History Fanfic / NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku

Beware of unmarked spoilers.

* CurbstompBattle: The fight between Midoriya and the Nomu [[spoiler:in the Nomu's favor. Thankfully [[HeGotBetter Izuku recovered quickly.]] ]]

** Victor Fries, better known as [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart2 Mister Freeze]], quietly surrendered after a fight between him, the first Batman, and the fourth Robin accidentally ruptured the cryostasis tank holding Fries' wife, Nora, who had been miraculously cured of her debilitating illness by the Quirk she manifested while she was on ice. He then spent fifteen years as a model inmate in Arkham Asylum and even helped foil numerous breakout attempts by the other supervillains before leaving a free man and starting Fries Financial, an incredibly successful conglomerate on par with Wayne-Powers, Queen Consolidated, and Lexcorp.

* AcademyOfAdventure: U.A. High School is All Might's alma mater and the most prestigious Hero School in all of Japan. Others include Ketsubutsu Academy High School, Shiketsu High School, and Seijin High School, but all of them exist in U.A.'s shadow. There also other other Hero Schools on par with U.A. in other countries, like ComicBook/GothamAcademy and the Lex Luthor Institution of Accelerated Humanity in the United States.

** Midoriya is the same age as he is in canon, but as the story's equivalent to Superman he's ''much'' younger than many of the DC heroes he helped inspire in the comics, with Starfire, Renegade, and other heroes traditionally depicted as looking up to Superman being older than Midoriya. For reference, the Golden Age of Heroics began decades ago with heroes like Franchise/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/WonderWoman and much of the Justice Society of America is long dead due to old age.

** Midoriya runs into the spawn of a {{Kaiju}} from another dimension while visiting Korusan Island to train himself. While he initially runs in terror from them, he manages to speak and reason with them while promising to go away. They only snarl back at him, but seem to understand him well enough to slink away without fighting.

* AllThereInTheManual: Several bits of lore regarding the setting are revealed in comments on Tumblr, the Spacebattles thread and replies on [[Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn AO3]] before they appear in the story proper. Examples include:

** Hisashi Midoriya is TheGhost in the original My Hero Academia, only being mentioned ''once'' in almost 200 chapters and not even by name. Here he's a fully-fleshed out character, a clearly doting father to Midoriya and a nuclear physicist working to change the world. [[spoiler:He's also the superhero Firestorm.]]

** Jarro and Volk are both included on the story's iteration of the Series/LegendsOfTomorrow. The former has been one of the author's favorites ever since he was introduced into the comics, while the author blatantly admits that Volk is "too cool ''not'' to use".

** Ma Hunkel, an honorary member of the Justice Society of America, fought T.O. Morrow along with her granddaughter to save the the American midsouth from an earthquake.

** While neither Midoriya nor All Might are inherently stupid, they both have SuperStrength and are inherently heroic when compared to [[spoiler:the super-genius Ultra-Humanite. But this gets zig-zagged when the Ultra-Humanite reveals his Quirk, Over Man, which lowers the physical abilities of any human within a 100 meters of him by up to 75%. This allows him to manhandle both Midoriya and All Might at the same time, forcing them to use their wits to gain any sort of advantage. The Villain is only defeated after Midoriya discovers his ability to fly and takes him by surprise, deactivating the Ultra-Humanite's Quirk and playing this trope straight again.]]

** All Might takes over the interlude narration in Chapter 4 and 5, commenting on his experiences with Midoriya and the discomfort he feels over where their journey to find Midoriya's spaceship is taking them.

** Midoriya has the standard Kryptonian powerset. Aside from him, other characters can have multiple power types at once. For instance, Barry Allen, The Flash, has a Forensic Analysis Quirk, but also has his trademark SuperSpeed, which came from a FreakLabAccident. According to the author, it's impossible to have both the Quirk Factor and the Metagene and very rare to have a Quirk and the ability to use magic. It's also possible to have both a Quirk and a Mutation completely different from one's Quirk (like the aforementioned Flash). Certain Quirks can also grant multiple abilities, as All Might mentions that his hearing is enhanced while he's powered up.

** Firestorm is mentioned by the author to be written more like his ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'' counterpart. As such, he's considerably more mature than many of the more recent and excitable takes on the character, but has the overall power levels of his comic book counterpart. Midoriya mentions that Firestorm has won virtually every battle he's ever had due to his SuperpowerLottery winning mix of PlayingWithFire and AtomicSuperpower. He displays much more of the excitable portion of his more recent incarnations after finding out that Mr. Yagi is All Might.

* TheCoup: Spoofed. Midoriya's overwhelming combat performance makes him a shoe-in to be elected class president even though he doesn't want the position or the extra attention. But during the panic caused by the alarms going off, Iida manages to show his stuff as a leader while Midoriya was busy sparring with Mirio. When Midoriya manages to catch up to his friends, they cheerfully tell him that there's been a coup and he's no longer class president, which he's totally fine with.

** In an officially recognized sidestory, the Legion of Super-Heroes are all repulsed by the anti-alien sentiment of the 21st century, as many members of the Legion are aliens themselves. Brainiac 5 reluctantly refers to the period as a "fairly ugly time", when it's clear that he probably had more choice words for situation Midoriya is facing.

** At the U.A. Cultural Festival, the big guy Midoriya was competing against for the Beebo doll said he wanted to win the thing as present for his boss's daughter. The man is Kendo Rappa, one of the Eight Expendables of the Eight Precepts of Death.

** Due to the highly public nature of Mt. Fuji and leaving their car at their camp site, the Midoriyas were only able to take the baby Midoriya and the lid of the spaceship rather than the whole thing as the Kents did. Hence Midoriya has no way to learn about his home planet's culture, only knowing that he's an alien. After meeting All Might, he spends the next part of the series hunting this ship down in order to gain some closure.
** Subverted with the Sludge Villain incident. Midoriya's powers would have let him easily defeat the Sludge Villain, but he refuses to use them out of fear of being labeled a Vigilante, requiring All Might to save him again. He also runs to save Bakugou from just like in canon, but this time he successfully tears Bakugou free and tosses him to safety. He still gets chewed out by the Pro Heroes for intervening even though the crowd of onlookers cheered while seeing him in action.

** Hisashi initially refers to the alien baby as "it" until Inko corrected him by saying that the baby is a "he" after looking in the baby's diaper.

* LandmarkingTheHiddenBase: Firestorm comes to Japan in Chapter 4 to hunt down a Villain who was believed to have set up shop in the area. He and Midoriya find out that said Villain has built a base inside Mt. Fuji, arguably Japan's most recognizable landmark, even before Midoriya's spaceship had crashed at the base of the mountain. The Villain also mentions that he didn't actually construct the base himself, rather it was hollowed out long before he had arrived.

* TheMenInBlack: Mentioned by Hisashi as part of his hesitation in adopting Midoriya. Later, a group of mysterious unnamed individuals intervene while Shitsugen is interrogating the Midoriyas and Bakugous, taking over the investigation as Midoriya blacks out from the stress of his Super-Hearing.

** Midoriya is even more of a nervous mess than his canon counterpart due to his fear of hurting others if he's not careful. That said, he lets Bakugou know when he's upset by throwing him against the wall hard enough to unbutton his shirt when Bakugou blows up Midoriya's Hero Analysis notebook like he does in canon, though he's quick to put his bully back on his feet soon afterward.

** Midoriya is on the verge of having a FreakOut when All Might deduces Midoriya's identity as the alien humanoid who injured Bakugou ten years prior the main story. He starts panicking again in Chapter 6 when he realizes he's being held hostage by one of the most venerated Villains in the world, [[spoiler:the Ultra-Humanite]].

** [[spoiler:The Ultra-Humanite]] has this reaction when he realizes that his Quirk has been deactivated, leading to his PrecisionFStrike. He has it again when All Might and Firestorm to rush in to kick his ass after Midoriya exposes this fact.

* PoorCommunicationKills: Just like in canon, the defining trait of Midoriya's and Bakugou's relationship. There are too many misconceptions between them to count, but the greatest one is, perhaps, [[spoiler:Bakugou's belief that Midoriya is looking down on him and doesn't believe he can be a hero. In reality, Midoriya looks ''up'' to him, and probably has the most faith in Bakugou next to the boy himself]].

** In the first part of "Izuki Midoriya: Origins", this is Hisashi's reaction to Inko trying to convince him they should adopt the alien baby they found in a crashed space ship. He then punctuates it with a BigNo and a blast from his fire-breath Quirk.

** Like in canon, Midoriya is keeping All Might's true form a secret from the public after accidentally seeing it. All Might in turn is keeping Midoriya's identity as an alien secret, since he believes in the good Midoriya is capable of.

* ShockJock: Holly Taniguchi constant takes potshots at U.A.'s students and faculty to produce more eye-catching footage while using semi-reliable sources and making wild accusations. She's known as "Hero Hater Holly" for this reason.

* SuicideAttack: A four-year old Midoriya remembers a fight between All Might and Lord Death Man, where the latter attempted to blow them both up with a powerful bomb strapped to his chest. Due to Lord Death Man's [[HealingFactor regeneration Quirk]], he would survive while All Might would not. Luckily for the Hero, he managed to throw Death Man off of him with his Oklahoma Smash. resulting in Lord Death Man's defeat. This is what inspires Midoriya to emulate All Might while fighting Bakugou, [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength which ends disastrously]].

** Firestorm is also mentioned to be a super powerful Hero, winning practically all of his battles over the course of his seven year career thanks to his potent mix of PlayingWithFire and Atomi Superpower which also grants him {{Flight}}.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Midoriya and Todoroki suffer from severe psychological issues. The former is plagued by his constant guilt over nearly killing Bakugou and his fear of being outed as an alien, while the latter has AbusiveParents who have left him an aloof, stoic {{Jerkass}} who wants nothing to do with his father or his powers. Neither of them are able to seek out therapy because of the root causes of their problems. K.E.L.E.X. even recommends Todoroki to visit a therapist, but Midoriya shoots down the notion immediately.

* {{Unobtanium}}: DC's numerous supernatural metals, such as Nth Metal, are brought up as rare and valuable materials throughout the story. They're difficult to acquire due to their supernatural properties and are often hoarded by specific factions, such as feminum for the Amazons. Uraraka's costume is made of an feminum alloy hard enough to crack Iida's armored costume. Hisashi also pulled some strings to get Seventh Metal fibers to weave into Midoriya's Hero costume, making it similarly durable.

** The Sludge Villain still has no problems targeting Midoriya or Bakugou in an attempt to use them as them as bodysuits to escape All Might.

** [[OverlyLongTitle "Deku's Pal, Katsuki Bakugou Part 3: Katsuki Bakugou: Secret Origin"]] covers the events leading up to the accident, the immediate aftermath, and Bakugou's struggle to become a Hero afterward.
* OverlyLongTitle:
** One sidestory is titled, "The Daily Struggles of U.A. High School Janitor Hana Aoi, Age 32, Blood Type O, Three Sizes Moderately Satisfying, Part 1".
** Another chapter is titled, "Deku's Pal, Katsuki Bakugou Part 3: Katsuki Bakugou: Secret Origin"

* HomosexualReproduction: The questions on the written portion of the U.A. Entrance Exam reveal that [[ComicBook/DoomPatrol Casey Brinke]] and Terry None were able to use their abilities to create a drug that allows women to impregnate other women, making this a possibility. Momo is one of the products of [[HasTwoMommies such a relationship]].

** Firestorm is mentioned by the author to be written more like his ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'' counterpart. As such, he's considerably more mature than many of the more recent and excitable takes on the character, but has the overall power levels of his comic book counterpart. Midoriya mentions that Firestorm has won virtually every battle he's ever had due to his SuperpowerLottery winning mix of PlayingWithFire and ILoveNuclearPower. He displays much more of the excitable portion of his more recent incarnations after finding out that Mr. Yagi is All Might.

** Firestorm is also mentioned to be a super powerful Hero, winning practically all of his battles over the course of his seven year career thanks to his potent mix of PlayingWithFire and ILoveNuclearPower which also grants him {{Flight}}.

It can be read [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/13506729/chapters/30976953 on AO3]] and [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12817013/1/Neither-a-Bird-nor-a-Plane-it-s-Deku Fanfiction.net,]] but with more in-depth analysis and active discussion about the story on [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/neither-a-bird-nor-a-plane-its-deku-mha-x-dcu.610714/ Spacebattles]] and [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/neither-a-bird-nor-a-plane-its-deku.45479/ Sufficient Velocity]].

* RapidFireNo: Midoriya denies being friends with Lexi this way.
-->'''Midoriya:''' ''[frantically waving his arms around]'' No no no no no no no no! God no! Please stop thinking that!

* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll: Midoriya spends most of the story up to the USJ Arc effortlessly shrugging off everything thrown at him. But after pummeling the Noumu long enough to [[HopeSpot make it pause]], [[spoiler:he's quickly pummeled to the point that he screams in agony before being left bloody and unconscious. Only All Might's decision [[GodzillaThreshold kill the Noumu]] saves Midoriya from a broken spine.]]

[[folder:P - S]]

[[folder: Tropes A-K]]

* CanonWelding: Combines the My Hero Academia universe with Franchise/DCComics characters and concepts as well as characters and details from the Series/{{Arrowverse}}.

** Due to the effects of the Lantern War, most people are distrustful of aliens, making it even harder for Midoriya to come to terms with himself. Worse still, ComicBook/MartianManhunter, ComicBook/{{Starfire}}, and [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Renegade]] are name dropped as Heroes who were implied to have either been killed or forced to go underground for being aliens. This has seeped into the culture at the fundamental level. Anti-alien merchandise, movies, and even textbooks are mentioned frequently in the story as part of the continual effort to make this behavior socially acceptable, which has ''worked'', as Midoriya's Super-Hearing picks up on a report that a man was arrested solely on suspicions that he was an alien. After hurting Bakugou, this is one of the primary reasons why Midoriya has been laying low for so long, since Alan Scott's [[AbsoluteXenophobe xenophobic tendencies]] would almost certainly make him hunt Midoriya down if the boy's alien nature were ever revealed to the world at large.

** Due to his already incredible abilities, Midoriya refuses One For All because he feels that it would be wasted on him. According to the author, this means that Mirio Togata, the one originally scouted to be All Might's successor, will be getting it instead of Midoriya. When and how is still up in the air. This also means that Midoriya isn't going to go through the same TrainingMontage as his canon counterpart, instead spending the time before the U.A. Entrance Exam trying to hunt down his spaceship so he can learn about where he came from.

* FreeRangeChildren: Midoriya and Bakugou used to hang out together without any adult supervision as per canon. Unfortunately, this means that no one was able to stop them from brawling after Bakugou starts bullying another kid, ending with the former nearly dying after being thrown through a wall by accident.

* HandsGoDown: When Aizawa calls to start the voting for the Class President and Vice-President, Tokoyami raises his hand to ask a question. Aizawa then says that his genie is officially considered a part of Tokoyami so he won't bet two votes. He then lowers his hand.

* [[HeroesRUS Heroes "R" US]]: Heroes are registered with the government and are given licenses to operate out of Hero Offices. They get paid for their work and can even merchandise their image. Midoriya's "Beats by Canary" headphones are marketed by ComicBook/BlackCanary and he owns entire collections of All Might merchandise. He also has plenty of merchandise from other Heroes as well, bringing Justice Society figurines to entertain the Mi-Gos.

* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: Midoriya's enthusiasm for all things Hero-related is undiluted. He fills out his Hero Analysis journals, squees so hard when meeting All Might that his bows are scraping away at the pavement, and rambles on and on when asked about the details of any particular Hero. Firestorm's professionalism collapses when "Mr. Yagi" reveals himself to be All Might, squealing like a rabid fangirl even as Professor Stein is implied to be telling him to calm down.

[[folder:Tropes L-Z]]

* PapaWolf: All Might becomes extremely protective of Midoriya and vows to [[spoiler:defeat the Ultra-Humanite after the latter seemingly kills Midoriya.]] Firestorm is even more so, threatening to turn Mt. Fuji into a pillar of salt for the same reason. [[spoiler:Of course, his rage is understandable when it's revealed that he's Midoriya adoptive father.]]

* SuicideAttack: A four-year old Midoriya remembers a fight between All Might and Lord Death Man, where the latter attempted to blow them both up with a powerful bomb strapped to his chest. Due to Lord Death Man's [[HealingFactor regeneration Quirk]], he would survive while All Might would not. Luckily for the Hero, he managed to throw Death Man off of him with his Oklahoma Smash. resulting in Lord Death Man's defeat. This is what inspires Midoriya to emulate All Might while fighting Bakugou, which ends disastrously.

[[/folder]]

** Kendou Kendou is a side character in the original series due to being relegated to 1-B. She's in 1-A in this story and becomes one of Midoriya's closest friends at U.A.

Here's the catch. In this universe, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness He doesn't want to become a hero]]... At first.