Horikoshi forgot about a major area of Quirk genetics in My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia author Kohei Horikoshi explained a lot about how Quirks work in the series and how they have influenced society. However, the element of genetic mutations and their impact on other people was underdeveloped. This refers to examples like characters such as Fumikage Tokoyami, who has a bird's head, suggesting that he could have the Dark Shadow Quirk along with that animal's traits and genetic virtues.

There was some explanation of this in My Hero Academia, as Horikoshi presented the example of Shoto Todoroki, who inherited a fire and ice-based Quirk from his parents. Therefore, a child may be inheriting more than one ability from their genetics, but this isn't fully explored with heteromorphs. This could, however, shed light on Dr. Garaki's Quirk Singularity Theory.

Disclaimer: This article is a speculative theory and reflects the writer's opinion.

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Explaining how characters in My Hero Academia could inherit physical mutations from their parents' Quirks

Shoto Todoroki inherited Quirks from both of his parents (Image via Bones).

Author Kohei Horikoshi could have explored the idea that there are individuals in his universe, particularly the heteromorphs, who possess physical traits that could be genetically inherited along with their Quirks. This suggests that someone like Fumikage Tokoyami could have elements and traits of a bird, the animal his head resembles, while also having the Dark Shadow Quirk.

On paper, Tokoyami's bird characteristics don't correlate with Dark Shadow's abilities, so he might have developed powers similar to those of the bird species, and his children could inherit both his traits and their mother's Quirk. This scenario would be a more extreme variation of what occurred with Shoto Todoroki, who inherited fire-based powers from his father, Endeavor, and ice-based powers from his mother, Rei, while having hair colors from both parents.

There’s always the possibility that Horikoshi thought this notion would complicate the evolution of Quirks, or perhaps he didn't think too much of this possibility. However, there is an argument to be made that genetic mutations, such as Tokoyami's example, should provide other features beyond just the Quirk itself.

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How could this connect to Garaki's Quirk Singularity Theory

Garaki had a theory regarding the evolution of Quirks (Image via Bones).

In the middle section of the My Hero Academia manga, Dr. Garaki explained his Quirk Singularity Theory, suggesting that the Quirks of each new generation are going to be stronger than those of the previous one. This connects with the idea that people with powers are likely to have more children since they account for 80% of the population, leading to descendants with more varied abilities.

The example of Shoto is perhaps the most notable in relation to this theory, although Horikoshi did not delve further into this topic due to the controversies surrounding Garaki's character in real life. Thus, this may be something he intended to explore at some point but had to set aside given the circumstances.

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Final thoughts

The idea of Quirk mutations leading to another variable of biological evolution in the world of My Hero Academia is something that perhaps Horikoshi should have explored more in the series. Furthermore, there is also the chance that Garaki's Quirk Singularity Theory could have developed that idea, especially regarding the examples of Tokoyami and Shoto.

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