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In My Hero Academia chapter 351, Shoto Todoroki debuted his super move “Flashfire Fist: Phosphor” against Dabi. The move was in the making for a long time and uses both sides of Shoto’s body as well as both of his quirks.
It was not only the culmination of Shoto’s journey throughout My Hero Academia, but also what Endeavor had envisioned his dual quirk would amount to. However, by creating this move on his own and basing it on one of Endeavor’s, Shoto not only reclaims his purpose, but also accepts himself without fear.
[This article contains spoilers from My Hero Academia manga]
Shoto Todoroki surpasses Endeavor with his Flashfire fist: Phosphor in My Hero Academia
Flashfire Fist is a Fire Quirk-based super move created by a young Endeavor. It raises the internal heat of the user to the maximum before unleashing it in a single attack.
The attack was Endeavor’s pride, but it also highlighted the limitations of his body and quirk. His body could only withstand the heat to a certain level, while the maximum heat was nowhere near the level he hoped for.
Endeavor devised several moves based on Flashfire: Jet Burn, Prominence Burn, Hell Spider, and Hell’s curtain. Of these, Jet Burn and Prominence Burn are his two signature attacks, and he can also utilize blue flames using significant effort. However, his body can neither generate a decent amount of it nor tolerate prolonged exposure.
Dabi’s interpretation of Flashfire and related moves
Having learned all of his moves from Endeavor, either directly during his childhood or later via watching him on television, Dabi copies nearly all of Flashfire and its associated moves. He first showed his version of Prominence Burn in My Hero Academia chapter 291, “Thanks for Going Strong,” during the Paranormal Liberation War arc.
Later, during the Final War arc, he used both Hell Spider and Jet Burn against Shoto. It's noteworthy that Dabi copies Endeavor directly, without modifying or reimagining the move itself. He only raises the temperature and output of the attack, his “Cremation” quirk allowing him to do so.
As such, while all of Dabi’s attacks use Blue Flame, which is much hotter than both Shoto and Enji’s, there is little to no difference between the attacks used by him and his father. However, he did keep in mind while using Jet Burn that he lacked Endeavor’s physical strength and thus completed the attack using only his flames as opposed to fists.
Theoretically, anything that can stop Endeavor can also hinder Dabi if applied using greater strength. Inversely, Dabi can easily surpass the limitations that bound his father, but it has been shown throughout My Hero Academia that he cannot do so without suffering the ramifications.
Since his pain receptors have stopped working and he has no regard for his failing body, Dabi has virtually no limit to how high he can raise the heat. Shoto himself admitted that his brother came to this battle prepared to die, and there are very few things a man with such a predisposition would not do.
Shoto’s history with Flashfire
Shoto Todoroki has had a tumultuous relationship with his father that, while he isn't as vengeful as his brother, is no less traumatic or concerning. He rejected his fire, which is half of his quirk, for approximately six to eight years since his mother’s departure from his home.
It was only during his fight against Midoriya Izuku in My Hero Academia chapter 39, “Todoroki Shoto: Origin,” that he started to use his fire once more. As such, he was out of practice with fire and used to rely heavily on his ice.
It has been suggested to him to make use of both of his quirks at the same time, which is how he masters his Flashfreeze Heatwave.
However, My Hero Academia makes it clear that Shoto is unable to dominate an opponent by virtue of his fire alone in the same way he does with ice. This led to Shoto giving his father a chance at redemption and reconciliation by wanting to learn his Flashfire Fist during the Endeavor Agency arc.
Shoto’s interpretation of Flashfire
While Shoto is a dual-quirk wielder, it has not been mentioned in My Hero Academia whether the temperature of his fire is hotter or colder than his father’s. The only two known aspects are that he cannot turn his flame blue like Toya and Enji, and that his tolerance for heat is significantly better than the other two due to his ice quirk.
Considering that, any move he comes up with would always be inferior to both of them if it was only based on fire, especially if he copied Endeavor directly the way Dabi has. Without Blue Flame giving him an edge, his normal Flashfire Fist could easily be outperformed by both his father and brother.
He had stated during a mock interview that Flashfire Fist is Endeavor’s move, and that he has not made it his yet. This indicated that unlike Dabi, Shoto was neither content nor could he benefit from simply copying Endeavor’s moves.
This is later proven true when he uses Jet Kindling against Shigaraki in My Hero Academia chapter 290, “Dabi’s Dance.”
Borrowing from his father’s Jet Burn, Shoto uses a mix of heat and fists. However, unlike his father and brother, the flames are neither the support nor the crux of the attack, but create something different by mixing with his physical prowess and agility.
Readers must keep in mind that My Hero Academia movies are considered semi-cannon and are not completely supported by the manga, so Shoto’s use of Hell Spider against Humarise does not count given that he has not used it in the manga as of yet.
Flashfire Fist: Phosphor
With that being said, there is no surprise that Shoto debuts a completely new super move based on Flashfire Fist during his battle against Dabi in My Hero Academia chapter 351, “Two Flashfires.”
This move is called “Flashfire Fist: Phosphor” and uses both sides of his body to achieve harmony between his fire and ice quirks.
This move was first hinted at during the training segment in My Hero Academia chapter 336, “Villain.” Shoto was seen trying to harmonize both of his quirks as one throughout his body, as he had recently been able to control his fire side as well as his ice quirk. However, it seemed like he was having trouble with it.
Phosphors, derived from the chemical element Phosphorus, are essentially substances that react to a certain radiant energy. In keeping with the name, it can be inferred that Shoto absorbs the heat from his fire side into his ice, regulating the temperature evenly throughout his body and reaching a hotter output of flame, allowing him to coat his right fist with fire.
The ice keeps his body from being burnt by his own flames as well as external attacks. Therefore, the fire can burn in abundance now that it is balanced between both halves.
Additionally, since phosphors are known to absorb and release, Shoto’s "Flashfire Fist: Phosphor" can likely absorb other people’s attacks and allow him to use that heat.
Phosphorus is predominantly red and white, and since the official, colored version of My Hero Academia chapter 351 is not out yet, it can be guessed that “Flashfire Fist: Phosphor” uses white flames.
Final thoughts
The very obvious weakness of this attack is that it takes too long for Shoto to prepare for it. Dabi took full advantage of the delay and attacked Shoto while he was charging up his move. However, preparation time should decrease as Shoto gains more control of his body and practices the move.
As stated in My Hero Academia chapter 336, Shoto’s goal was to achieve a body that Dabi could not burn, which he does considering that the latter's Jet Burn doesn’t even leave him with a blister.
By being immune to Dabi’s flames, Shoto is by default immune to Enji’s attacks as well. Additionally, with advanced heat tolerance and a near-fireproof body which acts as a feedback loop, Shoto's flames can now outperform Endeavor in terms of damage dealt.
However, contrary to his father and brother, Shoto has always focused more on precision than volume, and as such, his attack is likely more focused on dealing calculated, incapacitating damage than on creating a spectacular blaze of glory. This could both be a blessing and a curse, and it remains to be seen whether Shoto can use Flashfire Fist: Phosphor to overpower Dabi.
