Episode 102

Off to Endeavor's Agency! (いざ！エンデヴァー事務所！) is the one hundred and second episode of the My Hero Academia anime and the fourteenth episode of the fifth season.

Summary
A few weeks ago in Kyushu, Hawks talks to Dabi on the phone, who apologizes over how the recent incident went down, while the former tells him if he knew in advance he would’ve been more efficient. Hawks continues to try and convince him that he’s on their side against the Heroes, while being aware that Dabi calling him means he’s useful to them too. Dabi proceeds to give him one more chance to prove himself, and that he must target another Hero other than the Number 1. He proceeds to contact the Hero Public Safety Commission, informing them that since they’re still suspicious of him, they’ll need to communicate through code until he finds the location of the Nomu.

Hawks then goes to visit the home of Best Jeanist, who has been recovering since the attack from All For One. He asks why he didn’t go see Recovery Girl for help, as Best Jeanist tells him she can’t restore what’s already lost, and that he can still survive without his lung. He reveals that he plans to return to his hero work soon as many people are waiting for him, however Hawks proceeds to pull out a long feather sword, telling him it’s too bad.

Sometime later, Dabi fails to rendezvous with Hawks at their preposed meet-up, and gets worried when he’s unable to find any notifications of League of Villains spottings on the Hero Network. Carrying a large duffel bag, Hawks flies off wondering what is going on with them.

On New Year’s Eve, Izuku returns home to visit his mother, as U.A. has allowed all the students to go home for the day with Pro Hero escorts. He tells her about the events of the Joint Training Exercise, and how Ochaco and Hitoshi saved him, causing her to nearly pass out in exasperation. He then shows her Eri’s letter thanking him for everything, causing her to cry loudly. She reminisces over how much Izuku has grown, and how relieved she is to see him like this now; the two explode in crying. The next day, as the New Year starts, Inko sees Izuku off as he gets on the bus to Endeavor's agency.

Meanwhile, Hawks appears at a mansion where he’s approached by Slidin’ Go, questioning his whereabouts, as he claims he was just getting coffee. Slidin’ Go attempts to lecture Hawks for going off on his own, but then a mysterious man with a laptop berates Slidin’ Go for trying to act superior, as thanks to Hawks' status and connections, he has far more useful information for them to use. He continues that with the micro devices implanted in Hawks’ wings, they’ll be able to expose so much about the Heroes.

Izuku, Katsuki, and Shoto arrive at their location where they meet up with Endeavor, who’s seemingly happy to see them, but quickly changes his face to irritation, as he only begrudgingly accepted their offer cause he just wanted to work with Shoto. Katsuki says he always thought of Endeavor as being “cringey”, but he can let that slide if it means learning how the Number 1 Hero operates, causing Endeavor to shout at Shoto for not choosing his friends better. Izuku then jumps in and thanks him for letting them do their work study with him; he thinks back to his initial impression of him from the Sports Festival and how much different he feels now.

Shortly before this, Izuku and Katsuki met up with All Might to discuss the work-study, which he wholeheartedly approved of. Izuku asks about his One For All training, and after confirming no other Quirks have appeared since, All Might tells him that as long as he has his locking technique down, it won’t go out of control again. He then tells Katsuki that this is also good for him as he and Endeavor are similar in many ways, and it’ll be good for him to see current Endeavor up close.

Back in the present, as Izuku reiterates their drive to learn from the Number 1 Hero, Endeavor recalls back to their encounter from the Sports Festival, remembering Izuku’s words that “Shoto’s not him”, which he repeats outloud. He suddenly starts running away, transforming into his Hero costume and yelling at the students he has no intention on training them and to watch from the back, as they quickly suit up and follow along without hesitation.

In the city, a crazed madman known as Starservant, uses his Glass Manipulation Quirk to control all the available glass from the cars and buildings into bubbles, all the while raving that he’s received a “divine message”. Also in the area is Hawks, who notices the commotion going on, as he’s reading a book.

As Endeavor gives chase, and the three students continue following, Izuku thinks back to how Endeavor acted even before the sound of the impact reached them. Starservant continues to preach from the sky, using his Quirk to remove all the glass from the buildings, which he transforms into a giant ball of glass and prepares his Ultimate Move: Enlightened Fallen King. Right as he sends it into the ground, Endeavor uses a Flashfire Fist attack to completely destroy it.

Confronting the villain, Starservant quickly retreats into an alleyway, while Endeavor gives chase. At the end of the alleyway, a group of thugs are there to corner Endeavor, however their rope is destroyed by Shoto’s ice, and right as Izuku and Katsuki are about to attack the thugs, Hawks arrives and disposes of them.

As Starservant and his minions are being arrested, he cries out that Endeavor’s the “source of darkness”. The police then thank him for all the work he’s done for the city. Once they leave, Hawks approaches the four, as Izuku excitingly introduces himself, who Hawks recognizes from the Sports Festival, and mentions that Fumikage told him about him too. Izuku wonders where he is, since he thought he was doing his work-study at Hawks’ Agency, however he reveals that he’s just working with his sidekicks as he’s too busy.

Endeavor questions what Hawks wants, as he pulls out the book he was reading, the “Meta Liberation War”. He talks about how much it’s grown in popularity, how its leader, Destro, wanted a society completed by personal responsibility, and recommends the book to Endeavor, including adding highlighted parts for him; silently he apologizes for having to be roundabout about his messaging due to being watched. Endeavor, meanwhile, recalls Hawks’ previous words about a world where “heroes have too much free time”, and in conjunction with the determined look on his face, is confused regarding what he could be meaning.

Handing the book to Endeavor, Hawks hears Izuku muttering about also wanting to check out the book if it has any tips about Hawks’ speed, causing him to quickly jump at the opportunity and hands the three students several copies of the book. Before flying off, he once again recommends Endeavor check out the highlighted sections, and specifically the “second part”. Izuku, Shoto, and Katsuki marvel at Hawks’ approach to everything, especially since he’s 22, only a few years older than them.

Arriving at the Endeavor Agency, the students are introduced to Burnin and the Flaming Sidekickers, who reveal that due to how busy they work and with over 30 sidekicks, they’ll have to do a lot to keep up with them. Kido explains to them how they usually handle over a hundred requests a day, leading Katsuki to demand they get to work already, but he tells them to remain on standby until they hear from Endeavor.

In his office, Endeavor is reading over the Meta Liberation War, as the contradicting tones and messages from Hawks’ words continue to bother him. He figures out that due to the unnatural way he was speaking to him, there must be something he was trying to let him know but couldn’t say. Examining the highlighted parts, he realizes that the second words in each part form together to make a sentence. Elsewhere, Hawks thinks to himself how the Commission was able to receive his code, but wonders if Endeavor will be able to decipher it, thinking about how gross it was of him to try and make him read his expression. Endeavor frantically finishes decoding the message as he learns: “The enemy is the liberation army. They number over a hundred thousand. In four months, to action.”

Locations

 * Midoriya Apartment
 * Endeavor Agency
 * U.A. High School

Battles & Events

 * Enji Todoroki & Keigo Takami vs. Starservant

Anime & Manga Differences

 * In the anime, when Hawks visits Best Jeanist, they're both in costume. In the manga, they're in casual attire.
 * Dialogue of Hawks and Slidin' Go's conversation are left out to conceal the formation of the Paranormal Liberation Front.
 * There are also several other liberation members outside the mansion at this time in the manga.
 * The anime conceals Skeptic's face and identity.
 * Hawks' message that the League of Villains hijacked the Meta Liberation Army is omitted.