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In the superhero genre, the greatest ideological foil or the most prominent rival is typically a villain.

Rather, it comes from his relationship with someone he considers his partner.

Art from My Hero Academia

This dynamic matures a little bit when both are enrolled in U.A.

Bakugo craves leadership, jumps into battle situations, and grows irate when plans don’t go his way.

Midoriya and Bakugo, on the other hand, evolve with and against one another.

Art from My Hero Academia

Meanwhile, Midoriya’s attitude helps force Bakugo into a previously unforeseen habit of contemplation.

It’s something that a Quirk-less Midoriya had to evaluate for many years as a child.

What is his purpose in a world that seems destined to leave him behind?

Art from My Hero Academia

Can he still be a hero?

He tells Midoriya that his childhood hatred stemmed from a deep well of insecurity.

Or at least had been able to empathize with at the time.

Art from My Hero Academia

Years later, in the final chapter, we see that Bakugo retained his impassioned temperament.

But the backbone of the story was never Midoriya/Deku’s trials against evil.

Instead, it was his fight to connect with the good in Bakugo, a potential friend.

Juggernaut and Cyclops.

My Hero Academia can be read in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump and online at theVIZ Media website.

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