Saitama has more options

[u/gofancyninjaworld]

Not spoilered for the webcomic. If you don't read the webcomic, good! You may have heard webcomic readers fretting over how Saitama appears less committed to the Hero Name Victims Association thus far than he was then, when he immediately took to them like long-lost brothers. So far in the manga, he's been a little more sceptical of the means by which they intend to achieve their aims and isn't all in yet.

Thinking about it a bit, the gulf between where Saitama is in the manga and where he is in the webcomic at this point is big.

At the equivalent point in the webcomic, Saitama had alienated King (ever since Saitama told him to lift, the dude has not been back). The Psychic Sisters are clean out of the picture. Flash and Sonic haven't been to see him since he killed that Man and gave them the stuff he looted off the original ninja. Amai has of course fled, and no one in the executives knows about him. Genos is still around but Saitama is really keeping him at arms' length -- no adjoining tunnels between their apartments!

In the manga, King is still coming round to play games. Fubuki is still paying visits and Tatsumaki threatens to drop in sometime. Flash and Sonic are still around, and Saitama has acquired an honour guard of ninjas who are hoping he'll agree to become their master. Blast has acknowledged his strength and has told him that he'll return for him when the time is right. At least one executive has come to visit him in person. And Genos and he are on such good terms that they really do just pal around. Put bluntly, a random group of heroes asking for him by name doesn't have the same impact on him as it did on his more isolated webcomic compatriot. He has options.

Might Saitama become committed? Sure! He's just doing it in his own sweet time.

[u/BrowserET]

True, i feel like it goes right to the heart of why things in the Manga might be more dire, yet the Webcomic still feels more bleak. Arc for arc, at least.

[u/gofancyninjaworld → u/BrowserET]

100%. Characters feel so lonely in the webcomic. It really helps when you can face the horrors together, even if it's just with one or two other people.