I’ve been thinking about the Sludge Villain attack again. It stays on my mind a lot, and I think that’s because it exemplifies on of the important yet often overlooked facet of Katsuki’s character.
Katsuki Bakugou, is not allowed to make mistakes. He is not allowed to be weak.
It’s not just that he doesn’t allow himself to make mistakes, it’s not just that he’s a perfectionist by nature, or even that he has a parent holding him to impossible standards. Those things all might be true too, but it’s deeper than that. It’s a universal truth, save for when Izuku gets involved. And that Sludge Villain shows that to the reader in Chapter 1.
See, Katsuki and Izuku were both attacked by the Sludge Villain. Yet their experiences that day are as different as day and night.
Izuku, when he was attacked by the Sludge Villain, was weak. Obviously. He’s a 14 year old, and nobody should expect him to be able to fight off any adult trying to murder him, let alone one with super powers. And nobody did. Izuku was saved within seconds. He recalls the experience as painful, but it was extremely brief, and All-Might was right there to help him. He waited for Izuku to get back up and asked him if he was okay afterwards.
Katsuki, when he was attacked by the Sludge Villain, was not allowed to be weak. All-Might was not there to save him seconds after he was attack. Nobody was there to save him. If Katsuki hadn’t fought back, if he hadn’t been strong enough at age 14 to fight a fully fledged adult with super powers, if he’d paused, if he’d made a mistake, he would be dead. Plain and simple.
It is not a short period either, Katsuki is fighting right after All-Might drops the villain. After that point, Izuku and All-Might have their talk, Izuku walks down the stairs of the building they’re on, and he walks for quite a ways before he happens upon the scene. In that same time, 6 or 7 heroes have shown up on the scene, a crowd forms to watch, police have arrived, and a TON of damage has been done from the resulting fight. It’s never stated how long it is, but given all that happens in the middle, I honestly think it must’ve been 20-30 minutes of Katsuki fighting. 20-30 minutes of a 14 year old fighting for his life, where if he is weak, he will die.
Heroes show up, but none of them are there to save Katsuki. They see him, with his quirk, with his struggle, see that he is a child, and they bank on him holding out rather than doing anything themselves. Even the crowd knows he’s a middle schooler. The heroes knew. They knew the sludge villain was trying to kill Katsuki. They knew, and they stood there, and they assumed he’d be strong enough on his own.
All-Might got there before Izuku. He saw. He knew too. He stood there, and he watched for however long (a minute? five? ten?) as a child was strangled in front of him. He stood there and watched as Katsuki fought for his life, and he did nothing.
Everyone else did nothing. They watched, and they assumed Katsuki would be strong. They forced Katsuki to be strong. The universe forced Katsuki to be strong.
Everyone else, except for Izuku. Who saw Katsuki as human, as weak, as desperately needing help and who tried to help him.
It was a bad idea for Izuku to get involved. He wasn’t able to do anything against the sludge villain, besides maybe buy Katsuki a minute at most. It was a mistake, one that almost killed him.
But the difference between Izuku and Katsuki is that Izuku is allowed to make mistakes. So All-Might, who had stood by and watched before, jumps in and saves them. Katsuki wasn’t enough on his own to warrant saving. He was not allowed to be weak. He was forced to be strong, and be strong, and be strong, until finally Izuku arrived and only then was he finally allowed to be weak.
Afterwards, Katsuki is offered no comfort. His strength is praised, and that’s it. He is not asked if he is okay. He is not given any medical treatment that we see. He’s allowed to walk home alone afterwards. He is left to walk home alone afterwards. To handle the aftermath alone.
Izuku Midoriya was attacked by the sludge villain and he was saved within seconds. He was weak, he was a child, and he was fine. There was someone there to save him right away.
Katsuki Bakugou was attacked by the sludge villain, and he was forced to fight for his life. He was not allowed to be weak, to be a child. If he had been, he would’ve been dead. Only one person came to save him, and only after he’d fought for his own life through immense pain and danger. The only person whose ever come to save him.
We see this reoccurring theme constantly throughout the series. Even Katsuki’s quirk, which he’s had since he was four, is a quirk that does not allow for mistakes. If Izuku lost control of himself when he was 5 or 6 or 7, he might’ve left someone with a nasty bruise. If Katsuki lost control of himself when he was 5 or 6 or 7, he could’ve killed someone. Easily. It would’ve only taken moments. Even if he wasn’t angry, even if he was happy, and his mind just slipped and a spark set something off, that’s all it would’ve taken. That’s it.
Katsuki is kidnapped, and it happens again. Heroes show up, but they don’t save him. They restrain the villains, sure, but nobody evacuates the hostage, the civilian, the child, to safety. They had heroes to spare, and nobody even tells Katsuki to exit the building, to get himself to a safer location. The heroes are there to fight the villains, not to save him. As a result, Katsuki is teleported out of the bar and forced to fight for his life again. Against 7 fully fledged villains this time. Even when the others show up, even when Izuku comes yet again (with help this time), and once more moves to save Katsuki, Izuku’s plan relies on Katsuki going to them. It relies not on them saving Katsuki, but on Katsuki saving himself. If Katsuki hadn’t been strong enough to fight 7 villains alone, if he hadn’t flown high enough to grab Kirishima’s hand, if he’d made any mistakes, that would’ve been it.
Afterwards, he’s offered no comfort we see. He’s called weak for having been kidnapped at all, he’s blamed for All-Might’s fall, and he’s left alone to handle the fallout. He’s forced to be strong once more. Again and again.
Katsuki isn’t just someone who hates being weak, or won’t let himself be weak. He’s someone that isn’t allowed to be weak. If he was, he’d be dead, plain and simple. It’s not just expectations he’s put upon himself, it’s what’s required of him to stay alive. Everyone but Izuku expects it of him, they require it from him, and it’s not until Izuku steps in that anything changes, and so often that intervention only comes after Katsuki has withstood so much more than should ever be asked of a child.
Katsuki Bakugou is strong, incredibly, incredibly so, but is he strong because he wanted to be? Or is he strong because his only other option was death? Because he was never allowed to be anything else?
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