So ya’ll think ____, but I don’t think it needs to be that obvious, in fact, I think it would be even MORE interesting if it was just ____.



My Hero Academia manga spoilers for the most recent chapter (chapter 221).

So thanks to chapter 221 we have gotten a good look at AFO’s “doctor,” (right) and he still looks suspiciously just like the doctor who diagnosed Deku as quirkless back in chapter/episode 1 (left). Another piece of evidence we’ve had from the anime is they have the same voice actor.



Assuming that this is indeed true, most people have either jumped onto the AFO is Deku’s father bandwagon, and/or have theorized that Deku was actually born with a quirk and the doctor stole it when he was a kid. Now, either of these theories could be true, but I don’t think either of them is a given.



In fact, I think it would be far MORE interesting if it all did turn out to be a coincidence, and Deku having been born quirkless would ironically have been what saved him from getting turned into a Nomu as a kid like the Winged Nomu that was hinted to be connected with one of the kids from Deku’s neighborhood.



For an even thicker plot, however… I don’t think Deku needs to actually be related to AFO to cause drama. If Deku’s connection with the doctor is ever revealed, combined with Deku’s 6 different quirks that are going to be emerging, I think characters within the story are going to draw connections between Deku and AFO even if it is unwarranted. Bakugo has already brought this up.

It’d be kinda cool if our crazy theorizing got reflected and perhaps satired within the story itself lmao. But with regards to Deku’s connection to AFO being vague… the interesting part is that they would not be entirely far from the truth. It’s already been established that the OFA quirk came from AFO. There are several different directions it can go from here.



With regards to the doctor being involved, Instead of Deku having lost a quirk (although this is still possible), I think it’s even more likely that the narrative will go more-so along the lines of the doctor having DONE SOMETHING TO Deku. The reason for that is this:



To our knowledge as readers, we might know the doctor had nothing to do with Deku getting OFA…



… but the other characters in the story don’t know that.



There are two theories that someone within the universe could conceivably come up with that would make the most sense to them as characters within the story. The first is that Deku is AFO’s secret love child (i.e. he has the same or a similar quirk), i.e. that he is connected to AFO in some way.



The second theory which could develop from the first and/or might be given more leeway if the AFO doctor’s past identity as Deku’s physician is ever made known to characters within the story is perhaps even messier than the last. But recent events in the manga make this a scarily likely possibility in the far-ish future. To be frank, if I was a character within the story, I might consider that Deku is a hecking Nomu.

These Nomu are shown in chapter 221, and the doctor states that Shigiraki has “Been getting by with just scraps and leftovers of my work,” (Viz translation) meaning the Nomu we have seen so far are not representative of what has been possible at any given point. The Nomu shown here in his lab look much more human than the ones we’ve seen before.



It should be clear to other characters in the story that Deku doesn’t like talking about his quirk, he kinda freaked out when Asui asked him about it on the bus ride to the USJ. According to recent events in the manga we know Deku is going to develop not two, not three, but SIX different quirks out of nowhere.



Deku can use the random mutation explanation for one or two quirks, but not six.



Having more than one quirk and the quirk being ‘unsuited to his body’ (as it was frequently described in the beginning before he learned to control his quirk), is basically the definition of the Nomu (perhaps without all of the physical enhancements that keep a normal Nomu from being destroyed by their own quirk).



While it’s clear that Deku is not nearly as mentally compromised as the other Nomu we have seen so far, Deku’s habit of muttering and his freakishly high tolerance for pain might be something that someone in the story who thinks he is a Nomu (or has had some other experimentation done to him) might attribute as a side effect of the experimentation.



Obviously, we as readers know he’s not actually a Nomu, but unless he explains the entire background of OFA to someone the ‘Deku being a Nomu’ theory will be one of the few logical theories from the perspective of characters within the story.



Basically the whole “ArE YOu __’s Love cHild” running joke might eventually morph into something with serious consequences. Not that I think everyone would turn on Deku, but I still think it would cause problems in the long run.



Of course, it’s also possible that AFO ACTUALLY DID plant something sinister within the OFA quirk for real, which would also work with the narrative of Deku having something DONE TO HIM as opposed to a quirk being taken from him… but that would also open up an entirely new can of worms on its own lol.

In conclusion, in whatever form it takes, I do think that the theme of Deku coming to terms with the fact that his quirk reminds Bakugo (and probably others) of AFO will become a major theme in the story moving forward. It’s highly unlikely that the characters in the story will voice their suspicions out-loud right way, but I think it will eventually play a role nonetheless. AFO’s doctor may only thicken that plot in some way, possibly by planting or confirming suspicions other characters may have about Deku’s origins.

