MHA/BNHA react to For The Want of A Nail by Clouds part 1

D?ITHSP... 24 Reputations

"I'm sure they didn't mean..." Izuku tried to say quietly, but Nezu held up a hand to cut him off.

Kaminari(frowning): Shouldn't it be paw? Because he's a rat... dog... something.

Jirou: Does it really matter Kaminari?

"You tend to give people the benefit of the doubt far too often, Midoriya. No doubt because you have always been treated as if others were in the right for hurting you." Nezu stared at Izuku with fire in his eyes. "I believe you will understand why I, of all people, do not have any patience for discrimination."

Vlad(quietly): He's bringing that up huh...

Nezu: Of course. We have similar problems with discrimination so I don't see why it should be a secret.

Izuku swallowed heavily and nodded. Nezu smiled again, "So you can see why I would like to see some justice done on your behalf! I would like to use your old middle school as a case study this semester to teach you about human psychology and how to destroy a reputation."

Aizawa: Nezu! You're not supposed to teach him how to take over the world!

Nezu(giggling): Oops. Well, this will be fun!

"Umm... I admit that learning psychology will be interesting," Izuku said nervously, "but why would I ever need to know how to destroy a reputation?"

Nezu took a sip of his tea, "Most villains don't rate very high in public opinion polls. Say what you will about our society, but there is something to be said that most people recognize that robbing and hurting people is wrong. However, every once in a while, a villain comes along that is able to shift public opinion in their favor. They often try to portray themselves as doing the wrong things for the right reasons, or by saying that their victims deserve it for whatever reason. In these cases, it can be very dangerous to go after the villain directly. Do you know why?"

Tsukauchi: Because then the public would hate the heroes and things would be a lot more difficult than it should be.

Gran Torino: Unfortunately the world isn't always easy to deal with.

Mirko: Wish it was.

Izuku thought for a moment, "Well, if the villain is able to convince people they're doing the right thing, then the public will mutiny when the police and heroes go after them. It's almost like by going after a villain like that, the heroes themselves start acting like villains and the villain is the persecuted hero." He looked up at Nezu who was staring at him proudly. "Is that right?"

Nezu nodded, "Exactly, Midoriya. When villains manage to get some semblance of a good public reputation, it is often most effective to target that first so that the public sees them for what they are, rather than what they claim to be. In these cases, it is often most effective to completely destroy their reputation before capturing them, otherwise, even if you manage to lock them up in Tartarus for the rest of eternity, you'll never truly be rid of them. Why do you think that is?"

A lot of people: Followers.

Izuku hummed, "Well, especially if they claim to be doing the wrong things for the right reasons, they'll probably inspire followers. Their influence will still be felt, probably even more keenly since the media might be tempted to make them into a martyr, so then you'll have to deal with an army led by the villain's ideals, not just the villain himself."

Spinner: Like with Stain.

Toga(high fiving him and trying to high five Dabi but he rejected it, not that she minded): Yeah!

Nezu smiled, "Perfect. I must say that I am ecstatic that the reports of your intelligence were not exaggerated at all! So, now that you know why this skill is necessary, I would like to help you completely destroy your old middle school to help you gain the knowledge and skills you'll need to defeat such villains in the future. And of course the sprinkling of good old fashioned revenge doesn't hurt either."