Summary
My Hero Academiahasits fair share of criminal organizations.Some focus solely on causing chaos and spreading evil, such as the League of Villains, while others develop a dangerous product in order to slowly but surely take control of the world, such as the Shie Hassaikai. However, the most powerful crime organization of them all is arguably the Meta Liberation Army.
From the number of members to the resources that they have under their belt, the Meta Liberation Army is far above the other criminal groups in the series. And yet with all of those advantages, they still fail to live up to their full potential. Here’s what the Meta Liberation Army has done with all those powers, and what they should’ve done instead.
The Strength of the Meta Liberation Army
Before we get to what could’ve been, let’s talk about the true nature of the Meta Liberation Army first. From why this movement existed in the first place to some of the impressive things that it can do today, here are the true strengths of the Meta Liberation Army.
The Numbers
The leader of the Meta Liberation Army claimed that they have 116,516 members scattered all over Japan, ready to be deployed at any moment. From a regular office worker to a high-ranking politician, the Meta Liberation Army has infiltrated almost every large institution in the land. They even havemembers among the active pro heroes.
Here are the top executives of the Meta Liberation Army:
The Technology
As mentioned earlier, the Meta Liberation Army has its hands on almost everything in the country, but at the center of it all isa big tech company called Detnerat.Detnerat is a company that focuses on creating lifestyle devices and items that can help people enjoy their day-to-day lives without being hindered by their quirks.
Now that they’ve succeeded in that niche, Detnerat intends to enter the Hero Support Item business. What most people don’t realize, however, is the fact that Detenerat sold their products in the black market as well. So in a nutshell, their new business model is to sell unstable prototypes to villains, use the usage data to improve the devices, and then sell the improved version to the heroes. They basically armed and earned money from both sides.
The Creed
What makes the Meta Liberation Army so powerful is not just its absurdly large amount of members or its cutting-edge technology. What truly glues them together is the creed laid out decades ago by a man known as Destro, the founder of the original Meta Liberation Army.
Destro livedduring an era when the concept of quirks was still relatively newand people with quirks were considered a danger to society.Fed up with all the prejudices and restrictions, Destro led his people to fight for the right to freely and proudly wield their quirks.
That is also the same creed that the current generation of the Meta Liberation Army still strives for. So no, they don’t just randomly cause chaos and destruction. They do have a higher purpose that unites them and drives them forward.
What Meta Liberation Army Does in the Series
Now that we know about the strength of the Meta Liberation Army, it’s time to talk about what Re-Destro actually uses this massive army for in the series, specifically in the Meta Liberation Army story arc.
Taking Control of a Whole City
In order to execute one of its questionable plans, which we’ll talk about in the next section,the Meta Liberation Army invites the League of Villainsto Deika City in Aichi Prefecture. What the League doesn’t know, however, is the fact that everybody from the regular housewife to the police and local heroes, every single person in this city is a member of the Meta Liberation Army.
It’s unclear how or when this evil organization managed to convert the entire city into a playground for their members, but one thing’s for sure, this is a testament to the Meta Liberation Army’s powerful influence over the public.
“Destro must be the one to lead this revolution and your name has gotten too big. Your destruction at our hands will signal the second advent of the Liberation Army.”
— Re-Destro, Chapter 223
A Full Frontal Battle With the League of Villains
Despite its huge number of members and its tight grip on numerous important industries, the Meta Liberation Army makes quite a few questionable decisions during the Meta Liberation Army arc. One of the most head-scratching ones is their decisionto challenge the League of Villainsinto an open brawl.
Considering the Meta Liberation Army has occupied an entire city with its members, all of whom have quirks and are ready to rumble, it should be easy for them to take down the five members of the League of Villains, right? Apparently not. The League manages to take down quite a lot of the Liberation Army’s goons, and then everything is basically over once Gigantomachia arrives and Shigaraki awakens his decay quirk. The result of this pointless battle was the merger between the League and the Army to create a new organization called the Paranormal Liberation Front.
What They Should’ve Done: Stain’s Route
Considering the Meta Liberation Army’s end goal is to change the fabric of society as a whole, they shouldn’t be involved in a petty fight with another group like the League of Villains. Instead, they should focus on getting the general public to support their cause. They can achieve that by following the examples set outby Stain and Dabi.Let’s talk about Stain’s route first.
First Appearance
Episode 108
After his defeat, the media decided to reveal Stain’s ideal. According to him, those who put on the mantle of heroes for the sake of money and fame do not deserve to be called heroes. In his mind, the only true hero is All Might and every hero has to strive to be like All Might. Stain may be a ruthless villain, but a lot of people agree with what he said. Some would even go as far as making a movement based on Stain’s idea. The Meta Liberation Army can do the same thing.
Like Stain, the original Meta Liberation Army was also built out of a desire for a society where people could freely use their quirks without the fear of being judged or ostracized. This creed can be used to rally people to their cause. Considering his quirk and position as a leader of a fairly big party, Trumpet is the perfect man for the job. He can slowly but surely gather the masses under his banner. Once peoplebecome dedicated followers of his cult,he can use them to advance the Meta Liberation Army’s agenda.
It’s easier to insert certain ideologies or beliefs into the masses during a chaotic and uncertain situation, especially when they fear for their safety.Re-Destro and his tech companyhave the ingredients to create the perfect chaos. He can mass-produce and sell various untested support items for petty criminals through the black market, gaining precious usage data while spreading crimes and chaos in the process.
Once they’ve gathered enough data, they can sell similar items and weapons to the public. When regular people are fearful enough of the nonstop crimes in their surroundings to the point they decide to take matters into their own hands, that is when they are most vulnerable to deception and propaganda. All it takes is a little push and they will happily gather under the allure of Trumpet’s party.
What They Should’ve Done: Dabi’s Route
If gathering loyal followers while slowly but surely causing chaos through hero technology seems like such an arduous process for such a large organization, then the Meta Liberation Army can follow Dabi’s example.
Right at the tail end of the Paranormal Liberation War, Dabi uploaded a video where he talked about his tragic past. This videodestroys Endeavor’s reputation overnightand causes a wave of public distrust of heroes in general. Such a massive disruption from a single video. With their resources and expertise, the Meta Liberation Army can certainly achieve the same thing.
Similar to Skeptic, what makes Curious so dangerous is not her quirk, but rather the skill and experience that she has acquired and sharpened over the years. For Curious, that skill is journalism. She is an extremely talented journalist. Once she finds a story she likes, she will dive deep into the rabbit hole to find everything related to the story. Needless to say, she has the ability to write a compelling story that can guide the readers to her desired conclusion.
Dabi’s life is not the only tragic hero/villain story out there. Given the resources and influence that she possesses, it shouldn’t be hard for Curious to find some juicy story that can wreak the reputation of top heroes and send the public into a frenzy. Likewise, she can also polish a villain’s story to ensure the public feels sympathy and even support for the villain. As the head of one of the biggest publishing companies in the country, Curious can pretty much shape and spread any narrative that she wants andmanipulate public perception like a puppet master.
One of the people who helpedDabi spread his confessional video across the entire nationis none other than one of the top executives of the Meta Liberation Army, a thin grumpy man named Skeptic. What makes this irritable person so dangerous is his extensive knowledge of everything related to computers. From hacking into any computer to finding the exact location of a missing person to editing slanderous videos, Skeptic can do it all.
With the help of Skeptic, it should be easy for Curious to find any information she wants. Be it the dark secret of a top hero or the terrible past of a well-known villain, Skeptic can find anything and anyone. All it takes is a deep exposé on several well-known figures or secret institutions—such as the organization behind Hawks and Lady Nagant—to shake society to its core and plant a seed of distrust and frustration in the masses. With careful planning and some calculated decisions, the Meta Liberation Army can even place itself as the savior of the people.
So which route should Re-Destro and his massive organization choose? Either one works, but why not both? They have the expertise and resources to execute both strategies and rise above the crowd while drowning their enemies at the same time. Had they made the right decisions,the Meta Liberation Army could’ve comfortably ruled the entire nation.Yet they chose to wage an open war against the League of Villains and lose some of their top executives in the process. What a waste of great potential!
My Hero Academiais available to stream onCrunchyroll.
My Hero Academia
In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the “One-For-All” quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.
