My Hero Academia Episode 42: My Hero

At a secret hiding spot, a boy named Kota recalls Mandalay telling him he will one day understand why heroes exist, but he refuses to believe it. He then notices the mountainside burning.

Shota brings several students with him for extra lessons. In class, a student named Neito taunts them for failing finals, despite having failed himself. Before extra lessons begin, Mandalay uses her Quirk to contact everyone telepathically. The students comment on the strangeness of her Quirk, but Shota tells them to quiet down. Mandalay informs everyone that two villains have attacked and more are likely coming. Shota tells Vlad King to protect the students and rushes out of the building, fearing a full-scale attack. As he exits and sees the burning forest, a villain named Dabi attacks him with blue flames.

In the Beast's Forest, a villain named Spinner introduces his team as the Vanguard Action Squad. A villain named Magne threatens to kill Pixie-Bob, but Spinner reminds her to abide by principles left behind by the Hero Killer. Spinner recognizes Tenya from Hosu City and unsheathes his sword, claiming to make the Hero Killer'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, believing this is an opportunity to fight back and catch up with their peers, as Class 1-A has grown stronger from fighting villains.

Meanwhile, Kota receives Mandalay's message but is paralyzed with fear after being confronted by a masked villain. The villain removes his mask, and Kota recognizes him as the man who murdered his parents, a villain named Muscular. As Muscular moves to crush Kota, Izuku swoops in and saves him. Izuku's phone breaks in the chaos, preventing him from calling for backup. Izuku fears he may not be able to defeat Muscular and protect Kota simultaneously. 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 encounter a villain named Moonfish, who has apparently attacked someone and severed their arm. Shoto fears it was either Fumikage or Mezo. Katsuki, eager to fight, questions Mandalay's orders.

Mandalay and Tiger fight against Spinner and Magne. Mandalay distracts Spinner with her Quirk and attacks, but Magne uses her Quirk to attract Mandalay. Magne nearly strikes Mandalay, but Tiger saves her and attacks Magne with punches. Tiger recognizes Magne as a villain with many counts of murder and attempted murder. Mandalay tells Tiger that something is wrong because Ragdoll still hasn't responded to her telepathic message. Magne suggests that Ragdoll may have already been taken out.

Muscular recognizes Izuku, stating he is on Tomura's radar. The villains have been ordered to kill Izuku, but not before tormenting him. Muscular attacks and knocks Izuku into a stone wall, then asks where a child named "Bakugo" is. Izuku wonders why the villains would want Katsuki. His lapse in focus allows Muscular to land another hard blow. Izuku slowly recovers and attacks Muscular with a 5% smash, but it is ineffective. Muscular explains that his Quirk increases his muscle mass so much that his muscle fibers cannot be contained by his skin. He boasts that Izuku's power-augmenting Quirk is inferior to his own.

Izuku's speed alone is not enough to evade Muscular, and he is overwhelmed by the villain's brute strength. Muscular tells Izuku to live up to his words or they mean nothing. As he prepares to finish Izuku off, he says Izuku is no hero and will die without becoming one. Kota throws a rock at Muscular and asks if he tormented his parents before they died. Muscular states it must be fate that he's 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 his parents' actions led to their deaths, not his own, and that their deaths were the result of everyone doing their best, with the only real tragedy being when people don't deliver on promises.

Izuku attacks Muscular and lodges his arm between his muscle fibers so Muscular cannot dodge the impending attack. Unimpressed, Muscular questions Izuku's next move and believes Izuku's weak Quirk cannot injure him. Izuku responds that it's not a matter of whether he can win, but that a hero's duty is to risk their lives to transform promises into reality. He charges his power to 100% 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 and is horrified by how much damage Izuku took to protect someone he doesn't even know.

Izuku tells Kota to return to camp with him. Suddenly, Muscular recovers, 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 trying to strategize. He tries to distract Muscular by asking about the villains' motives. Muscular replies that it doesn't matter to him and that he only joined the villains to freely hurt people with his Quirk. Muscular replaces his artificial eye and claims he is not holding back anymore.

Muscular expands his Quirk to its limit, supercharging his power. Izuku carries Kota while avoiding attacks until Muscular knocks them both down. Izuku tries to think of a way to get Kota back to camp. He is too tired from earlier training and fears that if he tries to run, they will both die. Izuku decides to stand his ground and protect Kota while Kota 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 past him.

Unimpressed, Muscular says Izuku's smash is weaker than before and 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 to let Izuku go.

Muscular's cockiness leads him to respond to Kota, distracting him long enough for Izuku to counterattack. Inspired by Kota's bravery, Izuku charges his power to 100%. He strikes Muscular with a 1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash and breaks through the villain's muscles, finally defeating him.

Taken aback 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, someone who would save a life through sacrifice and become a hero. Kota says that Izuku is a hero, "My Hero."