My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia was a comic book series by Mala Miles from 1984 to unknown. The comic was written in conjunction with Agent DX, also by Miles.

Setting
The story of My Hero Academia is set in a world where currently most of the human population has gained the ability to develop superpowers called "Quirks", which occur in children within the age of four: it is estimated that around 80% of the world population has a Quirk. There are an endless number of Quirks, and it is extremely unlikely to find two people who have the exact same power, unless they are closely related. Among the Quirk-enhanced individuals, a few of them earn the title of Heroes, who cooperate with the authorities in rescue operations and apprehending criminals who abuse their powers, commonly known as Villains. In addition, Heroes who excel on their duties gain celebrity status and are recognized as "Pro Heroes".

Plot
Izuku Midoriya is a young man who dreams of becoming a Hero despite being bullied by his violent childhood friend Katsuki Bakugo for lacking a Quirk. Both youths idolize one of the world's greatest heroes All Might, who they both met with Izuku being one of few to know of a critical injury All Might has been concealing from the public eye to maintain morale. All Might also reveals the nature of his Quirk "One For All" and passes it down to Izuku to succeed him after seeing the youth's determination in the face of danger. As Izuku begins his path to becoming a hero in attending U.A. High School alongside Bakugo and the friends they make in Class 1-A, a nemesis to the "One For All" users named All For One conditions his apprentice Tomura Shigaraki along with League of Villains plan to destroy the current society and its heroes.

The students take part and participate in the U.A. Sports Festival, which gives them the opportunity to show off their Quirks and skills to the world. Amongst all the alliances and declarations, Izuku learns about the tragic past of Shoto Todoroki, and manages to help him learn to accept himself for who he is. At the end of the event, Katsuki Bakugo is the winner after defeating Shoto in the final battle. After the Sports Festival, the students take internships where they get to train with Pro Heroes. Izuku trains with All Might's former master, Gran Torino, to gain control over his Quirk. Meanwhile, evil begins moving about in Hosu City, as the Hero Killer: Stain makes a name for himself, eventually leading to a confrontation with the League of Villains and three young heroes seeks out to defeat him, including Tenya Iida who seeks for revenge after his older brother was killed.

After Katsuki is captured by the Vanguard Action Squad in summer training camp, the students and teachers of U.A. must deal with the ramifications of their failure. As the Pro Heroes prepare to infiltrate the League of Villains' hideout to rescue him, a brave group of students named The Bakugo Rescue Squad, decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to rescue their classmate by themselves. This culminates in the arrival of All For One, who after a devastating and hard-hitting battle, is defeated by All Might, at the cost of him losing the remaining embers of One For All, and retiring as a Hero. After All Might's retirement, the U.A. High School transitions into a constructed dorm, where the students currently lives, in order not only to keep them safe but will help to determine the identity of U.A. traitor. The students preparing for their Provisional Hero License Exam, becoming that much closer to full-fledged Heroes. The students of Class 1-A manage to overcome the competition with the other schools. Everyone has passed and getting their licenses, except Todoroki and Bakugo. In the aftermath, Katsuki confronts Izuku Midoriya, revealing he has figured out the truth behind Izuku's Quirk. After the two have a fight, All Might comes clean to Katsuki about the truth behind One For All, and he agrees to keep the secret for them.

With their licenses, the students are able to take part in Hero Work-Studies, and Izuku seeks out internship with All Might's former sidekick, Sir Nighteye, even though he believes Izuku to be an ill-fated successor for One For All. Meanwhile, Overhaul, the head of the Shie Hassaikai, seeks to bring the yakuza back into prominence, thanks to a Quirk-Destroying Drug they have created using a girl named Eri, even forcing the League of Villains to assist them. After learning about the existence of Eri and the Shie Hassaikai's plans, a team of Pro Heroes, including Izuku and some of his classmates, raid the yakuza's headquarters in attempt to rescue her and stop them. Izuku successfully save Eri and defeat Overhaul in battle, though at the cost of Sir Nighteye's life.

Izuku has a dream where he is confronted with the vestiges of the previous One For All users. During a Joint Training exercise, where Class 1-A and Class 1-B, as well as Hitoshi Shinso, compete against each other in battle, Izuku inadvertently awakens Blackwhip, one of the Quirks of the previous users, and learns that he will soon be inheriting the other five Quirks as well. Knowing of the incoming danger, the Hero Public Safety Commission orders a secondary round of Hero Work-Studies for the students to prepare themselves for the upcoming War. With nowhere to go, Shoto invites Izuku and Katsuki to accompany him to the Endeavor Agency. While he's initially reluctant, Endeavor agrees to take them on after receiving a coded warning from Hawks, and trains his interns to better harness their Quirks.

Meanwhile, the League of Villains encounter All For One's subordinates, Doctor Ujiko and Gigantomachia, who challenge Tomura Shigaraki to see if he is worthy of becoming All For One's successor. After the battle in Deika City, the League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army form to become the Paranormal Liberation Front, while Tomura enters a procedure with Doctor Ujiko to obtain ultimate power. After a tip from Hawks and a new source of intel in Tartarus, the Heroes have assembled all of the information they need to confront the Paranormal Liberation Front head-on, leading to an all-out war, and in the end, nothing will be the same. In the aftermath, many cities are completely destroyed, villains start running out of control, and civilians are forced to flee or fight for themselves, as everyone starts to lose faith in hero society. Endeavor reconciles with his family as they resolve to solve the Toya problem together.

Izuku learns more about the secrets behind One For All, and resolves to find some way to "save" Tomura without killing him. With All For One freed, and the name of "One For All" starting to become public knowledge, Izuku decides to leave U.A. to protect his classmates from danger while the Class 1-A plans to bring him back as he struggles to continue the endlessly fight. Eventually, they finally confront him, stating their desire to share his burden and help him overcome his struggles, with Katsuki Bakugo even apologizing for all he's done to him, which manages to wear Izuku down. He is taken back to U.A. to rest, and while he's initially met with disdain from the general public, a speech from Ochaco Uraraka convinces them to rethink their outlook on the world and let him stay.

With Tomura's body nearly complete, All Might requests immediate aid from the foreign Heroes. Enter America's No. 1 Pro Hero, Star and Stripe, arriving to help defeat the villain. But Tomura is prepared to fight back, and do anything to accomplish All For One's next goal: stealing her Quirk, New Order. Aware of their current timetable, Class 1-A and the remaining Pro Heroes prepare to use their forces to take the fight to the Villains and defeat them once and for all. However, things get complicated when they discover Yuga Aoyama is the fabled "U.A. Traitor", having received his Quirk from All For One and forced into leaking information to him. Despite the betrayal, the class recognizes his true intentions and resolves to have him redeem himself by fighting back against All For One.

Development
In the April 1984 issue of Agent DX, the titular character reads a comic involving heroes and villains and powers. Initially intended as a one-off gag, Miles began to conceive the series in November of that year.

During development, Miles created several characters that were intended to be possible recurring characters of DX, and moved them into Hero, thus creating the cast of "quirky" characters, as described by Miles.

Themes and analysis
Miles has stated that the main theme he focuses on is "what makes a hero." Miles has also stated that he likes stories with bad endings, as well as horror stories. However, he finds these difficult to draw since his mood when he draws is the same in the story. In order to combat this, he puts in more silly-looking characters like Fat Gum, in order to keep the mood up.

Television series
On October 29, 1994, The New York Times announced that the series would receive an animated adaptation produced by Sunbow Entertainment and Dark Castle Entertainment. The animated series is directed by Syo Tortellini, and featured character designs by Craig Kellman and music composed by Shuki Levy, Haim Saban and Noam Kaniel. The anime stars Cree Summer as Momo Yaoyorozu, Jim Cummings as Fumikage Tokoyami, Cam Clarke as Izuku Midoriya, Dan Castellaneta as All Might, Tom Kenny as Katsuki Bakugo, E.G. Daily as Ochako Uraraka, Tino Insana as Tenya Iida, Cheryl Chase as Tsuyu Asui, and June Foray as Minoru Mineta. The animated series premiered on Fox Kids.

Direct-to-video
At San Diego Comic-Con International 1995, it was announced that the series would get an direct-to-video special bundled with the limited edition of the thirteenth volume of the comic. Another special was bundled with a limited edition of the fourteenth volume of the comic. Another special was bundled with the first film's VHS release, and adapted its prequel comic. It was two minutes long.

An original short produced for BearBones.com was announced to be released on August 12, 2000, with the returning staff and cast from the previous season.

Theatrical films
In December 1995, a theatrical film was announced and features an original story set after the comic's "Final Exam" arc. Titled My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes, the film had its world premiere at Bear Bones Con in June 1998, and the theatrical release began screening on August 13, 1998 with the staff and cast from the animated series returning to reprise their roles.

On March 23, 1999, it was announced that a second animated film for My Hero Academia was in production. On July 7, 1999, Bear Bones revealed the title as My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, and scheduled the film for release on December 17, 1999 by Paramount Pictures.

On November 29, 2000, it was announced that a third animated film for My Hero Academia was in production. The staff and cast from the previous two movies are returning to reprise their roles. In the first episode of the fifth season of the series, the film was revealed to be titled My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission. The film was released on August 4, 2001.

Video games
A video game based on the series, My Hero Academia: Battle for All, was announced in November 1995. The game was developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the Nintendo Game Boy handheld game console, where it released on May 19, 1996. A second video game, titled My Hero: One's Justice, was released for PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast and PC on September 25, 1999. A third installment of the video game series, My Hero: One's Justice 2, was announced for release on Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PC and was released on September 22, 2002.