History Characters / MyHeroAcademiaVillains

''Villains'': '''Known Villains''' ([[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaLeagueOfVillains League of Villains]] [[[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaAllForOne All For One]], [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaTomuraShigaraki Tomura Shigaraki]], [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaDabi Dabi]], [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaHimikoToga Himiko Toga]], [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaArtificialHumans Artificial Humans]]], [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaShieHassaikai Shie Hassaikai]] [[[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaOverhaul Overhaul]]], [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaMetaLiberationArmy Meta Liberation Army]], [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaParanormalLiberationFront Paranormal Liberation Front]])\\

!!Chizome Akaguro -- "Hero Killer" Stain
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/GoInoue (Japanese), Creator/RobertMcCollum (English)
!!!'''Debut:''' Chapter 41 (Manga), Episode 24 (Anime)
!!!'''Playable in:''' ''VideoGame/MyHeroOnesJustice'', ''My Hero One's Justice 2'', ''My Hero Academia: The Strongest Hero'', ''My Hero Academia: Ultra Impact''
!!!'''Quirk:''' [[TheParalyzer Bloodcurdle]]
!!!'''Rank:''' S

[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stain_anime_profile_5.png]]
[[caption-width-right:330:[[labelnote:Click here to see his current appearance.]]\\
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[[caption-width-right:330:[[labelnote:Click here to see his appearance as Stendhal.]]\\
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->''"Both this sham-filled society... and the criminals who wield their power in the name of petty mischief... are targets of my purge... All for the sake of a better society... "''

An independent villain known for murdering any pro heroes that he deems to be "[[NoTrueScotsman fake]]". He serves as the ArcVillain for the titular Hero Killer Arc, where his crippling of the hero Ingenium sends the heroes' younger brother, Tenya Iida, down a path of vengeance. He also appears in the ''[[Manga/MyHeroAcademiaVigilantes Vigilantes]]'' spin-off, which details further how he came to develop his philosophy on heroes.

His Quirk is "Bloodcurdle", which allows him to paralyze people for a short amount of time by licking their blood. The exact time of paralyzation is determined by the victim's blood type.

* NinetiesAntiHero: He's a HeroKiller who, ironically, is doing so because he believes so strongly in what a hero should be that very few live up to his standards besides All Might. Stain also not only has a name that would fit in with other '90s anti-heroes, but a [[BloodMagic power activated by consuming someone else's blood]], which complements his sadistic joy in seeing others in pain, and an arsenal of knives he keeps on his person via a lot of belts and bandoliers.
* AntiVillain: While certainly a villain from any sane perspective, Stain's ideology, goals, and desire to protect those he views as "true heroes" elevate his character above that of a typical villain.
* ArcVillain: Of the Field Training/[[AntagonistTitle Hero Killer]] Arc. [[spoiler:He also plays a major antagonistic role for an arc in ''Vigilantes'', as Stendhal.]]
* AxCrazy: Stain is very unhinged due to changing his philosophy about heroes and will not hesitate to murder anyone in cold blood just to prove a point. This is also played straight with his Quirk that makes him look even crazier, and we're not even getting into his VillainousBreakdown that gives off his malefic aura also known as KillingIntent.
* BadPowersBadPeople: Played with. A guy that can paralyze anyone through the tasting of their blood sounds as villainous as one can get, but the fact is that he was once an aspiring hero student himself, so at one point he was a case of BadPowersGoodPeople.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: His actions, though misguided, were all built out of a skepticism and desire to spread awareness of an industry of [[PunchClockHero Punch-Clock Heroes]]. Such awareness would become mainstream after the [[Recap/MyHeroAcademiaParanormalLiberationWar Paranormal Liberation War Arc]], but while Stain believed in weeding out the "fake" heroes so that the "real" heroes would stand out and inspire the masses, instead it creates a world actively hostile to ''all'' heroes regardless of their moral character. After Stain escapes Tartarus, he is clearly not enthused by the world he escapes to.
* BerserkButton:
** Hypocrisy. Namely, people who lack a clear sense of conviction, as in anyone who falls outside of BlackAndWhiteMorality - essentially crooked people who waver in the {{grey|AndGreyMorality}}. It splits into two major categories: anyone who claims to be a hero but runs on selfish motivation, and anyone who chooses to be a villain but goes about it aimlessly. Anyone who falls under the second category is the people he hates most. Additionally, if someone's convictions waver, he considers it a sin, because it makes them unworthy to wield power, especially without knowing what they plan on doing with it or going back on what they said they stood for. He's also not too fond of any kind of pride, because a true hero is one who always will sacrifice themselves for nothing in return.
** [[LoonyFan Bad mouthing All Might]], [[spoiler: as revealed in Chapter 326. Not even Toshinori -- [[ActuallyIAmHim who]] ''[[ActuallyIAmHim is]]'' [[ActuallyIAmHim All Might]] is safe from this. And while Stain doesn't kill him for it like [[KnightTemplar it appeared he was planning on doing]], he begins raving and screaming in Toshinori's face for giving up and sullying the name of All Might.]]
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: As far as Stain is concerned, you're TheParagon whose heroics are entirely selfless, or you deserve to be crippled or killed. The latter usually applies to either TerroristsWithoutACause or {{Fake Ultimate Hero}}es who corrupt society with their good deeds fueled by bad intentions.
* BladeEnthusiast: Along with his [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]], he has several combat knives on his person. Some of them are readily visible, but a few are hidden in his gear, and he has a ton of [[ArmedLegs sharp spikes]] on his boots. He needs all these blades because he relies on drawing blood to cripple his opponents.
* BloodKnight: He's absolutely delighted that Midoriya and Todoroki joined up together to fight him.
* BloodLust: Part of Stain's Quirk requires bloodshed, and every single one of his attacks is designed to wound his victims. After he tears people apart, he feasts on their blood.
* BloodMagic: Not quite magic, per se, but ingesting a person's blood allows Stain to then immobilize them with his Quirk. Certain blood types are more susceptible to this than others.
* TheBusCameBack: [[spoiler:He makes a surprising return in Chapter 326, encountering All Might at the site of his last fight against All For One.]]
* TheCameo: He makes a surprise reappearance in Chapter 94, [[spoiler:sharing the same prison as All For One]].
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: His speed, strength, and fighting skills are all 100% natural, no Quirk involved. It's enough to get him an S ranking, the same tier as [[SuperPowerLottery All For One]] and [[OneManArmy Gigantomachia]].
* TheChooserOfTheOne: In a somewhat twisted way, he's unintentionally this for the extremist villains that follow his philosophy after his defeat. Because he believes that Midoriya is like All Might, a true hero that cannot be allowed to die, Stain's most devoted "followers" like Spinner won't try to kill him.
* CloseRangeCombatant: His only ranged attacks seem to be throwing knives or his [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks sword]]. This helps close the distance to use his [[TheParalyzer Quirk]].
* CombatPragmatist: A vicious fighter who ambushes solitary targets in dark alleyways. He'll also attack while an enemy is [[TalkingIsaFreeAction speaking]].
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: An interesting aversion. He's pretty deadly in a one on one fight because once he draws his opponent's blood, he can paralyze them for a few minutes, which is more than enough time for him to kill his opponent, or at least maim them if he decides to let them live. Todoroki later notices that Stain's movements and attacks, while still deadly, are a little sloppier once he, Midoriya, and Iida are all fighting him simultaneously, compared to when he was going one on one with the villain.
* CostumePorn: Stain has one of the most intricate and detailed designs out of anybody shown in the series, with little touches such as chains on his boots and a watch on his left wrist.
* CripplingOverspecialization: His Quirk, while useful in certain situations, means he struggles against groups, fighters who can keep him away or anyone with O Type blood (the most common blood type on the planet). Unfortunately for him, Todoroki and Midoriya together happen to cover those bases.
* DeathGlare: Midoriya loses heart just staring into Stain's cold and piercing eyes because unlike the villains who invaded the USJ building who were all talk, Stain's eyes are those of a ''real'' killer.
* {{Determinator}}: He absolutely ''will not'' give up in his quest. When he's outnumbered and put into a disadvantageous position, he just fights that much more viciously. [[spoiler:Even after being beaten into unconsciousness, he summons the strength to paralyze the Winged Nomu and stab it in the brain when it tries to carry Midoriya away.]] In the end, he only relents after [[spoiler:passing out from a broken rib ''perforating his own lung''.]]
* DiedStandingUp: Subverted. At the end of his fight with Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki his broken ribs perforate his lung, but it's not lethal and he passes out while standing.
* DramaticHighPerching: He likes to survey the areas he's about to target from rooftops or other elevated places.
* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Notice how he keeps on rambling about "resolve"? [[spoiler:Well, let's just say that the whole thing started out with a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech he misunderstood ''entirely''.]]
* DualWielding: With his katana and any one of his array of knives.
* EarlyBirdCameo: He appears as TheStinger in the Season 1 finale of the anime in order to entice viewers for Season 2.
* EnemyMine:
** Toward Shigaraki and the League of Villains. Despite their starkly opposite opinions of All Might, they're able to make a tentative alliance over their shared desire to destroy the status quo.
** [[spoiler:He later somewhat forms one with the heroes after escaping prison, helping undermine All For One's plans and giving All Might a pep talk. Part of this is he's come to see all of Class 1-A as proper heroes worthy of his respect.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** In spite of being a mass-murdering loon, Stain finds Shigaraki and his plans to be vile, equating him to a child throwing a temper tantrum, and stating that spilling blood without ([[MoralMyopia what he considers to be]]) a proper cause is senseless.
** His reasoning for crippling and even killing heroes is that they don't adhere to his standard for what a hero must be like. Personal pride, vendetta, or just not measuring up are all reasons for Stain to target you. In a sense, you could call it "evil ''because'' he has standards."
** [[spoiler:He absolutely hates what All For One has been planning, and after breaking out of Tartarus he dedicates his efforts to finding as much information as he can on All For One's plans so he can pass it to All Might.]]
** [[spoiler: His first act upon breaking out of Tartarus is to kill another inmate after hearing about how he plans to start "collecting" women again.]]
* EvilCounterpart:
** His respect for All Might and desire for justice (though a more extreme version of justice) makes him a counterpart for Midoriya. Gran Torino also compares him to All Might in that his charisma is essentially a darker counterpart of All Might's "symbol of peace" persona.
** The conflict between him and Shigaraki is also a villainous echo of the one between All Might and Endeavor. Like Endeavor, Shigaraki is essentially a rival who resents Stain's popularity among the villain community and doesn't get ''why'' Stain gets so much respect and adulation.
* EvilIsCool: InUniverse, after Stain is captured, many people including Iida admit that for a crazed murderer, there was something "cool" about him, so much so that he inspired many up and coming villains to take up his cause and join the League of Villains.
* EvilSoundsDeep: He has a pretty deep, gruff voice and is one of the more formidable villains in Season 2.
* EvilVsEvil:
** PlayedWith during his first interaction with Shigaraki. He attacks the other villain as some sort of WhatYouAreInTheDark test of character, but never directly opposes the League (same can't be said about Shigaraki who massive grudge against Stain).
** PlayedStraight after the War arc. [[spoiler:After escaping Tartarus and seeing the chaotic state of society courtesy of All for One, Stain delivers vital information about the villain's procedure to take over Shigaraki's body to All Might in order to stop the League.]]
* FallenHero: As it turns out, he once was an aspiring hero himself, and went to a prestigious institution to train. However, after less than a full year there, he became jaded when he felt that the system had decayed and that heroes weren't becoming heroes for the right reasons anymore. After spending some time as a street soapbox advocate for his ideals, he decided that violence, not words, was necessary in order to get his message across and to fix the system. The most disturbing part is that it works, not only do heroes act better where he's been out of fear, but after his defeat, his ideal changes the public opinion of the hero system. Unfortunately, [[DisasterDominoes the change he wanted causes more harm than good]].
* FightsLikeANormal: Since he needs to draw blood from his target before he can use his paralysis Quirk on them.
* ForWantOfANail: Twofold in ''Vigilantes'':
** [[spoiler:Had it not been for [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Knuckle Duster's]] speech, Stain's philosophy might have never been formed.]]
** [[spoiler:He was ''this'' close to killing [[TheHeavy Kuin]] [[PestController Hachisuka]], had he only paid more attention.]]
* FourIsDeath: His pattern is that whenever he operates in a particular area, he attacks at least four heroes before moving on.
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: In spite of being a mass murdering lunatic, he's still able to provide one of these to [[spoiler:All Might]] of all people. [[spoiler:When All Might is at his lowest point in Chapter 326 after seeing the nation he worked so hard to protect thrown into chaos, and being completely unable to stop his pupil from going off on his own, Stain reminds him that as bad as things appear to be now, none of his efforts were fruitless. It was All Might's unrelenting drive to be a hero that inspired people like Midoriya to be heroes in the first place, and if even All Might can't have faith in himself anymore then he doesn't deserve to be called a hero.]]
-->'''Stain:''' [[spoiler:All Might always kept a smile on his face and set out to protect the people! [[WhatYouAreInTheDark It had nothing to do with his Quirk!]] The man known as All Might dedicated his entire life to preserving our peace! That belief, engraved in his very soul, is what we extolled! [[WhatTheHellHero You don't even hold a candle to All Might.]] Just look at her! ''[[HopeSpringsEternal The result!? It's not over yet!]]'' The cinders that he left continue to burn within those who followed after, oblivious to the rain or wind, and now they are forming into a great fire! And so we must not let that flame die… as long as we live, we must continue to stoke that flame, no matter how pitiful our struggles may be!]]
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Stain's [[RedEyesTakeWarning blood-red]] eyes start glowing brightly when he is particularly fired up or enraged. It may just be [[StylizedForTheViewer a visual]], though it could also be a strange side-effect of his Quirk.
* HazyFeelTurn: [[spoiler:After the mass villain breakout, he realizes that things have exceeded anything he wanted, so he takes it upon himself to inform on AFO to All Might.]]
* HeroKiller: Has single-handedly maimed and killed dozens of pro heroes, one-shots the Winged Nomu while already beaten to hell, and then promptly intimidates two seasoned heroes without even trying. It's in his name and this is why. He personally claimed the lives of 40 heroes in his bid to reform hero society from self-interests and corrupt ideals to selfless heroism and pure intentions.
* HeroWorshipper: A very twisted example. He believes All Might is the only one who lives up to his ideal of what a hero should be and murders anyone who doesn't fit these criteria. He eventually comes to give Midoriya the same respect after he endangers himself to save his friend.
* HeroismWontPayTheBills: In this case, justified. He is not a hero, but sees himself as a vigilante and is seen by the public as a villain. Neither of these comes with any sort of payment. ''Smash!!'' reveals he works the night shift in a convenience store to make a living.
** Due to his BlackAndWhiteInsanity, not even this is a good reason to justify the heroism of heroes who get paid for said heroism.
* HesBack: Stain breaks out of Tartarus following All For One's escape and returns to his hideout to find his gear. And given the people's distrust in heroes following the Paranormal Liberation Front's war, many of them will probably join his cause now. [[spoiler:As it turns out, he's instead been using his time to collect information on the villains for the heroes to act on.]]
* InspirationalMartyr: An ironic example; after his capture, the media incorrectly assumes that he was working with the League of Villains, which the actual League exploits as a recruiting tool. The irony is that several fans of Stain and his ideology end up joining the League, despite the fact that he vehemently opposed them.
* {{Irony}}:
** He wants to purge society of heroes who only seek fame and glory. He's used by the League of Villains to promote villainy, exactly the opposite of his intentions.
** Endeavor, a defining example of the fake heroes Stain sought to destroy, [[spoiler:was given credit for defeating him]].
** His former self Stendhal fit his definition of a 'fake hero' down to a T.
** Stain's entire philosophy was accidentally created when [[spoiler:he misunderstood the lecture Knuckle Duster gave to Kouichi [[HeroicWannabe about what is wrong with people who just put on a mask and think that they've become something else altogether just because of it.]] [[RunningGag For further]] irony, Knuckle Duster is a seemingly [[BadassNormal Quirkless]] BloodKnight vigilante, and as such is a {{Foil}} to All Might, the one person that the present Stain believes to be a "true hero".]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Before escaping Tartarus, he slices the throat of an escapee that is very implied to be a molester.
* KillingIntent: One so terrifying that it freezes everyone in place, even Endeavor.
* KnightOfCerebus: Not only is Stain ''literally'' the first villain that Midoriya and co. face in the "real world" outside the safety net of school, he is also the blood-stained wake-up call that forces the young heroes to confront the grey realities of hate, justice, and vengeance that simply cannot be quantified and defined by classical notions of "black and white" morality.
* KnightTemplar: His goal might be considered noble to an extent, but his methods to attain said goal are definitely cruel and horrifying. Lampshaded by Midoriya, who stated he had "the eyes of a fanatic".
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYkYuei_n_0 "Hero-goroshi"]] ("Hero Killer" in English).
* LickingTheBlade: Not only does this show that he is a major [[SerialKiller psycho]], but it's also his main method of activating his Quirk.
* LightningBruiser: He's so fast that Todoroki's fire and ice attacks can't keep up with him. When he gets serious, even Midoriya's 5% "Full Cowl" is outpaced. He's also strong enough to easily cut through Todoroki's ice. It's especially notable because his strength and speed aren't related to his Quirk. The databook rates him '''S''' in speed.
* LogicalWeakness: On paper, his [[TheParalyzer Quirk]] combined with his fighting style makes him near unbeatable. In practice, however, the unpredictability of his opponent's blood type and the fact that his strength and speed are purely his own means that Stain can only handle one or two competent fighters at once. Any more than that and he can be quickly overwhelmed.
* LoonyFan: He is a huge fan of All Might. He attacks, maims and kills other heroes that he believes has corrupted the heroic ideal that All Might has set.
* MadeOfIron: The guy took several heavy blows from Midoriya, Todoroki, and Iida that busted up his ribs and would've downright killed a normal person. He also wasn't wearing any form of armor during the fight against the three and his Quirk does not give him any defensive capabilities. Yet no sooner was he was dragged out from the alley that he managed to get back on his feet, save Midoriya from a flying Nomu, and was fully prepared for a fight with Endeavor before he was stopped by one of his broken ribs piercing his lung.
* MeaningfulName: His given name constist of kanji for "blood" and "stain", while his surname for "red" and "black". His vigilante name is the pen name of an author of the book "The Red And The Black", connecting it to his surname. And lastly, his moniker "Hero Killer", well, if killing seventeen named heroes and crippling twenty-three to the point of being unable to fully recover, including [[spoiler:Ingenium, Iida's brother]], doesn't demonstrably shows that his moniker is no joke, then what does?
* MerchandisingTheMonster: While at the mall, the members of Class 1A see a shop selling merchandise of the HeroKiller Stain, whose ideology to end corruption in heroes resonated with many people.
* MisaimedFandom: An InUniverse example. His vocal disapproval of modern hero society spawned an entire cult behind him, with most of his fans completely misunderstanding his points. Four of them ended up joining the League of Villains:
** Spinner, his biggest initial fan (to the point of cosplaying as him), misunderstood his ideology on only purging heroes that didn't have the selflessness of All Might. He also largely followed him out of a need for purpose, which quickly decayed as the League moved onto other goals.
** Mustard followed him simply because he was upset about heroes in training and high academic privileges, a very big offshoot from Stain only targeting pro heroes.
** Himiko Toga only liked Stain because she thought Stain was cool, and doesn't understand his ideology at all.
** And last but not least, there's Dabi who misinterpreted his ideals on heroism from "needs to be fixed" to "needs to be destroyed". And given his identity, there's a good chance that he'll act good on that notion.
* MotiveRant: Just before passing out, he begins raving about how "false heroes" must all die:
-->'''Stain:''' ''(Japanese version)'' '''''You fake...''''' I must make things right. Someone must be dyed in blood... ''I must take back what it means to be a hero! Come! Try and get me, you fakes!'' The only one I'll let kill me is the ''true'' hero... '''''All Might!'''''
-->'''Stain:''' ''(English dub)'' '''''You false hero.''''' I'll make this ''right''. These streets... must ''run'' with the blood of hypocrites. ''"Hero"!'' I will reclaim that word! '''''Come on! Just try and stop me, you fakes!''''' There is only ''one'' man that I'll let kill me. He is a ''true'' hero. '''''All Might is worthy!'''''
* NasalTrauma: [[spoiler:He cut off his nose in the backstory, after Knuckle Duster badly broke it with a punch.]]
* NightmareFace:
** [[https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/4/41116/4725730-hero+killer.png The very first time we actually see Stain in the series.]] Considering it comes near the tail end of the much more lighthearted [[TournamentArc U.A. Sports Festival Arc]], it's pretty jarring.
** [[spoiler:On the verge of passing out, he gets so angry that he rips off his mask and shows everyone his grotesque skeletal features from the loss of his nose underneath to strike extreme terror into his opponents, and he throws off a DeathGlare so potent that his eyes start wiggling around in their sockets. It freaks ''everybody'' out, even Endeavor.]]
* NobleDemon: As shown by AbusiveParents like Endeavor and materialistic hedonists like Mt. Lady bearing the title of "hero", Stain's belief of society's greed and hypocrisy cheapening the ideals of heroism is not without merit or truth. Hence his ''utter'' devotion to his brutal code of honor and his conviction to making the world a better place is no less noble than that of an actual hero.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Even for ''My Hero Academia'', Stain has a particularly menacing design.
* TheNoseless: Has a very strange, noseless facial structure that, when combined with his face mask/bandanna, oddly makes him bear more than a passing resemblance to an evil [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Ninja Turtle]]. ''Vigilantes'' reveals the full story behind it: [[spoiler:After getting briefly knocked out in his battle against Knuckle Duster, he completely misinterprets the speech the latter gives to Kouichi [[HeroicWannabe about people who think that just by putting on a mask they automatically become invincible]], as they are ultimately forgetting that they are still humans and thus lack the needed resolve. He stands up, briefly clashed with Knuckle Duster again and paralyzed him before using the opportunity to flee, all while "thanking" the latter for "enlightening him" through his "teachings". He decides to amp up his training as he was still lacking in some areas of combat. That being said, due to his newfound obsession with resolve, something that he came to believe to be the core of true heroism and in order to set himself apart from the "fakes who lack resolve", he decided to demonstrate his own resolve to change society by cutting off his nose, which is already badly broken in. In doing so, he makes it impossible for a mask to ever adorn his full face ever again beyond a simple cloth around his eyes. At that time, he also almost succeeded in murdering Kuin Hachisuka.]]
* NotAfraidToDie: His priorities lie in the motivations of his target, if his victim chose to attack him instead of saving the hostage first. Then he'll see them as unworthy of the title as a hero.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Actually turns this around on himself, saying that All Might is the only "true" hero there is, and therefore he can't allow any other hero to defeat him.
* OverlyLongTongue: Possibly as a result of his Quirk, but definitely a creepy and prominent trait. It also comes in handy when licking the blood of others to use his Quirk.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: During the [[spoiler: mass breakout from Tartarus]], an escaping villain loudly celebrates getting out to "[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil go back to chasing women]]". Stain promptly slits his throat on his way out.
* TheParagon:
** In a rather dark twist of this, his hero killing actions actually end up causing heroes to become more aware and competent at their jobs, with the murdered heroes being treated as "sacrifices" to reach that result.
** In an ironic twist, it turns out that, after his defeat and his philosophy become more well-known, he becomes a paragon of a different kind; now [[spoiler:several villains, being affected by his words and hearing about his affiliation with a "League of Villains", are starting to gravitate towards the League.]]
* TheParalyzer: His Quirk allows him to immobilize victims by ingesting their blood. The blood type of the victim also affects how long Stain can keep them locked down, in order of O, A, AB, and B with O being the shortest and B being the longest (eight minutes).
* ParentalAbandonment: Both of his parents were dead long before he started his crusade to take down morally-bankrupt heroes and villains.
* ThePerfectionist: He has a black and white view of heroism and will see it through to the highest standard. If someone doesn't fit his definition of a hero then they are unworthy of the title and don't deserve to live. When Iida actually did admit to these criticisms, Stain seemed unable to accept that he really had gotten through to Iida.
* ThePowerOfHate: Before he's finally defeated, Stain gets so angry at the surrounding heroes that they're all ''paralyzed'' with fear and don't even think about fighting him. Hell, the only reason he was still standing is because his hate and willpower was keeping him going after such a beating. And he only stopped because he fell into unconsciousness after a broken rib punctured one of his lungs.
* PrinciplesZealot: He has a very specific view of what a true hero is, and anyone who strays from it even in the slightest is targeted by him. This is especially evident by him going after Iida's brother; even though Stain's rants are about heroes who are only in it for money, fame, and prestige, Iida's brother doesn't seem to care about either and is a pretty nice guy, but treats his profession as if he's simply inheriting the family business instead of acting out of any kind of heroic calling, which earns him Stain's wrath. Todoroki even calls him a "fundamentalist nutjob" during their confrontation.
* RasputinianDeath: Well, technically he survives, but it takes a lot of effort from Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki to take him down. And despite that, he manages to briefly escape and kills the Winged Nomu, which had taken Midoriya hostage. It's only because he loses consciousness from a broken rib piercing his lung that he's stopped.
* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: He ranks 6/5 in speed despite the fact that his Quirk has nothing to do with it.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: He's a vicious villain with black hair, red eyes, and an outfit with many black elements and his iconic red scarf.
* SanitySlippage: As Stendhal, he wasn't exactly sane to begin with, waxing poetic about how the scum of society should be cut down where it stands. At this point however, he took special care to keep his personal life and his vigilante antics separate and he only went after street-criminals and low-level villains. After Knuckle Duster shattered his CoolMask - which was established as being the thing that kept his two lives separate - his mind only deteriorated even further, taking it as a sign that he had lost sight of his mission and decided to go against "fake heroes" that have the same lack of conviction as the villains they fight, [[spoiler: [[SelfHarm cutting his own nose off]] as proof of this conviction]].
* ScarfOfAsskicking: A [[ColorMotifs red]] one, of course. It's iconic enough to help Iida identify him.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Pulls this on Shigaraki, as Stain believes people only show their true face at death's door. He seems to treat his fight with Midoriya and Todoroki as this, too, evaluating them and commenting as they go.
* SelfCareEpiphany: He believes this to be a FatalFlaw for what he considers true heroes. To him, anything that a hero could benefit from is nothing more than complete selfishness on their part.
* SelfHarm: [[spoiler:''He cut off his own nose and pitched it down a sink''.]]
* SerialKiller: Of the mission-based variety. Stain thinks that he is making the world a better place by crippling or killing "fake" heroes.
* ShadowArchetype: To Midoriya. He is essentially what Midoriya would be if his morals and worshipping for heroes, and especially All Might was corrupted by BlackAndWhiteInsanity and had no one to snap him out of it. To drive the point further home, Midoriya's outfit during the events of the Dark Hero arc is very similar to Stain's costume, a messy jumpsuit with a ragged scarf that makes him look more like a villain than a hero.
* ShoutOut: His lack of a nose, bandana-mask, and the several sharp implements he wears on his person make Stain look like the Ninja Turtles during their DarkerAndEdgier early years, with a motivation straight out of ''ComicBook/MarshalLaw''.
* SlasherSmile: This is Usually downplayed. However, when he is confronted by Midoriya, who quotes [[IdealHero All Might]]'s [[ChronicHeroSyndrome philo]][[InHarmsWay sophy]] to him, Stain's whole face lights up ([[AxCrazy sort of]]) with this ''huge'' grin that veers into [[CheshireCatGrin Cheshire cat]]/GrinOfAudacity territory.
* SleevesAreForWimps: His outfit has no sleeves and he is one of the toughest villains in the series.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: While a fan-favorite and a ''massive'' KnightOfCerebus, Stain was still ultimately an ArcVillain, who was defeated in his first on-screen battle before being sent to [[HellHolePrison Tartarus Prison]] for the rest of the series. However, his impact on the story and setting were ''massive'', having inspired dozens of new villains with his philosophy. Of those he inspired, many, like [[{{Yandere}} Toga]] and [[PlayingWithFire Dabi]], would join [[BigBad Shigaraki]]'s League Of Villains due to the misconception that he was a member of the League, something that Shigaraki capitalized on. Allowing them to become prominent recurring villains. What's more, the intensity of his beliefs were what drove Shigaraki to develop a solid philosophy and goals of his own, which was when he started growing out his PsychopathicManchild tendencies, and into a ''much'' more dangerous villain. And all of this was caused solely by Stain's ''reputation''.
* SpannerInTheWorks: An intentional example. [[spoiler:Stain is ''not'' on board with AFO's grandiose plans to destroy Japan and become "the most powerful demon king", even if he was [[UnwittingPawn an integral cog in his scheme to achieve that goal]], and accordingly, when he's breaking out of Tartarus, he steals the data from the monitoring rooms and passes it along to All Might later on. Said data reveals that AFO and his vestige counterpart possessing Shigaraki are able to communicate directly with each other, unlike All Might and his counterpart within OFA, thanks to both the original and copied AFO Quirks each possessing a copy of the Radio Waves Quirk, allowing them to transmit and receive signals to each other. Analysing the recorded signals reveals that the original AFO asked his vestige counterpart to complete Shigaraki in ''38 days'' rather than the two months that the data from Dr. Garaki's research at the hospital indicated. All Might notes that he could have intentionally rigged said data to throw them off the trail, and he will actually be ready to steal OFA in three days from the present, but thanks to Stain, the heroes are now aware of this, rather than being caught off-guard by his false timeline.]]
* TautologicalTemplar: Essentially, he believes that what he is doing is the right thing and is so dedicated that he matches the heroes in convictions.
* UnwittingPawn: Kind of. [[spoiler:Stain wasn't actually part of the League of Villains, but Gran Torino believes that the BigBad behind the alliance used Stain to give them publicity, of a sort.]]
* VaderBreath: Breathes rather loudly and raggedly with a "Hahh..." sound effect, with it often punctuating his speech.
* VillainHasAPoint:
** He chastises Iida during their fight for his need for vengeance, rather then trying to focus on helping a fellow hero which Stain injured. He then drives in the nail further by stating that Iida's actions taken are the furthest thing from being a hero. Of course, as stated above, once Iida actually did admit to these criticisms, Stain seemed unable to accept that he really had gotten through to Iida. [[spoiler:However, it's shown after he escapes later he's changed his mind after having time to think about it.]]
** His criticism of society propping up "fake heroes" in the business for reasons other than saving people bares fruit where in the wake of the Paranormal Liberation War, [[spoiler:many heroes, including one of the Top Heroes, quit in response to the massive public backlash of their failure to protect them from Shigaraki's attack and the subsequent prison breaks, giving up when society needed them the most]].
* VillainRespect:
** In the past, he practically venerated [[spoiler:Knuckle Duster after the latter "enlightened him".]]
** He respects All Might and Midoriya because, of all the heroes he faced, they're a pair of the truest heroes of all. Heck, it's to the point where he willingly saves Midoriya when the Winged Nomu kidnapped him.
* VillainTakesAnInterest: He ''likes'' Midoriya because he's one of the few who unambiguously embodies what he feels a true hero is. This was probably a factor in him saving Midoriya from the Winged Nomu.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: While there is no debate whether or not he was a criminal, his message about combatting the falsehoods of hero worship became very popular when a recording of his arrest was leaked online. He became so popular that a line of merchandise was released based around him and he inspires a new generation of supervillains (Toga and Spinner being two examples) based around his philosophy.
* VillainousBreakdown: Todoroki notes that he lost his composure during the main fight when Iida ''admitted his criticisms were correct''. This caused him to completely forget about Midoriya, who was able to blindside him during the final clash. Stain claims that no person can change their true nature in just a few minutes, so it's obvious that [[WontTakeYesForAnAnswer his brain couldn't handle the notion that Iida's epiphany was genuine, even though changing the attitude of pro heroes for the better is his entire goal.]]
-->'''Stain:''' Trying to make me think you've had a change of heart is futile. A man's true character doesn't change so easily! You are nothing more than a fake who prioritizes his own selfish desires! You are the cancer of society, warping the word "hero". And someone needs to correct that. [...] [[TranquilFury That's out of the question.]]
* VillainousRescue: He saves Midoriya from the Winged Nomu. Made much more dramatic because he had just been beaten by Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki just moments before.
* WeakButSkilled: Quirk-wise, he's not as strong as say, Todoroki or Midoriya, but he's honed his skills to the point that his Quirk can be used to its maximum potential. Combat ability-wise, he's on par with Aizawa in this regard.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He targets only the heroes that he feels are acting only in their self-interest because he idolizes "real" heroes, those who act selflessly and for the sake of right as opposed to for fortune or fame, such as All Might. It's even stated that he tried to become a legit hero before becoming disillusioned with the scene and turning to darker methods to enforce his ideals of justice. However, what constitutes as "self-interest" to him includes even those genuinely heroic ones who do it because they see it as a family occupation or as a way to make money for their struggling loved ones, which is just as worthy of death to him.
* WhatTheHellHero: Calls out Iida for focusing blindly on avenging his brother, rather than aiming to save the hero that Stain had already injured.
* WorthyOpponent:
** He considers Midoriya to be one because he fits his very narrow ideal of what a hero should be, and actually saves him from a Nomu.
** He regards All Might as one even though the two have never met, as he considers All Might the only hero worthy of killing him. [[spoiler:When they finally meet in Chapter 326, Stain tells All Might off for giving up after losing his power, in an attempt to inspire him so he will keep fighting and challenging him to find and stop him.]]
** [[spoiler:After he's escaped, he implies he now sees all of Class 1-A in this light.]]
* WontTakeYesForAnAnswer: A non-comedic example; Stain's stated goal is to change the attitudes of pro heroes. Yet someone who he saw as unworthy barely a few minutes ago (Iida, who had been berated by Stain for pursuing revenge over saving people) having an epiphany and ''agreeing with his criticisms'' is [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity so baffling to him]] that ''his brain can't handle it properly'', as it throws him off his game during his major battle with Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki. [[spoiler:This is later downplayed, as when he reappears it's shown he's changed his mind after having time to think about it.]]
* YouWillBeSpared: If he considers a hero to have proved themselves as truly being heroic, Stain will spare their life, even if he has them at his mercy. It's implied he found no one worthy of being spared until Midoriya, since he had absolutely no selfish intentions for his actions. He will even go so far as to save them from others he considers to be wrong.
[[/folder]]

!!!Gentle Criminal and La Brava
[[folder:In General]]
!!Tropes applying to both

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gentle_video.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Gentle Video.'']]

->''"Gentle Criminal... Is he messing around, or is he serious...?"''
->'''--The police reacting to one of Gentle's videos.'''

A villainous duo that work to spread their ideals and gain fame. They serve as the ArcVillain for the U.A. Cultural Festival Arc, planning to infiltrate the titular festival to gain recognition. After being defeated by Midoriya, they are arrested without accomplishing their initial goal.
----

** To her former [[SenpaiKohai kohai]], Hawks. Both are mobile long-range fighters that combine strong sensory abilities with an AnatomyArsenal, were child prodigies groomed and trained by the Hero Commission, and have an irreverent personality despite also being {{Consummate Professional}}s and holding high standards for heroes:

!!Dark Hero Arc

[[folder:Takami ('''Spoilers''')]]
!!??? Takami
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Motohiro Yoneda (Japanese), Brandon Johnson (English)
!!!'''Debut:''' Chapter 299 (Manga), Episode 129 (Anime)
!!!'''Quirk:''' Unknown Feather Quirk

[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/j_19.png]]

A serial killer and thief that was apprehended by Endeavor several years ago. He is the father of Keigo Takami.

* AbusiveParents: He was a thief by trade who was willing to, as Hawks put it, kill someone over pocket change. His ability as a father was little better, considering that Hawks was a bastard child who he yelled at and casually knocked if he thought he was "turning his back" on him.
* DisappearedDad: He abandoned the "family" he never wanted and stole a car to try and escape the law, but was captured by Endeavor.
* TheParanoiac: He was obsessed with maintaining secrecy about himself to avoid being arrested, making it clear that he only shacked up with Hawks' mother because her Quirk helped in that regard. His appearance in the flashback of Chapter 299 opens with him ranting angrily and scared that Hawks "ratted him out" to the police upon realizing that he left the house.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He is the father of the current #2 hero in Japan but is a no-show in the main series. Ending saw Endeavor arrest him and would later become a villain himself, and his arrest would inspire Hawks' own admiration and desire to be a hero.
* WingedHumanoid: Like his son, Hawks, but his version creates smaller wings on the underside of his arm.
[[/folder]]

!Villains From Other ''My Hero Academia'' Media
Villains that originate from ''My Hero Academia'' content outside of the main series. Villains the originate from movies, video games, ''Manga/MyHeroAcademiaVigilantes'' and ''Manga/MyHeroAcademiaTeamUpMission'' can be found on their own pages.
----

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Gentle's attempts at looking cool by pouring tea to himself while holding the teapot above his head and the teacup at about waist level always ends up as expected; in complete failure and making an unnecessary mess instead. His first attempt's depiction in the anime takes the cake, however, with him trying to pour a cup atop a roof amidst high winds only resulting in the tea splashing onto his and La Brava's faces.
** A villain who films their own exploits, even if they aren't popular, has a pretty good chance of being recognized almost immediately if they were to step out on the street and talk to someone.
** His unwillingness to commit violent crimes in a setting with superpowered psychopaths means that he has trouble gaining infamy and is seen as little more than a public nuisance.
** Young Gentle's well-intended but vigilante attempt to save a falling person's life went wrong in so many ways. He tried to soften the fall with his Quirk's trampoline, only to accidentally trip up a pro hero who had arrived to save the day. The falling man suffered severe injuries due to Gentle's interference and sued him for the incident, causing Gentle's family to go broke fighting the lawsuit. On top of constantly failing his provisional hero license exams, his reckless interference with pro hero work got him expelled from his hero school. His parents furiously kicked him out of the house, and with no proper education or method of work, Gentle spends much of his adult life alone, in poverty, and unable to achieve his dream of being a hero.
** In addition to the aforementioned poverty, Gentle's online videos probably aren't monetized in any way because he's a criminal and they keep getting deleted. This means the only revenue he and La Brava have is what they manage to steal, and going by the failed convenience store robbery, they likely don't get away with very much. This is evidenced by his home being noticeably barren and not well taken care of on the outside.

* ContraltoOfDanger: She is a badass DarkActionGirl with deep sounding voice, courtesy of her voice actresses, Creator/AtsumiTanezaki and Creator/EricaLindbeck.

* FriendlySniper: Off-duty, she's friendly towards children asking for her autograph. To the point that she's unable to follow through, as [[OutDamnedSpot she thinks of herself as dirty for having such bloodstained hands.]]

** La Brava herself is merely Type IV.

* HarmlessVillain: Downplayed because he's not completely ''harmless'' (he does hold up a cashier at knifepoint), but his crimes are extremely small-scale compared to the previous arc's pure-evil Overhaul, and he's only a "threat" because his prank would have canceled the school festival and inhibited Eri's recovery.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Both of them join to Heroes 's side in Final War arc, though they are watched by police.

* SecretlySelfish: At the end of the day, while well-intentioned on the surface, Gentle's greatest wish is less about promoting some kind of greater good than it is to become known a legend, as he's terrified of dying alone and in obscurity after failing all of his other aspirations in life. However, [[spoiler:he does willingly sacrifice himself and his dreams in the hopes of getting La Brava a less harsh punishment]].

** To American side

* SuperMode: "Lover Mode", which he acquires whenever La Brava activates her Quirk. He typically uses it as a last resort to escape from heroes, which worked 100% of the time, until his fight with Midoriya.

* VillainousBreakdown: Has one when Gentle loses in his battle with Midoriya.

* ShoutOut: The way his Quirk works is similar to the power of [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Trish Una's Stand, Spice Girl]].

-->'''Stain:''' [[spoiler:All Might always kept a smile on his face and set out to protect the people! [[WhatYouAreInTheDark It had nothing to do with his Quirk!]] The man known as All Might dedicated his entire life to preserving our peace! That belief, engraved in his very soul, is what we extolled! [[WhatTheHellHero You don't even hold a candle to All Might.]] Just look at her! ''The result!? It's not over yet!'' The cinders that he left continue to burn within those who followed after, oblivious to the rain or wind, and now they are forming into a great fire! And so we must not let that flame die… as long as we live, we must continue to stoke that flame, no matter how pitiful our struggles may be!]]

!!Villain Hunt Arc

When All For One destroyed Tartarus, numerous prisoners escaped from their cells to wreak havoc across Japan once more. During this escape, All For One recruited a small number of escapees (from former pro hero, Lady Nagant, to the body controller that is Dictator) for the goal of capturing Izuku Midoriya.

By the Second War, the remainder of such escapees joined All For One's villain alliance to finally destroy Hero Society.

* TheDreaded: During the Second War, to the point that the victorious Kamino Hero Squad noted that they were lucky since none of the Tartarus Escapees, like Kunieda or Gashly, got sent to their location.
* EliteMooks: Being escapees that were locked up in Tartarus, all would have likely been Villains who have committed heinous crimes and would likely be stronger than most others locked up anywhere else. [[TheWorfEffect However, due to Midoriya's extra Quirks that he obtained, they stand no chance against him in a straight fight (such as the case with the second assassin)]].

* TheUnfought: They were originally hired by All For One to capture Midoriya, but Kunieda points out that the remaining hired guns never got such a chance after Midoriya beat Dictator and was saved by Class 1-A.

[[folder: Sea Monster Escapee]]
!!Sea Monster Escapee

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The only panel time he gets is when he's about to fight Midoriya and the results of such a fight, or that he was even one of the hired guns, weren't known until nine chapters later when Hawks reports that he was defeated and captured.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Believes concepts like 'hope' or "trust" coat the planet like an "oppressive membrane".
* GreenThumb: His Quirk allows for the creation and quick growth of plants, which are apparently fast growing enough that by the time the action returns to the lot, he sprouted an entire forest to sit upon.
* HiredGuns: He was also recruited by All For One initially for the purpose of capturing Midoriya. It's unknown what was used to get him to agree.

* MeaningfulAppearance: His design (from his scarf, to his hat to his umbrella) is based upon the skull-faced gentleman from the Gashlyccrumb Tinies.

* HairColors: Her hair is blue with pink stripes.

* AntiVillain: Gentle acknowledges that the hero world is more [[VillainsActHeroesReact reactive than proactive]], specifically lacking situational awareness. One of his goals in targeting U.A. for his next video is to make the heroes realize this, and make the students stronger by reacting to someone like him getting into their school. The irony, however, is after both USJ and training camp attacks, the school is more than a little aware of this flaw and taking preemptive measures to nix it. All he is doing is making a tense situation even worse since the authorities are clashing with Principal Nezu on this. [[spoiler:They are so sufficiently good that, once arrested, the officers imply that they're willing to give them a chance at redeeming themselves, as they were stopped before they had gone off the deep end at the time.]]

* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Neither Elasticity nor Love is an overtly combat-useful power. However, Gentle's skills with the potential applications of his Quirk make him a surprisingly effective powerhouse capable of taking on ''five'' Pro Heroes at the same time and winning. Meanwhile, La Brava's Quirk is rightly considered their ace-in-the-hole, guaranteed to give them the power boost they need to flee.

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Reagan Murdock (English)

!!!'''Debut:''' Chapter 318 (Manga)

[[/folder]]

* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: As far as Stain is concerned, you're TheParagon who's heroics are entirely selfless, or you deserve to be crippled or killed. The later usually applies to either TerroristsWithoutACause or {{Fake Ultimate Hero}}es who corrupt society with their good deeds fueled by bad intentions.

* DirtyCoward: The only time he is willing to fight is if he can ambush an unsuspecting party or if he managed to take control of a victim with a strong enough Quirk, with the bonus of them being his hostage for added leverage. Otherwise, he's content to simply try to ''murder'' his victims by means of invading their bodies and use their corpses as hiding spots until the coast is clear. Something Midoriya and Bakugo know too well.
** This streak extends to even when he joins up with All For One's army and his group's attempt to free Gigantomachia. He fakes fighting at the start only to ditch his teammates [[spoiler: to sneak away and try to hijack Shinso to hide in, since he didn't want to fight the remaining determined Heroes that still chose to fight even after Japan fell to chaos. Once Mina, someone who could actually hurt him, enters the fray he again tries to run away before being captured by Shinso]].

* PlayedWith during his first interaction with Shigaraki. He attacks the other villain as some sort of WhatYouAreInTheDark test of character, but never directly opposes the League (same can't be said about Shigaraki who massive grudge against Stain).
* PlayedStraight after the War arc. [[spoiler:After escaping Tartarus and seeing the chaotic state of society courtesy of All for One, Stain delivers vital information about the villain's procedure to take over Shigaraki's body to All Might in order to stop the League.]]

* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Not only her Quirk is an actual gun, as a hero she wore a sleeveless dark-blue bodysuit with her hair tied on a ponytail, but she often had a very upbeat persona, and her merch color scheme was mostly pink and bright purple.

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:They return at the climax of the story to deal with the falling U.A. and Skeptic respectively, bailing Izuku and the other heroes out just in the nick of time.]]

* SpontaneousWeaponCreation: Her Quirk makes her a living sniper rifle, able to generate a rifle from her arm and even turn her hair into bullets.

* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:After her defeat by Midoriya, All For One triggers something, implied to have been attached to the Air Walk Quirk he lent her, that causes her to blow up; a "contingency" in case she failed in her "contract". Sometime later, she is surprisingly back on her feet in time to aid in the final battle, though badly scarred and barely standing.]]

* WorthyOpponent: She is impressed with Midoriya's abilities and deems him to be a true hero.

* IfIWantedYouDead: One of those rare occasions where the victim is the one who says it. Midoriya feels that if Lady Nagant truly meant to kill or incapacitate him, with her skills and power, she could have easily done so with just her first shot. He even noticed that the shot aimed at Overhaul wasn't going to be fatal. With this evidence Midoriya is sure Lady Nagant still has the heart of a hero.

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: During her time as a Pro Hero she wore her hair long and tied on ponytail. After being arrested for killing the HSPC President, her hair is cut short above her shoulders, adding more detail to her saddened and despaired look.

* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: Under normal circumstances, his Quirk only allows him to summon blades 10 cm and shorter in length. Under Trigger's influence, however...

Otherwise known as the CRC, they are a group of fundamentalist villains that discriminate against those with Mutant Quirks.

* BodyHorror: If the rifle emerging from her elbow wasn't horrific enough, several familiar components for it such as a stand are formed out of twisted and melted parts of her own skin.