Highlights
- Quirks have existed for four generations, evolving with humans and society, and were initially called Meta Abilities.
- The first documented Quirk user was the Glowing Baby, followed by All For One, who stole his mother’s Meta Ability and killed her.
- Quirks can evolve and grow stronger through training or emotional distress, but can also lead to physical harm or societal discrimination.
The history of Quirks in My Hero Academia is known from the first Chapter and Episode of the series. However, as the series progressed, more information about Quirks and their origins was revealed. Quirks have existed for around four generations and have thus evolved with humans and society.
Quirks, previously known as Meta Abilities, didn’t have a good reputation and threw the world into chaos upon their arrival. However, Heroes and the resistance began to emerge to stabilize the chaos, and over many generations, Quirks and humans began to evolve.
The Actual History of Quirks
It was first believed that a newborn baby in Qing Qing, China, was the first Quirk user. However, in Chapter 407, it was revealed that the mother of All For One and Yoichi was the first Quirk user. At the time, she had been ill for around a year and pregnant with All For One and Yorichi. During this time, hard warts had started growing on her left arm, and within the time she was pregnant with the twins, they began to drain her life force, after which she died after giving birth.
Quirks had previously been called Meta Abilities, and All For One stole his mother’s Meta Ability after his birth. With this ability at hand, he would steal the Quirks of others and kill them afterward.
The First Documentation of Quirks
It was one year after All For One and Yoichi was born that the first documented user of the meta abilities, the Glowing Baby, was born. Soon, it would be found that these abilities did not occur exclusively at childbirth. They often occur during the pubescent and prepubescent stages of a child’s life.
With the arrival of these new abilities, a group of scholars decided to study this “mysterious disease.” They soon announced that the meta abilities came from a gene that wasn’t human, thus throwing society into a state of chaos, as those with meta abilities would, therefore, be classified as “Another Species.”
However, to combat this chaos, the Glowing Baby sought peace, becoming a beacon of light during tumultuous times, and thus, support for him continued to grow. However, three years later, All For One grew resentful of his popularity after massing 10 million followers and therefore killed and stole his Meta Ability.
During this talk with Yoichi, he also revealed that two weeks prior to the Glowing Baby’s birth, 50 babies in India had also been born with Meta Abilities. However, due to his resentment and arrogance, All For One deemed the Glowing Baby unfit to “mobilize” that many followers.
The Evolution of Quirks
As Quirks have been around for at least four generations, humans have gone through a state of evolution. In Chapter 1 of My Hero Academia, we learn that humans who have evolved and thus obtained a Quirk do not possess a pinky toe. As within the series, the part of the body that humans do not often use is called vestigial and thus has evolved without that bone structure.
However, Quirkless humans will retain the two joints in their pinky toes. As mentioned above, not all Quirks manifest at birth. However, at age four, many children begin to exhibit or manifest their Quirk. These Quirks can manifest at any moment, and as the user matures, the use and knowledge of how their Quirks work can also change.
How Users Can Awaken Quirks
Quirks are not stagnant; they can evolve and grow stronger with constant use or training. However, to do this, the user must undergo emotional distress or life-threatening situations. This is similar to Himiko Toga, who evolved her Quirk during battle, and Chitose Kizuki, a leading member of the Meta Liberation Army. During their battle, Toga was forced to confront her traumatic past and escape; Toga learned to control Uraraka’s Zero Gravity Quirk.
Bakugo Katsuki also awakened his Quirk and gained the ability Cluster, which made his explosions more powerful, stronger, and faster than before. Another example is Todoroki Touya, who, while preparing to combust, begins to develop his mother’s Frost Quirk while on the verge of death. However, as Touya does not have much longer to live, it’s unclear whether he can use the Frost Quirk that was manifested.
Are Quirks Actually Good for People?
While Quirks can assist you in everyday life, discrimination still exists within the world of My Hero Academia. Quirk users who are Mutants often face discrimination due to their appearance. While not all Mutant Quirk users face this discrimination, heteromorphs like Spinner face this discrimination. Additionally, to further discriminate against these Quirk users, a cult group called the Creature Rejection Clan refuses to accept others with these abnormal appearances.
While Quirks can be harmless, those with strong Quirks will have to undergo training to control their abilities and thus be monitored like Eri. Additionally, awakening your Quirk can also be too much for the user’s body to handle; this can be seen during the fight with Katsuki and All For One, where Katsuki damaged his arm after extensive use.
My Hero Academia is now available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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