One Punch Man Chapter 167 (Theory): Could this be the end of Garou?

The latest One Punch Man chapter has the entire fanbase talking about the events that took place in it. The events of chapter 166 continue to astound fans, and one particular character could now potentially alter and affect the course of the story.

Fans have been a little worried about Garou and how the recent death of a character could shape the plot. Fans are swarming with questions surrounding Garou's survival and the direction the story might take going forward. The One Punch Man fanbase is quite active and has had numerous discussions around this topic as well. Let’s take a look at some of the possible events that fans can expect in the future.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the manga, and the theories discussed are purely speculative.

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How will the One Punch Man plot progress after the latest chapter?

One of the major things that took place in the most recent chapter was Genos’ death. Garou struck him in the center and ended up throwing Genos’ core towards Saitama. His reason for doing this was for Saitama to showcase his true power. While Garou might have received new powers, and happens to be quite confident in his abilities, it is quite unlikely that he will survive in the upcoming chapter.

Some One Punch Man fans might refute this by saying that he is capable of copying Saitma’s moves, the intensity will vary. Garou is currently merely replicating Saitama’s moves which he has been holding back for a very long time. If Saitama manages to punch Garou with his full power, it is unlikely that the Hero Hunter will survive. The way this series has been written is such that logic cannot be applied to a character like Saitama.

The scaling isn’t particularly sensible and all we know is that Saitama has never shown his true power. He even held back against Awakened Garou and seemed unaffected by Garou’s attack which implemented nuclear fission as well. Garou’s biggest mistake was killing Genos and if the series continues with his death, it seems very unlikely that Saitama will spare him. However, if the series manages to bring Genos back alive by incorporating time travel, there is a likelihood that Garou might survive.

If Garou is overwhelmed in this fight, the series might explore the new entity, God’s character and introduce it in the series as well. We saw that Homeless Emperor’s life was taken in an instant by this entity when he was unable to utilize his newfound power. This could potentially happen to Garou as well. But it is noteworthy to mention that unlike Homeless Emperor, this mutation was a partial impartation and not a complete impartation. This means that Garou is not completely under God’s control, and exploring that aspect will be quite interesting as well.

To sum things up, it’s highly unlikely that he will be able to accurately mimic Saitama’s Killer Move Series: Serious Punch simply because Saitama has been holding back significantly and he might not be able to gauge his true strength. If that’s the case, Garou will most likely die in the upcoming chapter. However, there is a slight possibility of Garou surviving if One Punch Man finds a way to bring Genos back by introducing time travel.