My Hero Academia season 7 episode 2: Shigaraki vs. Star and Stripe comes to an end as the war truly begins

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 2, Specter, aired on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at 5:30 pm JST. The latest episode concludes the intense clash between Star and Stripe and AFOShigaraki, resulting in the tragic death of the USA’s No. 1 hero. Despite her fall, Star and Stripe manage to obliterate All For One’s stolen quirks from within with New Order.

This final act grants the heroes a crucial extension period before the completion of AFO and Shigaraki’s merging. With this pivotal event, My Hero Academia season 7, episode 2 sets the stage for the commencement of the final war between the heroes and the villains.

Star and Stripe dies in My Hero Academia season 7 episode 2

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 2 opening events: Tiamat fails to bring down Shigaraki as he touches Star and Stripe

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My Hero Academia season 7 episode 2 begins with a brief backstory of Cathleen Bate, aka Star and Stripe. The narrative then shifts to the present, picking up where the opening episode of season 7 concluded - with Star incapacitating Shigaraki, who is under the control of All For One (AFO).

As the State-of-the-Art Hypersonic Intercontinental Cruise Missiles, named Tiamat, reach the battlefield, Star coordinates an attack with her squadron of jets. She intercepts all the missiles and, using New Order, redirects their trajectory to target Shigaraki. Meanwhile, the pilots maintain pressure on Shigaraki while Star manipulates Tiamat’s course.

New Order destroying AFO's quirks (Image via Bones)

Star then launches the redirected missiles at Shigaraki, resulting in a massive explosion. Despite their efforts, Shigaraki survives with only superficial injuries, which are already healing thanks to his rapid regeneration. His keen intellect allows him to anticipate the attack and avoid direct impact by creating a tunnel inside the earth with his Decay and using a Nomu as a decoy.

Shigaraki quickly retaliates, and despite one of the pilots offering to sacrifice himself to eliminate Shigaraki, Star hesitates, leading to Shigaraki touching her directly on the face.

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 2: Cathleen Bate meets her end while New Order backfires on Shigaraki

In My Hero Academia season 7 episode 2, AFO’s greatest fear of Star and Stripe/New Order collaborating with Deku/One For All is revealed. AFO attempted to prevent this by disrupting the safety commission and causing chaos overseas, which delayed foreign heroes’ arrival in Japan.

Despite not wanting to challenge New Order until his new body was perfected, Star’s early intervention forced AFO to take a risk and confront her. As Star attempts to use New Order to save herself, AFO steals and absorbs her quirk.

However, his body deteriorates when he tries to use it due to a rule Star added to the New Order to oppose other quirks. This leads to AFO’s quirk factor being destroyed from within, thwarting his plans.

Young Tomura remembers Midoriya (Image via Bones)

As AFO’s quirks begin destroying each other due to New Order’s influence, he realizes he needs to get rid of it to save himself. However, since quirks can’t be discarded, he plans to pass them on to someone else.

Before he can do so, Shigaraki is attacked by the pilots’ coordinated laser beams, preventing him from regenerating while New Order continues to destroy him from within. Despite the pilots’ efforts, Shigaraki manages to escape, marking the end of this fight. Meanwhile, Cathleen Bate meets her end while recalling her past encounter with All Might.

After escaping, AFO attempts to transfer the New Order to someone, but Cathleen’s warning comes to him that the New Order is also getting destroyed due to the backlash from other quirks. She prophesies that someday, a hero will defeat him, leading to a young Tomura within Shigaraki’s body recalling Midoriya.

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 2 closing events: The heroes get Star's parting gift, an extension as it sets the stage for the final war

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In the aftermath of the fight between AFOShigaraki and Star and Stripe, My Hero Academia season 7 episode 2 concludes with the heroes searching for the escaped AFO, but to no avail. Star’s death leads other countries to halt dispatching their heroes to assist Japan.

All Might mourns Cathleen’s death, while the pilots reveal they recorded data from the fight to aid in future battles against AFO. This data shows that the battle with Star will delay AFO’s merging with Shigaraki, extending the timeframe from one day to a week, serving as Star’s final gift to the heroes.

With this opportunity, the heroes prepare for the impending battle against AFO and Shigaraki, with the young heroes of 1-A pledging to grow stronger during this extension and join the fight to defeat the villains for good.

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