Chapter Text
Essay Question:
Explain what Legacy Heroes are and why they are so heavily scrutinized in our current climate.
Legacy heroes are a subset of the hero industry that foregoes a new identity in favor of adopting one that once existed, either taking on the name of a previous hero or one that existed in fiction. Their costumes are either directly copied from or designed to emulate the hero they choose to inherit the title from, and depending on the nature of the progenitor and inheritor heroes even certain behavioral quirks are emulated as well, though their scrutiny comes as a result of multiple factors:
1) Abuse of the legacy title
2) The War of the Supermen
3) The weight of a legacy title
Legacy titles, especially in America, were massively popular throughout the early generations of quirks. The city of New York alone, much like its comic book counterparts before the rise of heroism as a profession, was a massive hive of legacy heroes, with multiple teams of Avengers, Fantastic Fours, Defenders, Justice Leagues, etc. The issue with there being so many legacy heroes was that it was difficult to distinguish who was a hero and who was an early villain abusing the title, such as one of the first legacy Batman inheritors simply being a gang of thieves who employed similar tactics to the original caped crusader while pretending to uphold his protection of the weak when under the public eye. Teams of superheroes fighting was also common, especially when multiple heroes took on the same name, leading to my second point: The War of the Supermen.
The War of the Supermen was an event during the second quirk generation where the American Midwest primarily was the hub for dozens of superheroes with a variety of the original superhero's powers, all at minimum having flight and super strength with some also having the iconic frost breath and laser vision. Some sought to fight for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow as an homage to their inspiration, while others wanted to use their power alongside the confusion of a revolutionized society to commit atrocities. Upon being discovered some would change their aliases or costume designs to resemble popular Superman clones and variations such as Omni-Man, Homelander, Justice Lord, and Injustice, while acting completely without personal restraint once the mask was revealed. The level of destruction that came as a result of the War of the Supermen leveled the hero's origin state of Kansas to the ground, with entire cities in the surrounding stated reduced to rubble and the legacy heroes completely outlawed by the American government for nearly a century after heroism became properly enforced and normalized in society.
The final and most important source of scrutiny that legacy heroes receive today is based entirely on the importance of taking on an existing hero's name. To inherit a hero's name is to take on not only their iconography but also their history. Despite his case resolution success rate, heroes do not take on the name of Endeavor primarily due to the number two hero's public image. On the reverse side, All Might is a name held with such relevancy in our current society that the very idea of becoming a legacy hero under his name is treated with the same seriousness as treason by both public opinion and the hero system itself.
Extra reasons for scrutiny that I will mention for now include the following:
1) The desire to create one's own personal image instead of receiving criticism for taking on the fame of a hero instead of working to build up their own
2) Mistakes and controversy leading to negative criticism not only of the legacy hero but of the one they inherited the name from as well
Keeping on the topic of scrutiny, allow me to illustrate another, much older legacy title that hardly a soul has attempted to adopt the title of; Spider-Man, one of the greatest comic book heroes from the Pre-Quirk era. Some legacy heroes existed during the advent of quirks, yet no hero, both real and fictional, have had so few legacy inheritors than Spider-Man. Japan has had it's own Spider-Men in the past. Takuya Yamashiro, the eccentric "Emissary of Hell" who enacted justice in the legendary hero's name during the very oddly Tokusatsu-styled third generation. The Splendid Spider-Man, Hikigaya Hachiman, who became Chiba's Spider-Man after his quirk awakened during a deadly siege on his hometown during the advent of quirks. Fake Red, the quirkless man who took on the mantle for a short period of time to inspire hope in others during the time of the Splendid Spider-Man. Aside from them there have been no heroes across the entire planet willing to take on the name of the legendary webslinger in nearly two centuries. Despite the ancient sentiment that anyone can put on the mask, very few have tried, and those few only did so because it was necessary to invoke the name and weight of Spider-Man during those previous heroes' tumultuous lives.
The legacy of Spider-Man, out of every hero of the past and present, has been uncorrupted even through the chaos of the advent of quirks. Not one hero that has taken on the mantle, whether it be the ones that existed at the advent or the very few that adopted it later, have ever strayed from what it means to wear the mask. Regardless of the reasons for scrutiny, whether it be the weight of expectation, the desire to abuse the title, or even to simply bask in the fame of being the next iteration of the legendary Spider-Man, not a single one ever strayed from the great responsibility that comes with the monkier.
To return to the original question, even with the exception of one title like Spider-Man's-
"Midoriya!"
"Y-Yes?" The young man looked up from his paper, looking around to see the entire class staring at him again.
"The test is over. Turn in your paper." Izuku looked down at what he wrote, lamented that he wasn't given enough time to continue to prove his point, and turned in his test.
"Stop wasting time for everyone else next time, Deku." The teacher muttered, the class snickering at his expense. "Alright, with that little bit of stalling over class is dismissed. Next week we'll be going over some exciting stuff to prep for your last year at Aldera High, so look out for that I guess." Students began to file out, chatting about how a new hero debuted last week and how Yoroi Musha had to revoke the name of a legacy hero that allowed for a horrific failure during an op a few days ago. Izuku packed up his things, keeping his head down as he heard Kacchan boasting about how he would become so strong All Might himself would beg him to inherit his hero name. No, perhaps he would even build a legacy that stands so strong that people would form lines lasting for kilometers with people like All Might himself begging to inherit his name.
As much as Izuku respected Kacchan, a small part of his mind was telling his childhood friend to keep dreaming. Bakugo suddenly snapped his gaze towards Izuku with an immediate anger, and the young man could only let out a sigh as he heard the sound of sparking palms.
"Oi, Deku! Wasting everyone's time instead of turning in your test like a normal goddamn person? Gotta teach you to respect your fuckin betters!"
"I feel sorry for Midoriya sometimes."
"Hey, I'm just glad those pops aren't aimed towards me."
"Certainly saves me the beating at least."
"Shut up extras!" Bakugo turned his attention back towards Izuku, blocking off the doorway for now. "Only people who should be taking time around here are the people worthy of attention."
"Y'know, when Bakugo gets like this he sounds like one of those cornerstore pamphlet passers who invite people to learn about the MLA."
"Don't say that out loud! Do you want to join Deku?" The chatter was interrupted by a louder explosion.
"Now, here's what's gonna happen, Deku. I'm feeling nice, so I'll let you off the hook as long as you know your place. Sit your ass down, stay out of my way, and maybe I'll be in a good enough mood to let you scrub toilets at my agency when I become the next number one. Now GO!" Bakugo slapped a hand on Izuku's back and released a small explosion that singed the back of Izuku's uniform and nearly tripped him off of his own feet. Some students laughed at his expense while others gave him looks of pity but refused to interfere, the young man sighing to himself.
'I just hope that Bakugo doesn't find out that I applied for UA.' He thought. 'I hate to find out what he'd think if he knew I still wanted to be a hero.' He finally leaft Aldera and began his walk home through the busy city streets.
...Meanwhile...
In the depths beneath Jakku hospital, a short, round man was tampering with a new idea. He grabbed a few containers flowing with liquid and covered with labels like 'tier 6 enhanced strength,' 'tier 6 enhanced durability,' 'tier 6 enhanced speed,' 'tier 4 enhanced healing,' 'enhanced metabolism and ailment resistance,' 'extreme reflex booster,' 'tier 5 cognitive strain reduction,' 'tier 9 extrasensory enhancement,' 'dna synthesis,' and 'enhanced natural abilities'. The old man took samples from each vial, very carefully injecting one sample into the body of a small spider. After seeing no reaction he did the same with the next, and then the next, and then the next, each time pausing to make sure the spider did not yet die.
"Test subject one of batch thirteen, attempt number nineteen. Subject seems stable despite multiple quirks enhancing its system."
1-13-19
The doctor looked at the creature's current designation, letting out a small sigh and shaking his head.
'My Lord always liked his classic superheroes.' Before his injury his master seemed to have fun making 'loadouts' of sorts with his quirks. During the older generations while he was amassing power his favorite hobby was to complete missions with only a limited selection of quirks made to mimic those of some classic heroes and villains, such as his minor participation in the War of the Supermen as 'General Zod'.
"Specimen seems almost too stable. I could perhaps add some more if I was allowed." Bio Electricity, camouflage, maybe even deployable venomous fangs were some of the ideas that the doctor had, but was forced to refrain from. Out of all of the previous attempts to create an animal capable of transferring quirks, only this one spider seemed to have survived until now. He didn't want to compromise such a promising subject so soon, no matter how hard his scientific intrigue wanted to push him to add even more to this creature.
'All for One was always more of a fan of the classic ability roster. This will be a wonderful gift. I just need to keep it sedated until I can confirm that the mixture will survive and install a tracking chip in case it gets loose. For now though...' For now though he had to leave. His master was waiting for him. Before he made to leave he upped the dosage of the sedative, intending to keep the spider under until he could install the tracking chip.
What the doctor didn't account for was that the 'enhanced metabolism' quirk meant to assist the healing and ailment resistance quirks burned through even the increased dosage, allowing the spider to awaken. The spider ripped apart it's containment with its even greater strength enhancements, climbed up glass chambers filled with dark, shadowy figures, and climbed into an air vent to leave the hospital.
Sentient quirk deployment unit 1-13-19, codename ASM, traveled through the night, dropping down onto the streets of Musutafu only to be swept up alongside loose asphalt as a sludge villain made his daring escape against a legendary hero.
...The Next Day...
"Stupid Kacchan, what if I actually made good on that threat?" Izuku grumbled, patting down the burn marks on his uniform after his childhood friend's tantrum. Unfortunately his worst fear had come to pass, and his desire to apply for UA's hero course was revealed to the insults and scorn of his classmates, most of all Bakugo.
'Pray for a quirk in your next life? I'd hate to see what happens if he meets someone like the Hero Killer after saying something like that.' He blinked. 'All Might wouldn't think something like that, Izuku. Heroic thoughts. Kind, inspiring, proper heroic thoughts. Also I should definitely burn that diary with all those violent thoughts about Kacchan just in case anyone finds it and thinks that I'm too mentally unwell to apply to UA.'
He checked to make sure his now burned notebook didn't get too ruined by its dive in the fish pond, letting out a frustrated sigh as he dried it off as best as he could.
"Forget that Kacchan thinks that you can't become a hero." He hyped himself up, taking a shortcut through a dark tunnel nearby. "Don't let him tear you down. After a year of intense training, some tactical awareness practice, or a path in through the Sports Festival, I could probably have a real, honest shot of doing it. Might have to train in a weapon or two but I think I can still do it. No, I can do it! I can be a hero!"
"You can by my hero at the very least, kid."
"Huh?" A sewer lid burst open nearby, a massive blob of sludge with eyes and a mouth popping out.
"Gonna need to borrow your body, kid. At least long enough to get away from that giant meathead." Izuku tried to scramble away, his leg easily caught by the sludge villain who slid over and began his attempt to invade his body. "It'll all be over soon, kid. Don't worry, your death will certainly save my life!" Izuku fought it off, but there was too much sludge and he could only protect himself so much against the villain actively forcing himself into Izuku's body.
"No... not yet..." He kept trying to push the slime away even as it forced itself through his ears, forcing himself to keep his hands over his nose and mouth even as his fingers were being pried apart.
'Please... not like this! Someone!' Just as the slime broke through his hands and started to pour into his nose and mouth, he heard a voice ring out from the end of the tunnel.
"Have no fear, for I AM HERE! Unhand that child, villain, or else face justice at my hand!"
"Shit... Over my dead body, All Might!"
"No need to go that far! A liquid containment prison cell will do just fine! TEXAS..."
"FUCK YOU ALL MIGHT!!!"
"SMAAAAASH!!!" The last thing Izuku felt before blacking out was a hurricane of force, and freedom from his slimy assailant.
...
When Izuku opened his eyes, he was met with a firm yet gentle tapping on his cheek.
"Kid? You okay?" A deep voice asked, Izuku stirring awake for a few moments before remembering what he had heard before falling unconscious.
"A... ALL MIGHT?!" He jumped up, startling the number one hero slightly.
"Of course! Are you alright, young man?" Izuku was about to respond, stopping to cough out some of the slime that did make it into his body.
"I'm okay now that you're here." He patted himself down, feeling around for-
"Looking for this?" All Might pulled out Izuku's note book, turning to a pair of once blank pages that now contained a full signature.
"Oh my gosh thank you so much All Might this will be a treasured family heirloom passed down through generations upon generations-"
"Woah there young man. I may have mighty hearing but I can only hear so much when you talk so fast!" Izuku paused, blushing for a moment.
"S-Sorry about that All Might. I'm just so honored to m-meet you is all."
"It's no problem. Now then, I need to make sure that this villain is returned to the proper authorities!" He said. He pulled out a soda bottle filled with the villain's eyes, mouth, and some of the slime that had made up its body.
"Atypical heteromorph quirks like slime bodies usually have some kind of core that stabilizes the entire body. If it isn't in the bottle the villain could potentially reform somewhere else even though you have parts of his face." Izuku thought aloud, inspecting the bottle.
"If it looked like a baseball-sized sphere, then I did find that while containing the villain. Smart work, young..."
"Mi-Midoriya. Midoriya I-Izuku, s-sir." He introduced himself shyly.
"Well Young Midoriya, it was fantastic to meet you, but for now I must be off!" He put the villain in his cargo pants, and prepared to jump. He wanted to ask All Might so many questions, with a very specific one on the tip of his tongue. He was about to ask it when he noticed something about the sludge villain, his mouth moving without thinking.
"Hang on All Might! Depending on the angle you jump at the villain might slip out and fall into the middle of the city!" Izuku called out. All Might's eyes widened, looking down at the bottle hanging halfway out of his pocket even when crouched to jump.
"Oh, you are correct! Forgive me Young Midoriya, I nearly caused a disaster due to my own negligence. You truly saved me just now. Alright! I am... LEAVING FOR REAL THIS TIME!!!" He held the villain in his hands instead of leaving him in his pocket, Izuku's mind catching up to him just before All Might jumped.
"Wait, I need to ask you-" Unfortunately he would never get to ask his question, for a sudden jolt of pain from his hand caused him to flinch just enough for All Might to jump away.
Izuku was left alone in the tunnel once more, noticing a spider attached to his hand.
"A spider stopped me from asking my idol if I could be a hero." He could almost laugh. From Bakugo's constant barbs and blasts, to the jeers of his classmates, to is own mother's cries apologizing for his genetic misfortune. None if it stung quite like having his clearest attempt to change his fate being stopped by an angry arachnid of all things. Although...
"I... Actually, I have to thank you, little spider. I... I don't know what I would have done if he had said no." If even All Might had said that heroism was nothing more than a dream for him, Izuku didn't know what he would have done. Perhaps it was hope bordering on delusion, but Izuku was glad that his dream was able to live another day. The spider began to fall from his hand, Izuku catching it and laying it down gently on the floor nearby when he saw that it had died. "Sleep well, spider." He built a small grave for it with an empty cigarette box as a casket and a discarded can lid as a headstone. It may have been a concrete jungle, but it was the closest thing to nature that he could have given it without dragging around a dead spider.
"Hello, Izuku. How was your day?" His mother asked as he walked home.
"Pre-Pretty good I think." Personally meeting All Might would be the highlight of the week. No, perhaps even the crowning moment of his entire life. Not asking his question sucked really bad, but he was spared from potential rejection at the very least. The spider bite, Aldera's insults, Bakugo's horrible words, and even his brush with death against the sludge villain paled in comparison to the meeting he had with his favorite living hero. He freshened up, making sure to toss his dirty uniform in the laundry as he went over the day in his head.
Later that night saw Izuku sitting in front of his notebooks once again, the page on number thirteen with All Might's signature open.
'I don't know if I can become a hero, even less so one who can inspire hope the same way All Might can.' Izuku's dream was to become a hero who could inspire hope and feelings of safety in others in the same way that his idol had. Even after all this time that dream stood strong even in the face of scrutiny from everyone he had ever met in his seventeen years of life.
He flipped through his notebook, going through the detailed sketches of heroes that had caught his eye for this entry. There was Superman Requiem, one of America's first Supermen to arise with the original comic's beliefs in a better tomorrow after the War of the Supermen's embargo on the name. He flipped to another page to reveal Mount Lady, the newest hero debut that he was able to catch that morning, smiling as he reached All Might's page.
'Maybe a Deku doesn't have the right to All Might's name. Maybe not even the right to his role as a symbol of peace. However... for even just a moment...' He flipped the page, the next one showing a very detailed sketch of two large, white eyes, on a featureless head surrounded by a webbed design.
'For even a moment, could I be a hero like that? Like them?' Rather than turn on the video of All Might's debut in Japan, he instead turned on a much older video from before, recorded amidst a city under siege.
...
"...I'll put a stop to this. I promise."
With that, he darted away, towards the danger, towards the chaos.
"...De, dear viewers," the reporter's spoke, still disconcerted. "That was...that was...Oh gosh, I can't believe it. That was him. It was him. That was the real deal..."
The woman had been moved to tears. The cameraman, capturing her image, hadn't realized it, but he too was weeping.
Never had either been in such dangerous an assignment. Yet, never in their lives had either of them felt so reassured, so safe.
"That wasn't some...that wasn't some cruel, psychopathic phony! That's him! He became real! He became real because we needed him to be!" Excitement and passion overtook her, and any semblance of detached professionalism had been thrown to the wind. Now was not the time for such trivialities. For this moment was too monumental, too important, for human emotion to find itself absent.
The world stood still.
This was one of those moments that changed humanity's history forever, and everyone viewing it throughout the world knew.
How many, across generations, around the globe, had once upon a time gazed upon that gallant hero, who refused to yield despite overwhelming odds, and dared them to dream impossible dreams...?!
And yet he, who should only belong in the realm of amazing fantasies,
had become flesh and blood simply because he'd been 'needed'.
It was a declaration heard around the Earth. The rallying cry for the downtrodden, the suffering, the cowering, and the hopeless. A second wind for all inhabitants of this blue star.
"It's him! It's SPIDER-MAN!"
...
Izuku wiped the tears from his eyes as he heard the unshakeable hope and relief in the reporter's voice.
After finding that video, the name of Spider-Man had to some extent been just as important to him as All Might's. The idea that anyone, whether it be a self-centered boy like the original wall crawler, or the misunderstood loner that the Splendid Spider-Man was, could be a hero resonated with his soul. The hope, the passion, the absolute absence of fear and the warmth of knowing that everything would be alright now put that video, and the hero himself, on the same level as All Might even through all of the childhood nostalgia that the number one hero's debut held.
'If All Might is nothing more than a dream, can I at least inspire one person in the way that mask does? Do I have the right to dream for that much at least?' He let out a sigh as he flipped to the next page, preparing a new entry based on the recently debuted legacy hero Landcruller.
Before he could press his pen down on the page however he suddenly began to feel lightheaded.
His skin grew warm, overwhelmingly so to the point that it felt like his organs were about to be boiled inside.
He tried to stand but his legs immediately gave up and he fell backwards, the chair rolling and causing him to fall to the ground.
"W-What's-" He tried to mumble, only for pain to course through his entire body. First his fingers, then his arms, then spreading from his torso to the rest of him.
He was burning alive without a flame, his body temperature fluctuating wildly while his muscle fibers were straining, tearing, and fixing themselves in a matter of milliseconds with Izuku suffering wide awake as it happened. His bones ached, his skin pulsed and flared with indescribable pain as it ripped itself open, and he couldn't even scream to release the pain. All he could to was look up, seeing the spider bite on his hand from that afternoon releasing a pulsing glow.
'N-No... way...' He passed out once he the ache in his bones turned into searing pain as they cracked and stretched, his torn skin and ripped muscles stitching themselves together even faster to keep him alive.
It couldn't have been, right? That spider can't have been the same. There was no way. Izuku's subconscious was filled with fear and confusion as he transformed through the night, his remaining few seconds of mental processing focused on that spider's bite.
...
'N-No... way...' The doctor began to sweat nervously. How could he have missed such a crucial detail? Of course increasing its resistance to impairment and increasing its metabolism would survive higher doses of sedative.
'I can fix this, I can fix this, I can-'
"Doctor Garaki." The doctor heard, his heart dropping as he turned around to see the silhouette of his Master on a screen.
"M-My Lord..."
"What ails you, Garaki?"
'He'll know you're lying. You may have helped him for this long, but do not believe that you are indispensable.' Garaki thought to himself.
"Sir, I... I made a grave mistake. It should not compromise the security of our current operation, but it is of some concern."
"Oh? And what exactly is this issue, Garaki? Surely not something that requires disciplinary action, no?" The doctor began to sweat.
"I was preparing a specimen. Do you recall the p-plans we made for stealthy quirk transportation and deployment?"
"I do recall. I also recall you saying that finding a stable enough specimen was a grave challenge."
"I-It was. Even among animals the likelihood of survival from carrying multiple quirks is less than 0.05 percent. I was, however, able to obtain a very promising specimen that proved stable after balancing a large quantity of quirk samples. It was... a spider, sir."
"A spider, hmm?" All For One's smile grew. "You were able to recreate the radioactive spider?"
"Y-Yes sir, but... it escaped. The sedatives I placed it under failed, and the creature escaped using the quirks I installed into it before I could implant a tracking chip." Instead of disappointment however, All For One's smile stretched from ear to ear.
"A radioactive spider, a busy city populated with crime, corruption, and the weight of legacy? Garaki, this is a much better gift than if you had presented the spider to me as a reminder of my old loadouts!" He began to laugh, the sound of his joy bouncing around the walls of his lair.
"Amazing! Spectacular!! Splendid!!! Sensational!!!! Garaki my dear friend, your negligence has done me a great service today!"
"S-Sir, I don't understand-"
"With that spider on the loose, someone will surely get bitten. If that person survives the additions to their quirk factor, and knows their history, then..." He chuckled. "The Spectacular Spider-Man lives again! Oh I can't wait to see how his return shapes society!" All For One chuckled again, taking a moment to finally calm down.
"Garaki, grab the remains of that hero Hostjumper and prep what's left of him for the quirk deployment procedure. I want to make sure that one more part of Peter Parker's history exists before leaving him to the whims of fate."
"As you wish, Sir." Garaki left to do what he was told, All For One stopping him before he fully left.
"Don't worry, Garaki. You won't be punished for your failure. The entertainment value alone of what you've done convinced me to let you off the hook for this."
"T-Thank you. I'll get started on the preparations right away." Garaki finally left now, leaving All For One alone to his own thoughts.
Supposedly there was that other spider down a few prefectures over, but she didn't quite invoke the same feelings about that age old hero that Japan's previous spiders did.
This, however? If All For One was correct, and that spider gave someone a real Peter Parker origin...
"I can't wait to see what life will be like with a Spider-Man around again." He had a soft spot for the hero. One could even call him a bit of a fan. He tended to keep his operations away from where one was operating. It was less because he believed that they could stop him, far from it with how powerful his collection had become over the years. He treated the Spiders that appeared like a decades long TV series, entertaining himself by watching their antics across their respective lives when he had the chance. So long as they didn't stray too close to his operations of course, but he had fond memories of rushing his more incriminating associates and operations out under the cover of night the first few days after the Splendid Spider-Man's debut.
Of course, his joy relied entirely on the idea that a Spider-Man will arise from the doctor's misplaced experiment, but All For One had hope. If a cynical loner and a man pretending to be a weakling could become living incarnations of the Spectacular Spider-Man, then surely the call will be answered once again.
'Ah, I wonder if I should start making loadouts again. Perhaps something more... venomous? No, maybe something else...'
He had not had this much fun thinking of new ideas since he first started quirk hunting all those generations ago. He hummed the Spider-Man theme to himself as he began to brainstorm, hoping the day that he can hear the sounds of thwips above the city streets.
'I hope that the next one is as entertaining as their predecessors.'