My Hero Academia Season 8 Will Feature An Unlikely Team-Up Against All-For-One

The following contains spoilers for the My Hero Academia manga.

Season 7 of My Hero Academia culminated in a fierce battle between the injured All-For-One and Armored All-Might. Despite AFO appearing severely hurt and draining his power for self-healing, he remains one of Earth’s most formidable entities. On the other hand, though All Might dons the state-of-the-art armored suit, he has only a fraction of his former strength left.

Despite both being renowned as the mightiest in their respective realms, good versus evil, these two formidable figures engaged in an exhilarating and memorable clash within the series. With power dwindling, each was determined to vanquish the other first before exhaustion set in. Regrettably, the season concluded without a decisive victory. However, the upcoming season introduces an intriguing turn of events to this already captivating battle. An unexpected aid emerges for the leading hero: Stain, infamously known as the Villain Killer.

An Unlikely Team-Up

Name: Armored All Might
First Appearance: Episode 159

Instead of joining the fray like other Tartarus escapees, Stain opted for a more observant approach, avoiding further chaos or criminal acts. He stayed low-key, operating in the background. However, in such tumultuous times, Stain singled out only one person to zero in on – All Might. Consequently, he was privy to the battle between All Might and the former No. 1 hero, All-For-One, and ensured his presence right at the epicenter of the mayhem.

A Quick but Crucial Assist

Despite the excessive and perilous nature of the confrontation between these two illustrious personalities, Stain isn’t content with just watching from the sidelines. Instead, he seeks the opportune moment to join the fray. This opportunity arises when All Might, wounded, prepares to unleash his most powerful strike.

In a simpler and more conversational style, the sentence could be rephrased as follows: Stain’s unique ability is named Bloodcurdle. This power enables him to immobilize others by consuming their blood. During the fight, when AFO was preparing to retaliate against All Might’s most powerful attack, Stain swiftly licked a drop of AFO’s blood that had landed on a stone earlier in the battle. Thanks to this timely and vital help from Stain, All Might successfully executed his strongest attack on AFO.

I merely needed to trace the path of destruction, find a spot where blood had been shielded from the elements. Yet, it wasn’t clear whose blood it was – One’s or All Might’s. Despite being damaged, my nose has an acute sense of smell that can identify blood. It gave me the answer I sought.

—Stain, Chapter 401

A Fan of All Might

Name: “Hero Killer” Stain
First Appearance: Episode 24

It might be that Stain, who’s often portrayed as a villain, feels such admiration for All Might, the renowned hero, that he’s willing to take risks to assist him. This could explain why the Hero Killer seemingly defies tradition by working against evil forces to aid a former top-ranking hero like All Might. In essence, his actions may suggest that beneath the villainous exterior, there lies a hidden fanaticism for All Might.

All Might: You comprehend, don’t you? The audacity for me to step out of the shadows and reveal myself…I’m here because you need to keep living!!!

— Stain, Chapter 401

From Admiration to Obsession

In the storyline called “Hero Killer,” we learn that Chizome Akaguro, prior to his transformation into the infamous villain Stain, was actually a devoted fan of All Might. For him, All Might represented the epitome of heroism. However, despite his admiration, Chizome lacked the strength to become a hero like his idol. Instead, he chose to operate as a vigilante under the alias Stendhal. As portrayed in “My Hero Academia: Vigilante,” over time, Chizome grew disenchanted with the very idea of heroes and villains.

In this rephrased version, let’s focus on maintaining a conversational and engaging tone:

For him, it isn’t just villains that pose issues for society. There are rotten apples among the heroes as well, which is concerning since they’re supposed to be the defenders of justice, much like All Might. Determined to take action against this unacceptable behavior, he decided to transform himself once more. This time, however, his intense focus shifted towards the heroes themselves. And so, the Hero Killer, known as Stain, was born.

Instead of typical villains seeking personal gain, power, or mayhem, Stain perceives himself as an unwanted necessity, working towards the improvement of society. In his view, numerous self-proclaimed heroes fall short when it comes to living up to All Might’s ideals of justice and heroism. Consequently, he believes these subpar heroes need to be purged to ensure a secure and thriving society. His devotion to All Might evolved into a relentless pursuit of ensuring that every hero adheres to All Might’s principles of justice throughout his life.

A Pivotal Encounter

After All Might retired from being a hero, Stain took on the role of the Hero Killer, so they never officially interacted as a hero and a villain in their careers. However, this doesn’t imply that their upcoming battle will be their first interaction. In fact, they had previously met and conversed during the Dark Hero arc, when All Might was struggling to connect with Deku. This significant encounter occurred when All Might was trying to reach out to Deku but failed to do so.

A Word of Encouragement from a Devoted Fan

At that moment, All Might was feeling hopeless and down about his inability to assist his student. He felt worthless. His self-loathing even started to grow. It was then that Stain emerged from the shadows. For some time, he had been observing All Might. Generally, he liked to remain hidden, but witnessing his hero struggling in such a way disturbed him. So, he decided to step out of the shadows and they had a brief yet significant conversation.

In simpler terms, “All Might expressed feeling detached from heroes and heroism.” But Stain strongly disagreed with this sentiment. For several minutes, he criticized the ex-top hero about the significance of his influence on the world and how he shapes future heroes. Ironically, these words were just what All Might needed at that moment. Although it wasn’t Stain’s intention, he was essentially restoring All Might’s flagging self-confidence. Contrary to popular belief, their final confrontation wasn’t the first time the Hero Killer provided critical assistance to All Might.

Even in the toughest situations, All Might always managed to keep a smile on his face and poured all of his energy into helping people. This wasn’t about his powers or abilities; it was simply who All Might was as a person – he couldn’t imagine living any other way.

—Stain, Chapter 326

Although Stain is stained with the blood of roughly forty heroes, making him appear wicked, his villainous behavior likely stems from an unwholesome admiration and fixation on All Might. Interestingly, he doesn’t share the same views as All-For-One, so it seems fitting for Stain, his idol worshipper, to aid All Might in his hour of distress, right? This unusual alliance can be attributed to this very circumstance.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

2025-08-31 13:35