Black History vs My Hero Academia - Katsuki Bakugo

Black History vs My Hero Academia - Katsuki Bakugo

💥 Anger, Grit, and Unintentional Allies

Rise Beyond Legacy x My Hero Academia Final Season Problogs
By Sterling, Founder of Black Cards Of History LLC

🔥 Character Focus: Katsuki Bakugo — 4/10

Power Without Purpose Is Just Noise

Let’s be real. When I envisioned how each U.A. student might respond to Black History Month, Bakugo wasn’t exactly making the honor roll. If this were a group project, he’d be the one who’d rather blow it up than collaborate — unless, of course, he could frame it as a challenge. And that right there is what complicates Bakugo’s relationship with something as layered and emotionally driven as Black history.

He's not hateful. He's just... hyper-focused. Too wrapped up in being the best to think about community. Too stubborn to admit when he doesn't know something. And far too proud to sit in a classroom and listen unless the lesson hits him where it hurts: his ego.

That said, Bakugo isn’t without potential. He respects strength — real strength. The kind you earn through pain, perseverance, and rebellion. And when you look at Black history through that lens — through revolution, resistance, and survival — even someone like Bakugo has to give credit where it’s due.

👊🏾 Grit Recognizes Grit

There’s a particular kind of Black excellence that Bakugo would reluctantly admire — not the speeches, not the kumbaya moments — but the fighters. The revolutionaries. The disruptors.

If you framed the civil rights movement as a war strategy, if you told him the story of how Muhammad Ali refused to go to war, or how Angela Davis became a target of the FBI just for being unapologetically Black and brilliant — Bakugo would lean in.

Not because he wants to join the cause. But because in those moments, he sees reflections of his own beliefs: strength, survival, and self-definition in a world that tries to control you.

💻 The YouTube Assignment: “Top 5 Black Trailblazers You Couldn’t Beat in a Fight”

Now, if U.A. High handed out a Black History Month video assignment, Bakugo wouldn’t be happy about it. He’d roll his eyes, grumble about how “pointless group crap” slows him down. But once the assignment hits his pride? Once he realizes everyone else is actually doing the work? Oh, he’s in.

His video? Titled:
“Top 5 Black Trailblazers You Couldn’t Beat in a Fight”

Loud, aggressive, and filled with explosive transitions, Bakugo would rant his way through a list that probably includes:

• Jack Johnson – the first Black heavyweight boxing champion, known for humiliating white opponents in and out of the ring.
• Harriet Tubman – because anyone who frees over 70 enslaved people with a bounty on her head and a gun in hand is not someone you want smoke with.
• Bass Reeves – the real-life inspiration for the Lone Ranger, who arrested over 3,000 outlaws solo — while being Black in the wild, racist West.
• Muhammad Ali – not just for his fists, but for the fact that he stood up to the U.S. government and never backed down.
• Toussaint Louverture – the leader of the Haitian Revolution, who helped defeat not one, not two, but three European superpowers.

Bakugo’s commentary wouldn’t be historical — it’d be visceral. “This guy beat the odds.” “She was relentless.” “They had that killer instinct.” No fluff. No tears. Just raw respect for those who embodied power in its truest, most defiant form.

🧠 But What About Growth?

Look, I gave Bakugo a 4 out of 10, and I stand by it. He’s not there yet. He’s not someone you’d want leading a discussion on Black economic inequality or systemic racism. He wouldn’t know where to start — and worse, he wouldn’t think he needs to.

But Bakugo’s journey in My Hero Academia has always been about growth through humility. And what is allyship, if not learning how to turn down the volume and listen?

Would he ever become a full-fledged social justice advocate? Doubtful. But could he start to understand that power without empathy is just noise? Absolutely.

And the thing is — Black history has always had room for the reluctant. The ones who don’t show up with banners and hashtags, but who eventually realize that silence equals complicity. Even Bakugo, in all his rage, could find something worth fighting for, not just against.

💵 Black Power = Economic Power (But He'd Hate Talking About It)

Now here's where Bakugo would really struggle: economic justice.

Try getting him to sit down and talk about redlining, generational wealth gaps, or how Black inventors were routinely erased from patents. You’d lose him within seconds. Not because he doesn’t care, but because he doesn’t understand why it matters to him.

But here's the thing: Bakugo wants to be the best. The top hero. And you can't lead a society if you don’t understand the systems that built it. Black economic justice isn’t a side issue — it’s a hero’s responsibility to challenge unfair structures.

Maybe, just maybe, someone like Bakugo could be convinced to care once he realizes that oppression isn’t just a footnote — it’s the battlefield. And if he's serious about justice, he better start learning the terrain.

⚖️ Final Thoughts: Bakugo — Explosive Energy, Minimal Awareness, But a Spark of Potential

He’s not the poster boy for Black History Month. He’s not leading a march or hosting a teach-in. But somewhere deep under all that yelling, under all that pride, Bakugo respects the fighters — and if you get him to sit still long enough, he might learn to respect the reasons they fought, too.