One Punch Man: Does King get stronger?

King is one of One Punch Man’s most popular characters, revered within the storyline and adored by the fans. As a gag hero, he is part of a hilarious recurring trope in the series, where everyone mistakenly believes him to be a supremely powerful individual.

Given the progression of the manga and the escalating dangers in the narrative, however, many may wonder whether King ever actually becomes powerful in order to live up to his name. Although King’s reputation certainly keeps growing in One Punch Man, he never gets any stronger.

ONE and Yuusuke Murata make King dive deep into his lie, piling misunderstanding upon misunderstanding and creating several tense yet comedic moments.

King’s false strength in One Punch Man

During his initial appearance, King was introduced as one of the most formidable S-Class heroes and the strongest man on Earth. His intimidating presence, buff build, and fearsome scars gave a convincing impression that he truly was an unparalleled individual.

However, the series disproved this notion by revealing that King was a weak and ordinary man in reality. Through sheer coincidences where he had been present near Saitama’s battles, King ended up gaining the credit for the protagonist’s victories and rose in status.

Since then, he has lived a life filled with anxiety and fear, although no one but Saitama himself has figured out the truth of his identity. King’s “strength” is a running gag in One Punch Man that never grows old, with the smartest and strongest of his acquaintances never coming close to uncovering that he is weak.

When his heart beats loudly from being scared, those around him accept it to be the “King Engine,” an intimidation tactic that means King is preparing for a fight. By coincidentally saving Tareo during the Monster Association Arc and even standing in front of the strongest of antagonists in key moments before they are hit, his stature only grows throughout the story.

Even Atomic Samurai, who had questioned King’s strength in the beginning, fell for his facade. When he gave King a sword with the intention of seeing his swing, the hero was unable to even open it and simply left without a word. The swordsman misunderstood this by believing that he was unable to see King’s movement itself, which only deepened his respect for him.

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When King tried to make an active effort to grow stronger by approaching Bang in his dojo, the martial artist also refused to trust that he was weak and simply thought that it was King's wish to reach a new pinnacle.

Therefore, apart from King’s unparalleled skill in video games, where he is able to beat Saitama with just a few fingers, he never gets stronger. However, his accomplishments keep piling up, and the list of his admirers is constantly growing, with no one prepared to accept the reality that he is weak.

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