to say that deku was the entire reason for bakugou's inferiority complex ignores that the root of a lot of his earlier flaws/flawed attitudes stemmed from him internalizing society's views on physical strength/strong quirks = heroism = worth

even mitsuki admitted that bakugou was praised way too much as a child, & that's what led him to believe he was better than everyone else. he was a big fish in a small pond, & it got to his head, warping his perceptions of not just himself, but other people as well (the "extras")

that's WHY deku offering him his hand at the river affected him so much. bc he was raised to believe that he was/should be better than everyone else, & if he was the best, why would he need help? especially from someone quirkless, like deku?

all his life, bkg was treated as wonder -- someone destined to be a hero bc he was smart & gifted w a strong quirk. everyone had high expectations for him, and it ended up being almost... dehumanizing, in a sense. so being the best became not just his goal, but also his identity

but deku KNEW bkg was human. he admired him & followed him for his strength, but ultimately understood that even someone as amazing as bkg needed help sometimes. but bkg saw it as deku thinking he was weak (looking down on him), and he resented him for it

& that's why he took so many of his insecurities out on deku in particular. bc he hated the way deku made him feel weak. but people forget the entire reason why bkg decided needing help = weakness in the first place was bc of flawed SOCIETAL values putting so much pressure on him

hero society's skewed beliefs abt quirklessness vs. strong physical quirks isn't just smth that affected deku negatively. bakugou's character was just as much affected. it doesn't justify the way he treated deku because of it, but it's important to understand when discussing his-

character, character flaws, & overall developmental arc.

a huge aspect of his character development was him having to get over his own pride & realize that 1) he wasn't always going to be the best, & 2) being the best isn't all that makes a good hero

that's why we see him lose over & over & over again at the beginning. he gets hit with all these reality checks and we even see him panic abt it at one point (post dvk1) bc suddenly, he's not the best. and he has to learn to cope with that

and also, eventually, re-evaluate his values regarding what it means to be a true hero & what kind of a hero he wants to be.

he's a classic case of 'gifted child syndrome' & that's what makes his character so compelling to me. & what makes his growth that much more satisfying.