‘One Punch Man’: How does Saitama’s new Zero Punch work?

During One Punch Man’s Chapter 168, the main character unlocks a surprising new ability that left a significant part of its readers confused. If you’re part of that group, you might want to stick around because we’re about to break it down (with as little scientific detail as possible).

One Punch Man is one of the most popular manga out there, with its incredible fight scenes and comedic writing hooking the audience since its release in 2009. With its huge success, it’s no wonder that an anime adaptation was created, airing for the first time in 2015. The story follows Saitama, an initially regular man who gains superhuman abilities, growing so powerful that he’s able to defeat his enemies with a single punch. And no, he didn’t need to get bitten by a radioactive spider or infused with superhero serum for that to happen. Saitama earned his power the old-fashioned way — by exercising a lot. And losing all his hair in the process, but that’s neither here nor there.

Although there is some debate on whether that’s all there is to Saitama’s origin story, one thing that can’t be refuted is that he’s one of, if not the most powerful character in anime and manga history. In theory, reading about an overpowered hero could quickly get boring, but One Punch Man constantly manages to keep its audience engaged. Proof of this is Chapter 168, where the protagonist pulls off a move so incredible that it left readers incredulous – the Zero Punch. But, before we get to that, a little context is necessary.

What leads up to the Zero Punch?

While we’re used to seeing Saitama pretty relaxed when he fights, because his power is usually unmatched, recent events have forced the protagonist to get serious. One thing to note is that, in this universe, a hero’s power can increase when that hero copies another’s attacks. So, in order to provoke Saitama into unleashing his full power so he can copy it, Garou, a hero hunter touched by God, kills Genos, Saitama’s disciple and companion, and the outcome is what Garou asked for – kind of. 

Getting seriously into the fight due to this surge of emotion, Saitama decides to turn Garou’s plan against him and starts copying his enemy’s moves instead. This means that with every punch, Saitama’s power starts growing exponentially, quickly surpassing Garou’s by a mile. To give you a notion of Saitama’s ridiculous strength at this point, know that he accidentally blows up Jupiter’s surface with a sneeze. Yeah, that’s how powerful we’re talking here.

After some more fighting and emotional development, Garou acknowledges his defeat and requests that Saitama copy more of his techniques to surpass him even further, mastering the power of God. And by doing so, Saitama gains the ability to travel back in time. Now, here’s where stuff gets tricky.

The Zero Punch, explained

While time traveling, Saitama sees memories of his battle with Garou and comes face to face with a moment in the past where Garou hasn’t killed Genos yet, and thus his actual fight with the protagonist hasn’t even begun. At this key moment, Future Saitama throws a punch at Past Garou, defeating him instantly due to Saitama’s power growth in battle. This stops Garou from killing Genos in the new present, which means that the cause of Saitama’s power growth never happens. This is the perfect example of a paradox because if Saitama never grows his power, he’s not able to time travel, and is not able to throw that punch that saves Genos’ life. And so on the loop goes.

To avoid this paradox, present and future Saitama merge into one, and the future memories are completely wiped out of Saitama’s mind. This leaves us with a Garou defeated by a punch that wasn’t thrown in the current version of reality because that future no longer exists. Hence, it actually took present Saitama zero punches to win the battle, and thus this is named Saitama’s Zero Punch move.

Phew, that was a lot. Hopefully, you were able to follow along with this simplified explanation. If you’re interested in One Punch Man, you’ll be pleased to know that newer manga chapters are currently available. And if you haven’t already checked out the anime adaptation, you can binge the first and second seasons on Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus.