was able to catch Bakugo by the throat in a similar manner, offended by the realization that this person he considers beneath him was actually landing hits and doing damage. Both Bakugo and the Second User managed to enrage All for One in this way, something which Midoriya may never be able to manage.
What Does Bakugo's Parallel to One For All's Second User Mean?
Fan speculation about the Second User has been high since his reveal dozens of chapters ago, and many fans recognized that he shares some similarities with Bakugo. Bakugo and the Second User even bear some visual similarities, leading some to wonder if they might be directly related in some way, although there's little evidence to support this. The most important fact that the similarities between their deaths gives, however, is that All for One is just as capable of throwing a temper tantrum as Shigaraki is. While the reaction to Bakugo seemed to come mostly from Shigaraki, history repeating itself brought about those same feelings in All for One as well, triggering that incredibly strong reaction that led to Bakugo's death.
Whether Bakugo and the Second User of One for All have any more significant relationship remains to be seen, but at least in this way, two of My Hero Academia's most hot-headed heroes have come to share one thing in common. Getting All for One riled up and clouding his mind with fury is a pretty good trick for defeating the villain, but it's one that comes with a lot of risk, as both of these heroes found out. Chapter 369 of My Hero Academia also reveals that the Shigaraki-All for One fusion can see the Second's vestige, so seeing Bakugo back on his feet is likely to really ignite the villain's anger. No matter how hard he hits, My Hero Academia's All for One just can't keep a good hero down--even decades later.
My Hero Academia's latest chapter is available now from Viz Media.