My Hero Academia’s Next War Pits ‘Evil Against Evil’ – But Who Should Win?

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 5, Episode 20, "My Villain Academia," now streaming on Funimation, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.

The League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army are officially on a collision course in My Hero Academia. In Season 5, Episode 20, Re-Destro, the leader of the MLA, flexes his power on the League of Villains and offers to allow them to pick their own poison. The League of Villains is forced to make a stand and now must defeat the Meta Liberation Army, lest their whereabouts be given to Pro Heroes who would jump at the chance to apprehend the notorious criminals.

Surprisingly, both villainous factions have the same goal: to overthrow hero society. Yet their motivations for doing so are dramatically different. With the two organizations barreling toward conflict, let's look at their opposing ideologies and decide whose victory would spell more trouble for the rest of the world.

The League of Villains

The League of Villains in My Hero Academia

Serving as the primary antagonists for the entire series, the League of Villains has become infamous in their efforts to destroy the world of heroes. As for why they want to destroy the world of heroes...well, they just want to. The motivation of individual members in the LoV is case by case, but the gist of the organization is anarchy for anarchy's sake.

The League of Villains is a mostly small group of criminals, and they lack significant resources or support. They generally hang out in warehouses or abandoned bars, far from the sophistication of other enterprises like the Shai Hassaikai or the Meta Liberation Army. Yet surprisingly, they've had the greatest impact on the world thus far. Their recurring attacks on the students of U.A. have never been tremendously successful but always leave a lasting impression, nonetheless.

Their objective is one of pure evil, which makes them unpredictable and highly dangerous. Shigaraki's plan to use Gigantomachia to tear through the MLA's defenses is inherently destructive, indicative of the level of chaos he would create should his group emerge victorious in the upcoming clash with the MLA. How this ragtag group of criminals will fare against a sprawling organization like the MLA will be compelling, to say the least.

The Meta Liberation Army

The Meta Liberation Army in My Hero Academia

The opposite of the League of Villains, this organization operates behind the scenes, comfortably so. While they do want to overthrow hero society, their motivation is not as one-dimensional as their counterpart's. The Meta Liberation Army seeks to remove regulations that prohibit people from making free and full use of their Quirks. As it stands, all citizens need a hero license to use their Quirk in public, something the MLA views as oppressive and unjust.

The Meta Liberation Army's 116,516 members have infiltrated Japan's infrastructure to a frightening degree, as Re-Destro claims they are ready to strike at any moment. Their deep pockets and advanced technology allow them to quietly abduct people, trace phones and even redirect satellites. It's not often that someone has the LoV by the scruff of their neck, but Re-Destro's ultimatum leaves the blindsided villains with precious few options beyond compliance.

The biggest advantage the MLA has over the LoV is that their objective is, in a way, altruistic and even sympathetic. As evidenced by their staggering numbers, Quirk liberation is something that people can really get behind. The MLA isn't going to just tear down hero society, they're planning to replace it with something new.

MLA vs. LoV: Which is Worse?

League of Villains

The League of Villains is, somehow, more evil but still the lesser of two evils. If the LoV is able to accomplish its mission, their actions could be equated to a natural disaster. Certainly devastating, but something that could be recovered from and a return to normalcy would be possible. At the end of the day, the League of Villains just wants to watch the world burn, and heroes will always rise from the ashes.

The Meta Liberation Army's plan would be much more impactful in that the fabric of society in Japan would be permanently altered. Restricting Quirks is certainly a moral grey area, but the ends justify the means. As the League of Villains demonstrates, people using violent Quirks freely is a recipe for disaster. The MLA's success would be much worse for the world once every citizen has the means and opportunity to inflict their will upon others without consequence.

satoru gojo in front of sukuna
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