FIFTH FANTASY BOOK PROGRESS

I am working on my fifth fantasy book and I have just finished a scene that involves six mercenaries fighting one another to the death. Now, I am about to write a section that involves a divided coalition of pirates trying to form their own nation. After that is done, I will be expanding upon the various social interactions my characters will have before they fight a horde of monsters.

ALL MIGHT VS ALL FOR ONE (ROUND 3)

“I am . . . inevitable.”

“And I am . . . Iron Man.”

Thanos and Tony Stark, Avengers: Endgame

The following contains spoilers from the latest chapter of My Hero Academia. You have been warned.

It looks like the final battle between superheroes and supervillains is really heating up. Among the many fights that are taking place is the third and final round in All Might and All For One’s grudge match. While fighting Endeavor, All For One subjected himself to an artificial version of Eri’s Rewind quirk. As a result, the crippling injuries All For One sustained during his first fight with All Might were undone. In addition, All For One has been restored to his prime and is getting younger by the minute. Because he was restored to his prime, All For One was able to crush every superhero in his way. However, because he cannot stop Eri’s Rewind quirk, All For One is going to be erased from existence at any moment. Therefore, All For One is hellbent on reaching Shigaraki before he disappears. The reason for this is because if Shigaraki comes in contact with All For One, All For One’s vestige will regain permanent control of Shigaraki’s body all over again.

However, despite all the superheroes he defeated, one obstacle stands between All For One and Shigaraki: ALL MIGHT!!! Despite not having a quirk, All Might has decided to fight All For One one last time. Instead of using a quirk, All Might is resorting to using advanced technology. By combining his experience from his previous fights with All For One and the data about All For One provided by Stain, All Might has created a mechanized suit of armor similar to Iron Man’s armor that comes out of both his suitcase and his car. My Hero Academia‘s author admitted that he has drawn inspiration from the Mark V Iron Man suit from the second Iron Man movie. I believe Horikoshi will also draw inspiration from the Hulkbuster Iron Man suit, which is specifically designed to counter the Hulk. With All Might’s suit, it will be a suit specifically designed to counter All For One.

Because All For One is becoming increasingly younger due to Eri’s Rewind quirk, he is also becoming more unhinged and emotionally unstable than his older self. As a result, he is not going to resist the urge to fight All Might and the chance to finally rid himself of his hated enemy. That is exactly what All Might is counting on. He is using himself as bait to keep All For One’s focus on him and buy enough time for the Rewind quirk to erase All For One out of existence.

Earlier in the series, All Might’s old sidekick, Sir Nighteye, had foreseen All Might’s death. While both Deku and All Might were determined to not make Sir Nighteye’s premonition come true, this could be the moment when All Might dies and performs the ultimate sacrifice. One way or another, All For One is going to die due to being erased by the Rewind quirk so his fate is pretty much sealed. If All Might dies in this fight, it could serve as the catalyst that completes the One For All quirk in Deku. Up until now, All Might’s vestige in One For All appears as a fiery phantom. I think it will only assume All Might’s true appearance when All Might dies. When that happens, the true power of One For All can be unlocked, which will further help Deku in his fight against Shigaraki.

Overall, All Might’s last fight with All For One will allow them to pass the torch to Shigaraki and Deku. The old era of heroes and villains will die with them and a new era will be born through their successors.

ORANGE LIGHTSABERS

In the trailer for the Star Wars Ahsoka show, we were introduced to a pair of Dark Jedi, Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati. The most striking feature these two Dark Jedi possessed was their distinct orange-bladed lightsabers. Normally, dark side practitioners would wield lightsabers with red blades, but these two had a type of lightsaber blade that has only begun to make appearances in the new Canon. For some time, I wondered what the significance of the orange lightsabers were. Recently, the video game called Jedi Survivor gave us an answer. It turns out that Force wielders that wield orange lightsabers possess a trait called “Righteous Fury”. Red and orange lightsaber crystals seem too endure the same process called “Bleeding”, which involves a dark side practitioner to imprint their rage, pain, and hatred into their crystal, which causes it to turn red. However, with Force wielders like Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, it seems they have only partially made their lightsaber crystals bleed. The reason for this could lie in the phrase “Righteous Fury”, which implies that fallen Jedi like Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati may have called upon the dark side’s power for selfless purposes and did not fully submit to the dark side’s influence. In the past, fallen Jedi like Dooku and Anakin Skywalker initially turned to the dark side for selfless purposes. Dooku turned because he was tired of the injustice and corruption that was taking place in the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order’s refusal and inability to do anything about it. As such, Dooku became the Sith Lord Darth Tyrannus in an attempt to create a stronger galactic government and remake the Jedi Order into a more just organization even if it meant using the dark side. With Anakin Skywalker, he turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader because he was desperate to save his wife and those he cared about. While both Dooku and Anakin Skywalker both turned to the dark side for selfless reasons, they were corrupted by the hatred and lust for power that came from being Sith, which is signified by their red lightsabers and why they did not turn orange. With fallen Jedi like Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, it seems that although they have turned to the dark side, they may not have forgotten the selfless reasons for why they turned in the first place, which would explain why the lightsaber crystals were only partially bled and had orange blades. This would explain why the demeanor of both Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati seemed different from dark side practitioners we have seen in the past. Baylan Skoll seemed stoic and methodical in the way he fights while Shin Hati is wild and aggressive yet disciplined enough to not let her inner beast completely off the leash. I heard rumors that these two Dark Jedi intend to finish what Dooku started by remaking the Jedi Order in their image under Grand Admiral Thrawn’s new empire. Overall, this new version of Dark Jedi and orange lightsabers are going to be an interesting take on what other practitioners of the dark side are like.

THE HARKONNEN HEIR

The trailer for Part 2 of Dune has been released. As such, we got our first look at a number of iconic characters from the books. Among those characters was Feyd-Rautha, chosen heir to House Harkonnen. Feyd-Rautha was famously portrayed by Sting in the David Lynch adaptation and is an intriguing character. Despite being younger than his brother Glossu-Rabban, his uncle, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, chose Feyd-Rautha to be the next head of House Harkonnen. The reason for this is because while Glossu-Rabban was every bit as cruel, violent, and bloodthirsty as the rest of his kin, he lacked his uncle’s cunning and political savvy. Feyd-Rautha, on the other hand, possessed an equilibrium between being violent and cruel as well as being cunning and discreet. That makes Feyd-Rautha the personification and embodiment of all of House Harkonnen’s traits and values. Because Feyd-Rautha represents the core nature of House Harkonnen, that makes him the antithesis and polar opposite of Paul Atreides, who represents the core nature of House Atreides. I like how Feyd-Rautha is portrayed so far in the new film because he maintains the inhuman appearance of the rest of his family. The way he fights in the gladiatorial arenas on Geidei Prime, House Harkonnen’s homeworld, gives him the demeanor of a feral animal, which fits with the character’s cruel and brutal nature. I look forward to see him in earnest when the next film comes out later this year and his iconic duel to the death with Paul Atreides.