To Be Hero X

Episode 11

One good thing about Cyan's arc of the story was that it gave us a brief introduction to Queen in passing. We know about her mentor, father, and goals before we start watching this week's episode, where she serves as the main character. This episode covers the same period as Cyan's entire arc, and because of our familiarity with the setting, story, and characters, we're able to dive deeper into certain aspects of them than ever before. But before that, let's talk about Queen.

Queen is a child who has been shaped for greatness—her persona built from the ground up to be a top hero. After all, to do something as impossible as overturn the world order, you have to be so exceptional that people believe you can do it. But while Queen talks the talk and walks the walk, what she's saying has seriously sinister undertones.

Queen wants to tear down not only the Commission—i.e., the organization that regulates superheroes—she wants to overturn the entire Trust system. To do this, she would need to utilize an entirely separate system, and there is only one that fits the bill: Fear. From her parental figures to her own words, all signs point to her planning to rule as X with an iron fist, becoming the authoritarian dictator of the superhero world who is both feared by other heroes and trusted by the common man. And honestly, if she were able to utilize both Fear and Trust, her raw power would be nigh unto unstoppable. Of course, that's assuming she could control her Fear powers and not become corrupted like every other Fear user we've seen.

Now, all that is not to say that Queen has had a negative effect on the world so far—quite the opposite. Her bold proclamations and constant advancement have led to a boom in superheroine popularity. In fact, not only does she pave the way for Bowa to become the first female to hold the X title alone (Ms. Blazing Fire shared the title along with her partner, Mr. Matchstick, before their scandal), but she also inspires a whole new generation of female heroes like Loli.

Luckily, there is more to Queen than simply striving for her goal (and murdering fear-infected people by launching them into the air with her telekinetic powers and letting them splat on the ground after gravity inevitably kicks back in). While she appears serious to a fault, we see through her friendship with both the Johnnies and Cyan that she is far from emotionless. She is still human, and her first defeat affects her greatly, shaking her to her core.

Of course, this loss of hers comes part and parcel with our first introduction to X (the hero) in the series proper. X's presence has loomed over this series from the very beginning—actually before the beginning if you count the anime's concept movie from back in 2022. He's been seen on signs in the background and even cameoed to inspire Cyan at her lowest moment in his civilian identity. We know he has the title of X in Lin Ling's time and is set to defend it for the second time.

So to say that there has been a lot of buildup when it comes to seeing him in action, especially against the woman who will end up in the number 2 spot beneath him, would be an understatement. Yet, what we get is a fight that isn't even a fight. He wins with a literal snap of his fingers, without Queen or anyone else understanding what exactly happened.

But what's crazier than X's victory is his almost casual waltz to become the world's top hero. X's rise shatters what we know about how the hero world and the Trust system work. He is an unaffiliated hero that somehow has enough Trust to get the number 10 spot—and yet somehow does not have a name, nor are his powers even known. How is this possible? It makes him an enigma and a vital part of understanding all the rules of this superhero-filled world. I'm hopeful we'll get to see more of him even outside his eventual episode.

The final thing this episode does is spell out to us the structure of superhero society. There are four major superhero agencies. DOS is run by the Fear-researching Micky and represents The Johnnies, Lucky Cyan, Queen, and Bowa. Mighty Glory is run by immoral chessmaster Uncle Rock and represents E-Soul and Dragon Boy. Meanwhile, the other two companies are FOMO (started as an SNS like Twitter and run by Zac) and Treeman, which is run by Shand, Shang Chao's father, and represents Nice (and probably Lin Ling as well).

These companies each seem to have their own agendas far beyond simple PR. And after all, in a world like this one, whoever controls the superheroes—whatever can make them or break them on a whim—is basically on top of society in its entirety. Yet, while each has been vying for absolute power, none have been able to claim it—not with X sitting alone and unaffiliated at the top spot. Because of this, the upcoming tournament is far more than heroes battling to see who is the strongest; it's about which company will effectively control the world.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• While it may look like Bowa is a bit of a flash in the pan from Queen's viewpoint, if you do the math, she held the top rank for 4 years, meaning she not only won the title but defended it once as well.

• I wonder if we'll get to see Queen's second fight against X next week.

• I am unreasonably happy to see that the official website has added Lin Ling to the number 10 slot.

• Of the remaining heroes we've yet to see in action, the Iron-Man-like Loli is at the top of my list (though Ahu is up there, too).

To Be Hero X is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.