If there’s one common thread in superhero stories, it’s that heroes and tragedy tend to go hand in hand. Peter Parker had to lose Uncle Ben in order to become Spider-Man. Bruce Wayne needed the trauma of his parents’ death in order to motivate him to become Batman. And Izuku Midoriya needs to lose his mentor All Might in order to become the greatest hero in My Hero Academia.
Well, maybe. Granted, All Might is still alive in the popular manga series, but there’s an excellent chance that he may be expiring soon – and may have been slowly dying all along. Let’s take a closer look at why All Might could be slowly dying.
The Number 1 Pro Hero, Toshinori Yagi (aka All Might) was once the holder of the most powerful Quirk in My Hero Academia, the One For All Quirk. Using this power, All Might could enhance his strength, speed, durability, and stamina to unbelievable levels. He received this Quirk from Nana Shimura, the seventh user of the One For All Quirk. Toshinori proved a worthy successor and established himself as such a powerful superhero that his presence alone was enough to lower Japan’s crime rate by 3%.
All good things have to come to an end, however, and All Might eventually decided to retire by passing his One For All Quirk to Izuku Midoriya, the boy whom he chose as his successor. All Might continued to stay active by teaching Foundational Hero Studies at U.A. High School and grooming Midoriya (who took on the name “Deku”) to be a great hero. And despite passing on the Quirk, All Might was still able to use the embers of the One For All Quirk to fight – until he finally used up this power to defeat All For One.
Unfortunately, All For One left All Might with some permanent damage, causing the formerly powerfully built hero to reveal himself as a very skinny man in declining health when he reverted to his “true form.” Although he kept up a brave front, he showed several symptoms of his poor health, notably when he vomits up blood, revealing that his already fragile health may be declining more and more.
Of course, even if All Might manages to somehow survive in his weakened condition, that doesn’t mean his life isn’t in danger. For one thing, every user of the One For All Quirk has tragically died. In most cases, the previous user’s final act was to pass his or her Quirk on to the nearest person (although this meant the successor couldn’t access all of the Quirk’s powers). In All Might’s case, both he and his successor Deku were chosen (meaning they could access all of the Quirk’s powers), but the former user ended up being tragically killed anyway.
To be sure, My Hero Academia may choose to subvert the “tragic death of the mentor” trope in favor of something new and unexpected – but the One For All Quirk’s tragic history, All Might’s poor health, and the build-up to a dramatic climax does put the odds against Toshinori’s survival. For now, All Might’s final fate is still up in the air… but fans of the manga will soon learn how tragically his story is destined to end.