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Foil / My Hero Academia

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General

  • One For All to the Quirk All For One.
    • All For One gives the user the ability to steal multiple quirks from others against their will. One For All gains powers one at a time from its current users, not other people, and is used according to their will.
    • All For One can give multiple powers to other people though this can cause them to go into Super-Power Meltdown and leave them zombies or worse. One For All is itself passed on to others but only to one person who also wields multiple Quirks but only if they have the strength to do so.
    • All For One makes the user more powerful by stacking the powers stolen or combining multiple powers but itself doesn't grow or become different with the quirks it accumulates being separate pieces within it. The Quirks One For All absorbs become a part of it and are amplified by its own energy reserves while One For All itself grows ever more powerful over time while changing and evolving. All For One (the user) is implied to be obsessed with One For All in part because of this precise trait, as utilising it with his multitude of quirks would make him an all-powerful being.
    • The quirks within All For One are usually extremely powerful and fairly straightfoward to use, not requiring much creativity to use effectively. One For All contains generally weak quirks that offer little in offensive power, but can still be effective in combat if used with tactics and strategy.
    • All For One can give its user any number of powers but does nothing to help them cope with so many abilities in one body and there is a limit to how many powers can be taken safely. One For All takes time for its user to get used to and unrestrained power can take a toll on them but once they master it and acclimate to One For All, there is no danger of Super-Power Meltdown regardless of how strong One For All becomes. At least if you're Quirkless. If somebody already had a Quirk upon receiving One For All, they'd be subject to Rapid Aging, as the body cannot handle both the original Quirk and One For All's stockpile that grows with each new user.
    • In the vestige world where the remnants of people who have had quirks taken/absorbed by All For One or One For All, the phantoms act differently towards the users. In All For One, the vestiges of the previous quirk holders are hostile to the user of All For One, with All For One commenting that they haunt him and condemn him in his dreams until he gives away the Quirk they are associated with. In One For All, the vestiges are warm and friendly to the user and help them in times of need. This is most likely because All For One steals the Quirks against the user's will so the users shadows are hostile to users of All For One but since the users of One For All willingly pass on their power to another and all of them carry the same ideals and heroic nature, then all of the spirits in One For All work together and support the current user.
    • While both One For All and All For One are basically symbiotic in nature, with the previous holders of the quirks maintaining their personality and influence over the current holder, the previous holders of One For All choose not to interfere or influence Midoriya's actions beyond giving him some downplayed aid in his fight agaisnt Shinso, trusting him to develop One For All on his own and do the right thing; All For One, however, fully intends to completely possess Shigaraki and make him his new vessel as his old body is wearing thin.
  • Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo. They are rivals both of whom dream of becoming the number-one hero in the world, but beyond that, they contrast against one another greatly. In a world where Everyone Is a Super, Midoriya was born powerless but still dreamed big, eventually being taken under the wing of All Might and inheriting the power of One For All. Bakugo, on the other hand, was blessed and cursed with a great combat quirk and became a Smug Super who bullied Midoriya, but once he got to high school he realized he wasn't the strongest as he always assumed. Midoriya, despite his lack of powers, has always been heroic and willing to save people, which made Bakugo feel threatened. On the other hand, ever since childhood Bakugo has been determined to win and courageous to stand up against anyone, which made Midoriya admire him and follow him around. While they both looked up to All Might, Midoriya admired the way he saved everyone, while Bakugo admired the way that he was always victorious against villains. Personality-wise, Midoriya is friendly and affable, while Bakugou has a Hair-Trigger Temper and is prone to making death threats at the drop of a hat. In battle, Midoriya uses a combination of his immense physical strength and quick-thinking, while Bakugou usually prefers Attack! Attack! Attack!.
  • Aizawa and All Might as The Cowl and The Cape. All Might is the highest-ranking hero in the world and uses his fame to inspire others, while Aizawa has a slovenly appearance and shuns the spotlight. All Might in his prime has incredible strength and stamina, whereas Aizawa has great skill, but prefers to strike quickly and with the element of surprise, as he lacks the endurance for long, protracted battle. All Might's power empowers him with the strength of many men, and his personality is to build up those who have the desire to do good. Aizawa's Quirk robs others of their powers, and his personality is to tear down those who he feels show no potential. Their relationship in several ways mirrors the one between American superheroes Superman (All Might) and Batman (Aizawa), with All Might as the mighty superhero who fights his enemies with overwhelming power and Aizawa as the brooding anti-hero who relies more on skill than brute force. Lastly, their teaching styles contrast each other with Aizawa being the Stern Teacher with Disappointed in You speeches to All Might's more explicitly caring side.
  • Endeavor and Hawks as the Straight Man and Wise Guy duo. Endeavor is the middle-aged, stoic, aloof, and widely unpopular number one hero to beloved, quippy, casual, eccentric, playful, and youngster number two hero, Hawks. Their combat styles also reflect this with Endeavor's quirk being raw power over anything whereas Hawks' relies on ingenuity and quick-thinking to be useful.
  • All Might and Endeavor as contenders for the Number One Hero. Both are exceptional heroes who have always been close to one another in terms of fighting prowess and hero rankings, with All Might eking out his #1 spot thanks to his genuinely likeable attitude, whereas Endeavor had always been forced to linger in All Might's shadow due to his brusque and standoffish personality, only making it to the #1 spot on the rankings after All Might retired, to his chagrin. They also vary greatly in the way they handle their successors: All Might chose Midoriya, a quirkless child, to succeed him because he shared his heroic spirit, whereas Endeavor sired Shoto Todoroki for the purpose of having an heir that can surpass All Might. All Might treats Midoriya as a dear friend, while Endeavor was an Abusive Parent whose mistreatment of his family engendered little more than loathing from his son.
  • Ochaco Uraraka and Himiko Toga have few interactions with each other, but whenever one grows, so does the other in reverse fashion much like the dynamic between Midoriya and Shigaraki. They both develop a crush on the same boy (though Toga is also crushing on Uraraka as well) and wish to emulate him, although Uraraka's crush stems from her admiration for his heroic personality, while Toga wants to murder and become him. Both also have opposite approaches to coping with society's problems: while Toga's emotional difficulties lead her to murder and forming parasocial relationships with people she doesn't really know, Uraraka is instead spurred on further to be a hero while growing mindful of the special relationship she has with Midoriya and wishing to maintain it, along with keeping him and her other loved ones safe.
  • Both Overhaul and Shigaraki have Touch of Death powers, lead groups of villains, and want to take the spot of All For One as king of the underworld. However, Shigaraki is a Psychopathic Manchild who often relies on sheer strength to solve a problem, ignoring the idea of making complex plans or seeking any gain that is not simply to take All For One's spot, while Overhaul is levelheaded, keeps a calm tone all the time and has a bigger plan to take over, which includes large sums of money or getting Shigaraki's "overhyped villains". Both hide their faces, but while Overhaul still seems to have a relatively normal face that shows seriousness and calm, has dark hair and clear eyes, Shigaraki's hand covers all of his face beside his eyes and is way creepier, has gray hair and red eyes. Overhaul's costume includes gloves and a plague doctor's mask because he hates being touched by people, while Shigaraki's entire motif is being covered by hands. Shigaraki, while skeptical at first, eventually learned to accept his teammates as True Companions, while Overhaul sees his as expendable pawns and would even kill them for minor infractions. Both of them are also obsessed with living up to their adoptive father figures, but Shigaraki obeys All For One even when he disagrees with him, while Overhaul is willing to cripple his yakuza father figure out of a misguided desire to show him that his way is the best way to look out for his interests.

Characters

    open/close all folders 
    Izuku Midoriya 

    Katsuki Bakugo 
  • While both Bakugo and Midoriya idolize All Might and aspire to become a hero as great as him, they hold very different ideas of just what a hero is. Whereas Midoriya embodies the idea of a hero as someone who saves people in need, Bakugo embodies the idea of a hero as someone who never loses. This is most obvious in the entrance exam, where Midoriya gets in scoring only Rescue Points, while Bakugo gets in scoring only Villain Points. Their general struggles are also mirrored. Midoriya gets the social, moral side of being a hero naturally, but struggles with the technical side, particularly with mastering his new Quirk. Bakugo's easily mastered his powerful Quirk and is a natural at almost all the technical skills, but his attitude and social skills are what he struggles with and needs to develop.
  • He is one to Hitoshi Shinso and Seiji Shishikura. Shinso hates a society that rewards people based on preferential treatment when they have Quirks better suited for the jobs they want to take and slants them toward heroism while throwing the less desirable Quirk holders to the wayside, and Seiji wants to conduct himself in a dignified manner and set a good example for the school he comes from and herds the incoming generation of hero hopefuls to only include the best role models. Bakugo wants to be praised and couldn't care less about discipline and how he's always making his classmates and school look bad.
  • He has one in Class 1-B in the student Jurota Shishida. Both are aces who can easily outperform, or match, students who got in on recommendation and are much more intelligent than they might first appear: Bakugo looks like a punk while Shishida looks like an animal. However, Shishida is polite and friendly, while Bakugo is rude and confrontational.
  • A minor example is Mineta, the other classmate that isn't liked; While Mineta is disliked for his perversion and cowardice, Bakugo is disliked for his temper and recklessness.
  • To the Flame Hero, Endeavor. Both have fire-related Quirks (Endeavor's Hellflame allows him to create fire of intense heat, Bakugo's Explosion allows him to create fiery explosions from his palms).Both struggle with the flaws of Pride, Envy, Wrath and an obsessive desire to prove themselves better than All Might. These flaws drove them to behave very abusively towards a main character (Bakugo ruthlessly bullied Midoriya growing up, doing everything he could to emotionally tear him down, Endeavor subjected Shoto to brutal training at the age of five to fulfill his desire to prove his superiority to All Might.) Both of their Character Development arcs revolve around redemption and seeking to atone for their past cruelties, slowly coming to understand the damage they did while also eating a fat slice of Humble Pie.
  • He's also eventually revealed to be one to All For One; specifically the version of him at the start of the series, before his Character Development. Both were blessed with quirks that were much more powerful than everyone around them, leading to inflated egos as no one around them was able to reign them in (though All For One resorted to mass murder while Bakugo kept it at simply bullying), and both looked down on a weak/Quirkless person who stuck around them: Yoichi for All For One, and Izuku for Bakugo. The difference is that while Izuku eventually got the ability to stand up to Bakugo thanks to All Might's confidence in him, which forced the start of his Character Development. Yoichi could do nothing more than temporarily escape All For One before being killed by him, resorting to passing on his Quirk to accomplish anything. As All For One is undergoing his Villanous Breakdown leading up to his death, he refuses to acknowledge Bakugo as important or anything more an annoyance standing between him and his plans, using the same language that Bakugo used to describe Midoriya with. He even calls him an "extra" after he stops his final attack, the same insult that Bakugo used to throw around at everybody back when he was in middle school.
  • To Fumikage Tokoyami/ Tsukuyomi. Both of them possess highly powerful Quirks (Dark Shadow for Tokoyami, Explosion for Bakugo) and are considered some of Class 1-A's strongest fighters in terms of sheer power. Bakugo is a loud, arrogant and vulgar person who is initially a terrible team player while Tokoyami is a calm, collected and humble person who is surprisingly great at working with others. Bakugo possesses a bright and fire-based Quirk, is a Lightning Bruiser who relies on both speed and power and has a great grip on his Quirk, Tokoyami wields a darkness-based Quirk who is both strong and fast, but struggles with controlling Dark Shadow in darkness. Bakugo is one of Class 1-A's smartest students while Tokoyami's academics aren't as great as his skills in combat. Both of them are very serious and tend to be the Comically Serious, Tokoyami through his use of archaic words and Bakugo through his volatile temper. Bakugo is powerful in close quarters combat who develops long range attacks while Tokoyami is powerful at long range before developing close combat abilities. Bakugo struggles with using his Quirk in cold environments due to needing to sweat to use Explosion, Tokoyami is weakened against bright light.

    Ochaco Uraraka 
  • Uraraka and Toga have few interactions throughout the story, but whenever one grows, so does the other in reverse fashion much like the dynamic between Midoriya and Shigaraki. They both develop a crush on the same boy (although Toga is implied to be crushing on Uraraka as well), and both have opposite approaches to coping with society's problems. While for Toga her emotional difficulties lead her to murder and forming parasocial relationships with people she doesn't really know, Uraraka is instead spurred on further to be a hero while growing mindful of the special relationship she has with Midoriya and wishing to maintain it. Along with keeping him and her other loved ones safe.
  • She is also a foil to Izuku, being more extroverted and optimistic compared to his introverted and pessimistic attitude, though she does try to emulate him in some regards.
  • She is also a foil to Bakugo. Both are the closest that Izuku has to best friends alongside Iida, but while Katsuki is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who shows hostility towards Izuku, Ochaco is an open Nice Girl who offers encouragement to him. This is best demonstrated by how they view his nickname “Deku” and how Izuku responds to their views of it. Their interactions also show them to be a non-romantic example of Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl.
  • She is also a foil to Iida. He is stern, while she is more laid back and optimistic. He also comes from a rich background, while Ochaco grew up in poverty.

    Dabi 
  • While he is set up as a foil to many characters, such as Shigaraki and his little brother Shoto, he seems to be set up as Hawks' foil in almost every way:
    • Hawks was scouted to become a hero despite coming from a villainous background, his father being a thief and serial killer, while Dabi was born to a hero but became a villain.
    • Their fighting style are inverted, Hawks' power comes from his skills while Dabi has to rely on the strength of his flames.
    • Both met Endeavor in their childhood, however, one grew to resent him and the other grew to admire him.
  • He's also a foil to Midoriya, from their personalities, powers and backgrounds.
    • Toya was born in part due to Enji Todoroki's desires for a Superior Successor who could overcome All Might and his self-identity is deeply wrapped up in his inability to achieve that role for his father thanks to his genetic incompatibility with his inherited quirk, eventually becoming 'replaced' in his perception by his little brother, leading to his insanity from his existential crises and getting 'rejected' by his father. Midoriya, meanwhile, has no direct connection to All Might besides being a hardcore fanboy of him and heroics, became accepted as his successor after proving his heroic will to him by accident after a lifetime of getting his dream as a hero rejected to his face, and turned out to be generically prepared to become a better user of One For All by complete accident.
    • Midoriya and Toya both utilise a self-destructive fighting style at first, that leaves them both with heavy scarring, with Izuku's using his body to physically attack despite breaking his bones every time, powering through the pain and the damage, and Toya's using his intense flames to attack from a distance, as he's physically frail and can get knocked unconscious easily with a single blow. Izuku is eventually convinced to set aside this damaging fighting style as a means of figuring out his own identity separate from All Might, adopting a kick-based fighting style to avoid damaging his body beyond the point of no return, whereas Toya sticks with the same fighting style throughout the series, disregarding his personal disfigurements because he's planning on dying in the end anyway, thus he has no reason to preserve his body.
    • Toya constantly works alone and has his own plans separate from the league out of mistrust for them, being incredibly successful at his plans despite telling nobody his goals and is very perceptive of the motivation of people around him to manipulate them for his own ends as he needs, seeing those around him as tools for his own purpose. He even gleefully convinces Toga to embrace her more destructive impulses despite them alienating her from the wold around her, convincing her to reject the world around her if it won't accept her as she wants to be, like himself. When Izuku tries to work alone he is eventually overwhelmed by the constant stress of trying to do everything by himself and convinced by his classmates to let them shoulder some of his burdens— in fact, he is at his most sucessful whenever he works together alongside his untied allies, and constantly proves to have a gut instinct towards people's best nature, believing that they can be better than their current circumstances.
    • Their biggest difference is the effect each has on the Todoroki family. Toya is deeply involved with the family's past trauma, and his reveal of his true identity serves to demoralise them all, to his maniac glee, delighting in their dismay as he mocks their hopes that their lives could move on from their Dark and Troubled Past, and pointedly airing his family's dirty laundry to the world to sate his own wish to harm them, especially Endeavor and Shoto. Izuku meanwhile, has no direct connection to the Todorokis, but is instrumental in convincing Shoto to take the first steps to move past his trauma and start bringing his family closer together. When they briefly speak during the Paranormal Liberation War, Izuku, who has shown empathy and understanding towards villains before, utterly rejects Dabi's attempts to invoke the same towards his own circumstances, shouting back that Dabi embraces his past to hurt others, and because of that he's not like Endeavor at all, which motivates the latter to snap out of his Heroic BSoD and strike down Gigantomachia with the last of his strength. Dabi seeks to drag that Todorokis down with him to wallow in their miserable past, whilst Izuku is the one that directly and indirectly motivates the family to start moving forward to embrace a happier future.

    Himiko Toga 
  • She and Dabi joined the League at the same time and are complete opposites in almost everything. They're both serial killers, but in most other areas they're polar opposites:
    • Dabi's Quirk is insanely powerful, but without it, his body is a wet paper bag. Toga's Quirk is still unbelievably useful but does absolutely nothing in combat. Instead, she is extremely smart and fast for having no augmentations and is surprisingly durable for her stature.
    • Dabi speaks when he needs to and gets to the point, while Toga is a Motor Mouth.
    • Toga is a pretty young girl that would fit in a crowd vs. Dabi who is an absolutely horrific looking burn victim, so much so that he gave away their hideout because of his skin grafts.
    • Dabi is extremely hostile and rude, while Toga is overly familiar with everyone, including people she's trying to murder.
    • Dabi's personal reason for evil stems from hatred, while Toga's come from a twisted idea of love.
    • Toga is very good at being covert even without her powers and is the go-to for the League's infiltration operations, where Dabi completely lacks subtlety and can't help but make a scene even if he didn't need to (and making a disaster area in the process).
    • After separating from her family, Toga does not seem to care about or remember them, only focusing on her ideals and making the world into the kind of place she wants to live in. Dabi's goals as a villain are, and have been from the start, entirely about destroying his family, and especially his father, who he hates more than anyone.
    • Finally, Dabi is a Dragon with an Agenda who doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone in the League aside from himself, while Toga is loyal and on good terms with the entire rest of the League, especially Twice.
  • She's a Foil to Uraraka as well in a few ways:
    • It's most notable when it comes to their feelings for Midoriya. They both admire him and want to emulate him, but in completely opposite fashions and for different reasons. While Uraraka has noted that Midoriya is a little "plain-looking", her feelings for him are healthy and she loves his desire to save people, unwillingness to ever give up, and resourcefulness in every situation- and she wants to be like him. Toga, on the other hand, thinks Midoriya is cute and her feelings are mostly twisted, as she loves that he's always getting himself bloodied up and she wants to literally kill him and be him.
    • They contrast each other physically a bit too; Uraraka is brunette, Toga is blonde; Uraraka has round eyes, Toga's are sharp; Uraraka's hair is neat and straight, Toga's hair is messy and spiky; Uraraka's perpetual Blush Stickers are cute and innocent while Toga's perpetual Luminescent Blush alludes to her depraved bloodlust.
    • Finally, in fighting styles. Uraraka is relatively slow, but she's strong and durable for her size and she's a Bare-Fisted Monk who can tank a few strong hits and relies on restraining opponents. She also can easily end most fights by touching her opponents only once to make them float helplessly. Toga meanwhile is very fast and agile, but she's physically weak and would rather dodge her opponents than take a hit, and she aims to kill when she fights. She has little One-Hit KO potential outside of stealth and usually has to cut her opponents up a lot before she wins. Finally, Uraraka's new grappling hooks nicely mirror Toga's needle hooks, and they even trade blows with them in their second fight.

    Meta Liberation Army 

    Class 1-A 
  • Aoyama to Midoriya. Both were born Quirkless and were shunned by their peers as a result and were given Quirks later in life to achieve their dreams, with said Quirks causing harm to their bodies if used wrong. But while Midoriya received his Quirk from All Might, Aoyama received his from All For One. Midoriya's mother was initially unaware of One For All's nature and how he received it, while Aoyama's parents took him to All For One in the hope he would give their son a Quirk. Additionally, All Might and those in the know about One For All did their best to nurture Midoriya's newfound power, with the negative repercussions being due to details outside of their knowledge or control, or due to Midoriya's own self-destructive tendencies. Aoyama's Quirk came with the caveat of All For One having leverage over him, forcing him to commit evil acts that would weigh heavily on his conscience.
  • Ashido:
    • To Kirishima, though she herself isn't exactly aware of it. Ashido naturally stands out, while he has to work at it, a fact that he envies. She has a perky and outward personality, makes friends with ease, and can be the center of attention without having to work for it. Meanwhile, Kirishima thought of himself as dull and boring in middle school, reinventing himself at U.A. by becoming more fiery and confident.
    • She acts as one to Tokoyami. Both are among the more visually striking members of their class, both have Quirks that are related with things not typically identified with heroism (darkness for Tokoyami, acid for Ashido), but Tokoyami is dark and serious while Ashido is vastly more energetic and easygoing.
  • Kirishima to Ashido, though she herself isn't exactly aware of it. Ashido naturally stands out, while he has to work at it, a fact that he envies. She has a perky and outward personality, makes friends with ease, and can be the center of attention without having to work for it. Meanwhile, Kirishima thought of himself as dull and boring in middle school, reinventing himself at U.A. by becoming more fiery and confident.
  • Shoji to Spinner and his heteromorph army. Both are Animal Themed Superbeings and have suffered some form of prejudice because of their animal features. The key difference being that Shoji is able to move past the hurt and use it in a positive way to inspire others, Spinner became a bitter shut in who was only able to return to society after absorbing Stain's ideology, and thus inspires others through shared rough experiences and inciting rage. The way they inspire others differs, as Shoji wants to be an inspiring hero and makes and impassioned speech that they will solve nothing through blind rage, whereas Spinner continues to actively encourage his new followers to use their rage to push through; believing that only violence will help them and due to accepting new Quirks from All For One, lost his sanity in the process.
  • Jiro to Midoriya. Both Jiro and Midoriya are teens that have wanted to be heroes since they were little kids, have hobbies that they are passionate enough about to compile entire notebooks on, and quickly get embarrassed when others take note of their passion for said hobbies. For Midoriya, the hobby is hero analysis, while for Jiro, it's music. Interestingly enough, their parents have vastly different reactions. The Jiros support Kyoka, and even agree to her continuing to go to U.A. after she's unconscious for days due to Mustard's gas attack, whereas Inko insists that Izuku leave U.A. for another hero school after he gets badly injured due to his fight with Muscular.
  • Tokoyami:
    • He acts as one to Ashido. Both are among the more visually striking members of their class, both have Quirks that are related with things not typically identified with heroism (darkness for Tokoyami, acid for Ashido), but Tokoyami is dark and serious while Ashido is vastly more energetic and easygoing.
    • To Dark Shadow itself. Tokoyami is cool-headed, cooperative, and noble. Dark Shadow is either childish and sheepish, or bloodthirsty and unstable.
  • Todoroki:
    • Contrasts with Midoriya in several ways, all of which come to the forefront during their emotionally charged match during the U.A. Sports Festival. Both are strong hero course candidates striving for the #1 hero spot and aiming to surpass All Might, but besides that they couldn't be more different. Midoriya comes from a modest, loving family (albeit with a mostly absent father), Todoroki came from a rich and famous one that either abused him via Training from Hell for their own purposes or physically hurt him via a Sanity Slippage. Midoriya was born Quirkless and with below average athletic ability and needed All Might's Quirk and guidance to even barely make it into U.A., while Todoroki basically won the Superpower Lottery and was born with nearly everything, getting into U.A. by recommendations alone. Even their powers directly contrast each other, where Midoriya has to get up close to make use of One For All, Todoroki can blast away from a safe distance with ice or fire. Furthermore, Todoroki had at that point figured out that Midoriya had some connection to All Might, seeing him as someone to defeat with his ice powers solely to prove a point to his father.
    • Also to Yoarashi, a Boisterous Bruiser whose overly eccentric and enthusiastic contrast starkly with Shoto's quiet and solitary demeanour. Despite this, both work out their differences as the series progresses.
  • Mineta to Bakugo. While Bakugo is disliked by his classmates due to his nasty temper, Mineta is disliked due to his incurable perversion.
  • Surprisingly, Yaoyorozu is one to Bakugo in many ways:
    • They are both extremely talented kids who have their own insecurities, which come into display after losing to one of their classmates. But the way it affects them and how they get over it is completely different: Bakugo's inferiority complex got worse after he lost to Midoriya in the training exercise and he lashes out at everyone and swears that this’ll be the last time he would lose. Yaoyorozu's confidence takes a nosedive after losing to Tokoyami, fairly easily at that, in the sports festival. She becomes extremely meek and underconfident as a result and keeps praising Todoroki's abilities and talents, seeing him as a superior student, as he too, like her, got into UA by recommendation.
    • After this, they both had an encounter with Todoroki, but it had wildly different outcomes. Bakugo wanted to beat Todoroki at his best to prove his worth, but due to his emotional and mental issues, Todoroki held back in their match in the sports festival, while Bakugo gave his 100%, resulting in an accidental victory, which Bakugo wears as a Medal of Dishonor. On the other hand, Todoroki's encouragement towards Yaoyorozu's leadership abilities and the revelation that he was the one student who voted for her in the Class Representative election helped her realise that she is selling herself short and her confidence was restored after her plan to defeat Aizawa sensei and passing their final exam worked.
    • Prior to that, they were both spoiled by others due to their talents. Bakugo was a brash Spoiled Brat jerkass who gleefully pointed out how others are inferior to him, Yaoyorozu is Spoiled Sweet who is Innocently Insensitive to others (funnily enough, this is exactly how Horikoshi intended to write Bakugo originally, before changing his mind).
    • Their attitudes towards Todoroki is also similar but ultimately different. They both see him as The Ace, but Yaoyorozu looks up to him, while Bakugo sees him as a rival whom he has to defeat.
    • They both agreed to help their fellow underachieving clasmates during their exams. While Momo agreed to hold group study sessions out of kindness and she treated them all to great food and tea in her mansion, Bakugo agreed to help Kirishima after he manipulated him into doing so and tutored him in public places while angrily yelling at him and hitting him when he gets anything wrong.
    • They are both not fond of one of their classmates in particular: in Momo’s case, it is Mineta, who is a pervert and an Abhorrent Admirer who keeps on trying to sexually harass her. In Bakugo's case, it is Midoriya, whom he hates due to his own inferiority complex and he believes the boy looks down at him. Even when he realises that it was the other way around, he still doesn't like him much due to his constant fanboying nature, especially because he has a Hair-Trigger Temper, but Midoriya keeps praising him, he also gets creeped out by his fanboying of himself during their internship with Endeavor and threatened to get a restraining order against him.
  • Iida to Bakugo. Both of them come from wealthy families, are some of Class 1-A's smartest students, are hard-hitting and fast-moving fighters thanks to their Quirks (Engine for Iida, Explosion for Bakugo), initially dislike Midoriya and passionately follow their ideals of what a hero should be. However, they easily contrast one another: starting from their Hero Costumes, Iida's is white and navy armor, indicating his straight-laced and rule following personality while Bakugo's is black and orange cloth, which matches his fiery personality as well as his status as an AntiHero. Iida's Quirk, Engine, comes from his legs while Bakugo's, Explosion, is connected to his palms that can malfunction due to overuse (Iida's Engines lose fuel if he doesn't drink enough orange juice, Bakugo's forearms start to ache if he uses more powerful explosions). Both of them tend to struggle in social situations due to being too loud and intense, though Iida is a Nice Guy who is very passionate about following rules while Bakugo is a Jerkass who has a volatile temper and very foul mouth. Both of them have colors they associate with (Blue for Iida, Orange for Bakugo) and an Animal Motif (horses for Iida, dogs and tigers for Bakugo) to symbolize their contrasting personalities (earnest, polite, and a rule follower for Iida, rude, selfish and violent for Bakugo). Both Iida and Bakugo initially dislike Midoriya (Bakugo because he believes Midoriya looks down on him, Iida because he disliked his interruption of Present Mic's speech), though Iida quickly warmed up to Midoriya and became his best friend while Bakugo hated Midoriya for nearly three seasons until they finally started to work towards reconciliation. Despite Iida's reverence for rules and order, he has broken the law twice (first when he went up against Stain, second when he helped in rescuing Bakugo) while in spite of Bakugo's hatred of rules and status as a delinquent, he has never broken the law.

    Students 
  • Many of the pupils in Class 1-B are designed this way, some of them even being Retools of other characters. The Joint Training Arc in particular helps underline this.
    • Kaibara to Ojiro. Both are their classes' generic guys, both have rather simple Quirks and both are melee fighters. But where Ojiro is humble and puts Honor Before Reason, Kaibara is brazen and proud, to the point of considering that his time to shine was "stolen" from him by Ida and he struggles furiously to the very end when he's being taken to jail in the Joint Training Arc.
    • Kuroiro to Tokoyami. Both are chuunibyous with Quirks related to darkness. But while Tokoyami's Quirk lets him control a specific body of darkness, being Dark Shadow, Kuroiro's Quirk allows him to control and inhabit any body of darkness.
    • Kendo to Yaoyorozu. Both are the smartest girls in their classes, who also specialize in hand-to-hand combat and are also quite busty for their age, as well as being considered quite attractive who were both picked by Uwabami specifically for their looks (Kendo entered the beauty pageant, Yaoyorozu choose not to due to her role in the Music Festival).
    • Shoda to Mineta. Both are unathletic-looking short guys who lack the Heroic Build. But where Mineta's Quirk is mostly used for traps, capturing and fast movement, Shoda's Quirk is much more offensive. Also, where Mineta is just as weak as he looks in close-quarters combat, Shoda is actually a Pint-Sized Powerhouse.
  • Shinso to Midoriya. Both want to be heroes and have their limitations. While Midoriya was naturally Quirkless, Shinso has a Quirk, but it can't be used for battle and is considered by people as an "evil" Quirk. Also, while Midoriya is The Paragon and tries to inspire people to follow him, Shinso is closer to a Pragmatic Hero, seeing use in simply manipulating others with his Quirk to achieve success in his plans.
  • Mirio:
    • To Midoriya. They're both self-sacrificing heroes inspired by All Might who are in it for the greater good rather than any sort of personal gain. Both of them are considered exemplary young heroes and were singled out as potential successors to All Might. They also both have or have had serious difficulties controlling their Quirks. That said, Midoriya is a Nervous Wreck who Cannot Tell a Joke and is constantly injuring himself as he struggles to control what is possibly the most powerful Quirk in the entire series. Mirio is an outgoing Perpetual Smiler who spent his entire life mastering his extremely unwieldy Quirk to the point that he's nearly untouchable because of it. Midoriya's greatest strength is his analytical ability and encyclopedic knowledge of the world of heroes but is somewhat lacking in practical experience, even with his unusually action-packed school life. Mirio is Book Dumb but has a wealth of experience due to his internship under Sir Nighteye, to the point that he was scouted as a potential #1 hero.
    • He is one to Bakugo in some ways too. They are both blonde athletic characters from UA who are considered to be some of the best students. Bakugo is a Jerk Jock Genius Bruiser Big Jerk on Campus whereas Mirio is a Book Dumb Lovable Jock Big Man on Campus. Bakugo has been a bully and rival to Midoriya whereas Mirio takes an immediate liking towards him and takes him under his wings right away. Bakugo deems Midoriya unworthy of being a hero (at least until he goes through a lot of Character Development) and thinks he shouldn’t even be at U.A. Mirio, on the other hand respects Midoriya a lot and when he loses his Quirk, he rejects Midoriya’s offer to take One For All. Mirio loves humour whereas Bakugo has No Sense of Humour. Both Mirio and Bakugo like Bakugo’s hero name "Explosive Murder God Dynamight", but for different reasons: Bakugo likes it because he thinks it is cool (and also because it pays tribute to his hero All Might), Mirio likes it because he thinks it is funny. They both also make Midoriya feel insecure in different ways: Bakugo because he has always been the best in both studies and combat and they mutually consider each other their rival, Mirio because he was initially one of the prospective successors of All Might, handpicked by his former sidekick himself, but does nothing to make Midoriya feel unworthy in any way.
  • Yoarashi to Todoroki. They are both The Ace of their respective schools, but whereas Todoroki is a stoic Broken Ace who is only now learning how to socialize, Yoarashi is an upbeat Hot-Blooded guy who has seemingly no issue with communicating.
  • Shishikura's basically a version of Ida that wants to force his will on everyone so badly that it gets in the way of what he really should be doing, being a pillar for others to lean on when they need help.
  • Shindo:
    • Interestingly enough, to Yoarashi. Both of them are tall, dark-haired youths with elemental based Quirks (Yoarashi's Blow You Away compared to his Dishing Out Dirt), both are considered to be The Ace in their respective schools and both at first glance are openly friendly and charming, but turns out there is a lot more behind their character (Yoarashi's Jerkass to One attitude towards Todoroki due to Sins of Our Fathers compared to Shindo's true Bitch in Sheep's Clothing personality). Their main differences mainly being how they react towards their rivals. Shindo's reaction to seeing the U.A. students being considerably better and more skilled than they were in the Sports Festival is genuine Blood Knight delight, while Yoarashi is incapable of letting go of his preconceived notions of Todoroki. Shindo's interaction with Midoriya is also a stark contrast to the Yoarashi/Todoroki rivalry. When Midoriya saves him from being blasted by the collateral damage created by the Yoarashi and Todoroki fight, he's not only truly appreciative of the act but later has absolutely no trouble in cooperating with Midoriya in their assault against Gang Orca, showing that Shindo is fully capable of prioritizing and compromising. Yoarashi and Todoroki are only capable of fighting Gang Orca after their mutual Jerkass Realization due to Midoriya calling them out for their pettiness and even then it's too late for either of them to pass the exam.
    • While Bakugo is unimpressed by the latter's false smiles and manipulative behavior, Shindo's Hair-Trigger Temper and Determinator characteristics mean the two come across as far more similar than initially implied. The main difference being that Bakugo doesn't care about hiding his dickishness at all.
  • Saiko to Yaoyorozu, sharing with her being the most intelligent members of their teams and their high-class nature, but she is much more ruthless and mean than Yaoyorozu. She also prioritizes passing the test over her friends and is defeated by Yaoyorozu's team doing the opposite and valuing both equally.

    Pro Heroes 
  • Endeavor:
    • To All Might. While they are both very powerful heroes, Endeavor is only in it for the sake of winning and feels like becoming the best is the most important thing, while All Might is legitimately trying to do good. They also contrast in visual style. All Might has a more traditionally superheroic style with bright colors and a more silver-age style costume, while Endeavor wears a simple dark bodysuit whose details come from his flames, which include Shoulders of Doom in more typical dark-age fashion.
    • To Hawks. Currently, they are the top two heroes but while Endeavor has tried all his life for that #1 spot, Hawks could not care less about it. Endeavor is stoic and aloof and generally disliked by civilians whereas Hawks is popular, quippy, and playful. They make a great Straight Man and Wise Guy duo. Though with Hawks, it is later revealed that most of his chippiness, friendliness, and high-spiritedness in front of Endeavor was an act to keep other heroes and the public's trust in him while he played double agent for the League of Villains behind their backs. Granted he is still quippy and mischievous to Endeavor's solemn straight guy.
    • To Bakugo: both are obsessed with strength at the cost of actual heroism and both are determined to usurp the top spot from someone else.note  When they do manage to win the top spot, however, it's due to their rivals being weakened at the time, and both throw tantrums when they feel cheated of a legitimate victory.
  • Aizawa to All Might. All Might is the highest ranking hero in the world and uses his fame to inspire others, while Aizawa has a slovenly appearance and shuns the spotlight. All Might in his prime has incredible strength and stamina, whereas Aizawa has great skill, but prefers to strike quickly and with the element of surprise, as he lacks the endurance for long, protracted battles. Lastly, All Might's power empowers him with the strength of many men, and his personality is to build up those who have the desire to do good. Aizawa's Quirk robs others of their powers, and his personality is to tear down those who he feels show no potential. Their relationship in several ways mirrors the one between American superheroes Superman (All Might) and Batman (Aizawa) with All Might as the mighty superhero who fights his enemies with overwhelming power and Aizawa as the brooding anti-hero who relies more on skill than brute force.
  • Hawks 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.
  • Ms. Joke to Aizawa, being a Genki Girl whose Quirk is based on laughter, while he is dark and gloomy and prefers quietude.

    Villains 
  • Shigaraki to Midoriya:
    • Both of them are the pupils of the previous Big Good and Big Bad, and at the start of the story both of them are pretty terrible at what they do and have to learn from their mentors.
    • Shigaraki is descended from a user of One For All but doesn't know it, while Midoriya has no biological relationship to any of the Quirk's users but has a strong father-son dynamic with All Might. Both Midoriya and Shigaraki also belong to Nana Shimura's legacy in similarly indirect but connected ways to All For One, who is interested in them both to juxtapose the Symbol of Peace with a Symbol of Fear.
    • And while both have powerful Quirks they need to control for fear of what could happen otherwise, Midoriya works to control his power in increasing increments and fears the damage his Quirk does to his own body, while Shigaraki's can only be all-or-nothing and affects things around him when uncontrolled.
    • Even their Body Motifs are opposing, with Shigaraki requiring his hands for his Quirk and Midoriya focusing his own through his legs after developing Shoot Style (though still occasionally using his fingers and arms in a pinch).
    • Both inherit their mentors' Quirks through different ways: Shigaraki obtained All For One after undergoing a painful, extensive Quirk surgery and his body is artificially enhanced to imitate All Might's immense strength (although not completely on par with All Might), and he makes a point of regularly comparing his base physical feats to All Might in his prime as his 'evolution' continues. On the other hand, Midoriya obtained One For All after undergoing ten months of rigorous, but ordinary, physical training. He also obtained the ability to wield multiple Quirks, which imitates All For One's ability.
  • Spinner:
    • It's implied that Spinner realizes that he and Shigaraki are very similar people when the latter villain tells Dr. Garaki that, before he met All For One, he felt like he was an empty shell devoid of any meaning. This comes only a couple of chapters after Spinner said something similar; that he feels completely empty inside and needs someone to inspire him to be something more.
    • Spinner calls Trumpet, and by extension the rest of the MLA, out as being just like him; people who jumped on their respective bandwagons and can't change anything without latching on to someone else's ideals first. Trumpet doesn't appreciate the comparison.
  • Gentle's one to Midoriya. Both of them want to be heroes and start off without the skills needed to become one, academic aptitude in the case of Gentle and a Quirk in the case of Midoriya. Both were also impacted by a crisis in their rock bottom that changed their life forever. Whereas Midoriya's encounter with a villain started him on the path to becoming a hero, Gentle's failed attempt to rescue a falling civilian severely set him back and forced him to live on the fringes of society. Additionally, whereas Midoriya is driven by a desire to save people and take up All Might's torch to surpass his own weaknesses, Gentle is unable to overcome his failures and badly craves acknowledgement. Midoriya finds the battle with Gentle hard on a personal level, seeing so much of Gentle in himself, and this realization finally gives Gentle the feeling of worthiness he long desired.
  • Lady Nagant:
    • To Midoriya. Both characters started with idealistic dreams about being a hero and got the chance to make their dreams reality, but soon had their idealism challenged by the grim reality of heroism. However, whereas Midoriya still holds to his ideals while acknowledging the Grey-and-Grey Morality around him, Lady Nagant has completely succumbed to the cynicism she developed as an assassin.
    • To her former kohai, Hawks. Both are mobile long-range fighters that combine strong sensory abilities with an Anatomy Arsenal, were child prodigies groomed and trained by the Hero Commission, and have an irreverent personality despite also being Consummate Professionals and holding high standards for heroes:
      • Each was essentially railroaded into their position by the Commission. However, Hawks has faith in his allies, if not his superiors, providing support to heroes like Tokoyami and Endeavor when he thinks they're falling short of their potential. Conversely, Lady Nagant seeks to destroy hero society for its shortcomings and hates hero supporters as much as she hates the system itself.
      • While Hawks was willing to feign loyalty to the League as a double agent, he drew the line at killing heroes. On the other hand, Lady Nagant emphatically refuses to be one of AFO's lackeys, but, once hired, is even willing to attack and attempt to dismember a teenager.
      • The two also have opposing Sympathy for the Devil moments. While Hawks feels sympathy for Twice and considered him a friend, he doesn't believe that negates Twice being an unrepentant criminal, and is willing to kill him if it prevents harm to others, even if he feels terrible about it. In contrast, despite her dislike and irritation towards Overhaul, Lady Nagant is willing to become his ally, automatically assuming that his presence in Tartarus means he was another person screwed over by the hero system, and never even considering that he might have been in super-max for a good reason.
  • Shie Hassaikai
    • Overhaul to Mirio. Are both introduced at around the same time and demonstrate their potential to become the next Big Good and Big Bad, respectively, over their chosen successors. However, their circumstances couldn't be more different. While Midoriya looks up to Mirio, to the point where he questions his right to have One For All, Shigaraki absolutely despises Overhaul and has his own motives for working together. By the end, all Overhaul can do is cry out in despair as Shigaraki cuts his arms off, rendering him effectually Quirkless and takes his life's work for his own gain. Midoriya offers One For All to the now Quirkless Mirio, but the latter declines.
    • Setsuno to Tamaki. Both share a belief that they are worthless, but while Tamaki has people who attempt to counter these beliefs and actually believe in him, Setsuno's relationship with Overhaul only furthered his own self-worth issues and making Setsuno completely willing to die for him.
    • Rapppa to Kirishima. Both are brute force melee fighters with fairly simple Quirks, boisterous personalities, and strong personal codes. But where Kirishima's Quirk is defensive, Rappa's is offensive. Where Kirishima's code is about protecting others, Rappa's code is about fighting people to the death. And while Rappa's a natural redhead, Kirishima dyes his hair.

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