My Hero Academia just made a particularly dark Marvel reference

Deku has a new form in My Hero Academia, and although there’s an official name in the overall story, creator Kohei Horikoshi has a nickname that ties it to one of the most heinous Marvel villains.

Right now, My Hero Academia is in the home stretch as a manga. The Final Act Saga is underway, pitting Deku against Shigaraki in a battle between the All for One and One for All quirks to see which will prevail.

My Hero Academia season 7 will be kicking off this storyline, but with any luck, we’ve a considerable amount of anime episodes left, whereas we’re expecting the manga chapters to end sooner rather than later.

For Chapter 414, Horikoshi confirmed Dark Deku’s canon name. However, in doing so, he revealed the title he gives to Deku embracing his darker side in order to be the hero everyone needs.

Dark Deku is a nod to a serial killer in Marvel Comics

In a comment to Shonen Jump Weekly, Horikoshi revealed he considers Deku’s current form like a symbiote from Marvel’s Spider-Man. “The official name for the current situation is Deku Overlay, but in my mind, I call it Carnage,” he told the magazine.

That’s a pretty grim comparison. Although, on one hand, it seems like a throwaway reference, Carnage isn’t a laughing matter in Marvel canon. The symbiote debuted with host Cletus Kasady, a sadistic serial killer, and they were match made in hell as they both wanted nothing more than to kill and wreak havoc.

Carnage is such a threat that Spidey and Venom have worked together on several occasions to take him down, recognizing the greater problem. Horikoshi comparing Deku to such a villain suggests we haven’t seen just how murky the hero’s sense of morality gets. But then, when dealing with someone like Shigaraki, Deku might need to bring forth carnage to get the upper hand.