My Hero Academia Wants You To Think One Hero Is Incredibly Dark, But Looking At The Evidence, We're Not So Sure

The My Hero Academia franchise is home to some of the most righteous and inspiring characters in anime history. A large majority of the outstanding individuals created by Kohei Horikoshi have become amazing role models for fans worldwide. One of the few exceptions to this rule is the number hero 2, Hawks, who was presented as a morally gray character who would do anything he was ordered.

Nonetheless, despite the show trying to depict him as a dark and immoral hero, Keigo’s actions do not seem to fit this description. Even his most questionable act, killing Twice, has a completely justifiable reason behind it, as the villain would have been a major danger to civilians during the bloody and deadly Final War arc.

Hawks Is Not My Hero Academia’s Anti-Hero

Keigo Might Not Be as Immoral as the Series Claims

Keigo Takami, also known as the beloved hero Hawks, is by far one of the best and most powerful characters in the My Hero Academia franchise. As a child, he struggled with the abusive behavior and beatings his father would punish him and his mother with. He dreamed of being saved by a hero, one who would take him away from the pain and teach him to defeat evil people like his progenitor. After years of torment, Hawks were recruited by the Hero Public Safety Commission (HPSC) to become their most loyal and powerful asset.

Shortly after he was introduced to the series in episode #87 of the anime, it was revealed that behind his amicable attitude hid a cold-blooded killer. According to the story, Hawks acted as an assassin for the HPSC, eliminating threats to the status quo of Hero Society. The series went as far as to show Keigo killing his fellow hero, Best Jeanist, to gain the trust of the League of Villains and infiltrate their ranks. Yet, as the story progressed, these shocking moments were altered to make the character look less morally gray.

The former number 2 Hero, Hawks, smiles with his eyes closed. Behind him, a city can be seen.

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For example, Best Jeanist, who most fans believed had been brutally murdered by his friend, was revealed to have been hiding after faking his death to help Hawks with his plan. Moreover, despite being introduced as an assassin, he was never seen killing people unjustly, with most of his contributions to the story being objectively righteous. Besides using manipulation to join the League of Villains, Keigo did nothing that could be considered morally reprehensible.

Hawks’ Darkest Moment Is Also Justified

Twice Was a True Danger to the World

For many fans, one of the darkest and most disturbing moments in the My Hero Academia series is the death of Twice. Jin was a tragic and tortured man who had his life ruined at a young age and resorted to crime to survive. His Quirk, Double, allowed him to create clones of himself that could act independently of the original. While extremely useful, this skill also caused the man to become paranoid of the idea that the original version had died, and he was nothing more than a clone.

While he was a member of the League of Villains, Jin was not a bad person, as he simply wanted to have friends who accepted and understood him. Hawks was one of Twice’s only friends in the League of Villains, and the hero wanted to help him escape his life of crime. Lamentably, the villain was not willing to betray his comrades, prompting Keigo to kill him. Even though this might seem like the act of a ruthless murderer, the real reason behind Hawks’ decision justifies his choice.

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Twice’s Quirk had no known limit, implying that he could have created an infinite number of clones. Keigo did his best to convince him to join the heroes, repeatedly asking Jin to betray the league. When this did not work, Hawks had no other option than to eliminate Twice, as his quirk, often regarded as one of the most powerful in the series, would have turned him into a major threat to peace. As much as he did not wish to bring harm to Jin, the hero could not risk leaving him behind for All For One to use against the heroes.

Toga Proved How Dangerous Jin Was

She Almost Defeated the Villain Singlehandedly

Toga uses Sad Man's Parade during the Final War against the heroes.

In chapter #374 of the My Hero Academia manga, Toga Himiko, one of the strongest women in the series, used her Quirk to transform into Twice and gain access to his abilities. Immediately after, she began flooding the battlefield with clones, quickly overwhelming the heroes and changing the course of the battle. It took hours for the main characters and their allies to defeat these artificial villains, and they would have lost the battle if not for Ochako letting Toga know that she was not a monster.

The fight against Toga during the Final War arc of the series is definitive proof of how dangerous an alive Twice would have been for the heroes. Hawks, instructed by the HSPC to always assume the worst, likely foresaw the danger, pushing him to defeat and kill his former friend. His actions were quite brutal and would be reprehensible under any other circumstance, but Twice was a special case, too powerful and destructive to be left alive without repercussions.

Even the Best Heroes Had To Kill

All Might Is No Stranger To Killing for the Greater Good

My Hero Academia: All for One and All Might go at it.

The My Hero Academia franchise tried to hint at Hawks being a dark and less admirable hero due to his decision to kill Twice. Yet, he is by far not the only popular character who breaks the rules to prevent further pain along the line. All Might, often considered by the citizens of Japan as the greatest hero of all time, supposedly took a life in the past. During his battle against All For One, five years before the series began, Toshinori was forced to destroy the skull of his archenemy.

All Might knew that the Symbol of Evil was too dangerous to continue living, as letting him live would only give the villain another opportunity to escape and cause more pain. Deku’s mentor is still hailed for being the best role model in the entire series, even though he was also determined to kill a villain. Implying that Hawks is less admirable even when he followed the same path as All Might does not make narrative sense.