Warning! Contains spoilers for the One-Punch Man’s Monster Association Arc!
One-Punch ManThe most iconic character is undoubtedly the protagonist Saitama, but he doesn’t even participate in the best battle of the series. This is partly a result of ONE creator and Yusuke Murata’s tendency to see Saitama as a gag character due to his superior abilities. Outside of epic battles like Saitama’s battle with Garou, the main character is often overshadowed by the manga’s supporting characters and their great battles.
The Monster Association section is about the Hero Association fighting monsters led by Orochi. These monsters are generally extremely powerful, requiring One-Punch Man’s powerful S-Class heroes to join them in order to defeat them. Saitama also joined the efforts, but because his overwhelming strength would trivialize most battles he was largely kept on the sidelines. While this left some fans bored with the arc, it also brilliantly added a lot of side characters and had some great fights. The best of these battles is between the monster Phoenix Man and the Hero Child Emperor. Phoenix Man seems like a weak and silly villain at first, just a man in a bird costume, but he soon reveals that he’s so much more.
One-Punch Man’s Best Battle Doesn’t Focus On Saitama
After the young Emperor quickly killed him, the Phoenix Man revived in a much stronger form. This new form actually gives the Child Emperor a real threat, forcing him to use his ultimate weapon the Brave Giant, which is essentially a mech suit. After a fierce battle, the Emperor was finally able to use the Brave Giant to kill the Phoenix Man a second time. However, the Phoenix Man resurrected once more with an even stronger form, able to easily withstand the mightiest attacks of the Brave Giants. The monster can then dismantle the Brave Giant, but in the process, the young Emperor slips a tickling machine inside his costume, forcing him to rip it off before dying. for laughing. This stripped him of his powers and made the Child Emperor the victor.
This fight takes two silly initial bases, a man in a bird costume and a kid who fights with toys and turns them into an engaging battle. It also resonates thematically, showing that adversity can make people stronger. The battle was actually so tough that Murata actually drew three versions of it, all of them fundamentally different. All three feature a scene where the Phoenix Man underestimates the Child Emperor due to his silly premise and pays the price for that. And while Saitama does appear in one version, he never throws a punch, leaving the Child Emperor to win his own battle in a satisfying and exhilarating manner.
This fight shows how the sillier aspects of One-Punch Man can actually make its battles more intense. The Little Emperor and the Phoenix both initially underestimated their opponents, which made the match even more epic as they unleashed their full power. While Saitama has many great battles like his climactic clash with the deadliest enemy Garou, Phoenix compare to Children’s Emperor prove that One-Punch ManIts best fights often revolve around its excellent supporting characters.