Mammoth Base Opera Castle

Atsuhiro Sako AKA Mr. Compress, member of the League of Villains and snazzy dresser. He’s helpful. He’s powerful. But, why is he a villain? Well, it looks like we won’t learn Mr. Compress’ true motivations anytime soon in the manga, but why let that stop us? Let’s take what we know about our favorite marble master and come up with some theories on why exactly Mr. Compress is a villain.

First things first, it was never stated Mr. Compress admired the hero killer, Stain. So, we can assume he joined the League under different circumstances. Next, Mr. Compress is a showman. He loves showing off and seems to be at home performing for an audience. Another clue could be him wearing a mask. Sure, the police know his identity now, but either he was trying to keep it a secret in the beginning or the mask is part of his act. You know, I’d say it’s a little of both. The mask is part of his act and he also wanted to keep his true identity a secret. If true, that means Mr. Compress was a well-known figure, either on a national or local level.

We also know Mr. Compress is well versed in using his quirk. He knows its limits and when best to use it to catch people off-guard. And, while we don’t know his official age, Mr. Compress carries himself and talks to the younger Leaguers like he’s a seasoned professional. Based on that, I’d say he’s over 30 years old.

I love Twice. And, I love Twice. And, don’t forget Twice. I also love Twice. Oh, and Twice. Can’t forget Twice. Not to mention, my dude, Twice.

Yes! Thank you, Horikoshi for referencing the Yakuza bullets. I knew they’d be important, but who knew it would happen after the League of Villains recruits Gigantomachia and Doctor Ujiko? I sure didn’t. Whatever Shigaraki ultimately does with them will be game-changing.

Enough about that, let’s talk Twice. With his fear of cloning himself gone, it’s open season on the Meta Liberation Army. Twice alone should be enough to take the entire town out now. And, I’m only talking if all the clones are Twice copies. If the Twices cloned Dabi and Mr. Compress like they wanted I’d be an instant game over for Team Redestro.

Humans are social primates. We all want to belong, be part of something greater. Sometimes that greater is good, other times it’s not. The point is no one likes feeling they’re alone in the world. So, what happens when a person with a cloning quirk feels totally alone? Easy, you clone yourself.

Jin Bubagawara AKA Twice. His quirk, Double. His family, dead. It’s understandable he cloned himself. The committing crimes part, not so much. But, it’s not only feeling alone that drove Twice over the edge, but it was also, well, himself. Can you imagine not trusting yourself? Not in the I’m a failure sort of way. We all feel that at one time or another, more or less. I’m talking if you cloned yourself and that clone, that copy of you, tried to kill you. That itself would drive anyone crazy, but compound that with the yearning for companionship and you get…Twice.

All of that explains the strongest aspects of Twice’s personality, his insanity and his desire for family. It also explains why we’ve never seen him really get hurt. He was always holding back, afraid he was a clone and if he took too much damage he’d dissolve. Yikes! Twice had a lot on his plate, but everything’s okay now, right?

Just when I thought it was safe to hypothesize about a Dabi flashback, we shift gears to focus on Twice instead. Even better!

But, first, let’s talk Dabi and Parka Guy. Horikoshi isn’t skimping on the art. Everything from Dabi’s design to the Parka’s ice dragon, to the fire and ice double page spread looks great. Parka can move and mold ice in seemingly anyway he wants, even floating in the air on it. Interesting how he mentioned Redestro supporting him in his quest to train his quirk. Something tells me Mr. Freeze isn’t the only guy Redestro’s been helping out.

It may seem like a no brainer Dabi wins but ice is tougher than most people give credit for, plus Snow Meiser has move maneuverability and can mold ice constructs. That’s more than enough to keep Dabi on the ropes.

Toga don’t die! But, if you do, can I have your knives? They look expensive.

How in the world will Toga survive for over an hour in her condition? Well, if Mr. Compress finds her he can transform her into a ball until Ujiko works his healing/mad scientist magic and fix her up. Or, maybe Spinner has a healing quirk. Either way, things aren’t looking good for our favorite bloodsucker.

You know, I forgot the League of Villains are trying NOT to kill the Meta Liberation Army so they can use them against Gigantomachia. Guess that explains why half the town isn’t on fire.

Shigaraki has a flashback, Yall! It’s short but we get lots of info, one being his sister’s name, Hana. Another is the implication Shiggy wanted to be a hero before losing his family. That could be why Hana showed him Nana’s picture, she’s trying to cheer him up after being scolded by his father. Yes, the very same father that was put up for adoption by Nana after her husband died in order to protect him. Sure, I bet Dad understands why she did it, but she never would have in the first place if Nana wasn’t a hero. No wonder he doesn’t want Shiggy becoming one. Well, you got your wish, Dad. Congratulations?

So… Himiko Toga. Start her theme song and let’s chat about her a bit, shall we?

No, let’s start with Toga’s shitty parents. We still don’t know whether or not Toga’s Transform quirk is hereditary or a new quirk not yet seen in her family. Doesn’t matter in the long run, but still, why couldn’t they treat her better? The answer: Because it wasn’t about Toga’s quirk. It’s about them. They weren’t trying to understand their daughter and her blood urges due to her quirk. It was all about keeping up appearances. Be the average girl, live an average life, think average thoughts. They didn’t help Toga because they didn’t want to help her, they wanted to “fix” her. And, look how that turned out. Yeah, it’s implied she had Quirk Counseling, but, as we can see, that doesn’t always work. Supportive parents could’ve been the missing piece Toga needed to live a genuinely happy life without suffocating her personality. Now, does this mean Quirk Counseling is garbage and the Meta Liberation Army is right? Not necessarily. Sure, it’s not perfect, but the whole process needs to be reexamined and changed to better help more people. If not, there needs to be an alternate. Basically, don’t ignore the problem and actively try to fix it.