Enji Todoroki — Endeavor

Voiced by: Tetsu Inada (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English), Manuel Bastos (Latin American Spanish/TV series)

Debut: Chapter 28 (Manga), Episode 17 (Anime)

Playable in: My Hero One's Justice, My Hero One's Justice 2

Quirk: Hellflame

^{Click here to see his first hero costume} "Just Watch Me."

At the start of the series, he was obsessed with surpassing All Might and becoming the top hero of Japan, which he planned to do through Shoto, whom he "made" with those specific intentions in mind. After All Might retires, however, Endeavor is thrust into the number one spot, unprepared to deal with the pressure that holding such a position brings, and unsatisfied with how he got the position in the first place. This sudden change causes him to reflect on his life, how he presents himself, how he treats others, his feelings toward his family, what it means to be a symbol, and who exactly he wants to be as a hero.

He possesses the fire-based Quirk "Hellflame", a simple ability that allows him to produce and manipulate intense fire at will. While his Quirk does give him a natural resistance to heat, he can still overheat himself by using too much of his power at once.

• '90s Anti-Hero: While his reasons for becoming a hero have yet to be explained, Endeavor doesn’t give off the same altruistic and reliable aura that the other heroes in the story have. Instead, he is professional but very antagonistic towards other heroes, students, and even fans. He has absolutely no regard for anyone else, is always moody and surly, uses a lot of force when in battle, and is emotionally consumed by rage. His intimidating appearance and status as a Nominal Hero is only compounded by his red flames and black costume. He is particularly furious that All Might, an idealistic Silver Age-style hero, always seems to one-up him in the public eye. He has since become a father, bringing his anti-hero morality into parenthood. His son, Shoto, absolutely hates him with every ounce of his being, and refuses to use the powers he inherited from him to spite him before it finally gets through to him that he's not going to get far as a Hero if he intentionally limits himself to half of his available moves and that his father is the best person to learn how to use them properly from. He's also the only hero on-screen to kill the Nomus he fights, and only considered capturing Hood for information, but quickly threw that out the window when it was clear that if he didn't kill it there would be a repeat of the Kamino incident. Considering what Nomus are though, it could actually be seen as a Mercy Kill. In fact, Chapters 253-254 reveal that the Nomu can be freakish puppets with no soul of their own.
  • And also, many of these downsides are becoming a bit downplayed as the series goes on, showing that he can get along with other heroes in teamwork and does value his subordinates in his agency.
• Absurdly Youthful Mother: Implied and Gender Inverted. Endeavor is 45 (46 as of current) while his second oldest child, Fuyumi, is 22 (23 as of current) Given the age gaps between the rest of his children (being 24, 23, 19, and 16 in descending order), Endeavor became a father at twenty-two.
• Abusive Parent: As revealed by Shoto, Endeavor treats him like a tool to surpass All Might, even going as far as to have a Quirk marriage to produce a child with ice and fire properties. Shoto was isolated from his elder siblings and his father subjected to Training from Hell at the age of four. Endeavor was responsible for his wife's mental unstability, which caused her to splash scalding water on Shoto, scarring him. After All Might's retirement, Endeavor expressed remorse for his actions and begins to build a more positive relationship with Shoto. Flashbacks reveal that Endeavor wasn't always abusive. Although he did pursue a Quirk marriage, initially there was mutual understanding between him and Rei, and the first two of their children, Toya and Fuyumi, were born consensually. Endeavor originally wanted his eldest son Toya to succeed him and wasn't harsh towards him while training. However, after discovering that Toya's physical constitution was incompatible with his Quirk, Endeavor tried to discourage him out of concern. However, rather than properly communicate with Toya, Endeavor avoided training him, proceed to try for more children resulting in the birth of Natsuo and Shoto, and finally focusing on training Shoto instead. Toya felt abandoned, which resulted in a great accident where he was presumed to be dead. Unable to express sorrow, combined with his obsession to surpass All Might, Endeavor became harsher and abusive towards Shoto, which strained his family. Although Endeavor genuinely came to regret his behaviour, he was aghast when Toya emerged as the villain named Dabi. Toya broadcasted Endeavor's abusive past across the nation and promised to make him suffer.
• Action Dad: Maybe a bad one towards Shoto and his siblings but also a very powerful flame hero.
• Adaptation Expansion:
  • The anime adaptation gives him some more scenes assisting the heroes at Hosu in fighting the Nomus, where he gets to show exactly why he's the #2 hero.
• Adaptational Villainy: Downplayed. As the key scenes are already in the manga, just given more context.
  • For Chapter 301, the anime heavily implies that Enji forced Rei to have a 4th child (Shoto) with him, after their previous attempts of having "a perfect child" (Natsuo) failed. With Enji even giving her a Death Glare while news of All Might's victories played in the background. It's also possibly made to show that Endeavor is mentally ''really'' not well in his head. In the manga, this scene was not present, and instead a panel of Endeavor seemingly frustrated with All Might's achievements followed by a panel of Rei looking somewhat calm before immediately cut to a panel of her with a horrified look.
  • For Chapter 302, the anime actually shows, by audio cues, that Enji did hit Rei while he yells at her for not dissuading Toya from training. In the manga, it was only implied through Shoto's cries of "Stop bullying mom!!" and Rei being on the floor.
• Always Second Best: He's always second to All Might even after trying for decades to surpass him, something Endeavor can't stand. He's obsessed with knocking All Might off the position — even using his own son as a tool to do so. Even after achieving the very thing he sought for so long via a technicality, the public opinion makes it clear he's still second-best to All Might, something Endeavor himself admits in Chapter 164. Rather darkly the only person to consider him on the same level of All Might is All For One. As his injuries worsen in battle he grimly applauds Endeavor for making him feel fear, something that only All Might had ever done.
• Always Someone Better: As mentioned above, All Might is this to him.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Shockingly so in the Remedial Course Arc. He tries, in his own way, to encourage Shoto to pass the remedial exams. Unfortunately, Shoto preferred not to make eye contact with his father.
• An Arm and a Leg: Endeavor sacrificed his right arm from All for One's Rivets Stabs while using his body to shield Hawks, Tokoyami, and Jiro from most of it.
• Anti-Role Model: As a husband and a father, he's a pretty big failure, having put his family through emotional and physical abuse for his own ambitions though the scale of it remains unknown. As a professional hero, he's very skilled at his job and even applies detective work to it. It's why even Shoto admits there's something to be learned from him. Over time, it becomes evident that for his abysmal personal life, he is a very competent professional.
• Ascended Extra: From a secondary character in the first chapters, he gets much more focus when he becomes officialy #1 Hero starting from The Pro Hero arc.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The anime and Vigilantes show that he's the #2 hero for a reason, mopping the floor with most villains and even taking on a Nomu single-handedly that several other pros struggled to handle, establishing that he's second only to All Might in terms of raw power. This trope is played much more straight when All Might loses his powers and is forced to retire, making Endeavor the strongest hero by default.
• The Atoner:
  • He strives to live up to his status as a hero while also to make up for what's he done to his family ever since circumstances and major events made him have a Heel Realization. Deconstructed since while he's genuinely willing to atone, he has possibly too much to make up for. Several years of emotional and physical abuse on his family are nowhere near easily forgivable, if at all. Out of his family, only his daughter, Fuyumi, is willing to give him some sort of benefit of a doubt; his wife, Rei, recognizes his efforts but still can’t see him due to the emotional and mental scars he left on her; and his remaining sons, Natsuo and Shoto, still don't want anything to do with him, and Natsuo, in particular, is quick to call him out the first chance he gets. Shoto, is dead set in the middle, wanting to see him improve, but can't forgive him for causing his mother so much stress. He's painfully aware of all of it, yet continues to try and atone anyway, as it's the only thing he can do. Even moreso, he genuinely wants to do his best to make up for causing the death of Toya, his oldest son, and felt regretful for it happening long before his Heel Realization. After the fight with the villain Ending, he concludes that the only way that he can help his family is to take himself out of the equation, living by himself in their old abode while Fuyumi and Natsuo move into a new house with Rei.
  • Reconstructed in the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War upon facing Rei for the first time in a decade, where Rei and he agree to put aside their differences in a joint effort to prevent Toya/Dabi from completely destroying the last remnants of the family, both acknowledging their roles in what Toya/Dabi has become. In the bargain, Shoto, Fuyumi and Natsuo also agree to call it a truce and close ranks for the time being. Whether or not this will produce lasting effects on the family remains to be seen.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Endeavor is a practitioner of situational awareness, and wants his trainees to learn that skill.
• Bad Powers, Bad People: Zig-zagged. A Quirk that gives the user the power to generate high-temperature fire called "Hellflame" seems pretty terrifying at first glance. However, Endeavor uses this power to be an extremely competent pro hero who earned his position as #2. It's just in his personal life that this is played straight, as his abuse caused his son Shoto to think of his Playing with Fire side as a 'bad power'. Then he gets his Jerkass Realization and tries to be solely a force for good, but runs into Reformed, but Rejected.
• Baritone of Strength: He is a tall, muscular, and extremely powerful Pro-Hero who has a deep and intimidating voice to match.
  • Also Authority Sounds Deep, since he is a high ranking Pro-Hero and runs his own Hero agency.
• Base-Breaking Character: In-universe. Some people love him for being a steely tough guy and a formidable force as a pro-hero and gloss over his negative qualities, but there is also a sizable camp of detractors with intense hatred of him, and for good reason. Endeavor later recognizes this status when he becomes the #1 hero and tries to better himself to get on the good side of people... Ironically, that effort actually loses him one disappointed fanboy who actually liked him more as a jerk.
• Becoming the Mask: Played with. He tells Deku and Bakugo outright he's only mentoring them because they don't really interfere with his work. Though it's indicated he grows to have genuine respect for their Hero pursuits and isn't a bad teacher.
• Berserk Button: Like Bakugo, he really hates cheapened victories or achievements. Accomplishing the title of the new Number 1 on account of technicality pissed him off so badly he destroyed his training room in a rage.
• Big Good: Officially becomes this after being promoted to the top hero as a result of All Might's retirement. A significant part of the story's later half is how he adjusts to this role and the effect it has on the people around him, particularly his family.
• Birds of a Feather: Endeavor shares a trait with each of his three trainees. All four of them have one thing in common: the ambition to surpass All Might.
  • In Midoriya's case, both have Quirks that seriously harm them if they go overboard. Additionally, both of them are highly intelligent and analytical people. In fact, Endeavor is the first person so far who can follow Midoriya's Techno Babble without any visible confusion. Bizarrely enough, this makes Endeavor a much more effective teacher to Izuku than All Might because he can understand him better.
  • Both Bakugo and Endeavor share the same aggressive temperament and similar Quirks. Both of them value strength over everything else, but are trying to become better people as well. Both of them try to assert their egos in petty ways. After getting a dose of Humble Pie and Jerkass Realization, both try their hardest to make amends to the people that they offended in the past.
  • Shoto may disdain being compared to his father, but they do have similar personalities, at least in the sense of being serious and solemn people (to the point of being the Comically Serious whenever they are teamed with goofier people) and not being very sociable (even when Shoto warms up, he is still pretty awkward.)
• Blood Knight: He clearly enjoys the thrill of a good fight. Such as when he gets jealous of Edgeshot rushing into the fight against the League of Villains.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: At the climax of his battle against the High-End Nomu Hood, Endeavor falls back on the motto of U.A., his alma mater, and shouts "Plus Ultra" in a parallel to All Might's battle against the first Nomu at the U.S.J. and as a sign of his desire to continue the legacy of the Number One Hero by going back to the heroic ideals he once scorned. Fittingly, he also mimics All Might's pose after his victory over All for One to similarly inspire the onlooking crowds, though Endeavor consciously raises his right arm to draw comparison to but not directly copy All Might.
• Break the Haughty: Not exactly “haughty”, but still an incredibly selfish and self-serious man. By the conclusion of the Hideout Raid Arc, he undergoes a very gradual and rather poignant version of this as his “ambitions”, worldviews, and self-image all come crashing down bit-by-bit as he is forced to confront how unheroic he has been. It culminates in the epilogue to the Paranormal Liberation War arc where the revelation of Dabi being his long-lost son, Toya; as well as his role in indirectly causing the collapse of Hero Society (and, to an extent, Japan’s infrastructure) break him to the point he is a sobbing wreck who has lost the will to live. He is humbled even further when his wife - whom he abused to the point of insanity - presents herself and gives him a very stern, but encouraging pep-talk to help him overcome his DEH.
• Broken Base: In-universe. Endeavor's sudden rise to the #1 spot caused him to become a controversial figure in society, between those supporting him, which goes on to spawn a positive meme called "Can't Ya See-Kun" with people trying to express their positive opinions and trust in Endeavor, and those who think he pales in comparison to All Might, both as a symbol and as a hero.
• Broken Pedestal:
  • Endeavor's sole purpose in life was to stand beside or even exceed All Might. He even went so far as to use his family to achieve that goal. In the end, this is subverted as he still respects All Might and views him as better then him even after his initial rage at his retirement and weak form.
  • It's all but shown how Toya used to idolize him as a child and wanted to be just like him. However, once Endeavor all but rejected and emotionally neglected him, due to Toya's quirk lacking a resistance to fire, in favor of Shoto who had a better quirk with no drawbacks to fulfill his ambition, Toya felt betrayed by his father. It wasn't long until he almost died but his family presumed he did.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": Endeavor's costumes both prominently feature the Kanji for fire,(火) stylized in the flame patterns on his chest, the first more directly, and the second through negative space. Additionally, his belt in the second costume has a buckle with a stylized Kanji for flame (炎).
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: A twisted example in which the expected quirkiness of this is instead replaced with pure selfish Jerkassery that somehow doesn't affect his effectiveness as a hero. Though his jerkass behavior and lack of charisma are stated in-universe why he has no chance at being the #1 hero over All Might, and was only able to achieve it on a technicality. At the same time, he does have a fanbase, some of which seem to like that he's a jerk or at the very least, that he is a '90s Anti-Hero.
  • On the other hand, he is still a very effective hero. He has mastered his Quirk to its limit, is a proactive and intelligent hero with a keen analytical mind and can be a surprisingly good teacher. He is able to follow Izuku's explanations quite well and relate because of their dangerous Quirks.
• Byronic Hero: Played for Drama. While Endeavor is committed to being a hero, his personality and actions are anything but heroic. The latter half of the series explores this as he now has to confront the results of his selfish and self-destrctive actions and how they have impacted those around him, while still staying true to his heroic nature. Chapter 356 reveals his personality was the result of watching his father die protecting a young girl, and how Endeavor did not want to die in such a way.
• Character Check:
  • He starts changing in an attempt to become a better hero after assuming the title of #1 hero. In the Pro Hero Arc, a scene of Natsuo and Fuyumi visiting Rei is meant to remind the reader of what he has done to his family after Natsuo grimly reminiscences about it. Natsuo is almost certain to not forgive him, Fuyumi seems ready to (her wanting her family back), Rei implies she may eventually forgive him and Shoto is all but explicit that while he may in the future, he isn't ready. As for Toya, he is deceased as far as the family knows with anything about his personality being an engima. Actually, Toya ended up becoming an infamous supervillain, Dabi and he declares that he will never let Enji escape his sins.
  • The Endeavor Internship arc also reminds the viewer that while Endeavor is Japan's best hero, as well as a surprisingly good mentor, he's still a jerk. He tells Bakugo and Midoriya that he only took them on as interns because Shoto asked him to, and mentions in passing that their success or failure won't affect his work as Endeavor.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: He does not possess Super-Strength as a Quirk at all, and despite that he has performed feats of physical power that while pale in comparison to what All Might and Deku are capable of, are very clearly superhuman in nature. The only explanation is that he's just natually that strong. It does help that he's built like a body builder.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Introduced way before his son and the dramatic plotline that involves them.
• Chest Insignia: It's subtle, but his costume has the Japanese character "火" for "fire" emblazoned across it. His first costume has it flaming with his Quirk, while his second costume has it in black, reflecting his newer, calmer attitude.
• Combat Pragmatist: When he fights a Nomu with regenerative powers, he boosts the temperature of his flames until its cells have carbonized and can't regenerate anymore.
• The Comically Serious: His first attempts at trying to become more approachable to others are played for laughs when he tries to do it with a die-hard fan of his, who thinks playing foul makes him cooler.
• Convection, Schmonvection: Subverted. While his Required Secondary Powers makes him resistant to his own fire, using especially hot and compressed flames raises his internal body temperature and weakens him physically. This is why he chose Rei as his wife, as her Ice Quirk would allow their children to counterbalance this lowering their body temperature. This is also why he tries to end all of his fights in one hit, since extensive use of his finishing moves will wear him down.
• Costume Evolution: Part of his new costume includes fingerless gloves.
• Create Your Own Villain: As the result of his obsession to surpass All Might and become the Number One hero at all costs, his biggest failure as a father and a hero turns out to be his accidental creation of Dabi, who is one of the nation's worst serial killers and mass terrorists and Endeavor's own long lost eldest son, Toya Todoroki. While Shoto did grow up bitter and detached, he was able to recover thanks to his friends. However, Toya was driven utterly insane by Endeavor's extreme abuse and neglect. The result is a violent, cruel man hell-bent on not only destroying hero society completely but on making sure that his father remains haunted by his past mistakes for the rest of his days.
• Daddy Didn't Raise No Criminal: During the Paranormal Liberation War Dabi reveals himself as Toya Todoroki, his eldest son whom everyone assumed dead. When faced with this revelation Endeavor claims Toya is dead and that Dabi take back that "despicable lie" about his son only for Dabi to throw the truth back at him.
• Darwinist Desire: Likely subverted. Word choice gave the interpretation that he only married Rei to have a child with Combo Platter Powers who could be strong enough to surpass All Might as the greatest superhero. However, it's later revealed he chose her to have someone balance his Quirk's weaknesses. Furthermore, the revelations of everyone's ages (except for Toya's who could still be speculated mathmatically), reveals Endeavor was barely out of adolescence when he became a father, subverting this. Further evidence lies in how the film Two Heroes shows us All Might's early years took place in America, so he wasn't known to Endeavor up until at least Fuyumi was born and possibly even Natsuo.
• A Day in the Limelight: He becomes the protagonist of The Pro Hero Arc, and it focuses specifically on his dynamic with #2 hero Hawks, and how he adjusts as his new role as the top hero and trying to reconnect with his family.
• Death Glare: As Yoarashi bitterly reminisces, his eyes are full of hatred, and he's rarely ever seen not scowling. It's capable of putting fear into the fearless. The change in his eyes after the talk with All Might shows that he is probably truly changing for the better.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype:
  • Deconstructs Unknown Rival. Endeavor is motivated by being the best and initially sought to become equal to surpass All-Might. Unfortunately, the physical limitations of his Quirk inhibit him, even after All Might's own crippling. He eventually turns to his children in the hopes they will surpass him and All-Might later on. His wife undergoes Sanity Slippage, injures one of her children and gets put into a mental institution; their eldest son, his initial successor, is seemingly dead due to gaining flames hotter than Endeavor's while inheriting his mother's lack of fire resistance, causing his body to be unable to handle his own Quirk; two middle children suffer from Parental Neglect (with the older of the two getting Promotion to Parent and becoming the only force that holds the remnants of the family together); and the youngest one, Shoto, is subjected to Training from Hell and isolation from his peers since he was 5, which in the long run leaves him with PTSD and No Social Skills. And to top it all off, Endeavor does become a #1 Hero... not due to his own accomplishments, but solely because All Might is forced to retire, thus making everything he subjected his family to All for Nothing.
  • Immediately afterwards, he deconstructs The Atoner. After winning the #1 Hero spot on a technicality, a heart-to-heart with All Might convinces Endeavor to reevaluate his life and attempt to fix his mistakes regarding his family. However, Endeavor quickly learns that there are some things that are impossible to reconcile. His wife still fears him, Natsuo still hates him, Fuyumi is willing to be civil for the sake of the family, and Shoto is still on the fence about actually forgiving him. It all boils to a head when Natsuo is attacked by the villain Ending. Endaeavor realizes that the damage done to his family is irreparable and decides the best way for them to heal is to cut himself out of their lives. To that end, he moves his family to a safer location while he lives at their old house alone. But then things take a turn for the worst during the Paranormal Liberation War Arc where he learns that his son Toya is still alive... and has become the notorious villain Dabi. And worse still, Dabi has broadcasted all of his family's dirty laundry for all of Japan to see, effectively tarnishing Endeavor's reputation. A brutal demonstration that no matter how much Endeavor wants to atone for his mistakes, the consequences of his actions will follow him wherever he goes. Reconstructed later in that, instead of breaking the family apart for good, Toya's actions have glued the family back together, if only for the time being, given that neither Rei nor Endeavor wish to deny their joint responsibility in Toya's neglect and descent into madness, and even Natsuo also reckons that he could have given more time to his brother.
  • He also deconstructs the Satanic Archetype. At the start of the series, Endeavor pretty much fits this archetype to a T: has flame-related powers (double points for being called Hellflame), suffers from the cardinal sins of Pride and Envy, has a cruel and ruthless personality unbefitting of a Pro Hero and his whole hero career is based around his petty, one-sided rivalry with All Might. He subjected his family to hell (driving Rei to suffer an emotional breakdown, scarred Shoto both literally and figuratively, neglected his children which led to the creation of Dabi) all because he wanted to one-up All Might. After he becomes the #1 Hero and has a heart-to-heart with All Might, Endeavor starts to realize the errors of his ways and works to atone for his past misdeeds by working to become a better person, both as a hero and a father. Despite his efforts towards his family, Natsuo outright hates him, Rei is still terrified of him, Fuyumi acts civil for the sake of her family and Shoto, though he admires his father's hero skills, cannot truly bring himself to forgive Endeavor for his abuse. This forces him to face the reality that even though he's working to atone for his cruelty, there are some things he simply cannot fix.]
• Deer in the Headlights: Happens more than once, though for slightly different reasons. First was due to seeing the look in Natsuo's eyes, it freezes him enough that Deku, Bakugo, and Shoto detain Ending and rescue Natsuo instead. He explains it as sudden fear that if he tried to save his son as a hero, Natsuo would never speak to him again. The second time was when Dabi revealed himself as Touya, it freezes Enji in a mix of shock, denial, and despair, as Enji essentially relives his grief of losing his firstborn. The moment also doubles as an Unreliable Narrator flashback, since it doesn't show the full situation of what happened to Touya. He snaps out of it eventually at external prompt/encouragement but the two incidents are shown for different reasons. His hesitancy with Natsuo is because he wants to atone and to try to repair as much as possible their relationship- however fruitless that may be and however bad the timing is. With Dabi, it's moreso a Heroic BSoD where he can't process that the son who died and he could never forgive himself for causing was actually alive and had turned into a villain out to hurt others, including his own brother and Enji, because of Enji's failings as a father.
• Depending on the Writer: In Smash!!, a lot of his characterization is Played for Laughs, and therefore, most of his actions come from him being a "Well Done, Dad!" Guy that eagerly wants Shoto to start respecting and looking up to him. He even bends himself backwards trying to get into Shoto's good side by taking a vacation and taking Shoto to the beach, even though Shoto avoids spending time with him by inviting some friends over.
• Destructive Savior: Defied. His incredibly hot flames would make him incredibly liable for property damage, especially since his strongest attacks can vaporize entire office buildings. But his control is so refined that even when he creates a massive twister of fire, it deals minimal damage to area surrounding his intended target. In fact, one of his agency's specialties is rapid evacuation, ensuring that no innocents will be caught in the crossfire.
• Determinator: In the words of his daughter, "he's the worst at giving up out of anybody". This is whether it's trying to surpass All Might, or in a much better light, fighting Hood. He gets thrown through multiple buildings, has his eye nearly stabbed out, and overclocks his Quirk so much he overheats badly, and with Hawks' help he still manages to land the finishing blow.
• Dirty Coward: Rei calls him one when he tells her she has to take care of Toya from now on and he won't have a hand in raising him, rightfully claiming he's acting the opposite of a hero by running away.
• Domestic Abuse: His marriage to Rei, the origins of said relationship and their history together remains unknown for the most part, though by the present day, it's in total shambles. Initially, it was assumed he married her in the hopes of having a child with both their Quirks that could be strong enough to surpass All Might, this is dispelled when he notes that he married her to cover his weaknesses (alongside the revelations of their ages meaning they were quite young). However, by the recent times, he smacks her around when she interferes with the training of Shoto and eventually Rei snaps and she ends up hurting Shoto in an emotional breakdown. He ends up having her put away in an institution. It's implied the worst of it started after what happened to his oldest child Toya. Initially chosen to be Endeavor's successor, his promising career was ended via a horrible accident caused when Endeavor had him to learn one of his Dangerous Forbidden Techniques. The problem was that despite Toya possessing a superior Fire Quirk than his father, he inherited his mother's lack of resistance to heat, meaning his own power (seemingly) killed him.
• Doting Parent: Which is lampshaded by Present Mic at his reaction to Shoto finally using his flames in the Sports Festival. It takes on a much darker context however, because that was the point when Endeavor saw Shoto as nothing more but an extension of himself and his ambitions. After his character arc, he starts playing this straight, much to Shoto's embarrassment.
  • Chapter 291 implies that he used to be this way with all his kids and loved them just the same. He was even incredibly proud of his oldest, Toya. Unfortunately, his desire to surpass All Might eventually took priority over their well being.
• Driven by Envy: The root of all his problems is his burning jealousy of All Might indeed, the one person he could never overcome and who gets all the praise and recognition that Endeavor feels he's being denied.
• Early-Bird Cameo: He appears on a TV screen in Chapter 1 and in an ad for U.A. in Chapter 3.
• Elemental Eye Colors: Inverted. He has Icy Blue Eyes but his Quirk is fire-based.
• Elemental Hair Colors: His beard and mustache are literally Flaming Hair (he does it on purpose and can turn it off if he so wishes), but his actual hair is red and spiky, fitting his fire Quirk.
• Elemental Hair Composition: His beard's made of fire! Also, it can be turned on and off.
• Elemental Personalities: He's a Hot-Headed Blood Knight with fire-based powers.
• Elemental Punch: Endeavor's Signature Move, Flashfire Fist, condenses his flames and raises their temperature to the maximum limit before unleashing it either as a powerful punch or as a prerequisite for another attack.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • He's a dick, but when he becomes the #1 hero, he pretty much admits that he didn't earn it because of a technicality.
  • Even before he started making attempts to atone for his abusive parental treatment of his kids, it's implied through Shoto, that the death of his eldest son was something he could never forgive himself for. This is reflected later when Shoto thinks back on why he refused to use both sides of his power at their fullest capabilities; even Endeavor was horrified by it happening.
  • He may be a jerk, but when Hawks gives an extremely condescending speech at the hero rankings announcement, he confronts him immediately afterwards and says not only does he hate people who treat heroism like a game, but that for his attitude, Hawks owes the other heroes in the top ten an apology.
  • In fact, one could point out that he's a dick partially because he has standards. Turns out he has high standards for everyone, especially himself.
  • Endeavor may have wanted his child to surpass All Might, but when he realized that Toya's quirk was actually burning the boy, he outright tried many times to discourage his son from being a hero.
  • He also shows genuine fear around the idea of confronting his own son Toya after it has been revealed that he is Dabi of the League of villains, meaning that fighting a family member and possibly killing them is something Endeavor cannot live with.
• Eye Beams: Can shoot beams of concentrated fire from his eyes. Rather ironic, given All Might is the Superman Substitute, but lacks this power.
• Eye Scream: In his battle against the High-End Nomu, Hood, in Chapter 188, Endeavor gets hit in his left eye by an attack. He keeps the eye only through a combination of good doctors and luck, though he's heavily scarred as a result.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Envy and Pride, both of them connected. Out of pride, Endeavor holds himself and everyone around him to unbelievably high standards and refuses to accept anything less, with no consideration for anyone else’s well being, usually being contemptuous and callous towards the people he's supposed to protect (i.e. civilians). Out of jealousy for All Might's better style, he sacrificed his own family to mould them into the perfect weapon to depose his "rival" who never thought of him as inferior in the first place. Both of these brought nothing but misery and strife to his life.
  • Stubbornness. Even though Endeavor acknowledged his own shortcomings and accepted that he couldn't surpass All Might, he simply couldn't let go of his ambition. His inability to stop stubbornly pursuing his desire to surpass All Might by any means turned his goal into a dark obsession, one that drove him to do whatever it takes to see it achieved. He would abuse his family, especially Rei and Shoto, because he stubbornly refused to let go of his obsessive desire despite the pain he was causing. Only when All Might retires and he has a heart-to-heart with the Symbol of Peace does he begin to start reflecting on his poor choices.
  • Coldness. Endeavor was renowned for having a rude, selfish and callous personality towards others, even those he was sworn to protect. His skills as a Pro Hero couldn't be questioned, but his personality was a major source of controversy for his career. Ironically, it was because of Endeavor's cold and callous personality that played a major factor in him being unable to surpass All Might as in contrast to the warm and friendly Symbol of Peace, the Flame Hero only concerned himself with his own desires while showing no regard for the welfare of others. When All Might retires, people are unsure about Endeavor due to his prickly and unpleasant personality. It comes to an absolute head when Dabi exposes his cruel abuse of his family and people are quick to turn on the Flame Hero for such a damning revelation.
• Fiery Redhead: And not just literally. He does have a nasty temper at times.
• Fire/Ice Duo: The fire to Rei's ice.
• Flaming Hair: Subverted. He can create a flaming beard and mustache to look intimidating, but he does have regular facial hair behind them
• Freudian Excuse: It's implied that the death of his firstborn, Toya, really did a number on his psyche. Endeavor internally admits that had Toya become a pro hero, he would have replaced his obsessive desire to surpass All Might with a desire to see his son become the best he could be. Later on, it was revealed that Toya's apparent death was the result of Enji inadvertently poisoning his mind with his own obsession for surpassing All Might. In trying to avoid the same mistake with Shoto, he became much more abusive.
  • In chapter 356, it’s revealed that when Enji was a kid his father died. He attempted to protect a girl from some perpetrator. Unfortunately, all 3 ended up dying in what’s implied to be an accident. The last time that Enji saw his father, it was as a corpse. According to Enji, this incident is one of the sources of his inferiority complex. To him, losing his dad and not being able to do anything about it just emphasized how weak he really was deep down, which started his long obsession to prove himself to be better. Unfortunately, this would be the same obsession that led him down a destructive path for years.
• Genius Bruiser: Endeavor didn't just get his position as #2 because of his (admittedly impressive) Quirk and physical strength; he's also quite intelligent and applies detective skills to his work. Midoriya's internship highlights this, as Endeavor is able to follow his Techno Babble with no trouble whatsoever.
• Glory Hound: Deconstructed. His relentless pursuit of the first spot on the top Hero list alienates and repels his children from him and drives his wife to madness. Ultimately, it all ends up being completely in vain when Endeavor does become the number-one Hero, but due to a technicality, which, to him, means he didn't earn it.
• Good Costume Switch: Zigzagged. Endeavor started using a new suit when he officially became the top-ranked hero and embraced the title and the values one needs to resonate with to live up to it, at last putting to bed his feud with All Might with him no longer able to rival Endeavor.
• Good Is Not Nice: At first, this was his most defining aspect. When Character Development started kicking in, it began to be highly deconstructed, in that while he was a competent hero (and far from being a sociopath), his proclivity to always be intimidating, and his disregard for the emotional and psychological welfare of everyone around him made him anything but heroic. And that's without getting into how he treated his family. After acknowledging this glaring flaw, strives to change for the better, and slowly shed this trope, though he was still pretty grumpy and prone to anger fits. After the Paranormal Liberation Arc, he’s a borderline Nice Guy compared to his portrayal in earlier chapters.
• Good Powers, Bad People: In the sense that there's nothing inherently evil about his Quirk, per se (the name indicating more the dangerous potential of heat). He's just really nasty for someone that's supposed to be a high-ranking hero. Granted, his rank is more indicative of him being very skilled at his heroics and his Quirk.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: While Endeavor is nowhere near as explosive as the likes of Bakugo, he's very easily angered when faced with something he dislikes, and you can tell by the scowl. This was played both for horror and drama as this unchecked temper made him an abusive father and husband.
• Handicapped Badass: Losing his right arm did not slow him down one bit against All for One. In fact, the latter acknowledges him as being just as dangerous as All Might and Endeavor came this close to killing him for good.
• Hate Sink: Subverted. At first, Endeavor was one of the most unlikable characters in the series, being an Abusive Parent and husband, as well as an egotist obsessed with him being an Unknown Rival towards All Might. However, his Jerkass Realization in the Hideout Raid arc has him reevaluate his behavior thoroughly: he vows to become a better hero and father, which consequently leads to him being painted in a more sympathetic light.
• Hatedom: Shoto implies that he has an in-universe one. Yoarashi was openly a part of it and absolutely loathed him and considering that Dabi just revealed his abusive past as Toya Todoroki that hatedom just grew exponentially.
• Heel Realization: Endeavor never realized how badly he hurt his family until he gets called out on it by his son Natsuo, and then he faces off Dabi, one of the League of Villains' most dangerous members, who at that moment reveals his real identity as Toya Todoroki, his presumably deceased son. After that battle, in chapter 300, it is implied Endeavor watched his son's recording of their family revelations thus making Endeavor realize how much he has truly hurt Toya and how he badly he abused his family for it to make Toya an insane mass murderer.
• Hellfire: His Quirk is named Hellflame because his flames are as hot as Hell, but don't seem to burn him while active. In the anime, his flames are shown to be hot enough to melt stone easily. He summoned flames on his feet so he could climb up the side of a building to rescue someone, the flames melting the spot to create a foothold. Furthermore, when he released flames from his feet to decrease his and the person he was saving's velocity and land safely, it melted and burnt the road.
• Heroic Build: He may be only a hero on technicality, but he most definitely has the muscles. He constantly pushes himself to his physical limits in his goal of surpassing All Might, and while it might not have been enough it definitely bore some fruit. To boot, he's a giant - one of the few people tall enough to look All Might in the eye.
• Heroic Resolve: Endeavor just won't stay down. After suffering a savage beating, he wills himself to continue the fight. Using the pain to stop himself from backing out and launches himself at Hood using his flames when his body starts to fail. Despite the fact overusing his Quirk will kill him.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Very downplayed Sacrifices his arm to save several heroes from a special attack by All For One.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Played with, in that he deserves a lot of it. After Dabi's broadcast revealing his past of domestic abuse against his family, along with his indirect contribution to creating the villain Dabi, Endeavor's reputation as a hero is forever tarnished.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Despite being the #2 hero, he actually lives in a pretty simple but spacious Japanese-styled home, when someone of his social standing could easily afford more than that.
  • He's pretty formal, albeit in a cold sort of way, to people he talks with. He calls Gran Torino "honored elder" when interacting with him for example.
  • During the Hideout Raid Arc, it's heavily implied he actually looks up to All Might.
  • Before his Despair Event Horizon, he also valued effort above everything else when striving to be the best he can be. It's also a sore point about All Might's retirement. Then again, one could say he never lost this, but his inability to overcome the physical limitations of his Quirk along with "being the worst at giving up" meant he would turn to making a Superior Successor.
  • The leitmotif that plays for him in the anime is called "Just Another Hero." The lyrics offer potential insight into Endeavor's motivations. This is the first verse:
    I was a dropout and a coward
    Sick and tired of my weakness
    More I buck for the power
    More I'm broken, more I'm frightened
    But that's the time I must be strong
    Why damage myself again and again?
    Is simply for the victims of sorrow
    I'll be the man even if I'm just another hero
  • He's quite intelligent and it's implied that he's solved so many cases partially because he acts as a detective.
  • In Chapter 164, he finally gets to speak with All Might and notes despite all the cases he is solving, he is able to sense that everything All Might has done as the Symbol of Peace is beginning to fall apart. Besides showing remarkable perception, it also shows some surprising humility, knowing he is not good enough. He reinforces this when he asks All Might what it meant to be a Symbol of Peace.
  • A flashback right before the end of his fight with Hood reveals he chose his wife Rei because she had the ability to balance out his weaknesses, which means that on some level, he has some attachment to her and really does care about her.
  • Another is when the kids are visiting Rei and she informs them that Endeavor has actually been visiting her, at least where she's staying though not actually meeting her in person. She even notes how he would leave her her favorite flower despite only mentioning it once to him several decades ago. This shows both his attention to detail and the fact he cared to remember such a thing shows that there may have been legitimate courtship and sentimentality in their relationship at some point.
  • Hawks points out that Endeavor was the only one actually trying to surpass All Might. All the other heroes viewed the gap between All Might and the rest of them as insurmountable, except for Endeavor. While Hawks initially thinks of this as envy, he realizes during the fight against Hood that Endeavor was doing it to better himself, and that his resolve to do so is admirable.
  • When placed in a mentor's position, he proves to be an incredibly effective teacher. When Midoriya, Bakugo and Shoto are interning at his agency, he asks each of them what their goals are and what they hope to take away from their time with him. From there he individualizes his teachings to help them reach their goals in a way that best suits their personalities, from stoking Bakugo's competitive nature and his drive to be the best by one-upping him on their patrols, pairing Shoto with Bakugo since they have similar goals and Shoto doesn't want to interact with Endeavor heavily, and giving a very thorough and detailed explanation to Midoriya on how he should build upon his powers so that using them becomes second nature to him.
  • With his age revealed to be 45 along with how old his children are, it reveals that he was barely out of adolescence when he married Rei and started a family. This means that many assumptions about him in the beginning are thrown out the window and thus, many early moments have to be recontextualized.
  • Despite these, the trope is deconstructed as the manga makes a point that even with these subtle depths, his treatment of his family was such an awful thing to do that it’s a stain on his “legacy” (even he acknowledges that).
• Horrible Judge of Character: He thinks All Might looked down on him, which fueled his one-sided rivalry against the paragon, when in reality, All Might held him in high enough esteem to try and get tips on training junior Heroes from him. It turns out that he may have been just projecting his own insecurities on All Might, viewing the differences in their capabilities as a chasm that kept growing no matter what he did.
• Hot-Blooded: Endeavor is easily riled, heavily determined and unsurprisingly of short temper.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The cover for Chapter 166 shows that Endeavor was One Head Taller than Rei, as well as about twice her width, when their son, Shoto, became a kindergartener. The last page of Chapter 388 takes this to the extreme by showing that Rei's height barely reached Enji's chest.
• Hyper-Awareness: He didn't reach the top position on his strength and Quirk mastery alone. He's also known as the best detective amongst the heroes, hence having the highest number of resolved cases, beating out All Might. Amongst other things, he's a very detailed person, such as remembering his wife's favorite flower even though only mentioned it once decades ago, and picking up on Hawks' hints and coded messages. He's also one of the few people to fully decipher and sum up Midoriya's Techno Babble without any visible confusion.
• Hypocrite:
  • Endeavor constantly told Toya to give up trying to be a hero due to how his Quirk damaged his body, yet he himself was obsessed with trying to surpass All Might and refused to move on from his own goals.
  • In Chapter 302, Endeavor orders Rei to keep a strict watch on Toya after he attacked an infant Shoto, unprovoked, and claims that all that he can show any of their children is the life of a hero. In return, Rei points out that he's fleeing the responsibility of being a hero/father to his son.
• I Hate Past Me: He outright states this in a monologue he holds before blasting the High-End Nomu with the brunt of his Quirk's power.
  "Villain, I see it... you... are me, from the past, or another future. Burn up... be at rest."
  • Taken to a more literal extreme in Chapter 356 Where he metaphorically chokes out his younger self as he reflects on his past.
• Icy Blue Eyes: He's an aloof man with turquoise eyes. Ironically, he has fire powers instead of ice ones usually associated with blue eyes of the "piercing, icy" variety.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Toya's "death" was something that Endeavor could never forgive himself for since he indirectly caused it due to neglecting his son's needs and never teaching him how to regulate his fire. To make matters worse Toya didn't die but became the villain Dabi who has dedicated his entire existence to making Endeavor suffer for his past sins.
• I Should Have Been Better: After becoming the #1 Hero, Endeavor starts to realize that he neglected his family in the pursuit of a position that he's not even that good at, mostly because he never really considered what it would imply. His inner monologues and his interactions with his kids from then onwards often contain this line, and he outright admits it to them in tears when he meets them in the hospital after learning Dabi is Toya.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: It's implied that his need to surpass All Might, and the horrific treatment of his family that happened as a result, are rooted in his low opinion of anyone who's not the best, himself included. Furthermore, he's hampered by the physical limitations of his Hellflame Quirk; he risks overheating if used extensively, which is why he tries to finish fights quickly in single shots lest he burns himself out. This is why he banks on Shoto to become his successor, since Shoto's Ice and Fire balance each other and thus are not prone to the weaknesses that hamper him or which wound up apparently killing his oldest son and original successor, Toya, whose lack of resistance to heat made his problem toward his own superior fire Quirk worse than his father, during a training accident. He has a mental breakdown when he becomes the top-ranked hero on a technicality due to All Might's retirement because he believes he is unworthy of the recognition and responsibilities. It takes a personal talk with All Might to finally understanding what it really means to be the Symbol of Peace and try and fix what and who he damaged over the years.
• "It" Is Dehumanizing: He has no qualms about calling his older children "things" because he considers them no better than failed experiments due to being born without a fusion of their parents' Quirks like he desired, and even refers to his personal favorite, Shoto, as "that boy he made." In Chapter 192, Natsuo refers to himself and Fuyumi as "his failures" when shouting at him.
• It's All About Me: All he cares about is becoming the #1 hero, even if he has to live that dream through his son. In Chapter 86, he complains about having to rescue Bakugo because of his busy schedule. After attaining his dream through a technicality, he starts to introspect, leading him to move away from this as he actually thinks about bringing happiness back to his family, even if it's at his own expense.
• It's All My Fault: He openly acknowledges that Toya's fall from grace and transformation into Dabi lies on his shoulders. While the rest of the family note that they also played a part in what happened, in that they didn't do enough to force Endeavor to talk to Toya and be the father he needed to be, they also agree that the lion's share of the blame does belong to him.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: Dabi has a very, very personal issue with him, since he is Toya, Endeavor's long lost eldest son who took the biggest brunt of his Abusive Parents behavior in the past.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Realizing that his family couldn't be truly happy so long as he's also in the picture, Enji decided to build a new home for them and Rei to rebuild their lives, while he himself stays behind in the old house.
• I Work Alone: At first he seems to be this, though with later chapters it's revealed he has his own agency, where a lot of assistants help him in various parts of hero work. He's also capable of working with other heroes in his job, as War Arc and Team-Up Missions series shows.
• Jerkass: He's cold, aloof, does not work well with others, and his ambitions have damaged and traumatized his wife and children. It's gradually implied that, at least with his oldest son, it may be a bit more complicated, though. He gets a bit by bit better when the story goes.
• Jerkass Realization: Suffers one during the Kamino incident when he sees All Might's true form, finally understanding that for so many years he'd been desperately trying to surpass a man who had long since been reduced to a shell of his former self and destroyed his family for nothing. Somewhat downplayed as the story elaborates that, deep down, Endeavor always knew what he was doing was terrible. He just kept on doing it anyway due to a combination of Pride and Sunk Cost Fallacy.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite being his foul, relentless ambitions in wanting to surpass All Might, Endeavor, deep down, cares for his loved ones, even if he can't articulate it properly. He fondly recalls Rei's favorite flowers, and has them sent to her before she's released from the clinic, and even tries to reason with Toya so he stops hurting himself over an unachievable dream. Even though he Took a Level in Jerkass again when he started training Shoto, this trope resurfaces when he repents for his mistakes and resolves to atone for them.
• Large Ham: Normally, he tends to be soft-spoken and collected, but when the situation is opportune (and especially when Shoto is concerned), Endeavor will become hammy enough to rival All Might.
  "Shooootoooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!"
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • His abusive nature ended up causing his wife to splash boiling water on the left side of Shoto's face. Years later, he would have the same side of his face and his eye on top of that blown off by a Nomu. While it does get restored by Recovery Girl, he's still left with a deep scar in the same place as Shoto's.
  • His "forcefulness" in trying to beat Shoto into becoming the strongest hero by forcing him to perform very near suicidal techniques as a child had the opposite effect and actually made him weaker, because Shoto is traumatized by the experience and holds back as a result. He knows very well how hard this bit him in the ass, and is desperately trying to get his son to talk to him about it so that he can learn it the right way this time. Note that this is after doing the same thing to his first child Toya, who seemingly died from it. Needless to say, he's not making up for this easily with any of his family. That said, he keeps being proven right, especially since Shoto's own Quirk functions differently than either his father's or oldest brother's.
  • Although he tries to make amends for his abusive past, he's met with strong resistance from his children. Still, that would pale in comparison to Dabi, actually his long-lost eldest son, Toya Todoroki, rubbing even more salt into his family's wounds by broadcasting Endeavor's abuse story on television. It is a tragic affair, but one can't deny that he had it coming.
• Leitmotif: The anime gives him one in his first big scene. It appears to be some sort of punk rock song. Fascinatingly enough, not only are there lyrics, but they're in English to boot.
• Logical Weakness: Chapter 188 shows that overusing his Hellflame Quirk will cause his body temperature to overheat, which weakens his physical functions. His inner thoughts imply that this part of why is why he chose to be with Rei, that her ice powers balanced his fire. A flashback of Shoto's in Chapter 202 states that this is why Shoto was selected to be Enji's successor after his eldest brother, Toya. While Toya could generate flames much hotter than even Enji's, he inherited his mother's lack of heat resistance, meaning that his own Quirk is much more dangerous and riskier to him than even Endeavor's is to himself. It's implied this is what damned Toya when Endeavor tried teaching him a Dangerous Forbidden Technique.
• Locked Out of the Loop: As he doesn't know the nature of All Might's Quirk, he doesn't realize that his goal of surpassing All Might is futile (since One For All is a Quirk that will continuously get stronger and stronger over time, and can be passed down forever). That said, it's at least implied that he realizes deep down that the gap between his and All Might's strength is too vast to cross, but he's come too far to stop trying.
• Lonely at the Top: His ambition and drive to one day surpass All Might got him what he wanted, even if it's on a technicality rather than overcoming his competitor. And now that he's #1 indeed, he realizes that people still don't appreciate him much, that fellow heroes interact with him only for business and that his family doesn't look up to him either since they just can't forgive the abuse, cruelty and neglect he put them through for the sake of his ambition of seizing a position he's not as good at as All Might was. All of which climaxes when he eventually faces the nasty but inevitable truth that he went too far on his wife and kids and that the only way to expiate might be to completely separate himself from them and living on his own.
• Major Injury Underreaction: Loses his right arm in Chapter 357 in the battle against All for One. This doesn't slow him down one bit.
• Manly Man: Bulky, tall, stoic and a fearsome fighter, he makes a classic way of representing aggressive masculinity.
• Manly Tears: Upon reuniting with his kids minus Toya now Dabi and seeing Rei for the first time in 10 years in the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation Front War, Enji is reduced to tears and cries openly in front of everyone present, as he sincerely apologizes for everything he has done to his family out of selfishness and stubbornness and how he fled from his responsibilities as a father and husband, especially after the truth about Toya's disappearance and apparent death is being revealed.
• Marital Rape License: Alleged by the audience but eventually partially averted. It's initially implied that Endeavor married Rei to create a child with a combination of their Quirks to have Shoto be the end result, all against her will. However, it is later shown that their relationship was far more amicable than originally suggested. In Chapter 291, it was stated by Enji that Rei did want more children after the birth of Toya, meaning that she consented to the conception of Fuyumi.
  • The same should not be said for Natsuo and Shoto. Chapter 301 explicitly shown that Rei voiced her unwillingness on having more children once the point of having children becomes "to discourage Toya from pursuing his dream instead of actually helping Toya with his issues". The situation at best would be she was coerced into having more children.
• Meaningful Name:
  • His hero name reflects his lifelong ambition to surpass All Might, an epic endeavor.
  • His Quirk is a more terrifying example, as it encapsulates his burning wrath.
  • His given name, Enji, is written with characters meaning "flame boss".
• The Mentor: Endeavor looks forward to train his son in the Flashfire move. Later, he reluctantly agrees to train Deku and Bakugo as well during the winter internship after learning of the incoming threat in the form of the Paranormal Liberation Front from Hawks. He's surprisingly an effective mentor when he wants to be, especially to Izuku of all people.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Has this upon learning Dabi is his oldest son and realizing his abuse drove Dabi/Toya to what he became.
• My Greatest Failure: While his Jerkass Realization has made him immensely regret what he put his family through, there is one incident he regretted the most beforehand. Originally, his eldest son Toya was posed to be his successor because Toya's Quirk gave him flames hotter than even Endeavor's. As such, Endeavor tried teaching him one of his secret techniques, but Toya's lack of resistance to heat (something he got from his mother) meant that his body couldn't handle it and seemingly ended up dying. Toya's death destroyed Endeavor, and precipitated the worst of the Domestic Abuse he put his family through, as Endeavor felt he couldn't give up on his goal when it ultimately 'killed' his firstborn. Years later, after Endeavor began his path to atonement, the guilt returns with a vengeance when Toya reveals he survived and became the mass-murdering villain Dabi, who Endeavor can't even bring himself to fight after learning the truth.
• No Challenge Equals No Satisfaction: He's very disappointed with finally becoming the #1 hero, because it only happened due to All Might's retirement. Justified since the entire pursuit was to be the best and that receiving the spot as a technicality renders all of his efforts and painful actions to nothing.
• No Place for Me There: As of around Chapter 250, he reveals that he plans to make a house for Shoto, Natsuo and Fuyumi to live with Rei once she's discharged from the hospital, while he stays at their old place. The painful revelation being that Endeavor has chosen to cut himself from his family for their sake. Fuyumi, his daughter and second oldest child, is disappointed upon hearing this.
• Nominal Hero: He's the second-highest ranked hero in Japan, only surpassed by All Might. He's also a petty bastard with an obsessive desire to become Number 1, and abused his wife and children in order to reach that goal through his "favorite son", Shoto. Of course, most of the world is blissfully ignorant of his failings as a husband and father, so they just see him as an extremely efficient superhero with a giant stick up his ass. That said, his status as the #2 hero is one reason why Shoto opts to intern him; as much as Endeavor is a horrible father and husband, he has the instincts of someone befitting his rank and thus has a few things his son can legitimately learn from. Additionally, whenever he isn't scowling, he has either a Death Glare or a wicked smile on his face. After his Heel Realization, he tries acting more heroic for both the public and his family, refusing to back down after Hood grievously injured him so as not to repeat the fight at Kamino Ward, though the results are mixed. His original fans don't even recognize him, his Hatedom doesn't trust his change of heart, and his family is not willing to really forgive him.
• No Social Skills:
  • He's a lot like Bakugo in that his first instinct when something annoys him is to start yelling or give a Death Glare. Hawks intentionally tries to get a rise out of him because he knows this will happen, despite Enji's best attempts to stay calm and friendly with the public. Trying to tame his anger in his everyday life is one of the first hurdles he tries to get over to be a better person, and even then Shoto has to point it out to him that all of those efforts are meaningless at home unless he apologizes first.
  • It applies to him even as a parent; when Toya was still young, Endeavor didn't do the due diligence of actually talking to him about the repercussions of his powers. It only led to the child to insanity, and eventually evil.
• Not Quite Flight: His new hero costume allows him to hover by emitting fire from his feet, but he can't actually maneuver in the air. Lampshaded in a dialogue with Hawks — he's not falling, rather than outright flying. In other words, he can only slow his descent or keep himself afloat and cannot ascend higher without outside help. Subverted during the Final Battle, where is able to use his fire to boost up from the ground fast enough to intercept All-For-One's Rivet Stabs.
• "Not So Different" Remark: He remarks that Midoriya is "one of us" when he arrives at Endeavor's agency for an internship. It's clear that he sees Midoriya as a kindred spirit in how his Quirk has caused him to suffer great anguish, much like how Endeavor's own Quirk-related ambitions caused anguish to his family as well as the drawbacks of his Quirk. Midoriya, for the most part, is left baffled at this statement.
• Old Shame: His treatment of his family is his single biggest source of regret and shame and what pushes him toward being The Atoner. Even after taking numerous strides in being a better hero and father, Endeavor can never forgive himself for what he did and accepts that his family may never forgive him either.
• One Head Taller: The cover for Chapter 166 shows that Rei only reached Endeavor's shoulders when their son, Shoto, became a kindergartener.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: He's always referred to by his hero name, Endeavor. There are absolutely no mentions of him as Enji Todoroki by any characters, not even his own family. Likewise, the civilian/papa side to him is barely there. Endeavor is practically his only identity, which says a lot. The only person to call him otherwise is Gran Torino, as his senior (seniority privileges), but only by his surname of "Todoroki", as a warning not to engage Stain. Yet, quite some time later, Dabi would be the first to invoke his full name in the hope to get a rise out of him, finding commonalities between them both.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War arc, when confronted with the fact that he'll have to face his mass-murdering son, Dabi/Toya, he completely breaks down as all of the guilt and regret of his past actions hits him all at once, to the point of crying. It's enough to make Natsuo and Shoto visibly uncomfortable.
• Outside-Context Problem: Endeavor is faced with this when Dabi, a nefarious member of the League of villains, reveals himself as his long lost son Toya Todoroki during the Paranormal Liberation War. This revelation causes Endeavor to freeze and experience a complete shock that he is unable to move or even act in battle. Later on when he is recovering at the hospital Endeavor breaks down about his eldest son becoming a villain and realizing it's because of him. This troubles Endeavor because he never would have imagined his own son becoming a... villain. Endeavor will have to face a monstrous villain he cares for and dreads the idea of facing Toya again.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: The reason he's initially the number two hero is that All Might is the number one, and no matter what he could not surpass him. Once he's out of All Might's shadow, it becomes blatantly clear that he's head and shoulders above virtually every other hero in Japan in terms of strength, speed, skill, and intelligence.
• Papa Wolf: Zigzagged. While he has yet to actually save one of his children from danger, he still cares deeply for them as shown upon learning All For One abducted Toya and had a hand in turning him into Dabi. Endeavor goes into a blind rage and tries to kill him head on, but this sadly compromises the strategy Hawks had come up with to chip away at All For One slowly. His recklessness earns him a good chunk of flesh taken out of his side since All For One was trying to make him angry enough to open himself up to attack.
• Parents as People: Enji had first encouraged Toya to follow his footsteps, setting up some rather large expectations of the boy that he couldn't reach without risking his health or potentially dying. When he decides that his son's safety is more important, he tries to quietly quell the flame to be a hero, and when it seems like nothing he's saying it getting through, he avoids the topic (and his son) all together.
• Parental Favoritism: He put Shoto through Training from Hell, believing that Shoto is the only child he has sired who has the potential to surpass All Might. Meanwhile, his older children were more or less discarded for not turning out how he wanted, but it also means they missed out on the horrible "training". This wasn't always the case, however. Originally, his oldest son, Toya, was his favorite because his fire Quirk surpassed his father's. Unfortunately, Toya also ended up losing his resistance to fire and thus when he tried to learn a secret technique from Endeavor it wound up seemingly killing him.
• Parental Neglect:
  • He pretty much abandoned Shoto's older siblings since they lacked the potential to surpass All Might in his eyes. Flashbacks in Chapter 39 show that this actually worked out in their favor, since they were spared the abusive training that Shoto was forced to endure. This did not stop Natsuo from hating him even more than Shoto does, to Shoto's surprise.
  • At first it seems that he also was very neglectful towards Toya following trying to teach him a Dangerous Forbidden Technique, but later on we learn the reason for Endeavor having no contact with Toya was because he's dead, at least as far as the Todorokis' know.
  • Flashbacks reveal that after learning of Toya's low heat resistance, Endeavor tried to dissuade him and stopped training him, refusing to spend time with him for five years of his life. This neglect led to Toya's Sanity Slippage.
• Parental Substitute: It's implied Hawks sees him as a father figure combined with his admiration of him from childhood stemming from feeling saved by his abusive father when Endeavor arrested him. This explains why he's so loyal to him.
• The Patriarch: A thoroughly negative version, being tyrannical, cold and downright cruel towards his wife and kids whom he sees as nothing but a means to his own ends. However, it's reconstructed much later in the series, in that he eventually realizes the error of his ways and the harm he did to his family, to the point of understanding that he has too much to atone for and that the only way to help his family is to live separately from them and pursue redemption on his own, at least until his wife and kids reckon that he has proven himself to their satisfaction, if that is even possible. Consequently, he sets about building a house for Fuyumi and Natsuo where they can live with their mother when she gets out of the hospital.
• Perpetual Frowner: He usually has a scowl on his face.
• Playing with Fire: His Hellflame Quirk allows him to generate and control fire. He's able to do a surprising fair bit with it when compared with his son's capabilities. The anime expands on this; he's even able to shape his flames and control their temperature. For example, he carbonized a Nomu by making his flame so hot, they turn blue.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: It's subtle but he derogatorily calls All Might "that American", clearly implying that he sees him as a foreigner, which is quite the insult in Japanese culture when talking about a native Japanese and alludes to Endeavor's latent xenophobia.
• Poor Communication Kills: Endeavor didn't want Toya to follow in his foot steps because his son's life was more important to him than his ambitions. Unfortunately, he chose to handle it by pushing his son away and yelling at him and Rei whenever he caught him trying to train his quirk, giving Toya the impression that his father had thrown him away.
• The Power of Hate: Deconstructed. The burning hatred and jealousy for All Might that consume him are aptly symbolized by his quirk of perpetual fire. But at the end of the day, his drive to operate on pure hate to achieve his goal of becoming #1 amounted solely to a Pyrrhic Victory and having completely destroyed his relationship with his wife and kids who just don't want to have anything to do with him anymore.
• Progressively Prettier: Initially, Endeavor was drawn with very sharp and exaggerated facial features to highlight his initial impression as an Anti-Hero and an Abusive Parent. As his Character Development for the better progresses, however, Endeavor is drawn with more conventionally attractive facial features.
• Psychotic Smirk: Gives an impressive one, bordering on Slasher Smile, when in Chapter 39, he sees Shoto finally activating his fire powers in battle.
• Reformed, but Rejected: Zigzagged. He still has a ways to go regarding his quest to become a better hero and father, but he is genuinely taking the time to fix his flaws and isn't shying away from all of the damage he's done to his family. As far as his family is concerned, Fuyumi is supportive of his change in personality and is interested in hopefully bringing the family back together, while Natsuo is still understandably adamant about not wanting him anywhere in his life. Shoto, meanwhile, is somewhere in the middle, accepting that Endeavor truly is changing for the better and acknowledging him as a great hero, but still not able to forgive him for what he did to Rei or himself. Rei notes that while she isn't ready to face him yet, there's the implication she does seem willing to forgive him eventually. When Fuyumi attempts to organize a get-together and start some dialogue, things go south in a matter of minutes. When she tries doing it again when Shoto invites Izuku and Bakugo to dinner, it also goes south (which is lampshaded by Bakugo.) After dinner, Izuku notes Shoto has no obligation to forgive Endeavor while also observing that Shoto eventually wants to forgive Endeavor, but is not ready. It is eventually known that Toya, the oldest son, brutally despises Endeavor to the core. In fact, Endeavor seems to recognize this and notes that despite Fuyumi's hopes, the dreams for a unified family is possibly irreparable and plans to have Fuyumi and Natsuo move in with their mom somewhere and more or less cut himself from their lives to make them happy.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: He sends his wife Rei to a mental institution after she splashed boiling hot water on Shoto's face, but it was only because she damaged Endeavor's "masterpiece", rather than how legitimately insane Rei became, no thanks to him.
• Rule of Symbolism:
  • After the battle with Hood, Endeavor is heavily scarred along his face in a manner eerily similar to Shoto's.
  • His fight with All For One features a panel that is a shot-for-shot recreation of All Might's final attack.
• Satanic Archetype: Despite being Japan's #2 Pro Hero, Endeavor could easily fit into this for a good chunk of the story. His Quirk is called Hellflame, allowing him to control fire of intense heat and has several Super Moves involving the world 'Hell' in it, such as Hell Spider and Hell's Curtain. He suffers from the flaws of Pride and Envy, which drove him to become cruel and ruthless towards others, especially his own family. He resents All Might for being the #1 Hero and based his whole career around his petty one-sided rivalry with the Symbol of Peace. He's even indirectly responsible for his son, Toya, becoming the villain Dabi. Luckily, this is ultimately averted as Endeavor strives to atone for his past and become a true hero worthy of holding the position of #1 and his character arc revolving around his desire for redemption for his atrocious actions.
• The Scapegoat: Endeavor becomes the chief blaming stock for all the problems with Japan's heroes after Dabi's broadcast. However, he chooses to shoulder the blame as part of his journey towards atonement, regardless of whether or not it was his own fault.
• Scars Are Forever: After fighting Hood with Hawks, Endeavor is left with a massive scar on the left side of his face. It's very similar looking to Shoto's, which Shoto and Natsuo jump on the opportunity to remind him of:
  Both sons: That's a nice scar you got there. [loudly slurp soba in unison]
• Secret-Keeper: After One For All is exposed to the public, All Might decides to clue him (along with Hawks and Best Jeanist) in on the specifics. Now aware of the true severity of the conflict, Endeavor feigns ignorance about it in public in order to protect both Midoriya and All Might, and aids the two during their hunt for All For One in the League.
• Self-Serving Memory: His memory of his first son Toya is rosy, remembering that he was very excited to train with his father. When Dabi reveals himself to be Toya and aires out the family's dirty laundry, Endeavor is incredulous at the idea that his son turned out to be a murderer and villain because of him.
• Shadow Archetype: Determined, talented, and intelligent, but also abrasive and ruthless, he seems to represent what Bakugo could have become if he did not face his character flaws.
• Sketchy Successor: He becomes the new #1 hero after All Might's retirement, but his reputation and personality are not capable of holding the hero community together with the way All Might did. It's even lampshaded in-universe that there's a huge gap between them that Endeavor would never fulfill, a sentiment that Endeavor himself admits to All Might is very much true.
• Slasher Smile: He grins from ear to ear when Shoto finally unleashes his left side which is the side of the fire that Shoto tries to repress because of his hatred of Endeavor.
• Smug Super: For all his selfishness and negativity, Endeavor is excellent at his Hero work. There's a reason he's number two, after all.
• So Proud of You: Of Shoto several times in the story. First one when he finally uses his left side in School Sports Festival.
• Spontaneous Weapon Creation: He can shape his flames into weapons like javelins that he can throw with lethal accuracy. One of his most powerful Super Moves, Flashfire Fist - Hell Spider, shapes them into incredibly long Razor Floss that can shred apart an entire building to limit the collateral damage caused by falling rubble.
• Stern Teacher: Endeavor minces no words when mentoring interns and sidekicks under his care, expecting them to keep up with him no matter what and not accepting any excuses for poor performance because people's lives are on the line. But any advice he does give is incredibly helpful and insightful thanks to his experience and own hellish training to reach his current point.
• Stock Shōnen Rival: He is this to All Might, being the #2 hero of the previous generation. His rivalry with All Might parallels that of Bakugo and Deku. He's a pessimistic Foil to the All-Loving Hero who constantly pushes himself to be better and stronger, but to no avail.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: Briefly forms this dynamic with Hawks, from the quiet and level-headed straight man to his eccentric and youthful wise guy.
• Strong and Skilled: He has a powerful Quirk and is accomplished in its use. Endeavor also has an analytical methodology towards his work and explains its fundamental principles to his trainees, instructing them to adopt his methods.
• Sunk Cost Fallacy: Implied; one possible interpretation of him is that after his attempts to raise Toya as his successor seemingly led to his son's death, Enji became even more obsessed to create the perfect successor out of a desire to justify what he had done, leading to his even worse treatment of Shoto.
• Technicolor Fire: His flames are normally the usual red-orange, but one of his techniques concentrates the flame into a blowtorch-like effect that turns the flame blue.
• That Man Is Dead: he says the Endeavor he was is dead, after learning what he drove his oldest son to become.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Destroys a Nomu by making his flames hot enough to turn blue and carbonize the head off. Given their regenerative capabilities, it's justified.
• Token Evil Teammate: Though he eventually went through a Heel Realization and became The Atoner, he was easily the most antagonistic of the Pro Heroes at first, willing to do anything to achieve his goals, especially putting Shoto through hell just to surpass All Might. Some would be surprised to know how he even got so close to the top of rankings.
• Too Dumb to Live: In Vigilantes, he let his temper dictate his actions in a crisis and thought it would be a wonderful idea to sic his flames on someone with a suicide bomb Quirk that literally had a fuse-ignited bomb for a "head". Thankfully, Midnight was there to intervene and put the villain to sleep, avoiding a catastrophe.
• Took a Level in Kindness: In tandem with his Break the Haughty trials, he incrementally becomes a more approachable, empathetic, and friendly human being as his inflated ego is chiseled away bit by bit. In the earliest phases, he has completely stopped trying to force Shoto into being his tool to surpass All Might, genuinely wants to atone for what he's done to his family, even if he understands and accepts that they may never forgive him after everything that's happened, and eventually comes to care about the well-being of the other heroes he works with. After the devastating horror of Dabi revealing himself as the thought-to-be-dead Toya Todoroki as well as being put on blast for his past mistreatment of his family, Enji truly wants to help keep civilians safe as the Number One hero; as well as make the world a better place for the sake of future generations.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: After Dabi reveals himself to be Toya. Endeavor initially tries to deny it, but upon realizing it's true and seeing how insane his son has become because of his abuse, he goes into psychological shock and can't even bring himself to move, let alone fight.
• Tragic Hero: Endeavor was obsessed with surpassing All Might and becoming the number one hero. He went as far as trying to have a child that would be able to help him attain this lofty goal. This led to him neglecting and abusing his family. Although he eventually did become number one, this was only because All Might was forced to retire. On top of that, his long-lost son Toya, who was neglected by Endeavor for not being seen as the perfect child he wanted, reveals himself to be Dabi, exposing Endeavor's abuse to the whole world, shaking the public's trust in him and heroes in general.
• Tsurime Eyes: In congruence with his aggressive, fierce disposition, his eyes have a sharp slant that helps make him look more menacing.
• Unfit for Greatness: Discovers this the hard way after being crowned the Number 1 Hero after All Might's retirement. Trying to fill All Might's shoes amidst widespread suspicion toward the hero community would've been a thankless, Herculean task for anyone, but the population is immediately skeptical that a brutish Antihero attempting to become the Symbol Of Peace. He does attempt to adjust to his new role, acting less harsh toward the public and trying to live up to the public expectation for someone of his rank. But for someone with his dark past this turns out to be too little too late; once his public becomes aware of his history as an abusive parent who reared the supervillain Dabi they lose faith in him and by extension the entire Hero community that he represented.
• Unknown Rival: He holds a deep grudge over being Always Second Best to All Might, and when he found himself unable to surpass him, he turned to his children in the hopes they would surpass him and All-Might later on. Despite All Might's best efforts to be friendly and demonstrate the contrary, Endeavor is convinced All Might looks down on him, thus he feels nothing but contempt for All Might.
• Unreliable Narrator: Comes with his nostalgia filter of only remembering the good times of training a young Toya. Then comes chapter 300 where we see a more accurate depiction of Toya in his childhood where he is crying and pulling on his hair. While Endeavor knows he mistreated his son he didn't know how badly until he is faced with confronting Dabi on the battlefield and it is implied he also saw his son's recording of him.
• Unstoppable Rage: His character is pretty much this, later he learns to control it.
• Vicariously Ambitious: Despite his considerable capabilities, he would be unable to surpass All Might, due to his own physical limitations of his Quirk even after All Might got wounded. He resorted to putting his youngest son, Shoto, through Training from Hell to surpass both him and All-Might. Originally, he chose his oldest son, Toya, as his successor because he possessed hotter flames than even himself, but lacked the constitution to go full out just like his father, which seemingly wound up killing him.
  Endeavor: With my blood pumping through your veins, you will surpass me...you will fulfill my ambitions!
• Visual Development: He has a different outfit as of Chapter 184, with more flames and support items in the form of shoulders and gauntlets. This is noted in-universe to make him look more powerful and heroic. Alternatively, when he is in a domestic environment in Chapter 192, it's shown he has stopped using his flames on his face at home and around his family, which was previously mentioned that he keeps lit at all times to intimidate those around him. He's shown later to turn them off around even his subordinates, something he would've NEVER done before. He also has a huge facial scar after the battle with Hood.
• Wall Run: Unlike most examples of this, he simply melts footholds on walls with his feet in order to achieve this.
• "Well Done, Dad!" Guy: As of Chapter 167, in which he declares that he wants to become a Hero his son can be proud of. This later applies to his other children as well, as he shows to want to make amends to them for the way he mistreated them for years on end. He seems eager to start some sort of bond of trust with Shoto in the Joint Training Arc and teach him a technique he had hidden from him so far.
• We Want Our Jerk Back!: In The Pro Hero arc, a number of Endeavor's fans grumble that they liked him better when he was a Jerkass after he tries shaping up and acting more like All Might (such as offering autographs and genuine words of encouragement) following the latter's retirement.
• What You Are in the Dark: As exppained in Hidden Depths above, he's much more noble than one can think he is.
• Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: He had this attitude towards his wife when she didn't prevent Toya from training and thus would strike her when she failed at the one thing he asked of her.
• Wreathed in Flames: His hero costume has special areas that allow him to cover part of his body in flames, with focus on his broad shoulders and his feet, which allow him to slow his descent through the force. He also gives himself a mask of flames, not to mention his beard made of flames.
• Would Hurt a Child: Is an abusive parent to Shoto even if he's a child. Thankfully both this and Would Hit a Girl get subverted later.

Keigo Takami — Hawks

Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura, Eri Akiyama (young) (Japanese), Zeno Robinson, Emi Lo (young) (English), Miguel Ángel Leal (Latin American Spanish/TV series), Luis Daniel Ramírez (Latin American Spanish/Movies)

Debut: Chapter 184 (Manga), Episode 87 (Anime)

Playable in: My Hero One's Justice 2

Quirk: Fierce Wings (formerly)

The 2nd highest-ranked hero in Japan, a young man with large wings who claims to "take it easy". He's very outspoken and likes throwing people for a loop, and employs Tokoyami during both of the teen's work studies.

His Quirk, "Fierce Wings", allows him to control the feathers of his wings with his mind. These can be used for attacking enemies or assisting or saving people.

• Abusive Parents: His father was a criminal who regularly beat and berated his family, while his mother was emotionally unavailable.
• The Ace: He started his own hero agency at 18. He was the first teenager to be in the Top 10 back at 19, meaning it took him just a year to become one of the ten best heroes in Japan. He is strong enough to assist Endeavor against the High-End Nomu, Hood, and evade its attacks even though he's the same age as Endeavor's own daughter.
• All There in the Manual: His real name was first confirmed through a databook.
• Animal-Themed Superbeing: Hawks. Not only is he named after one, but he also has the wings of one. Additionally, his last name has the Japanese word "Taka" (鷹), which means hawk.
• Ascended Fanboy: As a child, Hawks was verbally and emotionally abused by his father, a petty crook who wished Hawks had never been born. Hawks was "rescued" by Endeavor, who ended up putting Hawks' father in jail after the latter stole a car. At that moment, Hawks believed that heroes really did exist, and wanted to be just like the heroic ideal he saw in Endeavor. Even before this point, he admired Endeavor's heroics on TV, and carried an Endeavor plushie around because it was a lot cheaper than an All Might plushie.
• Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Fitting of his bird-like appearance, his hair looks like feathers, rather than actual hair, which may or may not be a side effect of his Quirk. He also has slit pupils and triangular markings around his eyes (which are natural, as he's been shown to have them as a kid).
• The Baby of the Bunch: Youngest hero to reach the top 10 rankings.
• Badass in Distress: During the fight against Dabi in the Paranormal Liberation Army mansion, Hawks gets severely injured, and has his wings burned off, prompting the necessity for Tokoyami to rescue him.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Downplayed. During his fight with Dabi he gains major burns and loses his wings but manages to retain most of his body intact.
• Blessed with Suck: To some extent, Hawks sees his Quirk as this. Because of his talents and amazing Quirk, he feels compelled to help no matter what, even if it means doing things he'd rather not.
  Hawks: I'm Hawks. The hero too fast for his own good.
• Body Horror: Dabi does not go easy on him. From Dark Shadow's horrified and fearful look and words about it being "gone", not only did Dabi's flames burn away Hawk's wings, they burned his back so badly it's basically a charred mess.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: He's a young, top-ranking Hero who hates doing investigative work, gladly shoving it onto Endeavor the first chance he gets. This is then downplayed when it's shown he had long-term goals and needed someone as powerful as Endeavor to be able to pursue them.
• Broken Pedestal: Averted in regards to Endeavor. While he is shocked to learn the truth of Endeavor's Abusive Parent nature straight from Dabi/Toya and Endeavor's admittance of it, the fact that Endeavor has already started his path as The Atoner and realized and regretted what he's done means that for Hawks, there's no pedestal to break since Endeavor's trying to make things right. He also does clock in that Shoto trusts his father.
• Brought Down to Badass: After having his wings burnt off by Dabi, it takes until the final battle for him to recover enough to simply fly again. Then All For One steals his Quirk after the battle is over, leaving him completely Quirkless. Neither this nor his grievous injuries stop him from getting back up to face down an impending swarm of Twice Doubles.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": His belt has the "H" for Hawks as a buckle.
• Civvie Spandex: His hero clothes are composed of somewhat casual clothes with a feathered jacket and headphones with a visor; he seems like he could just be walking down the street.
• Clark Kent Outfit: His jacket hides his very toned physique. The shirt he wears underneath is tight enough to show it off, though.
• Consummate Liar: Completely fools the League of Villains and the Paranormal Liberation Front into thinking he supports their cause.
• Condescending Compassion: Despite his genuine offer to help Twice turn his life around, between the fact that it's coming right as Hawks has revealed himself to be a mole for the heroes and the League being the only ones to accept Twice despite his psychological issues all it does is to enrage the already distraught villain.
• Curtains Match the Window: His eyes are a similar golden-brown to his hair.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Keigo Takami was born to a mentally ill mother and a criminal father. His mother was desperate enough to keep his father from leaving that she hid him from the authorities and did anything she could to keep him around. Not long later Keigo was born and his father resented Keigo's existence because he would still be free if he hadn't been born. His father would also forbid him from leaving the house and would physically abuse him for any minor slights.
• Dented Iron: Following the Paranormal Liberation War, Hawks is left permanently crippled from Dabi absolutely grilling his back and wings. Although he fully recovers from his injuries, Fierce Wings don't and he's no longer at his prime. In the Final War, it's mentioned that Hawks has had to resort to cybernetics to even come close to his former feats of speed and agility.
• Determinator: Sure, Hawks understands that Twice isn't that much of a bad guy and genuinely wants to help him, but that doesn't mean he won't prioritize his mission of keeping the villain out of the fight. Even when almost all of his feathers are ashes and Dabi is practically roasting him, he powers through to kill Twice.
  • He once again shows how much of one he is during the final battle against All For One. He entered the fight with his wings barely recovered from being burned off by Dabi, never once falls for AFO’s provocations, ignored an attack he couldn’t dodge to focus on saving Endeavor, frequently taunted All For One to keep him engaged on fighting the Heroes instead of going to Tomura’s aid, sticks to Tokoyomi’s side even when all he can do is offer encouragements, and even when All For One manages to beat the assembled Heroes, and Hawk is again burned and exhausted, he stands between All For One’s attempt to steal Dark Shadow from an unconscious Tokoyomi to give one final sword stab to All For One. Even when All For One steals his Fierce Wings, Hawks just mocks the fact Rewind makes heteromorph Quirks like his useless. It’s actually because Hawks’ will never falters, combined with another act of defiance by Mineta, that All For One is forced to leave, as he can no longer afford to waste any more time trying to break their spirits despite his pathological need to do so. All this is to say nothing of the fact that the now-Quirkless, barely-alive Hawks gets back up to face down the incoming swarm of Twice Doubles with just his sword left.
• Early-Bird Cameo: The anime adds an extra scene during the Internship Arc, specifically showing when the Tokoyami and the other student interns received their work studies, including a brief glimpse of Hawks three arcs before his debut in the manga. He also gets a cameo during the second ending of Season 4, in a photo showing him training his Quirk as a young child.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: He began in the manga with a white belt and shirt markings, which remained the case until he debuted in the anime with yellow instead. The yellow subsequently migrated to his manga incarnation for consistency.
• Excuse Me While I Multitask: He's so skilled at manipulating his feathers that he can stop all crimes around him while just walking past and doing something else. On patrol with Endeavor, he's able to chat about restaurants while stopping a villain from performing a terrorist attack, saving a dog that almost ran into traffic, and helping civilians with heavy luggage.
• False Friend: When part of the Paranormal Liberation Front, Twice sees Hawks as a great friend, unaware that he's undercover. However, Hawks does call him good-natured.
• Fan of Underdog: In a sense. As Endeavor is the only hero who truly attempted to surpass or even rival All Might, Hawks at least respects his efforts more than others. When Endeavor becomes the new number one hero, Hawks promises to support him and makes good on it by aiding in the battle against Hood. A flashback showed that, even as a child, he had an Endeavor plushie, and Chapter 267 hints that it was Endeavor who inspired him to be a hero because child him in a flashback noticeably gives the plushie a smile while asking if he could become a hero that beats bad guys and saves people like "him".
• Feather Flechettes: Unlike other examples, Hawks can actively manipulate where they go as if he had hundreds of tiny drones at his disposal. And he's so skilled in their usage that he can stop multiple crimes just by launching his feathers at villains while ambling down the street. He can also use them non-lethally to cushion falls or move people away from harm.
• Foil: To two characters:
  • Introduced as one of the new crops of top heroes, and specifically contrasted against the new #1, Endeavor. Unlike the middle-aged and broadly unpopular Endeavor, who is known for his aloofness and unpleasantness and relies on his strong Quirk in combat, Hawks is a casual and surface-friendly young man who is beloved by the general populace and doesn't have a powerful Quirk; rather, he relies on cleverness and ingenuity to use it effectively.
  • He's a foil to Dabi as well. Dabi grew up with a big family, while Hawks struggled with a criminal father and an emotionally distant mother. Dabi was indirectly killed by Endeavor, Hawks was indirectly saved by him. Dabi is the son of a hero who later became a villain, while Hawks is the son of a villain who later became a hero. Hawks had his name taken away by the HPSC in order to become a hero, while Dabi took away his own name in order to become a villain. Growing up (and even in the present), Hawks greatly admires Endeavor and his character as a hero, while Dabi holds a great disdain for him and has the ultimate goal of killing him. As for their Quirks, Dabi's is incompatible with his body, though he uses it to further his selfish goals anyway, while Hawks was given the responsibility of a useful quirk as a child, and will selflessly do whatever it takes to put people at ease. That's not even mentioning their color palettes being direct opposites from each other: Dabi's being cool colors, while Hawks' is primarily warm.
• Foreshadowing: Chapter 184 gave a few hints that Hawks would be up there in the JP Hero Chart. Uraraka mentioned that his popularity was high enough that Tokoyami should be getting fans just for interning under him, and the narration mentions that popularity is a factor in the chart, as well as showing the silhouette of a winged hero while explaining the chart being just below Endeavor and All Might's silhouettes.
• Good Is Not Soft: He's a fun-loving guy and a believer in doing the right thing, but he's not afraid to engage in Dirty Business if that's what he feels needs to be done. Despite repeatedly giving Twice a chance to surrender, Twice's refusal to even with a feather blade posed right over his face leads to a moment where had Dabi not staged a Villainous Rescue, it's heavily implied Hawks would have brought the blade down to finish him for good. When Dabi manages to break in and Twice is almost able to escape, Hawks throws aside his belief that Twice can be redeemed and manages to land a fatal attack that causes Twice to die.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: It's all but outright stated that he can eventually replenish any feathers that get destroyed naturally given how he doesn't hesitate to sacrifice most of them to help Endeavor defeat Hood, but it's not instantaneous.
• Handicapped Badass: After having his wings burnt off by Dabi, he can no longer fly or use his Feather Flechettes as well as he once could. By the time Deku confronts Lady Nagant, they’ve barely recovered — Hawks says he’s not ready to fly again yet, indicating he might be at some point. By the time of the final battle, they’ve recovered just enough to allow flight again; something All For One tries to mock him with, while Hawk just cheerfully notes they’re both handicapped.
• Hero Does Public Service: It's shown that he not only defeats even low-level villains in his rounds but also saves dogs and helps old ladies to carry heavy stuff. Of course, the nature of his Quirk makes it extremely easy to manipulate several things simultaneously.
• Heroic Bystander: How his Hero career began. As a child, he performed an impressive rescue after a huge accident. This caught the attention of the Hero Public Safety Commission, who purchased him from his mother and put him through rigorous training in order to make him an outstanding pro hero.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: He puts up a front of being a cocky, arrogant hero who loves to flaunt how great of a hero he is to everyone else. This is so the villains buy that he's a traitor and that none of the other heroes find out that he's The Mole.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: He uses up all his feathers in the battle with Hood. When he meets with Dabi afterward, he reveals he kept a sword-sized feather in reserve as insurance.
• Icarus Allusion: Subtly. He's a young, arrogant, and talented Teen Genius with large wings. This is lightly alluded to in a shot of him spreading his wings close to a light source, being that Icarus is better known for flying too close to the sun. He also mentions that his flight is compromised the more feathers he uses, similar to how Icarus died when he lost too many feathers and plummeted to his death. Becomes less subtle when he sends his feathers to a grievously injured Endeavor while the latter is fighting Hood, giving him literally flaming wings. In his next big operation after that fight, his wings are completely burnt off by Dabi.
• If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: What Dabi asks of him to prove his loyalty toward the League. He's tasked with killing Best Jeanist.
• Improbable Weapon User: He is seen using his feathers as makeshift swords.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Hawks is willing to get dark, play The Mole, but at the end of the day, he is always, always a hero. Lady Nagant, his predecessor in the Hero Public Safety Commission, has no idea how a fellow Tyke-Bomb privy to the darker side of hero work could keep striving forward with a heroic fire in his heart; in reply, Hawks just smiles and says he’s an optimist.
• Irony:
  • Hawks admired Endeavor for arresting his abusive father, not knowing that Endeavor is himself an abusive father.
  • Hawks got his wings almost burned off by the son of the man he admired.
• It's All My Fault: He seems to have taken some personal guilt in the fact that Endeavor got brutalized in the fight against Hood because it was part of his plan to gain the trust of the League of Villains, but he didn't predict that they would send in the strongest Nomu yet.
• Lazy Bum: Played with. He's an extremely competent hero who flies around the entire country on patrols, but he shoves investigative work on Endeavor the first chance he gets. He also states that his goal is to create a society where heroes have more free time than they know what to do with.
• Like Father, Like Son: While he never wanted to become like either of his parents, who he saw as deeply broken people, he bases his self-worth on how useful he is to others similar to how his mother would be towards his father.
• Logical Weakness: His Feather Flechettes, though he can replenish them with time, are not unlimited, and using too many at once compromises his Flight abilities. This in particular makes fire his biggest weaknesses since it burns his feathers faster than he can recover, something he tells Tokoyami during his internship.
• Meaningful Name: Taka (鷹) is the Japanese word for Hawk.
• Mentor Archetype: Hawks previously took Tokoyami under his wings as his intern for the Work-Study program. Come time for the second round of internships however Hawks, unfortunately, had to turn him down due to now acting as the mole in the League of Villains.
• Mind over Matter: Played with. Hawks is able to manipulate each of his individual feathers with his mind, allowing him to use them as a Flechette Storm, to quickly evacuate people from dangerous places, and even grant someone else the temporary ability to fly by pushing them along.
• The Mole: He's secretly pretending to be this for the League of Villains, supplying them with info on the heroes. In actuality, he's trying to earn their trust so he can supply info to the heroes.
• Nice Guy: Really laidback and easy-going guy towards other heroes, students, his fans, or even villains like Twice.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • While he keeps a pretty good poker face about it his internal thoughts are screaming that he screwed up in waiting so long to infiltrate the League after seeing the vast resources they now have at their disposal and that now Shigaraki has power that rivals that of Pro Heroes.
  • During the Paranormal Liberation War arc, he realizes his mistake of underestimating Dabi when the villain yells his name out loud. The revelation that Dabi actually knows his real name, which had been kept out of public records since he was a child, causes him to freeze. When Dabi pummels Hawks with flames in an attempt to kill him he asks Dabi who he is and the response, that he is Endeavor's son, has Hawks give a facial expression that could only be described as this.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name was kept out of public knowledge when he was trained to become a hero. There turns out to be a very good reason for that, as the Safety Commission wanted him to sever ties with his abusive criminal father. Dabi managed to get goons to wring out this secret from hero's mother, allowing Dabi to drop it to the public. After the events of the PLF raids, Hawks decided it was finally time to disclose the full story of his past in an effort to become a better hero.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Invoked. He purposely acts strange to make Endeavor pay more attention to what he's trying to tell him.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: His canon 5'6 height appears to take his wings into account, as after they burn off, he looks smaller than 5'2 Tokoyami, although that may just be Horikoshi's tendency to be inconsistent with height. Either way, his less than impressive height doesn't stop him from being one of the strongest characters in the series.
• Popularity Power:
  • He asks the crowd at the billboard rankings why people with a lower approval rating than him are being tame and trying to uphold the status quo and smugly rubs his higher approval ratings in Endeavor's face. He enforces that he believes that, in a time where society needs a new symbol after All Might, no metric should be more important than public approval.
  • His confident attitude quickly impressed Mirko, who previously had no problem chewing out even Edgeshot when she took issue with his formation of a team.
  • Chapter 186 showcases his skill with the public, he manages to defeat low-level villains, rescue animals, and help old ladies almost as second nature, using his powers without even needing to stop talking with Endeavor to do all of this and is warmly welcoming of anyone who tries to speak with him.
  • This becomes a Chekhov's Gun when Hawks' Quirk is stolen by All For One out of spite. During Bakugo's final clash with All For One, Hawks' Quirk vestige meets the vestiges of his many fans. Hawks leverages his popularity to rally the other Quirk vestiges to rebel against All For One, resulting in All For One being unable to use all of his Quirks properly and creating an opening for Bakugo to beat the villain down.
• Pun: In Japanese, he likes to use the word "bird" and "bird meat" to refer to options for eating, to point out the fact that he likes eating poultry despite being a bird himself.
• Rags to Riches: Keigo was born to extreme poverty and his mom had to have him resort to stealing to survive when they were both homeless after his father got captured.
• Reluctant Hero: Downplayed. He doesn't really hate being a hero, and he clearly wants to do good for society. That being said, he himself admits that his incredible abilities as a hero sometimes leans more towards being a curse than a blessing. After all, if he were to give anything less or be any slower, than it could result in who knows how many dangers left unattended. Not to mention the fact that he was practically forced into growing up to be a hero since he accomplished a particularly daring rescue when he was a child, and suddenly his desire to create a world where heroes don't really have to do much of anything reads more like he's trying to lighten his own burden in particular.
• Save the Villain: Even after being ready to kill Twice to stop him, Hawks saved his life two times from being burned by Dabi. Unfortunately, Jin was so stubborn and dangerous that Hawks had to end him for good.
• Shoot the Dog:
  • Possibly. Chapter 240 reveals that the thing he has been carrying in his bag to meet up with Dabi is the dismembered corpse of Best Jeanist. While it later turns out not to be him, at the time Dabi notes that no matter who it is, the fact that Hawks apparently killed someone is still a pretty good sign to introduce him to the League.
  • He's forced to kill Twice, as despite his offer of a fresh start and seeing him as a friend, Twice rejected his offer and stuck with the League to the end. In fact, he's been trying to minimize damage up right until he had no choice but to do the deed.
• Spanner in the Works: Tries to be one for the Paranormal Liberation Front, as the information he supplied the heroes let them hit their various bases of operations before the Paranormal Liberation Front was ready to launch a plan that would have likely let them conquer Japan. Unfortunetly, Dabi proved to be a case of this for him and while Front is defeated, all his efforts resulted in a massive Pyrrhic Victory.
• Stealth Mentor: Played with. When Tokoyami first works with him during the Work Placement Week, he's relegated to clean up with the sidekicks while Hawks flies ahead and takes care of everything head-on. The sidekicks note that Hawks is too fast to keep up with, but if he slowed down to match their speed, it'd result in a lot more problems going unchecked. Hawks ends up not teaching Tokoyami anything new during the entire week. Later, during Hero Internships, Hawks invites Tokoyami back to his agency. This time he notices Tokoyami is chasing after him as he flies using Dark Shadow's Black Abyss technique, desperately working to keep up in spite of the sidekicks' words. Hawks takes Tokoyami flying that night and tells him he should keep honing his strengths as well and take to the sky, resulting in Tokoyami developing his flight ability, Dark Shadow: Black Fallen Angel.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: With Endeavor, following his introduction. He is an eccentric and upbeat guy who likes making puns, followed by Endeavor's style of stoicism.
• Superpower Lottery: Hawks' Quirk is essentially five in one: He can fly, out-speed villains with actual Super-Speed Quirks, can feel vibrations to scout out areas incredibly quickly, telekinetically control his own feathers for rescue and attack, and use those feathers as bladed weapons.
• Super-Senses: Hawks is able to feel vibrations through his feathers, allowing him to quickly scout out an area by spreading his feathers around and using them to detect unusual disturbances. He can even use them to eavesdrop on people!
• Super-Speed:
  • Though not his Quirk in and of itself, it's repeatedly mentioned that Hawks is incredibly fast. When reminiscing about his start as a hero and meteoric rise, he laments that he's too fast for his own good, being forced to do more work than necessary simply because he has the ability to do so. Even his sidekicks are relegated to cleanup duty because Hawks is always finished by the time they arrive. Tokoyami's constant attempts to keep up during his one-week work-study impress Hawks enough to take him under his wing, inspiring Tokoyami to create his Black Fallen Angel move, allowing him to fly much like his mentor.
  • In Team-Up Mission, he easily outraces a villain known for having an actual Super-Speed Quirk that makes him faster than either Midoriya or Bakugo, who are known for their sharp reflexes, can see.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Deconstructed. Because the League of Villains accepted Twice where the rest of society failed him for most of his life, Hawks' genuine attempts to talk Twice down and help him turn his life around comes across instead as Condescending Compassion and only serve to enrage the already distressed villain. In the end, Hawks is ultimately forced to kill Twice.
• Trademark Favourite Food: He really likes chicken, which is ironic since he is a bird.
• Tyke-Bomb: After he performed a daring rescue as a child, the authorities immediately looked for him and decided that he must become a Hero due to his great potential. So they took him in and raised him to be a great hero. It's implied that his desire for a world where Heroes can take it easy is due to the fact that he was more or less railroaded into being a hero. Unsurprisingly, he is the youngest person to ever reach the Top 10 and is still currently the youngest member, with the next-youngest (Mirko, who is 3 years older at 26) ranking at number 5.
• Undying Loyalty: Due to feeling "saved" by Endeavor, who put away Hawks' abusive father, Hawks remains staunchly loyal to him even after learning about Endeavor's own abuse of his children, believing that unlike his own father Endeavor has truly changed for the better. Partially because it appears he trusts Shouto's judgment.
• Unusual Eyebrows: His eyebrows have a very strange shape that resembles feathers.
• Weak, but Skilled: Hawks laments the fact that his Quirk doesn't give him much extra power when his direct attacks against the Hood fail to cause damage. Despite this, he can still slice through ordinary Nomu by using his high speed to amplify the force of his slashes and compensate for his fairly average strength. His wings also provide him various forms of utility. Using almost all of his feathers, he was able to telekinetically evacuate everyone in a collapsing building alongside those on the ground, and he can use the feathers to complete multiple tasks at once from a distance, as well as pick up on conversations covertly. In fact, he is one of the few heroes with multiple 6/5 scores in the Ultra Analysis Data Book — both Speed AND Technique.
• Weak to Fire: As Hawks admits to Tokoyami, his feathers can still burn, so he makes sure not to waste time against fire-Quirk opponents. Too bad he pays too much attention to neutralizing Twice that he fails to notice Dabi coming for him until half his wings are incinerated. Hawks even notes to himself that this is the worst possible matchup for him.
• What You Are in the Dark: References the trope by saying that people only show their true natures when they're either backed into a corner or given absolute freedom.
• Winged Humanoid: His Quirk gives him large wings, and allows him to control its feathers.

Tsunagu Hakamada — Best Jeanist

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Micah Solusod (English), Gianfranco Mastrorosa (Latin American Spanish/TV series)

Debut: Chapter 48 (Manga), Episode 27 (Anime)

Quirk: Fiber Master

The current 3rd-highest ranked hero in Japan, a stylish individual who takes pride in his work. He believes heroes should maintain a positive appearance, both physically and socially, in order to inspire peace in society.

During the Field Training Arc, he took in Bakugo as an intern in order to teach the teen how to properly present himself as a hero, which yielded the expected results. After the Hideout Raid Arc, he was forced to take a temporary hiatus from hero work after All For One's attack cost him a lung. Despite this, he ends up moving up a rank, from fourth to third, in Hero Billboard Chart rankings due to his actions during the Kamino Ward Raid.

His Quirk is "Fiber Master", which grants him the ability to manipulate the fibers that make up clothing.

• The Ace: As far popularity and ingenuity are concerned. He is so popular that even when taking an extended leave from hero work following his injuries from All For One, his rank actually increases to third place. He was also praised by All For One of all people for reacting to his attack even though his Quirk would ordinarily be something All For One wouldn't even bother stealing, due to the hard work involved in using it.
• Achilles' Heel: More powerful application of his Quirk such as restraining Gigantomachia demands increasing focus, to the point he's virtually a sitting duck and necessitates others to protect him.
• Action Fashionista: One of the top four heroes, and also a trendsetter. He has his own fashion line and has owned the real-world Best Jeanist design award multiple times as well.
• Ambiguous Situation: The Meta Liberation Army Arc reveals he's currently missing. The League has actually ordered him to get killed by Hawks, and at the end of the arc, it appears that he has gone through with it, but as Hawks is The Mole, it's unknown what his current state is. As of Chapter 291, it is revealed he is alive, and the conversation between himself and Hawks in Chapter 299 reveals that he was put into a death-like state they replicated from the Noumu in their custody to sell Hawks as a mole. Of course, Hawks himself notes it was good fortune the Liberation Front allowed him to keep Best Jeanist's body preserved until it was time to wake him up, and Jeanist admits his body still feels like hell.
• Awesome by Analysis: During the attack on the Tokyo Sky Egg in Vigilantes, Best Jeanist is among the heroes isolated inside the building. He quickly gets a plan of the building and realizes the attack was a planned act of terrorism since the resulting blackout locked the elevators and exit doors. With that knowledge, he quickly takes the helm and assigns tasks to everyone, some to calm down the civilians and whoever can fly to find a way out to try to find the source of the attack.
• Badass Cape: Wears one in the Hideout Raid Arc. This is justified as it's an additional source of fibers.
• Big Damn Heroes: In Chapter 291, just as Dabi has shattered morale for the heroes and is about to use Prominence Burn to finish them off, Best Jeanist jumps out from a cargo plane with several drums of heavy wires to wrap him, the rest of the League of Villains, and Gigantomachia himself.
• Brutal Honesty: When he first meets Bakugo he bluntly tells him that he doesn't like him and that he only recruited him for the internship so he could mould his abrasive personality into something better.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Introduced alongside Endeavor in an ad in Chapter 3. He started playing an actual role in the story 45 chapters later.
• Clothing Combat: He can manipulate fibers, essentially allowing him to control clothing. This is much more powerful than it sounds as it is practically impossible for anyone wearing any sort of clothing to be able to resist his Quirk.
• Club President: In Chapter 364, Edgeshot addresses Jeanist as "Club President Hakamada" immediately before performing a Dangerous Forbidden Technique to save Bakugo, and a single-panel flashback shows the two in the Textile Arts Association during their time at U.A.
• Cool Car: Best Jeanist's personal sports car is customized to be able to shoot out steel cable for him to manipulate with his Quirk, allowing him to quickly make impromptu captures in a hurry. It also happens to bear a striking resemblance to the Batmobile
• Determinator: Never gives up in spite of overwhelming opposition. When he sees Bakugo's villainous tendencies, he tries to reform him rather than giving up on or ignoring him. When All For One's shockwave tears through his fiber binding, Best Jeanist makes sure to pull everyone out of the way even though he himself has no defense against the attack. Once he realizes he was misinformed about the nature of All For One's power and realizes he is as strong as All Might, and even after taking the brunt of All For One's shockwave and being rendered immobile, Best Jeanist still uses Fiber Master to prop up his body to launch a final attack against All For One. All For One also notes that the level of dedication needed to reach Best Jeanist's level of skill with such a mundane Quirk is so great that Shigaraki can't be expected to match it.
• Difficult, but Awesome: Like Momo Yaoyorozu, his Quirk is implied to have taken a lot of training and time to master, but he made a name for himself as a top-ranking pro hero with it. This works to Best Jeanist's advantage when All For One doesn't bother stealing his Quirk, because getting any use out of it would require the same amount of training and he doesn't have the time or patience for that, having other Quirks with more raw power at his disposal.
• Establishing Character Moment: The first thing he does when he meets Bakugo at his agency is to lecture him on his Fatal Flaw, having so much pride in himself that he cares little for how it reflects on his image, his ferocious nature, and general bad attitude, and vows to correct him, by making him "presentable" to the public.
• Face Palm: In the anime, he does this when Bakugo accidentally makes a group of children cry by shouting at them during their patrol around the city.
• Faking the Dead: He stays "missing" after Hawks pretends to have killed him, only reappearing once the undercover gig is up. He had to be put in a death-like trance reminiscent of a Noumu when it has no orders to follow to sell it, and he complains after the fact his body still feels sore as hell.
• Game-Breaking Injury: Downplayed. Similar to All Might, the wounds All For One inflicted cost him a lung but didn't force him to retire outright. He just had to withdraw from active heroics temporarily. It is also shown that using his full power taxes him greatly post-injury, as he can be seen coughing and bleeding from his nostrils.
• Gratuitous English: Not him, but his employees and interns respond to him by saying, "Sure, Best Jeanist!" in unison.
• Groin Attack: In Smash!, he disciplines Bakugo by forcing him to wear jeans and then tightening them around his groin when he acts out of line.
• Handicapped Badass: While losing a lung does result in him being weaker, he is still capable of fighting when he officially comes back during the Paranormal Liberation War Arc.
• Heart Is an Awesome Power: His Quirk is perfect for restraining ne'er-do-wells since almost everyone wears clothing. He can also manipulate the threads of his own clothing so that they're nearly invisible and make them strong enough to even bind Nomus.
  • Even Gigantomachia, a villain bigger and much stronger than Mt Lady, struggles to break free of thick wires under Best Jeanist's control.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Takes the brunt of All For One's devastating attack whilst pushing the rest of his fellow pro heroes out of the way using his Quirk, and is quickly dispatched immediately afterward.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: Or rather, near-fatally attacked mid-thought. He survived, but just barely.
• Long Neck: It's hidden by his very tall collar, but when Best Jeanist is seen in a suit, his neck is obviously much taller than a normal person's because his shirt and neckline have an oversized fit about a foot higher than the rest of his body.
• Master of Threads: Best Jeanist's Quirk allows him to manipulate the fibers in clothing, which he uses to restrain opponents. While it lacks raw power, Best Jeanist's training and skill with this ability has made him one of the highest ranked heroes in the setting.
• Meaningful Name: The "hakama" in his family name refers to traditional Japanese trousers, which emphasizes his connection to clothing. The kanji for his given name, Tsunagu, is part of the Japanese word for "mending", as in to mend clothes. His hero name is taken from the Best Jeanist Award, an annual event in Japan that awards celebrities who look the best in jeans.
• Mentor Archetype: Best Jeanist recruited Bakugo for the internships in order to iron out the kinks in his personality and make it something more heroic. He initially seems a bit ineffective in this role as Bakugo seemingly doesn't improve his attitude that much and hasn't developed any new techniques after their internship. However, a later flashback shows him encouraging Bakugo to come up with a good hero name, and Bakugo in the present wants him to be the first person to hear his new name so it seems Bakugo did learn something from him after all.
• Nice Guy: Polite and gentle person, even towards people who isn't found of at first
• No Mouth: His mouth is only seen when he wears a suit; his hero and casual outfits obscure it with a very high collar.
• Nerves of Steel: Lampshaded by All For One himself. Best Jeanist was able to quickly save other heroes from All For One's attack and he himself survived the brunt. The villain is highly impressed and points out that his power came as a result of extensive training.
• Properly Paranoid: In the hideout raid, he immediately attacks and restrains an unknown person found in the hideout. When Mt. Lady protests, he says the circumstances make it obvious the person is an enemy. Indeed, the man turns out to be All For One, and the real issue there is Best Jeanist didn't attack enough.
• Pungeon Master: In the English dub, he loves to use cloth-related puns and metaphors. This continues into Vigilantes where he references cloth and thread very commonly. Koichi even calls him a "punny guy".
• Put on a Bus: Goes on a long convalescence following All For One's brutal attack. He technically returns in Chapter 231 in a flashback with Hawks, but as seen in billboards all throughout the city, he appears to have mysteriously disappeared. It isn't until Chapter 291 that he finally returns to the field.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • Gives one to Bakugo, accusing him of wasting his potential due to always seeing himself as the strongest and acting out because of that. He spends the rest of Bakugo's internship trying to teach him about presentability and discipline. Unsurprisingly, Bakugo takes none of his lessons to heart and views the internship as a total waste of time, though considering Best Jeanist's condescending attitude and seemingly altering Bakugo's hero costume without permission, it's not very surprising it didn't stick.
  • He gives a small one to Mt. Lady for assuming All For One could be a civilian when he was coming at them with murderous intent.
• Reforged into a Minion: Discussed but Subverted after Hawks put him into a coma to "prove" he was murdered to keep Dabi from getting suspicious about his activities, who even keeps him preserved in a Nomu facility in case Garaki wants to use him later to create a Nomu, but was actually tricked into keeping Best Jeanist alive.
• Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Dabi actually believed Hawks had brought him Best Jeanist's body in a sports bag, so when he expresses his surprise in Chapter 292, Jeanist takes a moment to tease him for his mistake. As it turns out, it was Best Jeanist's body, but he was induced to a death-like trance to sell it (and he complains his body still aches after the fact).
• Semantic Superpower: His Quirk doesn't just manipulate cloth fibers but any kind of fibers. In the Spin-Off "Vigilantes", he uses his Quirk on metallic bridge wires, spun by metal-fibers, to support a collapsing building by manipulating them as he does clothing. He later has a large payload of steel wire bundles to use as restraints.
• Single Substance Manipulation: His Quirk, "Fiber Control", is initially shown to manipulate the threads and fabrics of people's outfits. Denim is easiest to control, so his costume is a jeans bodysuit covering him from head to toe, but "Vigilantes" shows that it's actually a Semantic Superpower when he uses it on metallic bridge wires, spun by metal-fibers, to support a collapsing building by manipulating them as he does with his clothes.
• Slave to PR: He considers the public face of heroics to be of the utmost importance, taking in Bakugo specifically to try and straighten out his image.
• Smug Super: He's very confident in himself and comes off pretty arrogant. To his credit, he is one of the top 10 ranked heroes in Japan, but trying to take down All For One without knowing what he could do cost him dearly.
• Spanner in the Works: Dabi's pre-recorded confession and some Manipulative Editing of Endeavor and Hawk's conduct, in particular, how Hawks killed Jeanist to gain trust with the League would have completely shattered the civilians' faith in the heroes if it not for his timely arrival, showing that he's alive and well.
• Stern Teacher: He lectures Bakugo on being too prideful and tries to mold him into a more presentable hero with better control of his temper.
• Weak, but Skilled: Despite Fiber Master being a case of Heart Is an Awesome Power, it's noted that the true strength of his Quirk is mostly derived from his training and experience, rather than raw power. This actually helps him somewhat against All For One. While he still gets pasted, he gets away with his Quirk because All For One doesn't want to take the effort to train with it up to Best Jeanist's level.
• Weaksauce Weakness: He has a harder time controlling the threads that make up sweatpants and sweatshirts.
• The Worf Effect: In Chapters 88 and 89, he becomes the measuring stick for All For One's immense power. He is the #4 hero and he is knocked out effortlessly. This demonstrates how dangerous the villain is even after all this time since his fight with All Might.
• Your Size May Vary: In the anime, the length of his neck varies from ordinary to comically long, due to how tricky it can be to get the length of his jean bever right.

Rumi Usagiyama — Mirko

Voiced by: Sayaka Kinoshita (Japanese), Anairis Quiñones (English), Liliana Barba (Latin American Spanish/TV series)

Debut: Chapter 184 (Manga), Episode 87 (Anime)

Quirk: Rabbit

The 5th-highest ranked hero in Japan and the highest-ranked female hero. An aggressive young woman, she's a powerful pro who prefers to work alone.

Her Quirk, "Rabbit", grants her the attributes and abilities of a rabbit, namely incredible leg strength.

• The Ace: As far as pro heroines are concerned, she's at the very top of what Japan has to offer. She is so strong that she is able to provide backup to Endeavor and Hawks, the current #1 and #2 heroes when they are under threat from Dabi. Once she arrives, Dabi quickly gives up on the fight even though his Quirk gives him the upper hand against fighters who have to get in close.
• Action Girl: As the highest-ranked heroine so far, this is a given. She enjoys seeing Hawks provoke the other heroes and excitedly jumps into the fight against Dabi. Her fighting style is also very physically intensive, involving quick and powerful leaps and kicks. She leads the vanguard at the hospital raid, excitedly decimating a horde of Nomu before kicking her way through a steel door with ease and triumphantly confronting All For One's doctor.
• Amazonian Beauty: Mirko has noticeable muscles in her arms, torso, and thighs, visible in her rather skimpy and tight hero costume, helped by her revealing Leotard of Power. She also flexes her arms to show off her muscles when appearing in a group picture along with other heroines from the series. Many panels during the hospital raid go to great lengths to pay particular attention to her muscular legs and thighs as she launches kicks and jumps around.
• Animal-Themed Superbeing: Rabbit. She's known as the rabbit hero, likely because she's got a pair of rabbit ears on her head. Her hero costume also has a crescent moon motif, alluding to the "Moon Rabbit" myth from various cultures. She is one of three animal-themed pro heroes in the Top 10, along with Hawks (#2) and Ryukyu (#10). Her Quirk is also described as, "She can do anything a rabbit can do, and more!"
• An Arm and a Leg: She loses her half of her left arm and her right leg from about the knee down to the High-End Nomus. During the battle with Shigaraki, she loses the other arm and has a rope tourniquet tied on to staunch the bleeding.
• Artificial Limbs: Chapter 343 shows she's gotten a new mechanical arm and leg to replace the ones she lost against the Nomus.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. During the raid at the hospital, her left arm gets torn off at about her elbow, leaving a bloody stump. Later, as she makes her way through the hideout, part of her right ear gets torn off as well, and by the time the other heroes catch up to her, she's essentially a bloody mess.
• Big Damn Heroes: She intervenes when Endeavor and Hawks are attacked by Dabi after they were badly injured and exhausted from their fight with Hood. Her speed and power also allow her to reach Ujiko before he can teleport away with Johnny, killing the Nomu in the process.
• Blood from the Mouth: She starts sporting this sometime around when the Jester High-End gets a solid hit into her side.
• Blood Knight: Mirko deeply enjoys fighting, almost to a self-destructive degree. Her battle lust would make a Saiyan blush.
• Bridal Carry: Endeavor carries her this way out of the hospital. Unlike most examples, it is to highlight how desperate their escape is.
• Determinator: When she loses her arm, she tourniquets the stump with her own hair to stop from bleeding out in the middle of the fight:
  Mirko: [thinking to herself] If you're gonna die, get the job done first...
• Diving Kick: Justified. Given the nature of her Quirk, this kind of attack is super efficient.
• Do Not Go Gentle: In the Final War Arc, she absolutely refuses to go down without a fight no matter how badly battered her body gets. Even when she is against the seemingly unbeatable Shigaraki with no prosthetic left to use, she is willing to tear off her other arm to keep on fighting like a feral rabbit:
  Mirko: I ain't about to check out from the game of life with regrets left on the table!!
• The Drifter: Unlike most heroes, Mirko has no permanent hero office or "territory". She instead travels across Japan, setting up temporary outposts and kicking the asses of every villain in the area until she moves on to the next town.
• Dynamic Entry: She seems to favor these when going after villains:
  • Mirko enters the fray against Dabi by kicking the ground hard enough to disperse his flames with a wave of air.
  • She later barges her way into Daruma's lab by drop-kicking the mortuary door in and later crashing through a wall hard enough to send a door flying into John-chan.
  • Even when she's stabbed in the leg in mid-air, she makes a beeline towards Shigaraki's pod, clearly intending to kick it open.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Before her debut in the anime, she has an early cameo in the fourth season's second ending, which shows a photo of her as a teenager playing volleyball in gym class, jumping high into the air to catch the ball.
• Face Death with Dignity: She's a believer in this. Her work as a pro heroine means that she stares death in the eye every day, resolving to live life to the fullest and die without regrets no matter what happens to her.
• Fan Disservice: Mirko bouncing around all over the place fighting in her decidedly generous Leotard of Power is a graceful and beautiful sight. Mirko severely battered and bruised up on the ground with a severed arm and several gaping wounds all over her body by the end of said fight is a tough and nauseating one.
• Glass Cannon: She's much better at dishing out damage than she is at taking it, as showcased in her fight with the Jaku High-End Nomus, who are easily able to maim and dismember her with each successfully landed hit, even when they're not fully awakened.
• Handicapped Badass: If a small snippet of her in Chapter 306 is of any indication, not even a severed arm and leg is enough to stop her from doing her duty. She loses another arm in the battle with Shigaraki, but this does not stop her from attacking him while down to a single limb - she even stays alive (but is knocked unconscious) when hit punched through a tree by Shigaraki, who has physical strength similar to All-Might at this point.
• Hero of Another Story: In Vigilantes, a younger Mirko alongside Rappa aid O'Clock in helping civilians who ended up part of All For One's scheme.
• Heart Is an Awesome Power: How good a power is "anything a rabbit can do" be? As it turns out, it's very effective. Mirko's incredible power and speed make her into a major force to be reckoned with.
• Hidden Buxom: Her civilian clothes are quite modest and don't show any cleavage or accentuate her curves. This is completely subverted in her hero costume, which is a skintight leotard that clings to her large chest and rear. Her chest and its movement are also emphasized when she crashed into Ujiko's lab.
• How Much More Can He Take?: In the final battle against Shigaraki, Mirko is severely maimed and battered to the point it seems impossible for her to keep fighting, but she just won't quit.
• I Work Alone:
  • She despises the idea of working in a team, believing that doing so is done by the weak. Despite this, she has no problem aiding other heroes when they are in trouble, as she rushed to defend Hawks and Endeavor from Dabi without any complaints even after only just meeting them at the Hero Rankings Ceremony.
  • In Team-Up Mission, she's ordered by the Public Safety Commission to let Midoriya, Bakugo, and Uraraka tag along with her for a day. She tells them outright that she's only doing this because she has to and doesn't bother to actually teach them anything, only critiquing them based on her personal feelings on the matter (criticizing Midoriya for stopping to think while Bakugo and Uraraka jumped right into the action).
• Inconsistent Spelling: In Chapter 184, her name is spelled as Miruko. This is due to how Japanese words are pronounced. After that, however, she is consistently referred to as Mirko without the "u".
• In a Single Bound: Matching her rabbit motif, Mirko can leap great distances in a single bound thanks to her powerful legs. She can also land hard enough to disrupt attacks from villains.
• Kick Chick: Mirko's Quirk gives her powerful legs that allow her to leap great distances and kick hard. She incorporates flying drop kicks, split kicks and roundhouse kicks into her style that let her take out opponents immediately while staying on the move and using her surroundings to enhance her speed.
• The Lad-ette: Contrary to what her rabbit theme might suggest, she's ripped, loves fighting, and her speech patterns are very masculine by Japanese standards.
• Leotard of Power: She wears one as part of her hero costume, which has a high collar and fur around her neck, possibly to further invoke the image of a rabbit, and has extreme leg strength.
• Lightning Bruiser:
  • Implied by her fighting style and Quirk. She quickly appears and fends off Dabi mid-attack, and her Quirk specifically enhances her leg strength, giving her devastating lower body strength as well as presumably increasing her speed.
  • She later bulldozes her way through Ujiko's lab with powerful jumps and kicks, bouncing off the walls while dismembering the Nomu in her path.
• Little Bit Beastly: She has large rabbit ears on her head. She also has a rabbit's tail when she wears her hero costume, but unlike her ears, the tail seems to be fake. Other official art work though implies the tail is real and she just wears clothes over it.
• Male Gaze: Many shots of her are set up this way when she fights. Most notably, the spinning kick she launches to crash through Ujiko's lab door has her spread her legs wide open to emphasize her thighs, with the following shot being centered on her chest. The anime adds close ups to Mirko flexing her legs making them more muscular in big detail.
• Major Injury Underreaction: Aside from complaining about how much it hurt, Mirko is remarkably nonchalant about getting her arm twisted off by one of the High-End Nomus, merely repaying it by tearing the Nomu's head off and tying her hair around the stump to stop the bleeding:
  Mirko: Can't keep doing the job... while ignoring this...
• Meaningful Name: Her family name contains the kanji for "rabbit".
• Moon Rabbit: Lightly alluded to in her hero costume. She's a rabbit-themed heroine and has a crescent moon in her costume's chest. Her super moves also have "Luna" attached to the name.
• Ms. Fanservice: Mirko's hero outfit consists of a skin tight leotard that shows off her bare shoulders and thighs with her thigh high stockings putting a lot of attention to her legs. Adding to this is her well-Toned muscles which both the manga and anime has shown rather detailed.
• Murderous Thighs: She deals with a High-End Nomu by grabbing its head with her legs and tearing it clean off.
• Mutilation Conga: By partway through the final battle, Mirko's lost the lower part of her right leg, had both her arms ripped off in separate incidents, and had the tip of her ear sliced off. None of that has kept her down.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Pro kickboxer and mixed martial artist Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, who was especially revered in Japan and greatly feared for his devastating kicks.
• Normally, I Would Be Dead Now: Over the course of her fight with the High-Ends, she gets her left forearm and the top part of her right ear torn off, has a chunk of her left calf bitten out, gets impaled through her other calf (which gets shredded up some more when she destroys Shigaraki's pod) as well as her left thigh, gets stabbed in the side of her abdomen and her right forearm (which, miraculously, doesn't need amputation afterwards, unlike her right leg), takes a hit to the head hard enough to throw her across the room and leave half her face bloodied, which becomes even more bloodied when she gets her cheek slashed, and has a good chunk of her hair ripped out.
• Not Bad: Despite Hawks intending to provoke others, Mirko ends up taking a liking to his confidence.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: As a teenager, she busted her way into underground fighting rings for the thrill of it. After she got caught the first time, she started wearing a wrestling mask that covers most of her face... except it can't hide her rabbit ears. This is lampshaded mercilessly by the crowd until she essentially shrugs and jumps in to start kicking heads anyway.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She stands at 159 cm (5' 2.5"), making her shorter than Midoriya. But beneath her petite frame, her kicks pack a lot of punch.
• Pungeon Master: She says she "hopped" right over when she heard there was trouble and that things were "heating up" when Dabi attacks an exhausted Endeavor and Hawks. The English dub even has her make a few Bugs Bunny jokes such as "What's up, Doc?" when confronting Ujiko.
• Righteous Rabbit: Invoked. Not only does she have the physical attributes and overall theme of a bunny, but she's also a professional superhero working to serve justice!
• Ship Tease: Mainly in bonus illustrations, but she gets some of this with Hawks. In the Hero Billboard Ranking event, she expresses unusual approval of Hawks despite being gruffer with everyone else, since Hawks spoke his mind without concern for everyone else. In bonus illustrations, she's been paired solo with him with both of them in school uniforms, and also an illustration where she's on his back wearing his jacket over her leotard. She also appears in a sketch promoting the physical release of Volume 27, which features Hawks on the cover. Despite this, they strangely have both yet to interact beyond their initial meeting at the Billboard event in-story, mainly due to Mirko fighting on the front lines and Hawks being deep undercover. They do end up both being heavily injured and handicapped, yet still fighting in the final war, following the Paranormal Liberation War - Mirko losing an arm and a leg and needing prosthetics, and Hawks being badly burned and permanently losing some of his feathers.
• Significant Birth Date: Her birthday is in March, a possible reference to the March Hare from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
• Spicy Latina: While Mirko does have a Japanese name, it's heavily implied that she's Latina: Being a dark-skinned Hot-Blooded Action Girl who uses Gratuitous Spanish when fighting.
• She-Fu: Her fighting style consists mainly of acrobatics as cartwheels combined with her powerful kicks.
• Superhero Sobriquets: "The Rabbit Hero", going along with being an Animal-Themed Superbeing with rabbit ears.
• Super-Hearing: Her rabbit Quirk grants her his in addition to her powerful leg strength. She is able to hear the clicking from the doctor typing on his computer from a deeper part of his lair.
• Super-Strength: Despite being "only" the #5 hero, Mirko has an extreme form of this as part of her Quirk. While her entire body is very muscular, she's only been seen using this power with her legs, cracking streets, killing Nomus instantly, and crashing through reinforced steel doors effortless all while maintaining her speed toward her target. This allows her to slice through all the Nomu in her way like butter and tear through doors and walls to reach Ujiko before he can teleport away with Shigaraki.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Carrots.
• Tomboyish Voice: Mirko has quite a gruff voice with a very tomboyish vocabulary, which goes in tandem with her feisty personality.

Crust

Voiced by: Tsuguo Mogami (Japanese), Larry Brantley (English)

Debut: Chapter 184 (Manga), Episode 87 (Anime)

Quirk: Shield

The former 6th-highest ranked hero in Japan, a passionate man who greatly admires All Might. His Quirk is "Shield", which allows him to manifest shields across his body.

• Apologetic Attacker: To the Nomu, which he knows are reanimated and desecrated corpses but still puts up a fight against them.
• Barrier Warrior: His Quirk allows him to produce shields from his body, which he uses both defensively and offensively.
• Domino Mask: He wears one as part of his hero costume.
• The Generic Guy: Compared to the other Top 10 ranking heroes, he's the least distinct visually. This extends to his Quirk, as while it's effective, it's not particularly flashy or notable.
• Go Out with a Smile: As he's decaying to death, Crust gives Aizawa a thumbs-up and flashes a hearty smile to encourage his comrade's escape.
• Heroic Sacrifice: After Shigaraki awakens inside Jaku Hospital, he unleashes a seemingly endless decay throughout the building that will kill anyone who can't avoid it. Aizawa attempts to escape by hopping onto Ryukyu's back, but is stopped when a High-End Nomu grabs his leg. As the decay spreads up the Nomu, it seems like Aizawa's done for, until one of Crust's shield slices through the Nomu's arm, freeing Aizawa and allowing him to just barely avoid decaying to death. Crust isn't so lucky, however, and succumbs to the decay, though not before he gives Aizawa a big thumbs-up to encourage his escape.
• Hero-Worshipper: Towards All Might. During the Hero Billboard Chart announcements, he tears up thinking about his retirement and expresses regret that he was unable to assist his hero during the Kamino Ward Raid. Even as he's dying, the smile and thumbs-up he gives wouldn't have been out of place given by All Might.
• Fist of Rage: More like Fist of Sorrow. He does when thinking about All Might.
• Large Ham: A good chunk of his dialogue is exaggeratedly bombastic, best seen during the ranking announcements.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The most basic application of his Quirk is using his shields to protect himself and others from projectiles.
• Manly Tears: He tears up a little at the ranking announcement when thinking about All Might's sudden retirement.
• Mauve Shirt: Enough of him is shown to give him a distinct personality as well as establish him as someone deserving of his spot, but he is ultimately the first of the Top 10 to die, being Reduced to Dust by Shigaraki's Quirk.
• Reduced to Dust: His fate in Chapter 272 due to Shigaraki's Decay.
• Superhero Sobriquets: "The Shield Hero".
• Throwing Your Shield Always Works: His super move, "Shoot Shield", is this, wherein Crust detaches, spins, and then tosses a piece of his shield at an opponent. It's a surprisingly effective move, being able to easily knock a High-End Nomu down to the ground. This ends up being the final thing Crust does in the series, using a tossed shield to save Aizawa from Shigaraki's Decay at the cost of his own life.

Wash

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese), Alese Watson-Johnson (English)

Debut: Chapter 184 (Manga), Episode 87 (Anime)

Quirk: Unnamed Water Quirk

The current 8th-highest ranked hero in Japan, an anonymous, seemingly unknown individual whose outfit greatly resembles a washing machine. A person of few words, he's employ Koji Koda and Manga Fukidashi during the second batch of work-studies.

His Quirk seemingly allows him to control powerful streams of water.

• Ambiguous Gender: Given the nature of his hero costume, his gender is impossible to tell. Volume 20 and 31 extras would reveal Wash is male
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite his odd appearance, he outranks the more serious-looking hero Yoroi Musha and is still devoted to his role even in the midst of a country-wide anti-hero sentiment and notably still remains on the job while Musha had resigned out of shame. He also showed up at the last stand in Chapter 343 to fight All For One.
• The Faceless: Thanks to his hero costume, which covers his entire body save for his eyes.
• Mad Eye: Wash's eyes look like they're constantly bugging out, making him look slightly unhinged.
• Making a Splash: His Quirk is given a small showcase in the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes spinoff. It allows him to shoot a spiral stream of water from his head that's strong enough to keep several people in the air. He can also carry things to safety in large bubbles, which proves essential for evacuation when Shigaraki unleashes his disintegration wave upon the heroes. His bubbles are also made out of a special solution which can clean wounds.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Wash always sticks to his trademark Pokémon Speak until facing harassment and violence from the civilians he's trying to save following the loss of faith in heroes after the Paranormal Liberation Front debacle. Wash instead calmly and in full sentences explains his intentions to help the civilians despite their outrage, demonstrating how heroes need a whole new approach to keep public trust.
• Pokémon Speak: Downplayed. He is capable of speaking full sentences if needed, but most of the time he can only say variations of the word "Wash".
• Silent Snarker: After being screamed at and getting hit by a frying pan by civilians for not showing up on time to stop the attacking villains, Wash's only response aside from transporting the wounded to a hospital is to give them a brief, glowering look.
• Stronger Than They Look: He doesn’t look like top 10 hero material, but somehow managed to reach the 8th rank out of hundreds of heroes.
• Superhero Sobriquets: Appropriately, "The Laundry Hero".

Yoroi Musha

Voiced by: Yasuhiro (Japanese), Bill Jenkins (English), Jorge Luis García (Latin American Spanish/TV series)

Debut: Chapter 184 (Manga), Episode 87 (Anime)

Quirk: Unknown

The former 9th-highest ranked hero in Japan, an older samurai-themed hero. He employs Mina Ashido, Toru Hagakure, and Yuga Aoyama during the second batch of work-studies.

• Badass Teacher: He takes Ashido, Hagakura and Aoyama on as interns and helps them improve their abilities greatly.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Presents himself to the public and the audience as an unshakably noble hero, but the moment the villains severely shake society's faith in heroes, he shows his true colors as an attention-seeker who doesn't have anywhere near as much heroic resolve as he claims.
• Broken Pedestal: When he announced his sudden retirement, many people chewed him out for his cowardice and it turned some of his fans against him with one of the critics said he was no longer one of his fans.
• Can't Take Criticism: In Chapter 300, he retires because of the heroes' increased scrutiny and criticism due to massive collateral damage left by the Paranormal Liberation Front.
• Cool Old Guy: Aside from his gray beard, he seems to be an older Hero. He's also one of the top Heroes, which requires remaining fearsome and fit. However, when public opinion on heroes really turns sour, he shows his true colors and decides to retire then and there and save himself from the criticism.
• Dirty Coward: He retires due to the backlash against heroes from civilians, quitting right when they need heroes now more than ever solely to save himself from the negativity.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: His name is fittingly uncreative for someone implied to have been from one of the earliest generation of heroes. "Yoroi Musha" can literally translate out to "Armored Warrior".
• Irony: Yoroi Musha, a hero themed after the notoriously loyal and unwavering samurai, retires in order to avoid the public backlash towards heroes.
• It's What I Do: When asked to give a statement to the audience after being ranked the No. 9 hero, he simply says that his job has not changed and that he'll simply continue doing it.
• Meaningful Name: His name means "armor" in Japanese.
• Old Superhero: The announcer mentions that he's refusing to succumb to old age, and he is shown to have a bushy beard.
• Random Power Ranking: He lampshades this, and feels that the hero ranks, minus the top 3, are determined less by overall skill, and more by timing and luck.
• Samurai: Appears to be his theme; he is decked out in armor resembling that of a samurai's.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the immense collateral damage left by the Paranormal Liberation Front and the resulting backlash against heroes from civilians, Yoroi Musha abruptly ends his long career to avoid said backlash.
• Secretly Selfish: In Chapter 300, his inner monologue after officially retiring from being a hero has him state that he only became one in the first place for the fame and adulation. He was completely oblivious to the fact that his phrasing his retirement as "falling on his sword" was only adding salt to the public's wounds.
• Superhero Sobriquets: "The Equipped Hero".

Ryuko Tatsuma — Ryukyu

Voiced by: Kaori Yagi (Japanese), Katelyn Barr (English), Carolina Capiello (Latin American Spanish/TV series)

Debut: Chapter 131 (Manga), Episode 68 (Anime)

Quirk: Dragon

^{Click here to see her dragon form}

The current 10th-highest ranked hero in Japan, a calm woman with a dragon-themed outfit. Previously ranked 9th, she teamed up with the Nighteye agency to investigate and later raid the Shie Hassaikai yakuza group. She employs Ochako Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, and Nejire Hadou during their work studies.

Her Quirk is "Dragon", which allows her to transform into a massive dragon.

• Action Girl: As the ninth-ranked hero, she's the most successful heroine revealed up until Chapter 184, when she's beaten out in the rankings by Mirko.
• Animal Themed Super Being: Dragons, as her helmet-ish head decoration is shaped like a dragon claw and even has dragon-like wings. Of course, she also turns into a full-blown dragon.
• Big Damn Heroes: After being absent for most of the Internship Arc, since she and her interns were busy fighting one of the members of Eight Bullets, Ryukyu smashes through the roof of the underground entrance, along with Uraraka and Tsuyu, to provide Midoriya with some much-needed assistance in the eleventh hour of the battle against Overhaul.
• Body Horror: Her dragon-form is a bit disturbing in that it doesn't completely turn her into a dragon. Her human form and flesh is still being stretched across all that new scaly body mass.
• Cool Big Sis: She shows signs of acting as one to her interns, particularly Nejire, whose physical displays of affection are shown to be welcomed by her.
• The Kirk: Out of the three heroes in charge of the Overhaul operation, she occupies a middle ground between the logical and analytical Sir Nighteye and the passionate and emotional Fat Gum.
• Lady of War: She's a gentle and composed pro heroine garbed in a qipao and gloves for a costume, which stays even in her dragon form.
• Magic Pants: Her garb isn't destroyed when she turns into a dragon or goes back to being a human. The garb actually seems to change to fit whichever form she is on.
• Meaningful Name: Her real name contains the characters for Dragon. Her hero name can also be seen as an allusion to Ryukyu Japanese ethnicity.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Her reaction when her ranking drops is a resigned admission that she hasn't done enough to stand out lately. In actuality, she gets tied up with a drugged-up villain during the raid on the yakuza compound and doesn't get to participate in the actual center of the action until her fight coincidentally takes her to it.
• Rank Up: Inverted. She goes down to the 10th Ranked Hero after the latest billboard rankings.
• Shout-Out: Her dragon appearance looks like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon with feminine features and garbs.
• Superhero Sobriquets: "Dragon Hero", fittingly.
• Weredragon: Her Quirk is the ability to turn into a giant dragon.

Kugo Sakamata — Gang Orca

Voiced by: Shuhei Matsuda (Japanese), Tyler Walker (English)

Debut: Chapter 87 (Manga), Episode 46 (Anime)

Playable in: My Hero One's Justice 2

Quirk: Orcinus

The current 12th-highest ranked hero in Japan, a tall, well-built man with an orca-like appearance. Previously ranked 10th, he works alongside the Public Hero Safety Commission to help administer the provisional hero license exam. He also employs Kyoka Jiro and Mezo Shoji during the second batch of work-studies.

His Quirk, "Orcinus", has mutated him into a humanoid Orca, allowing him to do anything a regular orca can do, but on land! This translates directly into him having enhanced strength, heightened senses, and the ability to produce hypersonic waves that paralyze his targets.

• '90s Anti-Hero: Subverted and parodied. He is a hero with a thuggish, brutal appearance and uses large amounts of angry force when in battle, but he is actually a nice guy and a good sport. Parodied in that he's said to be 4th on the official list of "Top Heroes Who Look Like Villains," indicating that there are enough people like him for there to be a sub-category of heroes.
• Adaptational Heroism: In Oumagadoki Doubutsuen, he was a villain and The Dragon of the Big Bad of the Vs. Aquarium Arc. In this series, he's a hero who ironically plays a villain during the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc.
• Ambiguously Human: It's unclear how much of him is orca and how much is human.
• Animal-Themed Superbeing: Orca! He can do anything an orca can, but on land!
• Badass Cape: Wears one as part of his hero costume.
• Civvie Spandex: Take off the bulletproof vest, and he looks completely normal (for the manga's standards, that is).
• Creepy Good: While he is a hero, he is also a very scary one, so much that he was voted the third most villainous-looking hero.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: How he comes off in Bakugo and Todoroki's supplementary lessons.
• Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: He gets weaker in dryness, meaning that Todoroki's flames and Yoarashi's gusts together are actually very effective against him. It makes sense as he is a half-aquatic mammal who needs constant hydration.
• Face of a Thug: His face is literally that of an orca's. In the supplementary materials, it's stated that this scares off children, and this makes him very distraught. He's even introduced as "The Hero who most looks like a villain."
• Heroes Gone Fishing: He's often requested to give lectures at aquariums.
• Heroic Dolphin: A hero based on an orca, the largest member of the dolphin family.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: He loves kids, but tries not to show it in public for the sake of his image.
• Large Ham: He screams a large part of his lines when talking with those who failed the exam, he goes into a loud, boisterous Drill Sergeant Nasty persona before shifting into making an equally loud and boisterous description on how saving someone also includes a dialogue between two hearts. During his time playing the villain, he also appears to have fun with it and amps up his "evilness" whenever he can.
• Logical Weakness: Being a half-aquatic mammal, he is very vulnerable to drying out. This makes Todoroki and Yoarashi working together a particular threat to him, once they finally start doing so. He also walks around with bottles of water to keep himself moist. Downplayed in that he still largely shrugs it off.
• Made of Iron: His orca physiology gives him massive bulk, to the point a hit from Midoriya's Full Cowl barely affects him and his skin is so thick a large scale flame blast from Todoroki and Yoarashi working together only manages to paralyze him despite being his weakness.
• Mentor Archetype: To the ones who failed the provisional hero license exam, being the teacher of the provisional course.
• More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Downplayed. He has three rows of teeth (one on his upper jaw and two on his bottom jaw).
• Nightmare Face: Any close up to his face will show that the title of third most-villainous-looking hero is well deserved. This one gets the cake◊.
• Power Limiter: During the Licensing Exam where he's playing the villain, he's wearing one of these to weaken himself so it's fair.
• Real Men Wear Pink: It's stated he likes kids and the fact they are terrified of him makes him very upset.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: His clothes are a mix of a formal shirt, pants and tie with an orca cape, but also a bulletproof vest. It makes him look pretty dapper but prepared for a fight. In Chapter 163, he appears again in a full clear white suit.
• Simple, yet Awesome: He is basically an orca man. It does not prevent him from being fairly awesome.
• Super-Scream: Gang Orca can do anything an orca can on land, including a sonar attack. It's so powerful it can knock out a person if used at close range. However, Yo can partially resist it since his own Quirk has made him used to high vibrations.
• Super-Strength: Since he's got the power of an orca, he's pretty strong.
• Transplant: Of Sakamata, a character from Horikoshi's first official manga, Oumagadoki Doubutsuen. Though, in this universe, he's a normal human with a Quirk, rather than an animal that can take a human form.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Calls Todoroki and Yoarashi out on the fact that they actually stopped to fight each other instead of him. It does not work, though. During his second appearance, he extends this complaint to Bakugo. He states that Bakugo is good for fighting and nothing else, and his attitude makes it less likely for someone to even accept his help or to be saved by him, bringing up how he screamed at some of the rescues in the Provisional Hero License Exam.

Shishido

Debut: Chapter 256 (Manga), Episode 103 (Anime)

Quirk: Lion

The 13th-highest ranked hero in Japan, a lion-themed hero. He employs Mashirao Ojiro, Rikido Sato, Jurota Shishida and Nirengeki Shoda during the second batch of work-studies. His Quirk, "Lion", gives him the strength and features of a lion, such as sharp fangs and claws, deafening roars, and raw physical power. He has a vicious rivalry with Gang Orca.

• Animal-Themed Superbeing: He's the "Lion Hero" after all.
• Early-Bird Cameo: He can be spotted during the collage of internships in Chapter 246, before being properly introduced later.
• Transplant: He's one of a character with the same name from Horikoshi's previous work Oumagadoki Doubutsuen.

Yu Takeyama — Mt. Lady

Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese), Jamie Marchi (English), Paula Barros (Latin American Spanish/TV series)

Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga), Episode 1 (Anime)

Quirk: Gigantification

The 23rd-highest ranked hero in Japan, an attractive young woman who isn't above using her looks to gain favors. At the start of the series, she was a shameless media glutton who cared more about making money than saving people. After the events of the Hideout Raid Arc, however, she becomes more humble and aware of the nature and importance of her job.

During Field Training Arc, she took in Mineta as an intern and largely used the boy as a servant to clean her house. Later, after teaming up with Edgeshot and Kamui Woods to form "The Lurkers", the group employ Mineta, Denki Kaminari, Hanta Sero, and Ibara Shiozaki during the second batch of work-studies.

Her Quirk is "Gigantification", and it allows her to greatly increase her size to gigantic proportions.

• Agony of the Feet: Her hero costume doesn't have shoes since there isn't a material made that can grow with her when she gets big. As such, while she can break things by stepping on them, it hurts to do it, making Mt. Lady have to watch wherever she steps.
• Anti-Hero: She does heroic deeds not for the sake of making the world a better place or to cull crime, but because it gets her attention and money. Also, she's shown to have a tendency to exploit her status for the sake of favors and treats her apprentices like dirt. She still takes the job seriously and is a great asset to the heroes' side. She even takes on Gigantomachia when the heroes raid the Paranormal Liberation Front.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Sums up how her powers work for good or ill since it tends to destroy property more than she could pay for.
• Attention Whore: She's in the hero business for the fame, which is why she operates in the city instead of a more open area where she would have room to maneuver.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Her Quirk makes her very big, very strong, and very durable. Yet it comes with a lot of drawbacks: it restricts her movement in populated areas because it's easy to cause collateral damage, it prevents her from armoring her body since she can't make anything except her costume grow with her, and it causes her to be a literally huge target in battles. It doesn't help that unlike some size-shifters, she can only choose two sizes — her human size (162 cm / 5'4") and her giant size (2062 cm / 67' 8"), which puts her in a predicament at the beginning when the Sludge Villain was causing havoc with Bakugo's Quirk in a tight enclosed shopping alley, meaning that she couldn't fit into the area without causing collateral damage. Finally, despite being much stronger and tougher than a normal human when she's big, Giant Equals Invincible doesn't apply to her. This is best shown when she tries to go up against All For One, and he knocks Mt. Lady flat with a single hit.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: After destroying the Nomu factory during the Hideout Raid Arc, she considered the ordeal a little boring and hoped there would have at least been a bit of a fight. And then All For One showed up to steam roll over everyone that wasn’t All Might...
• Broken Pedestal: Mineta became terrified of her after taking his internship at her agency, since she did nothing but make him do housework.
• Cat Fight: During an omake chapter, which was made a part of the 21st episode of Season 2, she got into a huge one with Midnight on a talk show due to mocking her for being 31 years old. Mineta, who's a huge fan of both heroines, was about ready to collapse from joy while watching it unfold.
• Character Development:
  • Her Establishing Character Moment is when she's introduced stealing Kamui Woods' spotlight, and her subsequent early appearances paint the image of a Punch-Clock Hero who is emblematic of the shallow, fame-hungry side of professional heroism. However, she starts to be shown taking her role as a heroine more seriously than we had previously seen during the Hideout Raid Arc when she puts herself in the way of a villainous Fastball Special so the kids can escape with Bakugo. Even later on, as part of the overall shift in hero culture following All Might's retirement, she's brought in to U.A. as a guest speaker who gives a lesson to the students about using media exposure to reassure people and keep their spirits up, not just for personal gain or glory.
  • This is shown in full by the Dark Hero Arc. Public faith in heroes is now nonexistent, and as a result of the massive backlash and criticism, many heroes retire rather than put up with it. Despite this, Mt. Lady keeps fighting and doesn't quit, even when her own, much more humble teammate Death Arms throws in the towel.
• Destructive Savior: She tends to cause a lot of property damage when she sizes up to a giantess. Hero Insurance covers some of it, but she's still in the red. Doesn't help that she unwittingly activates her powers when she gets too worked up, which winds up costing her a headquarters.
• Determinator: She has grown into one as of the Dark Hero Arc. Mt. Lady is continuing to work as a hero even as public faith in heroes has been destroyed, other heroes are retiring to avoid the backlash, and she herself is nursing a serious injury while she's on the job. This only reinforces that, for as unpleasant as Mt. Lady can be when she's not on the clock, she's still a hero through and through.
• Does Not Like Spam: She prefers no seaweed when ordering takoyaki.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Ends up Played for Laughs, but whatever training Mineta received from Mt. Lady left him traumatized. The anime implies that this is because rather than training him, she used him as a manservant.
• Establishing Character Moment: Mt. Lady's introduction in the first chapter sees her stealing Kamui Woods' thunder and taking all of the adoration from the public.
• Favors for the Sexy: She uses her looks and celebrity status to get free snacks while working security at the U.A. Sports Festival, prompting Kamui Woods to ask if she has no sense of shame.
• Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Wears one that's snug all around her body, especially around her rear, which many a male onlooker have no problem taking pictures of her.
• Giant Equals Invincible: Averted. Mt. Lady is certainly stronger and tougher than a normal human at her bigger size, but she's far from invincible. She has to be very careful where she steps to avoid Agony of the Feet, even as a giantess. She ends up using a flatbed truck as a makeshift shoe to prevent her feet from being injured when she needs to use a Giant Foot of Stomping to enter a building. Also, despite being a giantess, All For One knocks her flat with one hit, proving what a threat he is.
• Giant Foot of Stomping: A strange example, but nevertheless a move that comes standard with gigantification. First, she needs to slip her foot inside a flatbed truck as though it were a shoe or else her foot will be torn to shreds in the delicate leggings she has on. Then, she slams down her foot and smashes through an obstacle. This was how she broke into All For One's Nomu factory.
• Giant Woman: How her size-shifting powers manifest, because she can only shift between two heights — 162 cm (5'4") and 2062 cm (67'8"). As such, she tends to damage a lot of things when working in the city.
• Glory Hound: What she really wants out of being a hero is fame, recognition and money, a fact she is completely unapologetic about.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Following the Hideout Raid Arc, she is ranked #23 in the Hero Billboard Chart JP, but is unable to contain her jealousy after seeing that Kamui Woods and Edgeshot make it into the Top 10.
• Has a Type: According to her, she likes handsome guys who are a little dense, and so she swoons to herself over Shoto Todoroki. How Kamui Woods might or might not fit into this is unclear.
• Hero of Another Story: Her first day on the job is at the very beginning of the series, and she goes through very significant development offscreen. If Midoriya wasn't the main character, she'd be a decent replacement with a story about growing from an example of the dark side of pro heroes to the heroine who saved the Bakugo Rescue Squad by Taking the Bullet and stood up to Gigantomachia to buy time for her allies.
• Hero Stole My Bike: Justified in the Hideout Raid Arc due to her costume not having soles, so she had to use a parked flatbed truck to use as a shoe to smash open the League of Villains' warehouse hideout with a dropkick.
• Hidden Depths: On the surface, Mt. Lady is a glory hound who has no qualms about abusing her position and using her body to score favors. The reality is that she's just as devoted if not more so than some of the more righteous pro heroes. She's put her body and life on the line multiple times to eliminate threats, save weaker heroes and civvies and protect the students of U.A. She also understands that, on a deeper level, maintaining strong public relations helps the public trust and believe in heroes. In the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, when faith in heroes reaches record lows and there's more scrutiny and criticism of them than anything else, she still keeps going while other, supposedly more humble heroes crack under the pressure and retire. She's even the only hero depicted working while still nursing a fairly serious injury. This was implied as early as the Stain arc, with there being no mention or indication of Stain targeting her, despite her being introduced as the poster child for insincere heroism.
• Irony: Despite her Quirk making her grow in height, her normal height is actually shorter on average compared the rest of the cast, with her being shorter than all of the males in Class 1-A except for Tokoyami and Mineta, and shorter than all but four members of Class 1-B.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
  • Specifically from one of the author's notes in the manga, though there are little bits outside the main story that highlight this. While Mt. Lady is definitely an attention whore and wants to make as much money as she can, it's revealed this is because her agency is constantly in the red because of all the collateral damage she causes in her heroics, and because she struggled with education because no school would accommodate her Quirk. She also refuses to play dirty in order to achieve her fame and fortune, and actually does care about her job as a heroine.
  • She really does seem to care about civillians' well-being, even at the start of the series. When All Might's attacks against the Sludge Villain cause shockwaves, Mt. Lady shields those still at the scene from the powerful winds.
  • She's one of the pro heroes selected to lead the fight against All For One, and takes a shot meant for Midoriya and his friends, despite being injured from a previous attack.
  • In Chapter 241, she's brought to U.A. as a guest speaker, where she lectures the students on how to use their media exposure to make the public feel safer and more secure, and teaches them the best way to conduct an interview to achieve that effect.
  • She doesn't hesitate to pull a You Shall Not Pass! on Gigantomachia despite being outclassed in strength and size, no matter how badly she gets beaten by the villain.
  • Chapter 317 reveals that she is among the heroes working with Midoriya to track down All For One and the League of Villains, despite many other heroes, including her and Kamui Woods' close colleague, Death Arms, retiring due to the near constant criticism and negativity the remaining heroes are laboring under. This stands in pretty heavy contrast to her previous admission of only being in the job for money and fame, if she’s still willing to act as a hero under these circumstances.
• Kill Steal: She defeats the villain Kamui Woods was fighting in the first chapter and takes the glory from him. It's later revealed it was indeed deliberate on her part to boost her own status, as she explains that it's common within the hero community to get noticed. She claims that she feels sorry about it, but Kamui Woods isn't buying it.
• Laser-Guided Karma: She stole the spotlight from Kamui Woods at the start of the series. He later gains the 7th spot in the Hero Billboard Charts, while she's at the 23rd, much to her chagrin.
• Lazy Bum: What is her idea of training Mineta? She makes him do housework while she sits on her ass eating chips and reading the paper. And she didn't even do it to punish him for getting lewd around her. She simply did it to keep him occupied because there was nothing better to do to pass the time.
• Logical Weakness:
  • At giant size, she can't operate in any area smaller than a two-lane street, along with being unable to control how big she grows beyond only two set sizes. So she's useless against a villain in a crowded pedestrian area.
  • Her hero costume is made of a soft stretchable fabric since solid stuff like the soles of shoes wouldn't be able to grow with her. This can leave her feet somewhat vulnerable; in order to demolish the front of a building, she had to use a truck as a makeshift shoe to protect her feet from glass and metal.
  • Her bigger size likewise makes her a bigger target. All For One had virtually no problem taking her down as a result.
• Male Gaze: Her rear end◊ tends to get a lot of attention in her appearances, especially since her hero costume's design pattern emphasizes her lower torso. Being able to change into a giant allows multiple people to snap pictures of her when she's in action, like at the start of the series. When she comes into Class 1-A to help with media lessons, she literally enters the room ass-first.
• Meaningful Name: Her family name contains the kanji for "mountain", which relates to her hero name, "Mt. Lady". Naturally, both of these names refer to how she can grow as big as a mountain.
• Mr. Vice Guy: While she's in it for the fame and glory, she is still genuinely heroic and will go out of her way to defend innocents when she can.
• Ms. Fanservice: Her hero costume covers most of her body, but since it's so form-fitting and parts of it are very nearly the same color as her skin, it falls under this. It also helps that her Sizeshifter Quirk makes it incredibly easy for everyone to take a good look at her features.
• Nice Character, Mean Actor: Mt. Lady is unintentionally symbolic of the heroes who only treat their heroism as a job. Off the clock, she is rather unpleasant.
• Opportunistic Bastard: Her intro shows how callous and fame-hungry she can be when she kicks a giant villain to upstage Kamui Woods. Worse, she is used as an example of how this has become the nature of hero business for many.
• Power Incontinence: A minor form, but she's revealed to accidentally enlarge herself if she gets flustered, which doesn't help her Destructive Savior tendencies. An omake chapter reveals that she has accidentally demolished her own headquarters at least once this way from excitement.
• Proud Beauty: Mt.Lady knows that she's gorgeous, and she wouldn't want anyone to forget it. Part of her fame comes from showing herself off for the cameras and getting into sexy poses.
• Punch-Clock Hero: Zigzagged. She's explicitly in the hero business because it gets her money, fame, and attention. That being said, she is shown to be somewhat selfless (such as taking hits meant for other and rescuing civilians), so it's not she's Only in It for the Money. Just mostly in it for the money.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Mt. Lady's eyes are ruby red and her personality is selfish.
• Retool: Of Uraraka's initial concept. Horikoshi says a heroine with size-changing powers was the female protagonist of the first draft of the story, but the heroine who would eventually become Mt. Lady was pushed further into the background.
• Rugged Scar: After the Paranormal War Arc, Mt. Lady has a small scar over her left eye gained from the brutal fighting she survived.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl: Exploited. She knows how to show off her "assets". She made her debut by making people's "ass-quaintance". However, this is due to her both being an Attention Whore and using it as a way to make easy money off of people who like her because of her looks. Being a Sizeshifter certainly helps, too.
• Ship Tease: When questioned by a reporter about the rumors of being in a relationship with Kamui Woods, she simply said she would not comment about it, rather than deny it.
• Signature Move: "Canyon Cannon", a Dynamic Entry done in giant form.
• Sizeshifter: Her Quirk allows her to grow into a giantess. However, she can't adjust how much she grows. She can be her normal height (162 cm) or giantess height (2062 cm), but nothing in between.
• Taking the Bullet: She stops the villains from catching Bakugo again by blocking a Fastball Special. This is after being heavily injured by All for One. Also counts as You Shall Not Pass!.
• Traitor Shot: Notice what happens when she gets showered with admiration and indulges on it. A Scare Chord strikes, the background grows dark and shows Kamui Woods in a Corner of Woe, and Mt. Lady's cheerful face has twisted into a shit-eating grin.
• The Worf Effect: Is one of the heroes that gets bulldozed by All For One in order to showcase how much of a threat he is. She still ends up Taking the Bullet for U.A. students to protect them, though.
• You Shall Not Pass!: In Chapter 277, she's the only pro hero strong or large enough to even slow down Gigantomachia and prevent him from reaching Shigaraki with the rest of his subordinates. And as Chapter 278 shows, she can barely do that when he grows even bigger than her.

Shinji Nishiya — Kamui Woods

Voiced by: Masamichi Kitada (Japanese), Aaron Roberts (English), Sergio Romero (Latin American Spanish/TV series)

Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga), Episode 1 (Anime)

Quirk: Arbor

^{Click here to see his second hero costume}

The current 7th-highest ranked hero in Japan, a newcomer to the hero circuit. He's seen as a good example of what a traditional hero should be, which is why he rose so quickly in the hero ranks. Later in the series, he teams up with Mt. Lady and Edgeshot to form "The Lurkers", and the group employs Minoru Mineta, Denki Kaminari, Hanta Sero, and Ibara Shiozaki during the second batch of work-studies.

His Quirk is "Arbor", and it allows him to generate and control wood from any part of his body.

• Butt-Monkey: He's always getting shown up by other heroes. He does get to show some competence later on, though.
• Cool Helmet: Wears a wooden facial helm that covers his entire face, giving him a mysterious, ninja-like presence. Humourously, he briefly forgets about it when about to drink from a water bottle, only for it to clunk against his mask.
• Cross-Popping Veins: He sports these when he and Death Arms scold Midoriya for intervening against the Slime Villain.
• Dark and Troubled Past: According to his bio, he had an abusive childhood, and his age is stated as 29 years from when he started counting.
• The Faceless: Kamui Woods has never revealed his face to anyone. As far as his hero work goes, he keeps his face hidden by a helmet while in his civilian clothes, he keeps his face hidden with large hats and scarfs, and sometimes, not even his eyes are seen.
• Garden Garment: Most of his hero costume consists of wood, which is practical considering his Quirk.
• Green Thumb: His Quirk is plant-based and allows him to grow wood from his body.
• Logical Weakness: Fire, as stated in the first chapter. Makes sense, since he's got a wood Quirk.
• Nature Lover: Implied. The Volume 1 back cover uses him as a warning against littering, which he apparently doesn't forgive.
• Plant Person: Covered head to toe in wood. It becomes a little problematic, though, when he tries to sip a drink with his wooden mask on. It is revealed in Chapter 306 that he has leaf-like hair.
• Real Men Wear Pink: Wears a chain of pink flowers at the side of his belt.
• Signature Move: "Lacquer Prison", a crowd binding technique.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After being overlooked for so long, he manages to place in the top ten of the Hero Billboard rankings.
• Visual Development: As of Chapter 184, being the seventh-ranked hero, his costume now has wood around his shoulders and he looks more muscular.
• Weak, but Skilled: His skill set isn't very impressive, especially having a 2/5 Power stat. He is, however, competent enough that he got to the 7th place in the rankings and has a 4/5 in technique.

Shinya Kamihara — Edgeshot

Voiced by: Kenta Kamakari (Japanese), John Burgmeier (English), Alex Ruiz (Latin American Spanish/TV series)

Debut: Chapter 84 (Manga), Episode 46 (Anime)

Quirk: Foldabody

The current 4th-highest ranked hero in Japan, who is ninja-like in both theme and attitude. Previously ranked 5th, he befits the nature of a shinobi, remaining calm and focused even during high-stress situations. Later in the series, he teams up with Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods to form "The Lurkers", and the group employs Minoru Mineta, Denki Kaminari, Hanta Sero, and Ibara Shiozaki during the second batch of work-studies.

His Quirk is "Foldabody", and it allows him to fold, bend, and flatten like paper.

• Anime Hair: His hair forms two large spikes before folding over one of his eyes.
• Broken Base: His in-universe fandom, which is split between those that want to know more about him, and those that want him to stay mysterious.
• Cool Mask: Part of his hero costume.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: By pushing his Quirk to the extreme, Edgeshot can stretch his body out so thinly that it becomes as thin as spider silk, letting him perform extremely delicate and precise maneuvers inside someone's body, up to suturing Bakugo's heart and lungs. However, the cost of this is that remaining in this state slowly but surely drains his life.
• Deadly Delivery: Pretends to be a pizza delivery man to distract the League of Villains in their hideout.
• Early-Bird Cameo: He's already appeared in the manga long before the second season of the anime premiered, so they include a vignette of him as Aizawa is mentioning pro heroes.
• Good Is Not Soft: His main method of defeating villains seems to be piercing their bodies and messing with their insides. He nonetheless is one of the good guys, but it's frightening to think about what he'd be like if he didn't adhere the heroes thou shall not kill rule.
• Gratuitous Ninja: The only way to explain why the fourth best hero in a contemporary, Superhero setting is a ninja. He, in fact, dresses as a ninja as a civilian.
• Heart Is an Awesome Power: Being able to flatten oneself like paper doesn't sound like much, but when someone can use it to break the sound barrier, it's an entirely different story.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Can use his Quirk to replace damaged organs at the cost of his own life. He uses this fatal technique in an attempt to revive Bakugo, refusing to let a kid die under his watch.
• Not So Above It All: Pretends to be a pizza delivery man to distract the League of Villains.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: It is unknown to what degree but he was able to survive and win a fight only against Re-Destro, one of the three most powerful members of the Paranormal Liberation Front, and also remain standing.
• Oh, Crap!: While explaining to All Might how he saved Bakugo's life, we get a small flashback where we see him having one of these as the reality of his Heroic Sacrifice hits him.
  • The anime depicts the tail end of this battle as a Curb-Stomp Battle in Edgeshot's favor. He uses Ninpo: Thousand Sheet Pierce to prevent Re-Destro from moving. Furthermore, the anime doesn't overtly show Edgeshot's exhaustion after the fight, unlike the manga.
• Off with His Head!: He actually survives saving Bakugo's life, but he's reduced to just his head stuck in its thread form.
• Paper People: His Quirk allows him to flatten himself, allowing him to pass through narrow spaces.
• Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Has very pointy-looking hair over one of his eyes, which makes him look more mysterious.
• Rank Up: He gets bumped up to the No. 4 after the latest Hero Billboard rankings.
• Scarf of Asskicking: Yes, he does have all the typical ninja accessories.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Has this exchange with All For One:
  All For One: "If the only reason you're here is to cheer [All Might] on, I'd prefer you to remain silent."
  Edgeshot: "Think again madman. We're here to assist!"
• Weak, but Skilled: Although his Quirk lacks any inherent offensive moves, he can perform some impressive maneuvers thanks to rigorous training. He's able to fold up, transform, and attack faster than the speed of sound.
• The Worf Barrage: Although he's renowned for being able to attack faster than the speed of sound All For One casually dodged an attack from Edgeshot simply by tilting his head.