Izuku Midoriya has asked his hero, All Might, if a quirkless boy like him could possibly become a hero, explaining that it had always been his dream to be a hero like All Might. When he looks at his hero, however, he sees something shocking: where once stood a hero who was tall and muscular, now stood an emaciated, disheveled-looking man. It is still the same All Might, however. All Might explains that he had received a grave injury in the line of duty that cost him some of his organs, and he could only use his powers and assume his "heroic" form for a few hours each day before the strain placed on his body causes him to start coughing blood. Using this injury to demonstrate his point, All Might honestly answers Midoriya, saying that it is simply too dangerous for someone without a quirk to become a hero, and that Midoriya should give up on his dream.
Dejected, Midoriya takes his leave. After he departs, however, All Might notices the bottle in which he had kept the sludge villain was gone: he has escaped!
Suddenly, explosions ring out in the city as the sludge villain attempts to take another victim. Pro heroes gather on the scene to contain the flames, but the villain is too powerful for them to defeat without putting their victim in harm's way. Midoriya and the de-powered All Might watch in horror; Midoriya had accidentally released the villain while he was hanging on to All Might, and All Might had already reached his limit and was dejected over his inability to help.
The sludge villain's victim continues to struggle, his eyes visible for a brief moment...
And Midoriya recognizes those eyes as Katsuki Bakugo's!
Before he even realizes it, without even knowing why and unable to stop himself, Midoriya runs towards the villain. He claws at the villain in a desperate bid to free Bakugo, stating that he couldn't just sit by and watch him die. All Might, shocked at this show of bravery, chastises himself for his previous weakness of character as he assumes his heroic form once more and joins the fray. Even as he coughs blood, he uses his power to defeat the villain and capture them once more. While both All Might and Bakugo are praised for their bravery, Midoriya is harshly chewed out for running in so recklessly.
As Midoriya walks home afterwards, still heartbroken over his dream ending, Bakugo confronts him: his pride wounded, he states that he never asked for help and warns Midoriya not to look down on him.
Afterwards, Midoriya is approached by All Might, who explains that all of the heroes he knew had one common thread in the stories of how they started: they had a moment when they threw themselves into danger, without knowing why or how, to help others, just as Midoriya had earlier. To do so, even though he was quirkless, helped All Might realize that a true hero must be willing to risk all for the sake of others, and it was all thanks to Midoriya.
Midoriya, overwhelmed, clutches his chest, tears in his eyes, and falls to his knees as All Might finally tells him the words he had waited his entire life to hear:
"Young man...you, too, can be a hero!"
Tropes present in this episode include:
- Armor-Piercing Response: All Might tells Midoriya that it's impossible to be a hero without a quirk. By the end, after being inspired by the boy's actions, he changes his response to the line above.
- Beyond the Impossible: Despite the potential risk to himself, All Might, inspired by Izuku Midoriya's heroism, musters up the strength to go into his muscle form and save both boys, unable to bear the implications of either getting hurt.
- Break the Haughty: Bakugo gets a huge blow to his ego after he's attacked by the Sludge Villain and especially after Izuku rushed in to try and save him.
- Broken Pedestal: While seeing that his childhood hero has become a cynical invalid coughing up blood is bad enough, it is when All Might flat-out tells him that being a Quirkless hero is a lost cause that has Izuku actually consider giving up on being a hero. It doesn't last, though.
- Eye Scream: The first thing Izuku does when attacking the Sludge Villain is hurling his schoolbag at his eye to throw him off and give Bakugo an opening to breathe.
- Fat Flex: All Might compares his buff, hero-form to this. However, rather than fat, his past injuries left him unusually skinny.
- Finishing Move: All Might's punch "Detroit Smash" is so powerful, not only does it completely annihilate the Sludge Villain, saving Bakugo, but it releases a concussive wind so strong that it changes the clouds, creating a brief shower that douses the flames around him.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: All Might shows Izuku a gnarly scar on the side of his body, a war wound from the battle that left him in his weakened state.
- Hard Truth Aesop: You can have dreams of doing great things, but it may be difficult if you lack the talent to achieve them.
- Hypocrisy Nod: All Might acknowledges to Izuku that he wasn't practicing what he preached to Izuku back on the rooftop when he dashes in to rescue him again.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Izuku gets chewed out by the pros for stepping in to try and save Bakugo while Bakugo gets praised by them for his "bravery" and quirk (despite only making the situation worse). It's harsh, but justified since even though Izuku ran in with good intentions, he still put himself in the same danger the pros were already trying to fight against, and could have become another liability for them had All Might not been inspired to step back in as well.
- Noodle Incident: All Might suffered a grievous internal injury from a battle against a dangerous villain in the past; one that costs him half of his stomach. Because of this, he is unable to keep his muscle form for very long and constantly coughs up blood when strained too much. He never goes into detail of the battle or who was responsible, as it was a closed secret from the public. We eventually learn the truth much later in the series.
- Police Are Useless: All Might discusses and defies this trope, saying that being an officer is a noble line of work for someone who wants to protect people, despite the small amount of credit they receive.
- Rebuilt Pedestal: Despite his "The Cape" persona when he is out doing hero work, All Might has become rather cynical, telling Izuku that he should give up becoming a Hero as he does not have any Quirk for his own safety. It is not until the Quirkless Izuku runs in to the scene, trying in vain to save Bakugo (who is being held hostage by the Sludge Villain) does All Might step in once more, despite his low amount of time and energy, and save the day. He later escapes the press to talk to Izuku, thanking him for reminding him about what it means to be a Hero and then assures him that he in-fact could be become one himself.
- Secret-Keeper: On this day, Midoriya becomes one when it comes to All Might's true state of being. He's asked that the authorities keep it, as well as the battle that caused it, a secret, and begs Midoriya to not talk or post about it anywhere, so that the people can still look up to him as their Hero.
- Stepford Smiler: All Might claims that his "fearless smile" is just a front designed to inspire hope and courage in others. In truth, he has faced the feeling of fear at times, as being a hero ain't easy.
- Super Zeroes: A full-on team of specially trained pro-heroes show-up to take down the Sludge Villain, but none of them are able to properly pacify the situation, either because their quirks are not equipped to handle dealing with a villain whose body is made of sludge, or due to the fire and explosions set off by a desperate Bakugo. They do at least manage to keep further civilians from the line of fire.
- Tears of Joy: Izuku breaks down into tears when All Might — his idol — tells him that he really can be a hero, validation that has been denied him his entire life.
- This Is My Story: The end of the episode has Izuku hint that this series centers around him becoming "The World's Greatest Hero".
- Weaksauce Weakness: From Mt. Lady.Mt. Lady: My only weakness! I at least need a two-lane road if I'm going to make it through, here!
- Wham Shot: Izuku is beyond shocked that the buff and powerful hero he had looked up to for years tends to change down into a cynical and scrawny man coughing up blood. All Might explains that he suffered a serious injury that limits his power.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Granted, Midoriya isn't a hero right now. His otherwise reckless attempt to rescue Bakugo almost gets them both killed by the Sludge Villain before All Might comes to the rescue, and the other Pro Heroes call him out on it.
