In Episode 109 of "My Hero Academia," against an almost white backdrop, Curious crouches before Toga, who lies injured, to cradle her face in her hands.

Review: ‘My Hero Academia’ Episode 109

The League of Villains are not the easiest people to root for. But censoring how violent they are, and how violent their opponents are, is not making it easier to see them as compelling antiheroes, at least not as easy as it was in the manga.

I again am wondering what happened in the production of this season–and whether other studios should take over some arcs of My Hero Academia. 

“Revival Party,” My Hero Academia Episode 109 (Season 5, Episode 21) 

An adaptation of Chapters 218, 224, 225, 226, 227, and 228 of the manga, by Kohei Horikoshi, translated by Caleb Cook with lettering by John Hunt and available from Viz. 

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Funimation. 

Spoilers up to My Hero Academia Chapter 326.

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In Chapter 326 of "My Hero Academia," Stain yells down at All Might: "Take it back, you witless fool." All Might, despite standing under rain, with Stain's sword at his chin, looks back and says "Hero Killer Stain!"

Review: ‘My Hero Academia’ Chapter 326

I can’t say this is how I thought Stain would be re-introduced into the series. 

Or that Horikoshi would keep bringing back unnamed minor but pivotal characters from previous chapters. 

This is a chapter that is doing more to appeal to the heart than to the mind, but damn if it isn’t effective. 

“Who Are You Really?” My Hero Academia Chapter 326. By Kohei Horikoshi, translation by Caleb Cook, lettering by John Hunt. Available from Viz.

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In Chapter 59 of "Magu-chan: God of Destruction," Yuika, with the sea urchin-shaped Zonze Ge on top of her head, stares blankly on the right side of this image. On the left side, Kikyo realizes Yuika's arrival, and she looks distressed.

Review: ‘Magu-chan: God of Destruction’ Chapter 59

The story takes a break from chibi eldritch gods to flesh out Kikyo and Yuika’s characterization. I’m just worried they waited a little too long to finally do so. 

“Best Friend, Part 1,” Magu-chan: God of Destruction, Chapter 59. By Kei Kamiki, translation by Christine Dashiell, lettering by Erika Terriquez. Available from Viz.

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In Chapter 109 of "My Hero Academia: Vigilantes," the hallucination of O'Clock has an evil grin as he puts his fingertips together. The sound effects around him are "Kzzt." He says, in word balloons and a font that are all vibrating, "Follow your twisted path to its end. Seek your culmination. Surpass your every last limit."

Review: ‘My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ Chapter 109

That smile is a terrifying way to end a chapter–and opens up a new theory about who exactly Six is seeing.

“Culmination,” My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Chapter 109. By Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court. Original concept by Kohei Horikoshi. Translation by Caleb Cook. Lettering by John Hunt. Available from Viz.

Spoilers for My Hero Academia up to Friday’s Chapter 326 release.

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In Matt Fraction and David Aja's "Hawkeye," Clint Barton stands outside in the snow in front of his Brooklyn apartment building, drawing back on his bow with an arrow ready but aimed at the ground. He has his quiver on his right, while to the left, there are garbage cans and garbage bags on top of the snow, and cable wires dangling from the fire escape above Clint. Snow keeps falling.

The Hawk at His Nest: Domestic Masculinity and Marvel Comics’s Hawkeye

Below is a revision of what I presented as part of the session “The Monster In the House: Domestic Ideology in Superhero Narratives” at the 47th Annual Convention of the Northeast Modern Language Association, on March 19, 2016.

Minor changes to this draft include adding images and video clips, updating web links, including missing attributions and in-text citations, and making some slight re-wording for context between the initial presentation and today. I also include some asides in light of changes in the last five years of new Marvel releases and new information.

I have toyed with revising this piece for publication, but as I have worked on other projects, and in light of the Hawkeye Disney Plus trailer now out today, now seemed as good a time as any to revisit this piece and see what works and doesn’t work more than five years later.

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In Chapter 325 of "My Hero Academia," Kota runs through the rain to reach Izuku, who is doubled over. Surrounding Izuku are Thirteen, Shoji, Iida (who is holding back Mineta), Bakugo, Sero, and others in the indistinct crowd.

Review: ‘My Hero Academia’ Chapter 325

That was a really good chapter, and I’m struggling to say anything deeper about why it worked. I will try to summarize why it all works at the end of this post, because before that I want to give some time for topics I haven’t discussed directly up to now–including Aizawa’s disabilities and Mineta’s sexuality. But let’s start with some specific observations about Chapter 325. 

“The Bonds of One for All,” My Hero Academia Chapter 325. By Kohei Horikoshi, translation by Caleb Cook, lettering by John Hunt. Available from Viz.

Spoiler warnings for The Big O and Fire Force.

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In Chapter 57 of "Magu-chan: God of Destruction," the jellyfish-shaped Magu rides on the back of the dog named BS.

Review: ‘Magu-chan: God of Destruction’ Chapter 57

We get a chapter with a dog, Magu learning humility, and no Uneras–it’s a miracle. 

I guess you could say this chapter wasn’t a load of BS. 

…

I’ll show myself out.

“The Minion BS,” Magu-chan: God of Destruction, Chapter 57. By Kei Kamiki, translation by Christine Dashiell, lettering by Erika Terriquez. Available from Viz.

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In "My Hero Academia" Episode 108, in a split screen with each facing off each other from a distance, in profile view, Shigaraki on the left is smiling, and Re-Destro on the right is smiling.

How Do You Change the Status Quo? By Having Villains Fight Villains

I had said before that the number 108 can be unlucky. It wasn’t unlucky at all for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. But 108 is kind of unlucky for this episode: not only are we focusing on the Villains, but we just aren’t giving their story the structure and emotional weight it deserves. 

(I either opened with those remarks or just made a bunch of corny jokes about how “Meta Liberation Army” can be abbreviated as MLA–and I’m saving those jokes for a future review.)

“My Villain Academia,” My Hero Academia Episode 108 (Season 5, Episode 20) 

An adaptation of Chapters 220, 221, 222, 223, and 224 of the manga, by Kohei Horikoshi, translated by Caleb Cook with lettering by John Hunt and available from Viz.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Spoilers up to My Hero Academia Chapter 325.

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