'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
My Hero Academia season 6 episode 3 gave fans one of the most awaited and heartbreaking fights in the entire franchise. After spending months undercover and befriending Twice, Hawks was forced to reveal himself as a Hero. Despite the good moments the two men spent together, Twice could not handle the betrayal, causing a fight to erupt between them.
The fight, although stunning to watch, was devastating to witness. Not only due to the genuine pain Hawks’ revelation caused Twice but also because of the message behind it. The show is trying to give a clear message at this moment: good or evil is circumstantial. Keep reading to learn more about the latest fight that took place in My Hero Academia and what it means.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for the My Hero Academia franchise.
My Hero Academia season 6 proves Heroes and Villains are not so different
Who is Hawks?
Keigo Takami, also known as Hawks, is the second-best Hero in the My Hero Academia universe. His Quirk, Fierce Wings, gives him a pair of red-feathered wings that allow him to fly at outstanding speeds. He can also use each of the feathers on his wings as a blade, as well as control them remotely.
Hawks is the son of a criminal and a civilian woman, who harbored her husband for years. Due to his father’s status as a wanted criminal, Keigo was forbidden from going outside. His father, who subjected both his son and wife to daily physical and mental abuse, feared that they would alert the police of his location.
The young boy grew up idolizing the Heroes he saw on screen, especially Endeavor. However, since he was not allowed to leave, Keigo believed that the Heroes were fictional characters. One day, while watching the TV, Keigo sensed a tingling in his wings, prompting him to fly to town without alerting his family.
His father ended up kicking his son, claiming that the boy had told the police about his whereabouts. This continued for a long time until Endeavor arrested his father. Keigo was surprised, believing that Endeavor was nothing more than a TV character. A few months later, he rescued a group of civilians from a car accident. The Hero Commission took notice of his actions.
They ended up recruiting him to work as Hero directly under their surveillance. Hawks became the best weapon of the HSPC, eliminating anyone the higher-ups wanted dead. He was forced to let go of his morals, as well as most human connections.
Who is Twice?
Jin Bubaigawara, known amongst villains Twice, was once a member of the League of Villains and later the Paranormal Liberation Front. His Quirk, Double, allows him to make copies of anyone he wishes, to aid during missions or fights. He would normally use this ability to create copies of himself.
Just like Hawks, Jin’s life was filled with pain and tragedy from a young age. In middle school, his parents died during a villain attack, leaving him alone to fend for himself. He managed to find a kind man who offered him a job and a roof to live under, which Twice gratefully accepted.
Unfortunately, his luck would continue to get worse, as he would hit someone with his motorcycle by accident sometime later. While the police believed he did not do it intentionally, they did create a criminal record for the man. He would later learn that the man he hit was a staff member of a recurring customer of his boss.
Due to the incident, the partnership between Twice’s boss and his associate ended, which angered the man. Jin was evicted and fired on the spot, forcing him to live in the streets for a while. To deal with the isolation, Jin began cresting clones of himself to talk, pretending they were long-time friends.
He would later use clones to rob banks and stores, becoming one of Japan’s most wanted criminals. Sadly, he abused his Quirk by creating an army of clones, causing the power to backfire on him. He began using his clones for everything, becoming lazier and lazier. His clones started imitating this behavior, causing a fight between them.
His clones attacked the original Jin and tied him to a chair. They later began killing each other until only the original Jin remained. His mind snapped during the incident, causing the man to question if he was the real Jin or just another clone. He developed a personality disorder, only able to remain calm if his face was always hidden.
Later in life, Jin comes across Giran, who enticed him to become a fully-fledged villain. Twice became one of the most powerful members of the League of Villains, causing chaos and destruction everywhere he went.
What are the parallels between the two characters?
As My Hero Academia fans are aware, one of the main lessons the series tries to teach the viewer is how subjective the concepts of good and evil can be. Many Heroes in the franchise can be just as bad as the villains, and many evil-doers have valid reasons behind their actions.
This duality is best represented in the relationship between Hawks and Twice. While they were friends, fans noticed how similar these two characters were. Despite the paths they chose to walk, they still managed to become real friends, to the point where Hawks tried to save Jin from villainy before their fight.
Both Keigo and Jin were products of the corrupt Hero Society that rules the world of My Hero Academia. As children, they suffered the consequences of a system that failed to protect the innocent. Hawks was forced to endure the abuse of his father, while Twice was abandoned by the system after his parents died.
As adults, they followed the roles that society enforced on them. Hawks acted as a regular Hero when, in reality, he was little more than a weapon for the HPSC. Twice continued with his criminal activities, even though he hated causing harm to others. They were reflections of each other, the Hero who acted as a villain and the villain with the heart of a Hero.
However, their parallels did not end there, as proven by their interactions with other characters in the show. When Hawks began working as a double agent for the League of Villains, he had to bring Dabi a mutilated body to prove his loyalty. While many Heroes would be opposed to the idea, Keigo did it without any issues.
Meanwhile, Twice demonstrated his vulnerability and noble side by helping save Himiko Toga during their battle against Re-Destro’s men. The blonde girl had been considered a monster all of her life, so Jin’s genuine care for her meant the world. Jin and Toga became as close as brothers, regardless of their status as heartless villains.
Jin was looking for a place to belong, while Keigo was trying to maintain the status quo that caused him and Twice so much damage. When Twice learned about Keigo’s betrayal, he refused to believe him, claiming that his friend would never do something like that. Meanwhile, Hawks quickly disregarded the idea of saving Jin and chose to kill him in cold blood.
Hawks and Twice are the perfect examples of how Heroes and Villains are so similar in the world of My Hero Academia. Some Heroes will commit horrible crimes in their journey to protect the society they live in. Some villains only want to change the system that forces them to become evil. Good and evil are just terms the public uses to judge others, based on their own perception of the world.
Final thoughts
My Hero Academia may seem like a simple Shonen anime created for younger audiences at first glance. Nonetheless, the show is exponentially darker and more mature than most people give it credit for. Not many shows know how to blur the line between good and evil as realistically as Horikoshi’s manga can do so.
The parallels between Hawks and Twice are just one example of how Heroes and Villains are extremely similar in My Hero Academia. Still, it is one of the best portrayals of how similar the two sides are, as we can see it unfold right in front of our eyes.
