One Punch Man: Did God give Saitama his powers? Explained

One Punch Man's entire premise is centered around Saitama's superhuman strength and his ability to defeat any enemy with just one punch. His ability is something that leads a lot of fans to wonder how he got so strong. While the bald hero revealed his secret earlier in the story, which was centered around a normal workout routine, most characters who have heard this do not believe him.

In that regard, as the series got a more serious tone and explored several areas, some wondered if the character of God was the one who gave Saitama his strength. Considering that God is an active player in the One Punch Man universe and has given other characters a lot of power, there is an argument to be made that this could have happened to the protagonist without him realizing it, which is going to be explored here.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the One Punch Man series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

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Explaining if God gave Saitama his powers in One Punch Man

It has never been mentioned or hinted in the One Punch Man series that Saitama has been given his powers by God, a theory running in the fandom for some time now. There is a very good chance that is never going to be the case because of who Saitama is as a character and what he represents in the story.

Saitama, at his core, is a gag character who is so strong that said power works as a source of comedy throughout most of the series. This was the origin of author ONE's webcomic so many years ago. The whole point of his character is that he is incredibly strong for no real reason other than him doing normal exercise, which is a direct satire of most superhero comics from the West and shonen manga.

Additionally, based on what has been shown across the series, God can only grant power to people if they make contact with Him. Since there has been no confirmation in the manga that Saitama has ever made contact with that entity. Therefore, unless the story gives more hints or confirmations of this, Saitama was never given powers by God during the manga.

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Saitama's role as a protagonist in One Punch Man

Saitama is a gag character whose entire joke is that he is so strong that he is boring and can deal with world-level threats with just one punch. This was shown across the series with the likes of Boros and Orochi, and only Cosmic Garou was enough of a challenge, despite Saitama never really being in real danger during their battle, which is saying a lot.

On paper, this probably could have meant a character didn't resonate with people. However, Saitama has become one of the most popular protagonists in modern anime and that is down to his simple charisma and how his actions affect the world around him. It's not just Saitama beating people with just one punch but rather his actions have a significant impact on several plot points that happen across the series.

Plot points are some elements that make One Punch Man work as a series. The plot points that fans love include Genos becoming his student, his sudden encounters with Garou, his connection with Fubuki and Tatsumaki, and his friendship with King. It goes beyond Saitama's superhuman power but it's that power that allows him to have a very important role and influence in this world.

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Final thoughts

It's never been confirmed or even hinted that God gave Saitama his powers in the One Punch Man series. This was probably a fan theory to explain the protagonist's superhuman strength but is worth pointing out that Saitama is a gag character and his power is part of the comedic approach ONE has for his story.