Blast had long been the most mysterious characters in One-Punch Man. Opinions on him were very conflicted. Some believed he would be the one to give Saitama the fight he is looking for. Others believed his strength was greatly exaggerated or that he may not even exist.
The information we have on him in the webcomic is still very limited. The manga, however, gave us a TON of information on Blast in 2022. Just like other characters such as Psykos, Garou and Tatsumaki, Blast seems a lot stronger in the Manga than in the Webcomic. We’ll discuss what we know about his power further below. You should be aware that there are quite a few spoilers about the current Manga and Webcomic stories.
If you are just looking for the nitty-gritty, here is a summarised version. Blast in the Webcomic seems nowhere near as strong as Saitama, but should at the least be comparable to Tatsumaki. In the Manga, Blast is a lot stronger. Several of his feats put him at an above-planetary level, stronger than Boros.
Blast in the Manga
Blast finally makes his appearance in the manga during the Monster Association Arc. He comes to intercept a cube which is used to communicate with a mysterious being known as God.
Here is the main info about Blast we get:
He has been spending his time opposing God as part of an interplanetary group. He seems to be on the stronger side even within that group. God is a being with insane power, but his physical form seems somewhat sealed (possibly because of Blast’s group). God knows Blast by name and is irritated by his existence.
Blast speedblitzes Flashy Flash, the fastest S-class hero. Flashy Flash performed a maximum speed kicking attack to test Blast, but the latter effortlessly appeared behind him.
Garou claims that after being infused with God’s power, Blast was no longer a match for him. Blast, however, did not get hit once and still managed to restrain Garou temporarily. It should also be noted the nr 1 S class hero was holding back not to damage the earth. In the image below, you can see how he moves the energy of their clash away from the earth’s surface. His interplanetary group is also able to sense the amount of God’s power in Garou and later confirms Blast should be able to match him.
Blast is able to sense the energy behind an enraged Saitama’s Serious punch. He teleports Saitama and Garou away from earth before their fists collide. With the help of his group, he is also able to deflect the energy from their attacks away from the earth.
These feats do make it strange that he did not outright kill Elder Centipede. He either underestimated the monster, was weaker at the time or was holding back not to damage his surroundings.
Blast in the Webcomic
In the webcomic, Blast has yet to make a direct appearance, despite the story being further along. The references made about him so far indicate that he is very strong, but not comparable to his manga counterpart. We’ll dive deeper into this below.
Blast and Tatsumaki
The first time we actually see Blast is from the perspective of Tatsumaki from when she was very young, in the webcomic. This scene appears in the manga too, but at a point where we already know a lot more about him. Want to know more about the difference between the manga and the webcomic and why both are canon? Then check out this article.
From this short appearance in the webcomic, we were able to learn the following things:
- He was already active 18 years ago
- He effortlessly took care of a large monster BUT that monster was not turned to mush, implying an actual fight (even if a short one). In the manga version of this scene, the monster has one giant hole in it instead.
- His performance was enough to inspire Tatsumaki to become a hero.
- Not only that, but she and Fubuki still respect him as “the hero above all other heroes” many years later.
Blast vs. Ninja Village Leader
From the webcomic, we know that the leader of the ninja village leader challenged Blast 15 years ago. This ended up with the Ninja Leader’s defeat. Blast did not kill him, but put him into a coma for the next 15 years.
We know that the Ninja Village often produces demon-level threat ninjas. Comparing this to S class standards, this is not overly impressive, however. Only after being turned into monsters do these ninjas reach Dragon Level status.
We do know that the Ninja Village leader is considered the strongest Ninja to ever exist, but we don’t know just how strong he is. The Hero Association did not exist yet 15 years ago, so Blast was the default hero to challenge. It doesn’t mean other S class heroes wouldn’t be able to win.
The two most famous ninjas from a story perspective are Speed of Sound Sonic and Flashy Flash. They are both stronger than other ninjas though, so it is impossible to use them to estimate the leader’s strength. When Flashy Flash murdered everyone in the Village with the exception of Sonic, the leader had already been in a coma for six years.
Blast and Boros
When the Seer told Boros earth has the fight he is seeking, this could have been about Blast. This has not yet been confirmed and there are several other possibilities, but it is a definite possibility.
Judging from Garou’s feats and Blast’s performance against Garou, it would seem Blast is stronger than Boros.
Conclusion
In the manga, Blast is far ahead of all other characters on Earth with the possible exception of Awakaned Garou and Saitama. He seems weaker in the webcomic version, but so does awakened Garou so it is hard to scale them. Blast is at least the real deal there as well and is at the very least near Tatsumaki’s level.