My Hero Academia has skyrocketed in popularity over the years, establishing itself as a powerhouse in both the anime and manga industries. The series is in its final act, with the cumulative battle between the world’s heroes and villains on the horizon. But while fans have been engrossed with the shadow war between All For One and One For All, a seemingly forgotten storyline has reemerged.
The UA Traitor storyline is infamous among the My Hero fan base, as it has invited a good deal of speculation while also offering little to no payoff for a long time. Many thought that the storyline had been abandoned, with a myriad of key events and revelations coming in its stead over the years. Chapters 335 and 336 of the manga finally brought the storyline back into prominence, with the latter revealing the traitor’s identity and setting up some interesting narrative threads in the process.
The Lead-up
The UA Traitor storyline was first established following the events of the Forest Training arc. The villains’ involvement in the U.S.J. arc as well as Shigaraki’s appearance at the end of the Final Exams arc further cemented suspicions of a traitor affiliated with the school. The existence of a mole was initially suggested by Present Mic during a staff meeting in Chapter 83, and the UA Traitor would be mentioned sparingly following the revelation, which would cause fans to come up with their own theories.
The most popular fan theories often implemented Kaminari and Hagakure, making some interesting and at times compelling cases for why they fit the bill as a potential traitor. Other beloved Class 1-A students like Uraraka and Momo came up in conversations, though those theories never really took off. The long absence of the storyline coupled with the quickly unfolding narrative-led many fans to assume that Kohei Horikoshi simply forgot about it, or that there was no actual UA Traitor and that the whole thing was nothing but slight misdirection.
There was a more than 250 chapter gap between the introduction of the UA Traitor plotline and the long-awaited reveal. All in all, the build-up took over five years, with the rest of the series progressing and changing considerably in that time frame.
For many, the UA Traitor storyline was nothing more than an afterthought, and while fans enjoyed theorizing on the traitor’s identity and motivations, the series gave them very little to work with. While most series would gradually build up to such a huge reveal, My Hero Academia seemed to do so sporadically and lost momentum as a result.
Misdirection & Payoff
The traitor’s reveal comes off the heels of Star and Stripe’s death, with Deku and the rest of class 1-A struggling to decide how to handle the All For One and the League of Villains. If there was any time to bring the storyline back into prominence it’s during this very uncertain final stretch. Horikoshi added some impact to the reveal by initially faking out fans, at first alluding to Hagakure in Chapter 335 before establishing Aoyama as the real traitor in the next chapter.
The misdirection reignited the fan base’s interest in the storyline, seemingly confirming some fan theories before ultimately settling on a less speculated traitor. Though Aoyama might’ve not been a popular choice among the fan base, he stands as an interesting character to fill the role.
Often regulated to being a background character, Aoyama and his quirk always seemed to be mismatched. In a situation that mirror’s Deku’s, the traitor reveal also came with the revelation that Aoyama too was born quirkless, with All For One taking advantage of his parents’ concerns in return for their servitude. This added bit of context sets up a potential redemption arc for Aoyama, while also expanding upon the issues that come from quirks being so highly valued in the My Hero Academia world.
While it seemed like one of the series’ biggest wastes of potential at first, the UA Traitor storyline has come back stronger than ever. Though the mystery has been solved, the fallout of Aoyama’s betrayal will likely linger throughout the rest of the series, and contribute to what looks to be a very jam-packed and consequential final stretch for the beloved manga.