And here we go with the summary for probably MHA's most well-known and famous arc, that being the Sports Festival arc, which I have dubbed as: Identity Crisis!
The second series would begin in the aftermath of the USJ confrontation, where Spider-Man would spend much of his nights alienating between searching for the rest of the stones and tracking down the League of Villains and the Sinister Six. However, thanks to pressure from All Might who, for some reason, had taken an interest in him for reasons that he couldn't guess, he is forced to cut down these excursions less he invite consequences onto the people around him for his vigilantism.
And so, dejectedly, he would spend the next month until the Sports Festival training and teaching the likes of Kendo, Sero, Tsuyu, and others in both Class 1-A and 1-B how to fight, working with Hatsume Mei and the support department on making a new costume for himself since his classic costume got shredded in the USJ, and working at F.E.A.S.T. alongside Inko, Twice, Magne, and Mr. Compress, as well as the newly released Keemia, who, like Peter, can't get back home and decides to simply stick around until they do.
But of course, Parker Luck strikes again as they find themselves under fire from the likes of Taskmaster, who has been hired by an unknown employer to collect DNA from Peter for an unknown purpose, all the while F.E.A.S.T. begins feeling pressure from unfriendly heroes who want to shut the organisation down for whatever purposes they may have. However, Momo and Todoroki are able to pull through by using their families' power and influence, as well as Kazuko's idol group and their public appeal, and Gentle's YouTube channel to spread their message across the platform, and even Yuri's police connections as an officer herself, to protect F.E.A.S.T. and all the people who stay there and force the pro heroes to back off and leave them alone for the time being. Soon enough, the news begins to report on this combined effort, and speculates that this may be the beginning of some sort of partnership between all these different parties. Said parties, upon hearing this, decide to go along with it and make their professional relationship official. Only Yuri would step away from this, wanting to keep the police neutral in these affairs and free of political bias.
(Meanwhile, Taskmaster would be tracked down by the number three pro hero known as Hawks, overwhelmed by the HPSC assassin, and killed in order to silence their employment of him.)
Soon enough, the Sports Festival comes about, and Peter finds himself uncomfortable with the idea of going out onto the stage without his mask on, as his many enemies might be watching and figure out who his friends and family are. However, said friends and himself petition to wear new experimental outfits that they had all designed together for their burgeoning foundation, and it is accepted.
Spider-Man takes to the stage in an all-new white and black costume, alongside his friends in similar outfits, and when he is called up to give the opening declaration, Peter calls up his friends onto the stage, and together, they make a grand speech and declare themselves as the future's foundation.
Thus, the media would christen this team, and the subsequent organisation that they had made, the Future Foundation.
("Like Danganronpa?" "No, not like Danganronpa!")
The Sports Festival would begin, and Peter and his friends, with their advanced training, would go on to dominate the first round, that being the obstacle course, though they would find themselves being split up for the second round, which here is a team game of capture the flag, in which Peter would be forced to stay by the flag and let his teammates bring their captured flags back to him (meta wise, this is just to let the other characters of 1-A and B have some time to shine without Peter hanging over them).
Peter's team would go on to win the second round, and as such they would be divided up between the rounds. However, Todoroki would pull away Peter and ask him if he is All Might's secret love child, which Peter would, of course, refute. Todoroki would then tell Peter of his past, and why he refuses to use the fire aspect of his quirk, and Peter would be left with a bitter, uncomfortable taste in his mouth, remembering back to Normal Osborn, Green Goblin's, abuse of his son, Harry. Determined to prevent history from repeating itself, Peter would try to ask Todoroki how he could help, and Todoroki simply tells him to win the next round and, when they compete, to give it his all, so that Todoroki can say that he defeated the closest thing to All Might in their class with just his ice. Todoroki leaves him alone, and Peter is left feeling unsure of what to do.
First up would be Kendo vs Kirishima, and she would end up using her opponent's strength against him and force him out of the ring. Second would be Iida vs Monoma, and the latter would end up copying the former's quirk to deliver a kick that would send him flying out the ring. Third would be Peter vs Setsuna, and he would use his web shooters to tangle up her limbs and keep her immobile. After that would be Ochako vs Tetsutetsu, and the gravity girl would manage to float the metal boy out of the ring and claim the victory. Next would be Momo vs Sero, and the two of them would have a long and drawn-out battle before Momo eventually came out victorious. Sixth would be Hatsume vs Bakugou, and she would end up using their match as a marketing scheme to advertise her inventions before forfeiting, leaving Bakugou with a bitter taste in his mouth. Seventh would be Ashido vs Todoroki, and the acid girl wouldn't even stand a chance as the dual quirk user buried her under a landslide of ice, sending her out of the competition.
The eighth and final battle of the first bracket would be Midoriya vs Shinso, and this is when we get a real look into his mind and perspective on things, showing that while he's happy to be at the Sports Festival and giving it his all with all his friends, he can't help but feel inadequate when compared to the likes of Peter and his friends, and feels the need to prove that he is as much a hero as everyone else. During this match, we also learn that One for All works somewhat differently in this story than in canon, and that instead of seven consciousnesses lingering inside of it, there is only one, which is an amalgamation of all the wielders who have come before. What's more, the physical symptoms of One for All are a lot more pronounced. Strands of Black Whip are more visible from the start, almost like they're covering him when he uses it…
And the consciousness inside One for All has taken a liking not to Izuku, but to Peter.
Back to the next round of the tournaments, and it would be Bakugo vs Monoma, Peter vs Momo, Kendo vs Todoroki, and Izuku vs Ochako, not in that order though. First would be Kendo vs Todoroki, and the latter would be surprised by the former's resistance (Kendo is one of the students that trained with and under Peter), but would eventually defeat her. During the second match, Bakugou would be enraged by Monoma copying his quirk and swifty defeat his opponent. Izuku and Ochako would be next, and to the surprise of many, Ochako would defeat Izuku handedly, to which Izuku would be left feeling both happy for Ochako that she was heading off to the finals, and yet also bitter with himself as his insecurities deepen with the loss. Finally would come Peter vs Momo, and although Momo would put up stiff resistance against him, Peter would eventually overpower and defeat her, the two of them thankfully leaving the match with equal respect for each other.
In the aftermath of the second round of the third event, Peter would speak with Todoroki once more, and, in broad terms, explain to him what Green Goblin had done to Harry, without actually naming them. Todoroki would brush him off and demand that he go all out in their next match, remaining firm in his desire to defeat Peter with just his ice, and Peter retorts by asking Todoroki what he wants. Todoroki is confused, and Peter goes on to ask if he wants to be a hero, or if he wants to spite his father. He then says that by letting his grudge against his father control him, he is, by proxy, letting his father rule over him. Todoroki leaves in thought, and Peter is left with a feeling of unresolved feelings within him.
Soon enough, the semi finals would come about, and it would be Bakugou vs Peter and Ochako vs Todoroki. Bakugou and Peter's match would be first, and it should be noted that throughout the entirety of the Sports Festival, Bakugou has been continuously attempting to spark up a rivalry with Peter, only to be ignored and rebuffed due to Peter's dislike of rivalries. Now, angered further by his previous matches and unable to keep his rage down, Bakugo would battle against Peter… and he would lose. As it turns out, while for the most part, when Bakugo's anger helps to give him control most of the time, when it reaches a boiling point, he is unable to control his anger and leaves him easily predictable.
This match in particular is meant to deconstruct two tropes in story-telling: rage-breaking points, and rivalries. The first one is meant to make it clear that, while sometimes anger can be used as a method of focusing and controlling one's own actions, it can also make someone wildly irrational and dangerous, causing them to lash out and therefore make them more predictable, especially when someone who seems to just always be angry reaches their breaking point. The second trope that is being deconstructed, that being rivalries, is meant to show that this trope only works when the other character in this rivalry reciprocates the feeling, and when they don't, the one trying to spark the rivalry comes across as unlikable and needlessly confrontational, and makes it difficult to want to talk to them about anything.
After this, Todoroki would battle against Ochako, and although Ochako would put up severe resistance against him, Todoroki would come out on top, though he would've pushed himself to his limits, and would be moments away from being thrown out of the ring himself.
In the intermission between rounds, Peter would talk with Momo, herself having put together what is happening with Todoroki herself, and they would discuss what to do with Todoroki during their upcoming match. Peter would express his dislike of fighting against Todoroki when he is clearly hurting, as he isn't a villain, but a victim. Momo, however, would express that holding back against Todoroki would be a sign of disrespect to him, to which he responds that he holds his punches back because he didn't want to turn anyone into a splatter on the walls (it is canonical that Peter always restrains himself and holds back his punches), and Todoroki is holding himself back anyway. Momo suggests trying to beat him to understand that holding back won't help him become a hero, but Peter wonders if that will even solve the problem.
While this conversation is going on, the match for third place between the losers of the semi-finals would take place between Bakugo and Ochako. However, Bakugo would be rattled by his previous losses, almost on the verge of a panic attack because of it and his psychological need to always win, and as such he would be unable to concentrate, handing Ochako the victory.
(I just wanted to do justice to Ochako, okay? Let me have this.)
Soon enough, the time for Peter and Todoroki's match would arrive, and Momo and Peter would be forced to finish their conversation. Momo would go on to express how the best way to help Todoroki may be to beat him in this match and prove his methods to be unreliable, but Peter cannot help but feel like that would just force him to double down on his methods and refuse to learn anything.
Soon enough, the final match between Peter and Todoroki would begin, and Todoroki would throw icy glacier after glacier at him, only for them to prove to be ineffective as he would simply dodge and weave around them with little effort. Todoroki, feeling slighted by this, assumes that Peter is mocking him and demands that he stop holding back.
However, this was all part of Peter's plan, as he had dodged and weaved enough around Todoroki's glaciers to make a dome of ice around them, and Peter would stop and, using the sphere of ice around them to stop people from looking and listening in, attempt to talk to Todoroki once more.
Todoroki would tell Peter that he could end this match in an instant with another ice attack, and Peter goes on to say that he could. There was very little that Peter could do against Todoroki right now, and there was very little stopping him from simply covering him in ice and ending the match right there and then. However, Peter wonders if that would really give him any satisfaction in victory, and Todoroki demands he explain himself. Peter then asks Todoroki why he wants to become a hero, and Todoroki explains that it is because he wants to prove that he can succeed with just his ice. However, Peter counters that that doesn't explain why he wants to be a hero, as he can go into any profession and use just his ice to succeed. In fact, the best thing that he could've done to spite Endeavour would be to simply not become a hero and chose some other career path, but instead Todoroki chose to become a hero. So why?
Todoroki finds himself unable to answer, and so Peter continues. He finally expounds on the story of Harry and Norman Osborn, names and all, and explains to Todoroki that after the death of Harry's mother and Norman's wife, Emily Lyman, to cancer, Norman had sunk into a deep depression, and took it out on his son, always finding ways to blame him for his mother's demise. However, in losing her, Norman wanted to find a way to bring her back, and he figured that the best way to do so would be to become the closest thing to a god that the world had ever seen. As such, he devoted himself to the field of science, and eventually created the G-Serum from which to complete his ambitions.
This was what led to the creation of the Green Goblin, and it was in this chaos that he took to making his son's life a living hell. Harry, Peter's friend, would always be trying to flee from his father, find ways to spite him for this treatment, and eventually took to taking the G-Serum himself to destroy him. In doing so, Harry turned himself into the Hobgoblin, and was killed by the original Green Goblin for this.
In trying to spite his father, Harry had ended up becoming just like him, and Peter refused to let history repeat itself again.
Todoroki is shaken by this story, and Peter continues on. He tells Todoroki that if he continues down this path of allowing his father to dominate his thoughts, then he would end up just becoming like him. The best way that he can spite Endeavour is to embrace who he is as a person and move on from him. Todoroki asks if that means that he should be like his father, and Peter says that he should instead be Shoto Todoroki.
The best way to get revenge on a person is to simply live a better like than them, Peter says, and if Todoroki thinks that's the best way to do that is to become a hero, then so be it.
Todoroki hears his words, and thinks back to his mother's own words to him. His fire blooms, and he frees himself, melting the ice around them.
Todoroki makes a quick comment about how Peter hadn't got at him over holding back his fire, and Peter says that he'd be a hypocrite for doing so. Todoroki asks if they should continue the match, and when Peter says that that's up to him, Todoroki says that he'd like to go and rest now.
As such, Peter forfeits the match, and Todoroki is declared the winner, finally, after so long, at peace with himself.
This match, and this entire arc, is also my way of deconstructing the idea of Warrior Therapy, in that the best way to solve a person's issues is to punch them out of them. As I wish to show, this is an ineffective form of therapy, and that sometimes the best thing to do is not to punch a person in order to get them to listen, but just simply lend an ear. It's also my way of showing that, underneath all the webs and quips, Peter is a very empathetic person, and is more than willing to sit down with someone in order to help them.
Soon enough, the Sports Festival for the first years reaches its end, and many would be looking towards the future. Ochako would be bombarded by ecstatic classmates and fans about how well she did and how many internship offers she was going to receive, before being approached by Nejire on behalf of Ryukyu. Bakugo would be lost in a day, his confidence completely shattered as he tries to understand how he lost for the first time in his life. Momo would receive warm congratulations from her parents as she is offered an internship directly from Fat Gum. Todoroki would go on to reconnect with his mother and siblings, and would eventually decide, alongside Fuyumi and Natsuo, to move to a different house in order to distance themselves from Endeavour and force him to clean up his image. Mirko would take an interest in Kendo, whilst Kirishima and Tetsutetsu both decide to join Peter's training group to improve themselves and become stronger. Meanwhile, Peter would simply decide, after the Festival, to skip out on the celebrations and head back to F.E.A.S.T., only to be stopped by the rest of his friends as they practically drag him away to celebrate their successes…
And Izuku, meanwhile, would simply be left with a gnawing feeling of inadequacy in his gut.
You see why I wanted to split up this summary into smaller pieces now?