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Neo Heroes

The Neo Heroes (ネオヒーローズ, Neohīrōzu) is a newly established organization of heroes founded to succeed the floundering Hero Association. According to Blue, the Neo Heroes was created to show the world what true heroism is, as he deems the Hero Association to be corrupt and self-serving.[1]

Warning Expand to see original webcomic information. Beware of spoiler content.

Founded and led by Fuzzy, with Blue providing support, the Neo Heroes initially appears admirable. However, it turns out that the organization is not as good as it seems, engaging in questionable activities and unethical recruitment practices, including a disturbing inclination to transform unsuspecting and unwilling individuals into puppet cyborgs.[2][3]

Overview[]

Unlike the Hero Association, which selects heroes through a physical and written test, the Neo Heroes recruits members through a special headhunting system. They boast over 2,000 candidates, significantly outnumbering the Hero Association's 600 professional heroes.[4] Due to the counterproductive and anti-meritocratic nature of the ranking system at Hero Association, the Neo Heroes strives to foster an environment where both strong and weak heroes can collaborate and support one another. Furthermore, the organization seems to know the shortcomings of the current Hero Association in terms of misconduct, unfair treatment of its superhumans and collateral damage often caused by their more powerful heroes, such as Tatsumaki. They keep this criticism in mind and attempt to minimize such shortcomings in their own organization.

The Neo Heroes has successfully recruited several S-Class heroes, including Metal Bat, Child Emperor and Superalloy Darkshine; in a talent scouting bid to outpace their neighboring counterparts in the Hero Association. According to the Neo Heroes' recruiters, they promise to treat their heroes much fairer than the premiere hero agency. The organization provides numerous membership benefits that attract both aspiring heroes and seasoned do-gooders, such as clothing, increased income, room and board, family benefits, and ample hero equipment even for new or lower-ranking members. Unlike the Hero Association, the Neo Heroes is more focused on the safety of heroes working under them, forgoing the forced quotas to maintain their hero rank. They do, however, require that their heroes possess a "normative awareness." They also raised no qualms with two top-position candidates attacking other heroes to prove a point, showing that the culture of bullying between stronger and weaker heroes persists to some extent.

Warning Expand to see original webcomic information. Beware of spoiler content.

In the webcomic, their willingness to meet the needs of their operatives caused the former S-Class hero Metal Bat to join them

Their method of talent searching was once as biased as the conventional test in the Hero Association since they mostly focused on recruiting top-tier heroes, indicating why they didn't try to recruit Saitama. However, this attitude has recently changed, as multiple lower-ranked heroes have been invited to join the association, such as the A-Class heroes Forte, Butterfly DX, and Chain'n'toad, as well as the group containing two C-Class heroes, Soda Pop Boys. This arrangement also has a dark side in which they recruit highly controversial members like serial killers, racketeers, and cult leaders; such as the likes of "A" and Infelsinave based on their combat prowess and social influence rather than any genuine commitment to justice. This has led Speed-o'-Sound Sonic to claim that the Neo Heroes are even more "rotten" than the criminal underworld.[5]

Recently, Child Emperor and Metal Bat uncovered more sinister aspects of the Neo Heroes. They discovered a dark underbelly that even Blue is unaware of, including a cybernization program designed as a recovery and performance enhancement operation for severely injured members. This process intentionally fosters dependency, as enhanced individuals require ongoing maintenance that only the organization provides. Darkshine also raised suspicions while training recruits, as the operation supplies candidates with a special energy drink that accelerates muscle growth and physical attributes at an alarming rate, but also induces aggression and violent outbursts. During an encounter between the hedonistic killer and Sonic, "A" reveals that the Neo Heroes is actively seeking strong advocates for their cyborgification initiative. They aim to recruit powerful individuals regardless of their moral alignment, transforming them into cyborg puppets even beyond the organization's oversight. "A" is tasked with capturing Sonic for this purpose. Child Emperor also suspects that many Mysterious Beings are actually controlled by the Neo Heroes, as he found microchips in the brains of numerous Dragon-level threats they were assigned to eliminate.

Other issues with the new hero group being their rather belligerent interactions with their senior predecessors within the Hero Association. Mainly stemming from how the Neo Heroes went after some of the Hero Association's more prominent enforcers while blatantly disregarding any attempt by the latter to establish proper relations to join forces in the future. Something which is highlighted with Ryumon's merit stealing with Crescent Eyebroll against a monster threat too tough for him to handle alone. A trait which even Black Sperm found more detrimental than beneficial to both orders in the long run, for instead of working together they spend more time sniping at one another thus weakening the efficacy of both organizations and humanity as a whole. Citing it as a temporary fix to the problems in society while making the prim and proper Neo Heroes less capable of dealing with the more major assaults from monsters and calamities down the line.

In a meeting between Blue and Forte, the latter points out that the Neo Heroes' operational methods hinder individual hero growth by fostering dependency on their battle suits. Their extreme focus on efficiency leaves little room for personal strength development, as individual heroes rarely face life-or-death situations that could drive them to improve. Consequently, most Neo heroes lack charisma, as the public tends to refer to the organization as a whole, often forgetting the names of individual members, including Neo Leaders.

Structure[]

To combat monsters more effectively while minimizing risks and promoting fairness among heroes, most Neo heroes operate in teams, contrasting with the Hero Association's emphasis on individual efforts and lack of unity. Each team is led by a designated Neo Leader who helps their members grow in strength and get the job done. Consequently, some Neo Leaders were strategically recruited for their social skills rather than their combat abilities, as demonstrated by Infelsinave, who founded the 3,000,000-member Church of Otherworldly Reincarnation; Ryumon, who leads the 400-member Ryumon Gang; and Accel, who heads the 48-member Neo Hunters.

To prevent collateral damage caused by powerful individuals such as Tatsumaki, as well as avoiding public negligence problems that are abundant within the Hero Association, the Neo Heroes has established several powerful security operatives to keep certain heroes from crossing the line.

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The Neo Heroes has developed advanced Artificial Intelligence that analyzes the situation and picks the most suitable talent in their roster to deal with the threat. This normally consists of teams of three or more. Furthermore, they also have several armored transport vehicles and light aircraft available at each city to transport the heroes, or if need be they can deploy their small security detail, consisting of Elimin and Destro.

Each member of the Neo Heroes has a specialized battle suit, which allows even the weakest members to fight effectively against monsters of disaster level Tiger, as seen when the Triple Tongues were defeated and their attacks were unable to hurt the Neo Heroes. However, even these armors do not help weaker members against higher-level threats, since Infelsinave was defeated and gravely injured by a disaster of level Demon.

Plot[]

Neo Heroes Saga[]

Psychic Sisters Arc[]

A talent scout from the Hero Association approaches the pedestrian hero Accel, aiming to recruit him and his group of citizen fighters to strengthen the organization. However, the hometown vigilante firmly declines the offer, as he has on multiple occasions, disliking the Hero Association's operations. He points out that despite their abundant resources and the financial support from influential entrepreneurs, the association has yet to achieve any significant accomplishments.

Moreover, he is offended by how many super-powered individuals within their ranks are treated more like commodities than dedicated team members. Meanwhile, Raiden, the Super Sumo Yokozuna, is also approached by an advocate from the Hero Association but turns down the offer due to commitments with a new hero organization.

Accel states that working under the Hero Association's structure feels akin to languishing in service of what has recently become a corrupt and incompetent protection racket, prioritizing the wealthy elite over the general populace. Both characters express their intention to join the Neo Heroes rather than remain subordinate to the unreliable Hero Association.

Neo Heroes Introduction Arc[]

Genos informs Saitama about the Neo Heroes and expresses interest in joining their ranks to enhance his strength, even mentioning an invitation he received. However, when Saitama shows disinterest, Genos decides against joining as well.

Darkshine, Child Emperor, and Metal Bat all resign (with the latter two acting as spies) from the Hero Association to join the Neo Heroes. Darkshine takes on the role of a trainer and sparring partner rather than a hero. McCoy is also introduced as the human resources manager for the Neo Heroes, alongside new characters Accel and Raiden.

Several silhouettes of the Neo Heroes leaders appear as Ryumon phone-calls McCoy, expressing his expectations for McCoy to attract gamblers to wager on the outcomes between heroes and monsters.

Ninjas Arc[]

McCoy convenes a meeting with the Neo Leaders and Neo Heroes staff. It's revealed that Child Emperor, Metal Bat, Accel, and Raiden have been appointed to leadership positions. Suiryu also joins the Neo Heroes as a leader, along with Ryumon, Zaedats, Wavygyaza, Infelsinave, and "A". McCoy introduces Blue, the top hero of the Neo Heroes, with Zaedats disclosing that Blue is Blast's son.

Neo Heroes Uprising Arc[]

Warning Expand to see original webcomic information. Beware of spoiler content.

In the webcomic, the day after Sweet Mask reveals his monster form, McCoy convenes a meeting with the Neo Leaders and Neo Heroes staff. It’s revealed that Child Emperor, Metal Bat, Accel, and Raiden have been appointed to leadership positions. Suiryu also joins the Neo Heroes as a leader, along with Ryumon, Zaedats, Wavygyaza, Infelsinave, and "A". McCoy introduces Blue, the founder and top hero of the Neo Heroes, with Zaedats disclosing that Blue is Blast's son.

Following a sudden increase in monster activity, the Neo Hero teams are deployed. They quickly handle the numerous monsters with their advanced battlesuits and teamwork, overshadowing the Hero Association's heroes. The world is impressed by the Neo Heroes' effectiveness, leading to a surge in their popularity.

During a battle, Child Emperor discovers that some powerful Dragon-level monsters have microchips implanted in their brains, leading him to suspect that the monster rampages may be manipulated. Additionally, Wavygyaza's need for constant maintenance from the Neo Heroes raises his suspicions about the new heroes. After Infelsinave and Zaedats are mysteriously revitalized, Metal Bat questions Destro and Elimin about the medical programs used on them, suspecting foul play from the Neo Heroes. His suspicions are confirmed when Destro and Elimin introduce him to the cybernetics division of their base, intending to forcibly convert him into a soulless cyborg, summoning the cyborgified Mars Leo and Kokou to eliminate Metal Bat.

As Wavygyaza receives a call from the Neo Heroes tracking team regarding the ongoing pursuit of the monsterized Sweet Mask, she departs for a scheduled commercial. Child Emperor is left alone to investigate the microchip he acquired without the Neo Heroes knowing. "A" attempts to ambush and kidnap Speed-o'-Sound Sonic but fails, forcing "A" to retreat and abandon his own men. Raiden tries to take Puri-Puri Prisoner's rehabilitating inmate group, including the reformed Hammerhead, to turn them into puppet cyborgs as well, but Puri-Puri Prisoner refuses and challenges Raiden to a sumo fight. Suiryu's team targets a part-time delivery man suspected to be Garou, once the civilians have been evacuated without alerting a Hero Hunter who is suspected to be a part-timer.

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Members[]

Trivia[]

  • The Neo Heroes agenda of trying to turn powerful individuals into cyborgs is similar to the character Sektor from the Mortal Kombat series, who initiates the Cyber Lin Kuei initiative in which he attempts to turn the clan into enslaved cyborgs.

References[]

  1. One-Punch Man Webcomic; Chapter 125, page 23
  2. One-Punch Man Webcomic; Chapter 131
  3. One-Punch Man Webcomic; Chapter 132
  4. One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 186 (Online)
  5. One-Punch Man Webcomic; Chapter 132, page 4
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