One-Punch Man creator's new comic makes refugees the heroes of the story
In Versus, the new manga from the creators of One-Punch Man, human refugees from different worlds in the multiverse are the heroes of an original and exciting story.
Warning: SPOILERS for chapter #2 of Versus.
^ Chapter 2 of the new Versus manga by ONE, creator of One Punch Man and 100 Psionics, reveals that the story's heroes are actually refugees. After starting out as an interesting twist on classic fantasy genre tropes, Versus shakes up the status quo by bringing together refugees from several worlds where humanity is on the verge of extinction.
Stories about the multiverse are all the rage in entertainment today, and Versus is no exception. In the first chapter, readers are introduced to a fantasy world where humanity is threatened by a race of demons. In order to avoid extinction, 47 heroes were trained and assembled to defeat as many generals as the Great Demon King. However, they were all defeated because demons were only inherently superior to humans. In fact, the heroes' valiant mission is just a cover for humanity's real plan: to create a network of magical portals around the world that will allow allies to be summoned from another dimension. However, when these outsiders arrived, it was discovered that they too were fleeing a dire threat.
Chapter 2 of Versus, ONE, Kyotorou Azuma and Boze, shows Inhabitants from "another world" whose leader looks a lot like One-Punch Man's Genos are more technologically advanced because they come from a setting that looks like science fiction. In their world, however, humanity is also on the brink of extinction, this time from a different enemy: robots. They also developed ways to contact other worlds, and they hoped for help in difficult times. The "fantasy humans" and "sci-fi humans" are initially able to help each other, as each group's specific powers and skill sets are effective against the other's enemies (magic works well against robots and high-tech weapons are good against demons). However, their enemies quickly adapted and the humans were forced to flee. Soon after, it was discovered that endangered humans from many other worlds had simultaneously developed a way of contacting other dimensions, and they all flocked to the "Fantasy World" and found refuge in a fortress called "Human Fortress" .
Versus quickly developed into something very different from the classic fantasy comic premise it was promoting. The initial reveal of the connection to the sci-fi world was already exciting, but adding a multiverse (a One-Punch Man (a concept that also came out recently) takes everything to a whole new level. ONE's signature originality comes from the idea that the protagonists of the story are all refugees. Humans are at risk in every world, even if the threats are different. Judging from the situation presented in Chapter 2, the key to human survival probably lies in the cooperation between survivors from different worlds.
The Heroes Of The Versus Multiverse Are On The Brink Of Extinction
The main theme of this story seems to be "natural enemies", meaning that in nature, every species, including humans, has an "absolute predator". But this kind of predator is different in each world, so even if the situation of the survivors looks dire now, they can be dealt with by humans in other worlds. This is very different from the setting of One-Punch Man, where the main character is so powerful that he doesn't need help and is never in real danger. Refugees are often portrayed as victims, so Versus decided to make them the heroes of the story, which is not only original, but very uplifting.
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