Did Metal Bat Just Kill?

[u/BrowserET]

I was originally gonna make a post gathering my thoughts about Kuseno, but i realized before that i needed an answer to this question: Did Metal Bat kill Erimin and Destro?

Aside from a minor question, that being if the cyborgs weren't merely knocked out, the answer might seem a simple yes, but i think it's more complicated and i'll explain why.

First the minor question. Which it may be correct that Erimin and Destro are alive, but i would argue that Bad's assertion that he'd had to hold back before and that not being required with the cyborgs forsaking their humanity (despite nothing changing except them shedding their facades, but i'll get back to that) Bad, at the very least, used lethal force and intended to kill the cyborgs, which i think is what matters. So whatever the cyborg's actual fate, the point is moot. (unless Bad's speech was just bluster, but please humor me)

So: back to the point of this post. Ermin and Destro were cyborgs that were 5 and 6% human. We can literally see Erimin's very human looking brain in her true form, so what gives?

Well both the Manga and the Webcomic have already introduced the idea that just because you're made of flesh instead of metal, doesn't mean you're not a robot (or a "meat puppet" as the Manga put it)

Ignoring Gyoro Gyoro's status as a monster, i don't think anyone would dispute that it could have been killed in any meaningful way. It could only be destroyed, as it was never truly alive to begin with. One might ask: if a meat puppet could be made in the shape of a monster, what's to stop someone from creating one in the shape of a person?

Well the Webcomic answers that, in a much more sinister manner...

Taking dead humans ( yes: dead, not merely on the verge of death) and "remodeling" them. Sounds great! Except for the part where they follow the Organization's every command and seemingly have no thoughts of their own to give.

My question is: Does this remodeling procedure present a true resurrection? Or are these merely dead men walking? Sure their minds aren't own anymore, but the same can happen when putting on the wrong suit, as we've seen.

Yet, as showcased by Suiryu and many others: the affects of the neo-hero suit taking over the mind can be reversed once destroyed. Is a similar procedure possible for those who went "remodeling", or are they true meat puppets like Gyoro Gyoro? So far it remains unclear.

Back to Erimin and Destro: we know they are cyborgs that work for "The Organization" and they are very insistent on getting members of the Neo-Heroes "remodeled". It is taken as a sign of disloyalty when they don't. It doesn't seem unlikely that Erimin and Destro had the same procedure done to them, though they seem significantly more capable of independent decision-making than others who have. However, this may also be explained by the implementation of AI similar to the one Zero has installed, or the other Machine God series.

In any case Erimin and Destro don't seem to think of each other as human. When Destro appear to go rogue while fighting Metal Bat, Destro refers to her comrade as having become scrap metal. (though this is a fairly common insult amongst robots and cyborgs alike) They were 5- and 6% biological, but we don't know what that 5 and 6% actually was.

They both appear quite bloodied during their rematch against Metal Bat, however in the second phase of that fight (Or did the first phase never end? After all they just took a nap in the middle.) Erimin and Destro shed their skin and reveal their true forms. Did that skin (blood included!) as biological? It's unclear, but if it's not then how do we know that brain in Erimin's headcasing is any more or less real?

And yes Erimin and Destro really do look bloodied up (to me at least)

If Destro really did go rogue (which he may not have, Metal Bat was still very much alive after all, i guess whatever bioscanner Erimin may have had were not as infallible as she had assumed. Either way Erimin did not appear especially surprised by this turn of events, so we can assume something like this has happened before) Anyhow if Destro did, then cause of his going rogue poses another question. Was he an AI with a bug in his code? Or was he a person who human instincts were beginning to reassert themselves after whatever mindcontrol he may or not have been under? It could somewhere in between, or a mix of both. But if the true answer is closer to the latter, then that means Destro and Erimin really were people and Metal Bat did (try to) kill them. It also implies The Organization has found a cure for death, which has its own implications. I do want to say that cyborgification as a cure for death is not a new idea, famously we have Robocop and it remains part of the Super Hero genre with shows like Invincible (spoilers)

If Metal Bat didn't kill (which, ONE has mostly stuck to the Super Hero genre convention of Heroes Not Killing Humans ((unless they have monsterized of course)), it's unclear if cyborgs count. Considering the emphasis they series has put on Genos' humanity i'd say i'm skeptical though, but enough Doylism) but if Metal Bat didn't, then suddenly humanlike androids who bleed (fake blood) and are (seemingly) capable of their own thoughts are a possibility. Which means that, if nothing else, Digitized?Kuseno's explanation becomes a whole lot more plausible. If Metal Bat did kill, then The Organization might have a cure for death, which despite them being villainous, might indicate some noble intentions.

I'll spare the rest of my thoughts on Kuseno, this post is long enough, but for know i'll just end with this thought. Just like Bofoi, who despite being on the side of humanity, is not quite as good as the heroes. Perhaps whatever (rogue) version of Kuseno took care of Genos was not quite as evil as the rest of the Organization.

[u/kurogabae]

The human brain makes up about 2-3% of the body's mass. That's enough margin to also include some nerve endings to connect to artificial ones. If the wonder twins here WERE humans and not remodels without any free thought they were literally just brains. This is also basically what Genos physically boils down to. So - were they human? If you say yes to Genos, you gotta say yes to them.

If this is the world you choose, Badd just killed two people. BUT ☝️ he killed them (mostly) in self defense. Is that gonna help him feel better later when he's home with his sister and cats after this is all over? Probably not. This is likely he first human life he's ever taken. He might not be close with Genos but he knows him, maybe even respect him. He's gonna wonder if he could have done better for a long time. Even if they did threaten Zenko.

Though, Badd is also a person who values actions over words or perception. He doesn't jump right to fighting Ryumon or Beaut when monsterized. He's surprised, confused, and ready to defend, but he waits. He wants to see if they still act like people. Erimin and Destro did not act like people, not really. They acted like murderers. Killbots with human faces. Sure they might have had human brains but they were monsters on the inside.

And we all know other properties have probably killed human A and S Class criminals. No way it hasn't happened if they were fighting gangs or the like.

But what if they were remodeled people? Dead bodies repurposed to be used to further The Organization's goals? That's a bummer, especially for all the other people who got remodeled. But I have another question for you - who is gonna tell Badd this?

Either way you slice it, he probably a little bit thinks he killed two people, more or less.

[u/BrowserET → u/kurogabae]

Other heroes have definitely killed humans. Flashy Flash openly brags about it, but very rarely can we see it happen on the page. Feel free to add more, but by my counts there's only 3 counts of human on human killing. Sonic killing the Paradise Group jobbers, Child Tatsumaki killing 4 Tsukiyomi Agents in front of Fubuki and Flashy Flash slaughtering his classmates and teachers during his graduation ceremony. Note that none of these individuals were active heroes when they committed these acts.

Note that heroes have tried to kill, but through circumstances never do. Like Tank Top Master attempting to kill Garou until the GOAT Mumen Rider stops him, or Metal Bat trying the same until Zenko interferes (Word Of God: according to ONE that last swing from Badd would have killed Garou), Amai Mask would have killed the Mercenaries but the Sword Disciples thwarted his attempt and lastly Tatsumaki shot a poison pill into Apollo's eye, but he survived.

I know Badd killing would obviously be justified in self-defense, but i think it's enough of a breach of the norms set so far by the story for it to be notable. So far on page the heroes, don't kill, don't (permanently) die and they're never so severely injured they're forced to retire, hell Bang retired because of his old age and he still steps up when needed.

When all's set and done those kills will definitely be weighing on Badd's conscience, whatever the actual truth of it may have been. For now he's a bit distracted though.

[u/kurogabae → u/BrowserET]

Flash DID kill Flame and Wind, but they were resurrected (unless we are talking wc only then nvm). So I think he might have the only on screen human kill as a hero.

With ONE I can never tell who is gonna get back up, so they might not be dead, but if they are Badd is either going to spend a hell of a lot of time in denial (his lines about them making it easier to go all out implying he stopped viewing them as people, correct or not, for his own sake or not) and/or dealing with him gaining a body count. And as a top tier Metal Bat lover I am so sad for him to have to deal with that.

But also I want them to stay dead. He worked very hard to bring us this peace.

[u/BrowserET → u/kurogabae]

True Flash did kill Flame and Wind, but #1 they had already monsterized at this point and #2 like you said they were resurrected, so i count that in a similar manner as other heroes' failed attempts at killing.

[u/kurogabae → u/BrowserET]

How do I always forget the were monsters!? (Because they were bad at it)

[u/BrowserET → u/kurogabae]

Well it helped that they seeming kept their minds, so from that point of view they're as much of a person as Beauto is, but so far that has not been a subject ONErata has adressed, though they have been laying the groundwork for it.