WARNING: The following contains spoilers up to My Hero Academia #290, by Kohei Horikoshi, Caleb Cook and John Hunt, available now in English from Viz Media.
The twists and turns of My Hero Academia's War Arc have seemed nonstop over the past year. Both forces have poured their blood and tears into ensuring their side emerges as the victor. The death toll has been the highest out of any arc in the series yet, both in terms of named characters -- including Twice, Crust, Thirteen, Gran Torino and possibly Midnight -- and the thousands of civilians that fell to Gigantomachia's rampage. So much has happened that smaller reveals and character developments have lacked the attention they would have received in any other arc. Shoto Todoroki's latest power-up is one such example, understandably falling to the wayside in favor of the life-and-death dramas that have ensued.
In Chapters #285 to #290, Shoto demonstrates previously unseen flight capabilities. While he has yet to directly explain the mechanics of how he uses his Quirk to fly, it's a sorely needed development for him if he's going to keep up with the rest of the main cast, given the massive importance of flight for heroes in the world of My Hero Academia.
Shoto first demonstrates his flight abilities shortly after joining the pitched battle against Shigaraki. With Ryukyu and Aizawa out of commission, Endeavor, Deku and Bakugo are doing their best to put down Shigaraki once and for all. It isn't nearly enough, thanks to Shigaraki's regenerative powers, and so Endeavor, Shoto and Bakugo team up to cool the No. 1 hero down enough for a final, all-out Prominence Burn against Shigaraki. While Shoto's main duty is to cool down his father so he's no longer overheating, he and Bakugo both have to propel Endeavor up through the air in order to get him close enough to Shigaraki for the attack.
In Chapter #288-289, Shoto demonstrates his flight abilities yet again, but this time in a far more definitive way. Endeavor, Bakugo and finally Deku are all dropping like flies out of the sky after failing to have fully ended Shigaraki, and Shoto speeds through the air to catch them all one-by-one before they fall to their deaths. Given the panels that we see, Shoto is not only at a significant altitude in the air as he races across the sky, but he's able to catch a musclebound adult man and then afterward two of his classmates while continuing to maintain altitude.
It's not just that, either -- he's also able to lessen the impact of landing for all three of the injured heroes he's carrying. There's no question Shoto now has aerial maneuverability he lacked prior to his work-study with Endeavor.
Shoto's flight powers are significant for two intrinsically linked reasons. First and foremost is the fact that flight is the most important ability for any pro-hero in My Hero Academia to have. Why? The nature of the villains they fight. Many villains have incredibly deadly Quirks that require them to either touch a pro-hero themselves or touch the ground that the pro-hero is standing upon. Overhaul was dangerous because he could fully manipulate the ground beneath his enemies' feet, as well as instantly kill them if he directly touched them.
Shigaraki is dangerous because of his city-size Decay waves that instantly kill anyone touching the ground or objects it spreads to. Therefore, flight is an incredible advantage against any villain that lacks flight themselves or has powerful landlocked attacks.
The second reason Shoto's new flight powers are important is that almost every main character has the capacity for flight in some fashion. Among U.A.'s students, Deku, Bakugo, Ochaco, Tokoyami, Nejire and Tamaki can all fly, as can significant pro-heroes like All Might, Endeavor and Hawks. Flight is critical to being able to defeat formidable villains and keep up with the best of the best on the hero side.
Shoto's ability to fly is certainly an exciting development, and now that it's him and two other students against Shigaraki, Dabi and Gigantomachia, there may still be impressive feats from him soon to come.
My Hero Academia Chapter #291 will release Nov. 15 from Viz Media.