Since the inclusion of Orochi and God in the One Punch Man Manga, as well as the early introduction of Blast into the storyline, there’s been several debates as to whether the Manga and Webcomic are actually moving in the same direction. In fact, before Saitama used the Serious table flip in manga chapter 167, many had already concluded that the Manga is now the superior canon since it seemed as if it was taking a totally different story path from the Webcomic. But thanks to the just concluded battle between Saitama and Garou, it has become apparently clear that this isn’t entirely the case.
While both Canon media(manga & webcomic) are somewhat telling two different stories, they obviously still have the same plot. Here’s a simple explanation. In the Webcomic, Orochi and God were never included in the monster association saga. And aside flashbacks, Blast is yet to make an official appearance altogether. The main villains of the monster association arc in the webcomic were Garou, Psychos, and her monster association lackeys. While Gyoro Gyoro did exist in the webcomic, he wasn’t a separate intelligent puppet with its own name as it was in the Manga. He was just a puppet covering for Psychos who hid inside.
The story however took a different turn in the Manga as Orochi was introduced as co-leader of the monster association and the initial villain of the series. Later, Garou joined the list of main villains after Orochi & Psychos were defeated. In the end, though, God was included to be the ultimate villain and fulfillment of the late Shibabawa’s prophecy. But just like in the webcomic, the monster association saga came to an end when Saitama defeated Garou. Albeit, under different circumstances.
With all these in mind, it’d be safe to surmise that although the manga is using a different story dynamic, it’s still headed in the same direction as the webcomic. And so, If that is truly the case, then the villains of the next arc will be none other than The mad Scientist Dr. Bofoi a.k.a Metal Knight and his creation, the Mad Cyborg. Manga-only followers might not know the full story behind these characters which is why this post is a huge spoiler. That said, we’ll be looking at who exactly these characters are and why the stage is perfectly set for them to be the main villains of the Neo Heroes Saga. First off, Dr Bofoi. Please do read on patiently
The Mad Scientist
Dr. Bofoi, also popularly known by his hero alias Metal Knight, is an S-Class Rank 6 Hero of the Hero Association. He’s an all-around engineer, an inventor, and a genius scientist. Besides fighting through Metal Knight, his favorite Robot, Bofoi also provides many services for the Hero Association, such as weaponry sponsorships, weaponry manufacturing, and facility construction. Four things, however, has built up his reputation as a future villain in the series. Let’s look at them.
1. Obsession with Technology
Dr Bofoi’s obsession with superior tech was seen when he sent one of his robots to look for anything that might be useful in the wreckage of the Dark Matter Thieves’ ship. He is later confirmed to have taken possession of the remains of Boros’ ship, moving them to an undisclosed location so as to develop new technology. While this is of no consequence, considering Cyborgs like Genos and Zero a.k.a Drive Knight do same for the purpose of upgrade, Bofoi’s reasons for doing this particularly stems from a deep desire for world domination. An unjustifiable cause!
2. Disregard for Life and property
Bofoi is cold hearted, ruthless, pragmatic and overly cautious. His suggestion to exterminate all the monsters residing in the monster association hideout by bombing, rather than saving the life of Waganma, son of Narinki, founder of the Hero Association is a typical example of his disregard for human life. In fact, his reasoning to bomb the Monster Association stemmed from his desire to keep his fellow heroes alive in order to further protect humanity not because he worried for their safety.
Despite being a hero, Bofoi has little care and compassion for others if it won’t benefit him. His so called ‘justice’ involves sacrificing a few to save the many or using others as a means to an end instead. Even when a meteor was about to crash into Z-City, his only concern was the reliability of his new missiles not the safety of the inhabitants or the many buildings that cost fortunes to erect. During his attack on Elder Centipede, he stopped to warn two heroes to get out of his field test. However, this was mostly for his own interest rather than acting heroically.
Isamu a.k.a Child Emperor who used to work as his assistant seems to be the only person Bofoi somewhat ever cares for as they communicate and exchange ideas regularly. He was also willing to reveal his personal fears to Child Emperor and went out of his way to warn him about the dangers lurking in the shadows, going so far as to even give him some personal advice on how to stay alive and telling him to take care. This relationship however came to an end in the webcomic when Child Emperor discovered Bofoi’s involvement in the Rampaging monster crises.
3. Instigation & Possession of Damaging info
The Hero association’s overdependence on Bofoi and his resources as an Engineer and inventor has afforded him a pass into their inner circles and dealings. This has made him well aware of the corruption inside the administration of the Association. Bofoi has since succeeded in using this for his own gain as he has coerced many corrupt officials of the hero association into working for him. In other words, using them to further his cause.
One particular corrupt official is McCoy who was formerly the Director of the second Office of operations at the Hero association but jumped ship after the monster association saga by joining the Neo Heroes association to work as Executive & Human Resource Manager. It was revealed in webcomic chapter 137 that McCoy was secretly giving classified information belonging to the Hero association, to Fuzzy, Founder of the Neo Heroes and Son of the late seer, Shibabawa. This was at the behest of Bofoi whose intent is to pit both organizations against each other while at the same time, scheming behind the scenes and plotting to take over the world.
4. Suspicious activities & Possession of advanced technology and weaponry
Bofoi’s possession of superior tech and machinery are so great that he totally rebuilt A-City and completely renovated the Hero Association HQ in just one week! While working under the guise of trusty tech support and Scientist, Bofoi has exploited the resources of the Hero association to build and amass for himself, an arsenal of weapons and an army of robots for the sole purpose of world conquest.
According to Gyoro Gyoro in Manga chapter 86, he is one of four heroes that could beat Elder Centipede. It is later noted by Phoenix Man that the full extent of Bofoi’s military might and weaponry is unknown, even to the Hero Association, which is why they fear his potential betrayal, as he would pose a huge threat. Child Emperor also insinuated in Manga chapter 147 that the power of the weapons Bofoi possesses are far beyond that of any lone hero.
Suspicions of Bofoi’s villainy first surfaced in Manga chapter 35 when Zero a.k.a Drive Knight warned Genos to stay away from Metal Knight, stating that the Robot was his enemy. Later, in chapter 117, Zero revealed shocking info to Sekingar, managing director of the monster association hostage rescue operation. He revealed that Bofoi was a traitor and that the over-reliance of the Hero association on him was the bane of their downfall He also pointed out that Bofoi was working with the monster association and that he deliberately let Metal Knight, his favorite Robot get captured so as to give classified info to Gyoro Gyoro.
He further enumerated that Bofoi’s contraction to renovate the Hero association HQ in A-City was a huge mistake given that he had all the blueprints and weaknesses of the impregnable fortress and could easily sell it to the monster association. In such a case, the Hero association will be left defenseless and open to attack.
In webcomic chapter 130, it was shown that Bofoi and the Hero association became estranged. There were two reasons for this.
A. His rebellion and refusal to join the rescue operation and the attack on the monster association hideout alongside other Heroes.
B. The battle between Saitama and Tatsumaki in webcomic chapters 102-104 which destroyed most of the Hero association HQ in A-city as well as a secret Monster prison confining many Tiger and Demon level monsters. After the incident in webcomic chapter 107, the Hero association reprimanded Bofoi and blamed half of the losses incurred on the incompetency of his designs and tech. In reality however, the destruction was due to the overwhelming power of both Tatsumaki and Saitama.
This display of distrust by the hierarchy of the Hero association fractured the already fragile relationship that existed between the organization and Bofoi. He subsequently hijacked the defense systems of the Hero Association HQ by overriding the security codes with his own as stated by Drive knight in webcomic chapter 139. All negotiations and attempts to make him hand over the new security codes proved abortive as evidence of his villainy and betrayal were slowly becoming obvious.
In webcomic chapter 127, Isamu a.k.a Child Emperor who had left the Hero association for the Neo Heroes made a startling discovery. He discovered that the mechanics of the Neo Heroes’ Suits were quite similar to blueprint designs he once saw in Bofoi’s Lab. Things became much clearer in webcomic chapter 135 when Isamu discovered that a majority of the rampaging dragon level monsters were actually mecha-monsters modified with artificial muscles and controlled via chips in their brains.
When Isamu finally confronted Dr Bofoi in the same chapter, he could neither confirm nor deny these accusations, choosing instead to dodge the subject by using derogatory language on Child Emperor. However though, the statements he made after that conversation were confirmatory pointers that he is indeed culpable. Also, previously in chapter 134, Blue, co-founder of the Neo Heroes association and Son of Blast asserted to Genos that Bofoi has been carrying out inhumane experiments on monsters and increasing their power levels. He encouraged Genos to investigate and bring Bofoi to justice. This supports Child Emperor’s accusations that Bofoi is indeed behind the rampaging monster crises.
THE MAD CYBORG
In manga chapter 7, we see that the Mad Cyborg is a mysterious character that destroyed the home town of Genos and murdered his family. Since then, Genos has made it his number one mission to find and destroy this archenemy. Exactly four years before Genos met Saitama, the Mad Cyborg attacked the former’s hometown, destroying everything and murdering everyone including his family. Genos barely survived as he was left completely decapitated and incapacitated. While tracking down the Mad Cyborg for destroying his own village and murdering his family, Dr. Kuseno came to the ruined town and found Genos. Being a scientist and Robotic Engineer himself, Dr Kuseno saved Genos by turning him into a Cyborg and giving him a second chance at life.
In webcomic chapter 139, Zero a.k.a Drive Knight, without giving a specific time frame, revealed to Genos that the rampaging cyborg also destroyed his village, and that he thus has a similar past to Genos as well as a shared vendetta against the Mad Cyborg. Drive Knight also told Genos that the Mad Cyborg was created by Bofoi. He also explained that his and Genos’ villages weren’t the only victims of the mad Cyborg’s indiscriminate destruction and genocide in the past. According to him, many other villages had fallen prey to this act of madness.
Furthermore, Zero stated that the reason behind the mad Cyborg’s disappearance and inactivity is most probably due to Dr Bofoi preserving it as a Trump card for use in his world conquest. Zero also revealed the existence of a monster correctional facility which was originally intended by the Hero association to be used for the re-evaluation, reassessment and rehabilitation of monsters. According to Drive Knight, Bofoi instead used this facility to brainwash, remodel and clone monsters for his own nefarious purposes. This again supports the claims of both Child Emperor and Blue who uncovered Bofoi’s involvement in the Rampaging monster crises.
In conclusion, Bofoi is a shifty and shady character whose villainy reached it’s peak when he sent a cell of dragon level Robots to assassinate Dr Kuseno in webcomic chapter 140. In the last webcomic chapter 141, he had already started his conquest for world domination. Robots were seen matching on the streets ready to take over the city. These Robots shared an uncanny resemblance to those depicted in Manga chapter 117.
It’d be interesting to see how the entire Neo Heroes saga is depicted in the Manga. Most especially with the introduction of God and Blast. Notwithstanding, i do believe it’s about time Genos takes on the mad cyborg and avenges his family. And so, no matter the changes ONE and Murata make to the story, it’d still have Dr Bofoi as the villain of the Neo Heroes arc.
Thanks for reading this blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. Please do leave a reaction if you did or comment in the comment box below if you have any questions and I’ll promptly attend to it.
