One Of My Hero Academia’s Most Beloved Pro Heroes Almost Never Existed

While it can be easy to assume that most manga authors will have all of their characters set out before they even start writing their story, this usually isn’t the way most of them will operate. Though there obviously needs to be a batch of key individuals from the get-go to keep the story going, it’s not uncommon for important individuals to pop up every now and again out of the blue to suit a specific role. While it can often be pretty difficult to deduce which characters were made for a specific reason, Kohei Horikoshi, the author of the immensely popular My Hero Academia, has revealed that a particular fan favorite Pro Hero from his series was actually conjured up for a very specific reason.

To be honest, it would be hard to imagine what My Hero Academia would have been like without this feathery Pro Hero showing up at one point or another, but the fact that he almost didn’t even exist at all definitely makes the mind wonder. Enough with the speculation though, it’s time to take a closer look at the Pro Hero who almost didn’t even make it into the story to understand why exactly Horikoshi deemed it necessary to eventually include him, and whether this gamble paid off in the end.

Hawks’ Bizarre Origin Story

The Cool, Calm, And Collected Hawks Served To Push The Plot Forward

Despite quickly becoming one of the most beloved characters in My Hero Academia soon after he debuted, it did always seem a little jarring that Hawks was introduced so late on in the story. In fact, it wouldn’t be until the Pro Hero arc, the fifteenth arc in the story, that Hawks would officially make his appearance known, as unlike many of the other professional heroes, he wasn’t introduced at the beginning of the series, and was instead kept under wraps until much later.

During a public conversation with none other than Tite Kubo, the author of Bleach, recorded within the MHA Ultra Analysis booklet, Horikoshi actually admitted the reason why he came up with Hawks in the first place; and it wasn’t just so that he could test out a brand-new quirky character design that his creative mind had come up with. Instead, he needed a person to fulfill a certain role so that he could keep the plot moving forward.

When learning this, it’s easy to understand why Hawks suddenly came out of nowhere, and also why he was given such a major focus for the next few story arcs after his debut in the series. Of course, anyone who has read or watched My Hero Academia will know that this specific role Horikoshi is talking about was incredibly important, as without it, the story could have pretty easily become bland or predictable.

How Hawks Injected New Life Into The Story

Hawks Kept Tabs On The League Of Villains And PLF, Keeping The Heroes Aware Of Their Next Move

• Hawks relayed information about the League of Villains back to the heroes
• He uncovered the Paranormal Liberation Front and their affiliation with the League

Though the Pro Heroes are supposed to be the shining role models for the wider population, who are all dedicated to protecting the country from the danger of villains, Hawks occupies somewhat of a gray area. To put it simply, he’s a double agent who was tasked by the Public Safety Commission with spying on the League of Villains by keeping tabs on their movements for the heroes. At this point of the story, while the heroes were well aware of the members who made up the League, it was unclear what they were up to after the defeat of Overhaul, so, in a way, Hawks was created to bridge this gap.

It’s important to remember that the only reason the heroes were even aware of the Paranormal Liberation Front and their interactions with the League was all thanks to Hawks and his espionage mission. This would then give the heroes the chance to prepare themselves for the oncoming battle, allowing them to feel more involved in the plot rather than just feeling like bystanders watching from afar.

This portion of the story came directly after the My Villain Academia arc, which, as the name implies, centered entirely around Shigaraki and his ragtag group of criminals. Therefore, it would have been a big risk to leave the heroes behind for even longer and to continue to focus on the villains, since it would make the heroes look a little unreliable and aloof, but with Hawks in play, Horikoshi could ensure this wouldn’t end up happening.

From Plot Device To Beloved Pro Hero

Hawks’ Infectious Charisma Ended Up Making Him A Fan-Favorite

• It’s hard not to get swept up by Hawks’ style and charisma
• The Pro Hero possesses a flashy fighting style which is difficult to look away from

It doesn’t matter whether Horikoshi has been planning a character for many years, or has simply created them on the spot to serve a purpose in the story, he will always go above and beyond to make them as visually and personally interesting as possible. There’s no greater example of this than Hawks who, thanks to his suave attitude and infectious charm, make him a character that fans instantly fell in love with the moment he appeared on-screen for the first time.

That’s not the only reason Hawks has amassed such a massive fan base though. Rather than having the goal of becoming a top hero or the strongest man alive, Hawks’ dream is simply to create a world where heroes have some time to kick back and relax. This means he’s dedicated to scrubbing the threat of villainy from the world as much as he possibly can, something he’s more than capable of doing thanks to his incredibly powerful Quirk.

Fierce Wings allows Hawks to move at blistering speed, so it’s always a dazzling feast for the eyes to see this guy in action, considering how flashy he is as a combatant. It’s hard to tell whether Horikoshi ever expected that Hawks would become this popular, but while he may have started off as little more than a plot device, it wouldn’t take long for the plucky Pro Hero to rise through the ranks to become one of the most popular characters in all of My Hero Academia.

My Hero Academia

Release Date

April 2, 2016

Network

TBS, MBS, Nippon TV

Directors

Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano

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  Daiki Yamashita

  Izuku Midoriya (voice)

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  Kaito Ishikawa

  Manga Fukidashi (voice)