So does this ending signify we’re getting AFO Vs Endeavor & Hawks next chapter? That seems an…odd choice.
Like, I’ve mentioned more than once how this arc is tragically tensionless because the whole war’s stacked too much in the heroes favour; with the villains VASTLY outnumbered, outgunned, & outplayed. The heroes have a few hundred times the forces they actually need to win this war, and that’s taking Tomura & AFO into account. So long as a proportionate amount of heroes were sent their way with any modicum of pre-planning (both of which seems to be true), this fight is already over.
And that’s true for the other fights too; Bakugou was right for the wrong reasons when he said it was obvious Shoto would beat his brother, and the Spinner & Toga fights are pretty much already decided too, baring an increasingly unlikely upheaval to the whole war. But those fights still work because we really care about the characters involved and their connections.
Not really the case here; these are some of the most polarizing/outright hated characters in the series, and I’d be wondering who to root for if there was any question of who would win, so my initial thoughts seeing this match-up were “if ever there was a fight that could happen off-screen”. I think the only thing I’m interested in with this is seeing what reason Endeavor absolutely had to be here instead of confronting his son.
i would be more tolerant of hawks or feel like #hottakes about him had some value if there was any interest in discussing him as a marginalized person buying into the system, for power, stability, and whatever misguided belief that the system does good. a child in poverty with abusive parents becoming a person who would do anything in order to never be disempowered nor poor again. a child who was saved by the hero system convincing himself that because he got out anyone can get out, especially anyone who is (like himself as a child) morally blameless and willing to try hard to win the approval of his superiors.
if only there was any talk about dabi and twice being, in hawks' view, morally inadequate and not appropriately grateful towards the establishment (nor, in dabi's case, his own abuser), because his assessment is informed by his own contrasting experience. he needs to perform those mental gymnastics to justify his own place within hero society, to justify his own deserving nature by creating a category of people, within his mind, who are undeserving. if only those people who resemble him would change, if only they would work harder, if only they would come around to his way of thinking, they could replicate his success and earn a place within hero society.
there are plenty of marginalized people who've somehow "made it" and are more than happy to use their own marginalizations to support the status quo. "i'm a poc and if i achieved this so can you." "i'm mentally ill but i did this, so what's your excuse?" "i'm a survivor and i think she's lying." we recognize that these people exist and are still marginalized with all the social precarity that that entails; however, they do harm to people who are even more vulnerable than themselves who share their marginalizations. talking about this means analyzing the positionality of a fandom-favored attractive skinny guy and the power he wields though, so it's more appealing to throw him into the trauma olympics to be bnha's one true victim or whatever.
It’s interesting that Hk chose a women to directly criticize the heroes’ attempts at easing the public.
Despite having multiple men in the audience, Hk uses a female reporter to question Endeavor’s atonement and integrity. She brings up valid concerns, but she’s portrayed as emotional and almost irrational, which is in contrast not only to the heroes, but also her male colleagues (who are shown behind her, obviously uneasy with her outburst).
Once again, although the men in the story are primarily at fault for the current disaster, Hk created a woman to represent the sector that are working against heroes and their attempt to save society. This wouldn’t be an issue if it was an isolated event, but it’s disappointing considering Horikoshi’s tendency to use women to portray toxic and regressive mindsets while refusing to give his female characters actual development.