Highlights
- Gentle Criminal: A villain with intentions to leave a mark, not destroy; sides with heroes in the Final War.
- Spinner: Believed in Stain’s ideologies, joined Shigaraki for change, and cared for friends.
- Himiko Toga: Twisted view due to quirk, not inherently malicious; seeks loved ones through blood transformation.
As a world set in a Superhero Society, most characters in the My Hero Academia series are often referred to as Heroes, Villains, or ordinary civilians. However, there exists a small subset of individuals whose nature cannot be defined in totality by any one of the above terms.
These individuals have proven to stand on the gray side of things, where the difference between good and evil is blurred and depends on one’s perspective. From characters like Stain to characters like Endeavor, My Hero Academia is home to many morally gray characters, but some are slightly harder to figure out than others.
7 Gentle Criminal
While Through ‘Villainous Deeds,’ Gentle Only Served To Carve His Name In History
- Anime Debut: Episode 81
Although a villain, Gentle Criminal’s actions were often motivated by a way to leave a mark on the world, rather than to cause destruction or for more malicious intentions. He attempted the Hero exam multiple times and, unfortunately, failed every time.
Reeling from failure, Gentle decided to be remembered through infamy. As a villain, his heists were definitely illegal; however, they often lacked the element of disaster often associated with most villains. His true nature is seen during the Final War, in which he sides with the heroes.
6 Spinner
A Follower Of Stain’s Ideologies
- Anime Debut: Episode 31
As a human with a reptile-like appearance, Spinner was often stereotyped and shunned by society. For most of his life, he lived as a shut-in. However, after seeing Stain’s last stand, he became convinced that the world needed to change, and he sought to make it happen.
Shortly after, Spinner met Tomura Shigaraki and joined him. He truly believed that Shigaraki could change the world and had the same ideology as Stain. However, by choosing to follow Shigaraki, Spinner took a unique approach to changing the world. Besides fighting for his freedom and for heteromorphs to be accepted into society, Spinner simply cared about his friends, even if they were on the wrong path.
5 Himiko Toga
Toga Is Simply A Victim Of Circumstance
- Anime Debut: Episode 31
Despite being a member of the League of Villains, a group that caused some serious chaos in Hero Society, Himiko Toga isn’t as bad as she is good. Unlike villains such as Tomura Shigaraki, who seeks to destroy, and All For One, who seeks world domination, Himiko Toga is a young girl who simply has a twisted view of the world.
Her twisted view is in large part due to the unusual nature of her quirk, Transform. Transform allows her to become the person whose blood she sucks. Because of this, Himiko Toga grows an inclination to suck the blood of others. Moreover, for those she truly loves, she seeks to become them by sucking their blood. She’s not an overly bad person; she just does some questionable things.
4 Stain
While He Wants A Corrupt-Free Hero Society, There Are Better Ways To Do It
- Anime Debut: Episode 24
The Hero Killer Stain is known for his extremist views on justice and heroes. Stain seeks to reform the world, which he believes to have been overcome by fake heroes. Taking the elimination of fake heroes into his own hands, Stain passes a form of judgment which, while necessary, isn’t up to him to decide.
In all he does, Stain tries to eliminate fake heroes from society; however, he ends up killing many innocents. To ensure a better form of Hero Society, Stain believes that the old Hero Society needs to be torn down, regardless of the consequences. Even so, he still ends up being a key element in stopping All-For-One, making him one of the more morally gray characters in My Hero Academia.
3 Hawks
Despite A Peaceful Front, Hawks Dabbles In The Dark
- Anime Debut: Episode 87
The Wing Hero Hawks is beloved by many; however, he’s the sort of hero who takes the dirty work into his own hands. Hawks’ most morally gray action is undoubtedly his killing of Bubaigawara Jin, better known by his villain name, Twice.
Twice is a villain created by the circumstances and the circle he found himself in. The same way he fit into the League of Villains and found purpose and promise through his friends is the same way he could’ve found a place for himself in Hero Society had he met the likes of the students of Class 1-A. Unfortunately, with him working under Shigaraki, and with his quirk that allowed him to create copies of himself, Twice was too dangerous to be left as a villain, and Hawks deemed it right to eliminate him. This was a decision that resulted in mixed reactions from characters in My Hero Academia and fans alike.
2 Endeavor
Even The No. 2 Hero Isn’t Perfect
- Anime Debut: Episode 17
For the longest time, Endeavor was the number two hero, known to have saved even more people than All Might. However, his obsession with surpassing All Might eventually led him down a path that would contribute to a collapsed Hero Society.
Realizing that surpassing All Might would be impossible for him, Endeavor passed on his dream to his children and had them solely for that purpose. His two sons, Toya and Shoto, were the most abused of his children, and day after day, Endeavor pushed them past their limits all so that they could overcome All Might even in their youth. Abusing his children to make them fulfill what was originally his own dream makes Endeavor a character whose heroic motives should be called into question.
1 Lady Nagant
A Hero-Turned-Vigilante Who Is Fixated On Exposing The Dark Side Of Hero Society
- Anime Debut: Episode 128
Similar to Hawks, Lady Nagant has a backstory of cleaning up the dark side of Hero Society. While it was unseen to most, maintaining the perceived peace and stability of Hero Society required her to participate in various assassinations and coups.
Lady Nagant’s work style often cast doubts in her mind about the true nature of Hero Society. Finally, when her life was threatened by the very Hero Public Safety Commission she worked for, she decided that overthrowing Hero Society would be much better than living a lie and deceiving the masses, thus beginning her descent into darkness. However, when the chips were down, Lady Nagant decided to help Deku in his fight against All-For-One, making her one of My Hero Academia‘s most morally gray characters.
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