All-Might looks like what might happen if you take all of the most burly superhero stereotypes—your Thor, your Superman, your Super Saiyan Goku—and throw them into a blender together. Christopher Sabat doesn’t hold back as he taps into the machismo, exaggerated bravado of All-Might, but then My Hero Academia does something special that should simultaneously assuage any fears that this is just going to be just another show about superheroes. Suddenly, All-Might, the picture perfect image of strength, shrivels up into a desiccated husk of a man and it’s just as much of a shock to Izuku as it is the audience.

The truth is that this ultra-strong superhero that Izuku has been obsessed over his entire life is really just a superhero a fraction of the time. All-Might’s strength is only possible for a mere three hours every day, with the rest of his life shrouded in secrecy as he attempts to hide this colossal weakness. The detail that All-Might has gone through various operations through the years in order to stay alive is also particularly morbid. Even after all of this pain, All-Might remains in a very compromised state where it looks like his powers are actually more of a burden than an asset. It’s a true shock to witness this frail version of All-Might (Sabat’s interpretation of this version of the character is also brilliantly on-point), but the jarring truth actually allows Izuku and his idol to bond in a way that might have never before been possible.

This information hits Izuku twice as hard because not only does it deflate his opinion of All-Might, but the hero also pushes a refreshingly stark reality check on the boy. All-Might explicitly tells Izuku to give up on his superhero dreams and that if he’s so passionate about helping those in need, then maybe he should become a police officer instead. It’s another shocking moment in the series’ second episode. It’d be like if Batman decided to pass Robin off to some Neighborhood Watch group instead of mentoring him. The typical superhero narrative would turn All-Might into Izuku’s tough, yet fair, teacher, and once again My Hero Academia takes the opportunity to show that it plays by its own rules. Izuku can’t even properly process this bombshell because Katsuki Bakugo is under attack in the city and somebody needs to come to his rescue.

All-Might’s backstory and the crushing news that he gives to Izuku is certainly important, but the episode’s real highlight is when Izuku chooses to rise to the challenge and still play the role of hero. Even after All-Might dispels the myth that Izuku has what it takes to be a hero, Izuku tries to prove that he can still be helpful in his own way. It’s at that point that the episode’s lesson really comes into focus. Even if Izuku dies at the hand of this slime monster and nobody even learns his name, he is still a hero. He selflessly charges into battle (to rescue his rival, at that) and only cares about doing good. It’s quite telling that all of the professional, big league superheroes are either useless here or balk at the opportunity to help.

In the end, it’s the quirkless Izuku that answers the call and it’s this simple act of courage that breaks through to All-Might and inspires him to act like the hero that everyone thinks he is. It’s an incredibly powerful scene that only hits harder when you understand that this normal boy who has admired All-Might for most of his life is actually more of an influence on his hero than All-Might is on him. There’s also some poignancy over the fact that the slime monster that attempts to consume Bakugo is the same predator that attacked Izuku back in the premiere.