My Hero Academia Creator Confirms Deku's New Marvel Connection

In the past decade, few superhero stories have gone live that can hold a candle to My Hero Academia. The shonen series has become one of the biggest franchises in anime, and its grip spans the world. Dubbed a love letter to superhero comics, My Hero Academia has more than a few references to universes like Marvel and DC. And now, the creator of My Hero Academia admits Deku's new form borrows inspiration from Carnage himself.

The confession comes courtesy of Kohei Horikoshi as the artist behind My Hero Academia loves all things comics. In the past, the creator has referenced everyone from Ultraman to Spider-Man and Batman in his work. So of course, all eyes were on Horikoshi when his newest author's note dubbed Deku Carnage.

"The official name for the current situation is Deku Overlay, but in mind, I call it Carnage," Horikoshi shared. The note was paired with My Hero Academia chapter 415 as it features a new form for Deku. The bloody design is sharp and angular much like Carnage. Plus, its use of blood makes Deku Carnage an easy sell. Obviously, the crossover is hardly official, but there is no denying Horikoshi eyed the Spider-Man villain while crafting the new power boost.

If you are not familiar with Carnage, you should know the Marvel supervillain was introduced in April 1992. Carnage is tied to the Symbiotes much like Venom, and this villain was made to give Spider-Man a hard time as well as Venom. In the comics, Carnage is most famous for tapping Cletus Kasady as its host. The serial killer was nothing short of psychotic and thirsted for blood. So thankfully, Deku's new form just leans into the visuals of Carnage rather than its personality.

After all, Deku has had some gnarly looking forms before, but his new Carnage form is particularly important. The boy uses Black Whip to coat himself in armor laced with his own blood. In the manga, My Hero Academia is using this form as a way to fight Shigaraki from within. In recent chapters, Deku learned that transferring parts of One For All to Shigaraki breaks down his psyche. And in order to pass on the vestiges within One For All, Deku needs to exchange blood with his foe.

Want to know more about My Hero Academia? No sweat! You can read up on the hit series below courtesy of its official synopsis:

"Izuku has dreamt of being a hero all his life-a lofty goal for anyone, but especially challenging for a kid with no superpowers. That's right, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some kind of super-powered "quirk," Izuku was unlucky enough to be born completely normal. But that's not enough to stop him from enrolling in one of the world's most prestigious hero academies."

What do you think about this latest My Hero Academia update? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!