Like many anime protagonists, My Hero Academia's Izuku Midoriya has a very absent father--so absent, in fact, that while he's known to be alive, he has yet to appear in the manga's nearly 400 chapters. Will fans get to meet Deku's father before the series ends?

Back at an appearance at San Diego Comic Con in 2018, series creator Kohei Horikoshi responded to a question about Deku's father, stating that "Deku's father will be revealed in the future." It's been five years since then, and Deku's father still remains a mystery as far as the manga is concerned. While Deku's father isn't really critical to the plot, fans have grown curious about him and his extended absence, even throughout all the disasters Japan has suffered in the series. With the finale of the series growing ever closer, though, the opportunities for Deku's father to show up have become few and far between, with there really only being one possible situation where he could still appear.

Deku's Father Would Best Be Used in an Epilogue

Little is known about Deku's father. His name is Hisashi Midoriya, and he's said to have a fire-breathing Quirk. He's supposedly out traveling abroad on business, according to an extra in volume 11, which explains why he's never at home, but Hisashi never appears in Midoriya's flashbacks to childhood, either. Deku's mother, Inko, seems to have raised him mostly by herself, to the point where his father rarely even factors into Deku's decision-making. He never seems to write to or call his father, either; it's entirely possible that Hisashi Midoriya isn't even aware that Izuku entered UA or inherited One for All.

There is still one good chance for Deku's father to play a role, however. With the final battle looming, it's pretty common for manga like My Hero Academia to have an epilogue chapter, set after everything is said and done to show how the heroes' lives have progressed since their story ended. Midoriya's father arriving back in Japan once the dust has settled, only to learn that his son is now one of the greatest heroes that the world has ever seen, would actually make for a fairly powerful ending, especially with themes of family already factoring into the ending through the Todoroki clan.

It wouldn't make much sense for Hisashi to show up any earlier than that, as he's not a hero and couldn't help with the battle itself, so an epilogue scene where he appears is pretty much the only opportunity for Deku's father to still be shown. With the end of My Hero Academia's story closing in, though, fans won't have to wait too much longer to find out if Deku's father will ever appear in the manga.