Episode 42

My Hero (僕のヒーロー) is the forty-second episode of the My Hero Academia anime and the fourth episode of the third season.

Summary
At his secret hiding spot, Kota recalls Mandalay telling him that one day he'll understand why heroes exist. Kota refuses to believe that. He stands up and notices the mountainside burning. Shota brings Eijiro, Rikido, Mina, Hanta, and Deki with him for extra lessons. In class, Neito taunts them for failing finals even though he failed too. Before extra lessons begin, Mandalay uses her quirk to contact everyone telepathically.

The students start to comment on the strangeness of her quirk, but Shota tells them to quiet down. Mandalay informs everyone that two villains have attacked and there are likely more coming. Shota tells Vlad King to protect the students and rushes out of the building. He fears that a full-scale attack from the villains will lead to big trouble. Just as he exits the building and sees the burning forest, Dabi suddenly attacks him with a burst of blue flames.

In Beast's Forest, Spinner introduces his team as the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains. Magne threatens to kill Pixie-Bob, but Spinner reminds him to abide by the principles left behind by the Hero Killer: Stain. He recognizes Tenya from Hosu City and unsheaths his sword as he claims to make Stain's dreams a reality. Tiger tells Spinner about Pixie-Bob's life and becomes enraged at the idea of Magne cutting it short.

Deeper in the forest, Tetsutetsu runs into Itsuka and gives her a gas mask created by Momo's quirk. Itsuka tells Tetsutetsu to retreat with her, but he refuses. Class 1-A has gotten so much stronger because of their fights with villains. Tetsutetsu believes this is the perfect opportunity to fight back and catch up with their peers.

Meanwhile, Kota receives Mandalay's message but he's paralyzed with fear after being confronted by a masked villain. The villain removes his mask, and Kota recognizes him as the man who murdered both of his parents: Muscular. Just as Muscular goes to crush Kota, Izuku swoops in and saves him. He breaks his phone in the chaos, meaning he can't call for backup. Izuku fears that he may not be able to defeat Muscular and protect Kota at the same time. Despite his concerns, Izuku stands up to Muscular and promises Kota that everything will be okay.

Shoto and Katsuki walk back towards base camp, but they run into the villain Moonfish. Moonfish has apparently attacked someone and severed their arm. Shoto fears it was either Fumikage or Mezo. Itching to fight, Katsuki questions Mandalay's orders. Mandalay and Tiger fight against Spinner and Magne. Mandalay distracts Spinner with her quirk and attacks, but Magne uses his quirk to attract metal suit her to him. Magne nearly strikes down Mandalay the same way he did Pixie-Bob, but Tiger saves her and attacks Mange with a flurry of punches. He recognizes Magne as a villain with many different counts of murder and attempted murder. Mandalay tells Tiger that something is wrong because Ragdoll still hasn't responded to her telepathic message. Magne illudes to the idea that perhaps Ragdoll has already been taken out.

Muscular recognizes Izuku because he's on Tomura's radar. The villains have been ordered to kill him, but not before tormenting the young hero. Muscular attacks and knocks Izuku into a stone wall. He asks him where a child name "Bakugo" is. Izuku ponders why the League of Villains would want Katsuki. His lapse in focus allows Muscular to land another hard blow. Izuku slowly recovers and then attacks Muscular with a 5% smash, but it's completely ineffective. Muscular explains that his quirk increases his muscle mass so much that his muscle fibers can't be contained by his skin. He continues to boast, saying that Izuku's power augmenting quirk is inferior to his own.

Izuku's speed alone isn't enough to evade Muscular and he's overwhelmed by the villain's brute strength. Muscular tells Izuku to live up to his words or they don't mean anything. As he prepares to finish Izuku off, he says that Izuku's no hero and he'll die without ever becoming one. Kota throws at a rock at Muscular and asks if he tormented his parents before they died. Muscular states that it must be fate that he's been confronted with the son of the heroes who destroyed his eye. Kota claims that it's the fault of crazy people like Muscular that the world is so twisted. Muscular responds that it was the actions of his parents that got them killed, not his own. Their deaths were the result of everyone involved doing their best, and the only real tragedy is when people don't deliver on promises they make.

Izuku attacks Muscular and lodges his arm between his muscle fibers so he can't dodge the impending attack. Unimpressed, Muscular questions Izuku's next move and believes Izuku's weak quirk can't possibly injure him. Izuku responds that it's not a matter of whether or not he can win, it is simply a hero's duty is to risk their lives to transform promises into reality. He charges One For All to 100% percent and lands a maxed out smash. The impact nearly knocks Kota off the cliff, but Izuku catches him with his teeth. Kota thanks Izuku for saving him. He's horrified by how much damage Izuku took just to protect someone he doesn't even know.

Izuku tells Kota to return to camp with him, Suddenly Muscular recovers after having used his quirk to severely dampen the impact of the smash. Muscular commends Izuku for his strength but adds that his attack was too predictable. Shocked and upset, Izuku panics while he tries to strategize. He tries to distract Muscular by asking the League of Villains motives. Muscular only replies that it doesn't matter to him and that he only joined up with the League of Villains so he could use his quirk freely to hurt people. Muscular replaces his artificial eye and claims he's not holding back anymore.

Muscular expands his quirk to its limit, supercharging his power. Izuku carries Kota while avoiding the attacks until Muscular knocks them both down. He tries to think of a way to get Kota back to camp. He's too tired from the training earlier that day and fears that if he tries to run that they will both die. Izuku decides to stand his ground and protect Kota while he flees. Kota hears Izuku's plan and worries that Izuku won't survive the fight. Muscular covers himself in muscle and rushes Izuku. Izuku counters with a 100% Detroit Smash. Despite maxing out his power, Izuku is only able to hold Muscular back. He reminds Kota that everything will be okay and yells that he refuses to allow Muscular to get by him.

Unimpressed, Muscular says that Izuku's smash is weaker than before quickly starts to overpower him. Muscular's quirk allows him to nearly crush Izuku. Fearing the worst, Izuku apologizes to All Might and his mother for failing. Just before Izuku is completely crushed, Kota uses his quirk to splash Muscular with water. He yells at Muscular, telling him to let Izuku go. Muscular's cockiness leads him to respond to Kota, distracting him just long enough for Izuku to counterattack. Inspired by Kota's bravery, Izuku charges One For All to 1,000,000%. He strikes Muscular with 1,000,000% Delaware-Detroit Smash and breaks through the villain's muscles, finally defeating him.

Blown away by Izuku's actions, Kota recalls Mandalay's words again. He begins to cry as he realizes that Izuku is the person Mandalay knew Kota would meet. She said he would meet a person would save a life through sacrifice and become a hero. Kota says that Izuku is a hero, "My Hero".