Contains spoilers for One-Punch Man chapter 167!
The epic new power level shown by Saitama in One-Punch Man’s latest arc creates a fascinating possibility for God’s true, hidden identity, connecting the horrific villain to the series titular ‘hero.’ In an epic battle against Garou, Saitama is able to unleash the Zero Causality Fist, punching back through time to take out the villain and save his allies.
In One-Punch Man lore, God is a mysterious being who seems to have a power level befitting its name. Little is known about God other than that it is seemingly trapped in another dimension, is willing to lend its incredible powers to others to serve its own agenda, and appears to have a connection to the moon.
God’s true identity and agenda are perhaps the biggest questions of One-Punch Man, however Saitama’s new ability to alter time suggests a possible answer. In One-Punch Man chapter 167, Saitama’s ally Genos attempts to explain how the hero’s power allowed him to interact with the multiverse, changing events by splitting the original timeline. The moment is played for a joke, as Genos unleashes a lengthy explanation that goes over Saitama’s head, and yet it still subtly introduces this concept to readers. Combined with earlier moments, this all but confirms that it’s possible God is actually a version of Saitama from another timeline.
With a Zero Punch that travels back through time, it’s becoming clear that Saitama’s power has no upper limit, giving him godlike potential – indeed, Garou refers to this technique as “a god’s power” while teaching Saitama to unlock it. It’s also clear that time can be altered, or at least that individuals from one timeline can create a new one. With time travel in the mix, it doesn’t matter that God pre-dates Saitama, as it could easily be a version of the hero who transcended time or reality and now sits outside them both. This concept is supported by many similarities that seem to invite a comparison between God and Saitama. The two are visually similar, with rangy bodies and bald heads, and both are able to extend their limbs through portals. Similarly, it’s easy to see how God’s willingness to lend out its power would result from Saitama’s original obsession with finding a worthy challenger, especially if he lost his humanity and underwent the monsterification process. How better to create a real challenge than by learning to empower others (perhaps to train one’s past self to become a worthy challenger)?
There are some issues with this theory. First, that when they first met, God showed no recognition of Saitama. Second, God seems to have some limits on its abilities that stop it simply fully manifesting on Earth. Third, that God apparently considers Saitama “the fist that rebelled against God,” at least according to its proxies. Of course, this final point could also go in favor of the theory, as it’s possible to read this as meaning God considers Saitama its own fist, which would make sense if God is some future version of Saitama being challenged by its past self (or, rather, a new self created by a change to the timeline.)
It’s therefore possible (and would be a genius twist) that the events of One-Punch Man take place after the original Saitama’s quest for a worthy challenger turned him into a literal god which then changed the timeline, creating the story fans have actually been following – one in which it comes into conflict with a drastically altered version of itself. This would actually suit One-Punch Man even in a meta sense, as the popular manga is based on a webcomic which depicts events slightly differently. The only way to prove this theory will be to see how One-Punch Man unfolds, but it certainly seems to be the way the creators are prompting fans to think, and with this idea in mind, it’s hard not to look at God’s imposing form and see a cosmically powerful version of the Caped Baldy.
