To Be Hero X

Episode 6

This episode is basically about the fall of the old E-Soul and the rise of the new one. Yang Cheng does everything right. He fights crime, continues his day job as a suit actor, and plays with the kids who want to meet a real superhero. On the other hand, the old E-Soul makes every wrong move he possibly can. He doesn't fight crime, refuses to address the existence of Yang Cheng, seems to be focused only on selling merch, and doesn't keep his PR team on a tight enough leash. All this results in many of his young fans switching over to Yang Cheng. When you consider how badly it all goes, it feels intentional, which it likely is.

We finally get to see a bit of E-Soul “behind the mask” in this episode. He's covered in several decades' worth of scars, has only one arm, and seems unable to ever take off his mask (much like Firm Man could never bend down for any reason). Moreover, his role nowadays seems to be less superhero and more figurehead for his legacy. If any man would want to retire, it'd be him.

The last episode implied that the whole Anniversary Event was an attempt to find a new E-Soul to take the mantle—find a Suit Actor who could deceive the public into thinking they were the real E-Soul until they became him, like Lin Ling did with Nice. However, the appearance of Yang Cheng has completely derailed that plan. After all, there is no need to pull the wool over everyone's eyes if you can do the changeover in the open.

The important thing to remember here is that this isn't like Lin Ling and Nice. No one would believe that a normal guy can become the perfect man, thus, deception was necessary. But with E-Soul and Yang Cheng, we have a kid building off of an established legend. Yang Cheng is not claiming to be the original E-Soul—not saying they are the same person. Instead, he's proclaiming himself to be the New E-Soul—someone with the same powers inspired by the original. Or to put it another way, Yang Cheng is Miles Morales to E-Soul's Peter Parker. All E-Soul has to do now is act like a washed-up version of himself so that his powers transfer naturally to Yang Cheng.

The problem is that Yang Cheng might not be the right man for the job. Unlike Lin Ling, who was constantly striving to do what he thought was right rather than what was easy, Yang Cheng is mostly just along for the ride. He lets his boss, his friend, and his crush steamroll him constantly. Even with newfound fame and superpowers, he can't work up the courage to say what he thinks or do what he wants. And when things go wrong, he doesn't even believe in those who have been supporting him. He just falls back into being the orphan no one wanted. Lin Ling may have been a nobody like Yang Chang, but he always had at least one believer: himself.

All this makes Yang Chang the perfect patsy for Shang Chao—someone with no concrete aspirations or willpower who can be shaped and molded into whatever Shang Chao wants. With everything that has happened in these last two episodes, it sure feels like Shang Chao is supporting Yang Cheng in the spotlight while playing the villain behind the scenes to create a new hero, like he's been working his way down a superhero “canon event” checklist. Even the climax of this episode feels like another manipulation. With this death, Shang Chao has made himself into Uncle Ben—the reason that Yang Cheng must become truly committed to crime fighting going forward. Though to see if this works as intended, we'll have to tune in next week.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I don't for a single second believe that Shang Chao is dead.

• I liked the commentary about fans of different ages—and how a new face may appeal to the young while the old prefer what they know and love.

• Xia Qing has laid it all out there for Yang Cheng—that she likes him but won't wait around forever. And even then, he can't work up the courage to ask her out. That is how little self-confidence he has.

• Maybe the new E-Soul killed Moon to get revenge for what Lin Ling did to Enlightener—the man who once saved him when the world turned on him.

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