Warning: SPOILERS for chapter #377 of My Hero Academia.
The recent tragic developments in the My Hero Academia manga show why heroes should not actually refrain from killing villains. The return of Twice's ultra-dangerous power turns the tide of the final battle between heroes and villains, showing why Hawks' controversial decision of killing the villain was actually justified.
One of the defining traits of the heroes of My Hero Academia is that, no matter how dangerous the villains and criminals they face are, they never kill. This is a common trope that the manga borrowed from mainstream American superhero comics like those published by Marvel and DC. However, in one occasion a hero broke this taboo and killed a villain. During the Paranormal Liberation War arc, Hawks killed Twice, a villain with the power of endlessly duplicating his body, because he deemed this ability too dangerous in the battle that was currently raging. This controversial action came back to haunt the entire hero community when it was later exposed to the public, but recent events in the manga prove that Hawks took the right decision.
In chapter #377 of My Hero Academia, Himiko Toga, who has copied the dead Twice's power using a sample of his blood and her own Quirk, Transform, arrives on the battlefield where Deku and other heroes are fighting against Shigaraki/All For One. Using Twice's Quirk, Double, Toga immediately saturates the battlefield with clones of herself, stopping the combination of Monoma and Aizawa that was blocking Shigaraki's powers. It's a huge setback for the heroes in their final battle against the villains, as the ultra-powerful Shigaraki is now able to use his full repertoire of destructive Quirks.
My Hero Academia's Tragic Final Battle Proves That Hawks Was Right
The deadly effect that Twice's power has in this battle paints Hawks' decision during the Paranormal Liberation War in a new light. The hero was criticized for breaking his code, but he had no other choice. When Twice refused to surrender and started duplicating, Hawks had to kill him before he could create endless soldiers. The heroes' purpose during that operation was to take out Shigaraki before he could awaken with his full powers, which could have saved thousands of lives. While this strategy was ultimately unsuccessful, Hawks was the only one who realized that, with Twice free to operate, the heroes had no chance at all.
Now that Twice's power has returned thanks to Toga, the heroes are facing the same dire situation that Hawks tried to avoid by sacrificing his own morals, which ultimately redeems his controversial choice. It will be interesting to see if history will repeat itself and My Hero Academia will force another hero (perhaps Uraraka, who has a recurring feud with Toga) to take the burden of killing a villain to save the world.
The latest chapter of My Hero Academia is available from Viz Media.