Highlights
- American Pro Heroes in My Hero Academia pay homage to US superhero comics, with a strong influence on modern quirk laws.
- Star and Stripe, known as the strongest hero, wields a powerful quirk that can manipulate rules and opponents’ quirks.
- Other American Heroes like Pony Tsunotori and Captain Celebrity showcase diverse backgrounds and unique quirks in the series.
Despite being set in Japan, My Hero Academia surprisingly boasts a number of American Pro Heroes among its character roster. As a tribute to the superhero comics originating from the United States, author Horikoshi deemed America to be the pioneer of several modern quirk laws, meaning Heroes from this nation were bound to make their way into the narrative.
Since All Might has spent a considerable time in America, it’s only natural for his former acquaintances to make an appearance later on. While only a couple of American Heroes have been mentioned in the official My Hero Academia manga, a few others can be found in spin-off manga and franchise movies, with some hints of these characters becoming canon down the line.
Star And Stripe
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First Appearance |
My Hero Academia, Episode 138, “No Man Is an Island” |
|
Debut Date |
March 25, 2023 |
Known as the “World’s Strongest Woman,” Star and Stripe is America’s No. 1 Pro Hero, though considering her exalted status and her logic-defying quirk, it wouldn’t be far off to deem her the strongest hero in all of My Hero Academia. As a true American, Star and Stripe has a strong sense of freedom and justice, even willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of others.
I’ll never forget the sight of those two hair tufts! He was my role model from that day forward! As a show of my own even greater dedication to peace, I went for… eight tufts!
Despite being on the other side of the ocean, Star and Stripe and All Might go way back, as the latter ended up becoming a major influence for the American Hero. With the current turmoil in Japan, it won’t be long before Star and Stripe is forced to jump into action to stop Shigaraki’s advances.
Star and Stripe’s Quirk: New Order
New Order allows Star and Stripe to touch any object and set a rule by merely calling out its name. The quirk can perform all sorts of maneuvers, be it ridding the atmosphere in her surroundings to suffocate enemies, or impose rules on the quirks of her opponents and render them useless. The applications of New Order are truly endless, and it won’t be wrong to brand the quirk as the most overpowered ability in the entire series.
New Order was initially believed to be an omnipotent power, though the effects of these rules are still limited to an extent. Imposing a rule on a human being is also slightly complicated, as villains can defy her rules if their sense of self isn’t clear to them. Moreover, New Order can only impose two rules at a time, and setting a third will require Star and Stripe to deactivate a previously-set rule.
Pony Tsunotori
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First Appearance |
My Hero Academia, Episode 15, “Roaring Sports Festival” |
|
Air Date |
April 8, 2017 |
As a Japanese-American, Pony Tsunotori is an intriguing character among Class 1-B’s lineup. She can be rather naive and innocent, especially since her understanding of the Japanese language is limited.
I can’t stand the idea of making everyone lose!
Since Pony is merely a side character, her past in the United States was never exactly explored, though it was revealed that she is an avid fan of anime and manga. Pony can be quirky at times, with her bilingualism kicking in whenever she is in distress.
Pony’s Quirk: Horn Cannon
Pony’s quirk might not seem to be anything special, though it certainly has a few novel applications. Horn Cannon essentially allows Pony to grow a pair of horns that can be used to attack opponents.
While her quirk might seem weak, Pony was able to go toe-to-toe with Mezo Shoji in his Dupli-arm state. Pony’s horns can also carry her weight and fly her around, essentially giving her the power of flight.
Captain Celebrity
|
First Appearance |
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes |
|
Air Date |
September 23, 2017 |
While not exactly a canon character, Captain Celebrity is an American Hero from the spin-off mangaMy Hero Academia: Vigilantes. Christopher Skyline, otherwise known as Captain Celebrity, embodies American grandiosity with his overly arrogant and proud demeanor.
Despite his reputation as a playboy, Captain Celebrity always manages to rise to the occasion, maintaining peace in American society through his efforts. At one point, he even dominated the Hero Rankings within the United States.
Captain Celebrity’s Quirk: Flight
While Flight might seem like a basic quirk with limited applications, Captain Celebrity was able to utilize it to its fullest capacity to become one of the top ranking Heroes. Through his telekinesis, Captain Celebrity can fly at great speeds, along with creating a telekinetic force field around himself that protects him from the elements.
His aerodynamic barrier also works as a shield of sorts, and it can be used to provide cover for his allies. While Flight doesn’t have any specific weaknesses, its only limitation is its simplicity, as flight can be achieved through a number of other quirks in My Hero Academia.
Cow Lady
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First Appearance |
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes |
|
Air Date |
August 3, 2018 |
Cow Lady is one of the few American Heroes revealed in the franchise’s first film, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes. Cow Lady was one of the first-responders at a casino in California that came under attack by villains.
Cow Lady presented herself as a proud and confident Hero, yet she was still forced to acknowledge All Might’s power as he took out the villains. While Cow Lady was a minor character in the movie, she could make an appearance in My Hero Academia’s latest season, especially with Japan’s call for aid.
Cow Lady’s Quirk: Cow
There isn’t much exposition regarding Cow Lady’s quirk, though it can be deduced that the quirk essentially grants her the abilities of a cow, including speed and superhuman strength. The quirk also gives her a centaur-like appearance, meaning Cow can be classified as a Transformation Quirk.
Electplant
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First Appearance |
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes |
|
Air Date |
August 3, 2018 |
Electplant is another American Hero revealed in My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, and he was witnessed alongside Cow Lady during the casino attack in California. Similar to Cow Lady, little is known about Electplant, and it’s likely that there won’t be much exposition later on considering his status as a minor character.
Despite little being known about him, it’s quite obvious that Electplant has a keen sense of justice, especially with his efforts to aid the police and stop any villains. The two lightning-bolt antennas on his head are reminiscent of the Flash, meaning it could possibly be a reference to the famous comic hero.
Electplant’s Quirk: Electricity Generation
Electplant’s quirk is similar to Denki Kaminari’s Electrification quirk, as both powers work under the same principle of producing electricity from parts of the body. However, Denki’s quirk has more applications, as it can also nullify other lightning-based powers.
Electplant, on the other hand, has a severely limited quirk, as it can simply produce bolts of electricity. His hero costume further aids his electricity production, allowing him to effortlessly channel his quirk through his body.
David Shield
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First Appearance |
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes |
|
Air Date |
August 3, 2018 |
David Shield is primarily an inventor, known for creating specialized hero costumes for some of the strongest heroes out there. He was introduced in My Hero Academia: Two Heroes as Melissa Shield’s father, who was a primary character in the film. While David was never a Hero in the traditional sense, he served as All Might’s sidekick in the United States, though much of his role pertained to creating suitable costumes and hero equipment for All Might.
David’s quirk was never suited to being a Pro Hero, forcing him to be relegated to the position of a mere sidekick. However, he was able to use his engineering prowess to make a name for himself among America’s Hero scene, even passing on the mantle to his daughter, Melissa, who now engineers hero costumes and equipment.
David’s Quirk: Squirmy Fingers
Squirmy Fingers might seem like a useless quirk for a Pro Hero, yet it has immense value for an engineer and inventor like David. Squirmy Fingers allows David to extend his fingers and bend them farther than normal. This lets him work on his hero costumes and equipment with the utmost precision.
Squirmy Fingers is likely the secret behind David’s unrivaled hero equipment, as regular human beings don’t possess such dexterity for precision work. While David wasn’t able to pass on his quirk to Melissa, she certainly acquired his engineering talent.
My Hero Academia is available to stream on Prime Video.
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