

Reading the One Punch Man wikia I've read that when a younger Saitama, before
being a hero, was able to defeat a monster. How was this possible? Did Saitama
have some power before becoming a hero?


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2019-04-24T15:50:09.027
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2020-04-23T23:33:22.200
2020-04-23T23:33:22.200
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one-punch-man
How did Saitama defeat a monster before becoming a hero?


Saitama was nowhere near as strong before. He did defeat a monster and that is
what motivated him to become a hero and that is where his training started.
This is clear in the anime and manga. However, it does not necessarily say
whether Saitama had fighting skills or if the monster was weak. You cannot
determine whether Saitama at that point was stronger than what a normal human
was but as shown by his fighting skills when fighting the monster in the anime
you may assume he is stronger than the average human. Therefore he could be
considered somewhat strong but in comparison to his current figure and other
heroes such as Genos he was quite weak before he was a hero.


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2019-04-24T21:57:41.113
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2019-04-24T21:57:41.113
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I believe if you follow the story, we can see that Saitama was not bald
headed. He was a normal salary man. Then one day he met with a crab monster,
where he was beaten so badly. With some luck and brain, he managed to defeat
the crab monster. Later on he fight with monster and train a lot. Just like
what anime season 1 stated, he do some muscle training to his limit until he
realized that he has become bald.

So imo, he was a weakling before becoming a hero. He was strong before joining
hero association.


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2019-04-25T05:39:26.547
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2019-04-25T06:46:49.637
2019-04-25T06:46:49.637
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In the anime and manga, Saitama starts off as a reasonably fit, unemployed
salaryman (he's notably more non-descript in the original webcomic). He's not
as cut as he is portrayed in the present time, but certainly not doughy or
without definition.

Saitama's fight with Crabante, his first monster fight, is indicative of the
mindset that would deliver him unto extreme power: don't stop until it's done,
and ignore your limits. He fights through pain and Crabante's superior power
to take advantage of Crabante's weak point and saves the day.

In the manga there is a sidestory chapter (Volume 2, Bonus chapter) that takes
place around 300 days into his training to be a hero. He still has his full
head of hair. He's in a great deal of pain through the initial part of the
story, but near the end an attacking monster hits him while he's out doing his
running and knocks out his tooth

> which turns out to be the source of Saitama's pain, as he had an awful
> toothache in exactly that tooth.

This restores Saitama's focus (and he suffers no other form of damage, despite
being launched through a wall), and he quickly one-shots the monster and
simply continues on with his running like it was no big deal.

Indeed, there's a second sidestory chapter that takes place during his
training days (Volume 3, Bonus Chapter 1). This one I don't think specifies
exactly when it occurs, but he still has his hair. Saitama's out in the city
and really, really needs to pee. But he can't get inside anywhere to use a
bathroom because everyone's hiding from a huge attacking monster (Cicada
Nymph). Saitama runs pee-dance-style trying to find one and one-shots the
monster when it gets in his way. I don't think Saitama really even registered
the monster (either as a threat or even existing), being more focused on
finding somewhere to pee.

Which is all to say that Saitama does appear to have a meteoric rise in power,
but in his fight against Crabante his only extraordinary ability appeared to
be his willpower and courage. He does not achieve his ultimate power until he
loses all of his hair, but even before he has shown any hair loss (it's not
specified if he lost it somewhat gradually, or all-at-once, or what) he is
able to take powerful hits with little to no damage, and can one-shot
monsters.

Incidentally, the bullying thing you mentioned is in the Volume 1 bonus
chapter.


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2019-04-25T09:26:50.437
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