Summary

• Midnight's death in My Hero Academia during the Paranormal Liberation War had a significant impact on the students and the public's faith in heroes.
• Midnight's demise was disappointing to fans as it was handled off-screen and lacked the typical heroic send-off seen in the series.
• Despite being a fan favorite character, Midnight's death in My Hero Academia felt unsatisfying and left many wanting more closure for her character.

She was one of the many casualties of the Paranormal Liberation War, but how did the series handle Midnight's My Hero Academia death? Created by Kōhei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia is a manga and anime series set in a world in which most of the human population has superpowers known as “quirks,” resulting in the creation of superheroes and villains. Young wannabe superheroes are required to undergo training at hero academies, one of which is an elite institution called U.A. High School.

U.A. High School boasts one of the best training programs in the world and has a faculty full of experienced superheroes. One of the faculty is a superhero named Midnight (civilian name: Nemuri Kayama) who teaches modern hero art history and has a quirk known as Somnambulist, which gives her the ability to emit a sleep-inducing aroma. With her flirty personality and revealing attire Midnight is one of My Hero Academia’s more sexualized characters, and, as such, is a fan favorite among certain sections of the series’ audience. Unfortunately for Midnight, her time was limited.

Midnight Died During A Paranormal Liberation Front Ambush

During the manga’s Paranormal Liberation War arc, fellow superhero Hawks learned the villainous Paranormal Liberation Front group intended to launch attacks on several major cities with the aim of destroying hero society. A team of superheroes, including My Hero Academia's Midnight, were instructed to storm the Paranormal Liberation Front headquarters and arrest its , but the mission soon proved to be Midnight’s curtain call.

A battle between heroes and villains ensued and My Hero Academia chapter 278 followed Midnight as she attempted to take down the behemoth villain Gigantomachia with her Somnambulist quirk. Her plans were scuppered by My Hero Academia villain Mr. Compress, who used his quirk to throw debris her way, leaving her wounded and separated from her comrades. Midnight ended up being ambushed by a small group of Paranormal Liberation Front villains, and her fate was left up in the air until My Hero Academia chapter 296 confirmed she had died, presumably at the hands of her attackers.

Midnight's Lasting Impact on My Hero Academia

Midnight's death was very hard for the students, especially those who found her body. It was their first realization that being a hero was a job where one's life really was on the line, and many of them had a hard time accepting it. Midnight was mourned alongside dozens of other heroes who lost their lives in the Paranormal Liberation War, but unfortunately, that was also the time that the public began to lose faith in the ability of heroes to keep the peace.

Midnight's instructions to the students were essential to eventually stopping Gigantomachia and drawing the villains' scheme to an end, but her place in the story isn't well known, meaning she's been all but forgotten among the many deaths of the Paranormal Liberation War.

Who Actually Killed Midnight In My Hero Academia?

Midnight's death was the product of several actions taken by various villains. First, as Midnight attempted to climb atop Gigantomachia's back and put him to sleep, she was ambushed by a surprise attack from Mr. Compress, who she did not know was already on Gigantomachia's back. However, while Midnight fell from a great height and took severe damage from the falling debris he released, she was not yet dead when she hit the ground. Midnight put in a call to the students and gave them one last order, instructing them on an alternate plan to stop Gigantomachia.

As she lay on the ground, badly injured, a group of villains traveling on foot, led by a mysterious man in a distinctive gas mask, discovered her location. While her death occurred offscreen, it was this man in the gas mask who was directly responsible for Midnight's death. This character, despite being unnamed, does have some lines of dialog and appears again later, particularly in the final war arc, where he confirms that he was the one to finish off Midnight in front of Mina Ashido.

Fortunately, this villainous figure is ultimately defeated when Gigantomachia falls under Hitoshi Shinso's control and begins to attack his former comrades. Gigantomachia takes a vicious swipe with his massive, mole-like claws and knocks the figure into the air, after which he isn't seen again. Given the scuffle that breaks out between All for One, Gigantomachia and the heroes, it's likely that this particular villain paid the ultimate price.

Why Midnight's Death Was Disappointing

The fact that she died off-screen wasn’t very popular with the My Hero Academia fandom, which has always been a big er of Midnight. MHA's anime, like the manga before it, relegated her demise to a quiet beat that got very little attention, which is quite different from how the deaths of other major heroes and villains in My Hero Academia are usually handled. When an important character dies, they are usually allowed to go out in a blaze of glory and/or get some kind of goodbye, but Midnight was denied both.

What's even more disappointing is that Midnight was hardly offered the opportunity to become an important character, either, despite her strong fan and interesting journey. Because of this mishandled approach, Midnight's death in My Hero Academia will always feel unsatisfying.

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