Warning: Contains SPOILERS for chapter #191 of One-Punch ManKing is a unique One-Punch Man character, whose only “power” is to be constantly mistaken for one of the strongest men in the world, despite being incredibly weak. However, King has now decided he has had enough of living in fear, and to pursue real strength, which leads him to seek training from some of the series’ true powerhouses.
In chapter #191 of One-Punch Man, King arrives at the dojo of Bang, a prominent martial artist who was formerly the Rank 3 S-Class hero known as Silver Fang. While Bang thinks King has shown up to ask him to step out of retirement, or even to challenge him, the truth is completely different. King is sick and tired of his “power” that constantly puts him in the most dangerous situations while, at the same time, making him look like he’s a powerful hero. He doesn’t want to be a fraud, but he’s also afraid of revealing the truth to the world, so he decides to train as a martial artist in order to gain real strength.
King’s Training At Bang’s Dojo May Yield Unexpected Results
This development adds new depth to King’s character, who is usually used mostly for comic relief. Recently, King was challenged by another S-Class hero, Atomic Samurai, and, in one of One-Punch Man‘s most beloved gags, failed to even unsheathe a sword, but Atomic Samurai got the impression that he did so fast to escape even his trained eye. This episode perfectly explains King’s peculiar ability. By finding himself always in the worst place at the worst time (such as during a monster attack), and then surviving unscathed by mere luck, King created a huge misconception about his strength, which in turn makes even trained heroes or monster misunderstand his behavior.
Despite his lack of real strength, however, King has proved many times that he has the heart of a true hero, so training under Bang could really make his character evolve further. Of course, more King-style shenanigans are bound to happen, but it’s unlikely that this will all resolve in a gag. After all, Garou is also staying at Bang’s dojo, trying to redeem himself from his past evil action, and the proximity to one of the strongest characters in the series is bound to interact with King’s “luck” in some way. That same supernatural ability to escape danger could be honed by Bang’s teaching, perhaps resulting in King’s own personal martial arts style.
King And Saitama Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin
King has always been presented as the other side of the Saitama coin: where Caped Baldy is so unlucky that, despite his incredible feats, he never gets credit for his heroic actions, King is unwillingly put in the spot where he gets the merit for what Saitama or other heroes do. It’s unclear if King is incredibly lucky or the total opposite, and this is what makes his character so interesting. More importantly, if King really shares some supernatural connection with Saitama, as some fans seem to believe, going through intense physical training (as he was seen doing in the One-Punch Man webcomic) at Bang’s dojo could result in an unexpected power-up and finally make King the hero he always deserved to be.
