“Hot” puns aside, he’s a legitimately compelling villain, whose past plays extremely well into the series’ themes.
Spoilers ahead!
Summary:
- My Hero Academia has a lot of great villains — and some fans argue that Dabi is the best written of them all.
- Dabi’s real identity and backstory are tragic, but they play perfectly into the series’ themes.
- Dabi is actually more rational than many other villains in the series.
One thing My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) never had a problem with was its selection of interesting characters. That includes the antagonists, of course — many fans actually like some of the villains more than the actual heroes.
Among the many villains, it’s hard to pinpoint one who is more interesting than the others. After all, a lot of them have compelling backstories and cool Quirks. Many would agree that Tomura Shigaraki, the series’ most prominent antagonist, is the most interesting and menacing villain in the series.
However, a certain subsection of fans think that Dabi is a more interesting and well-written character — and they might have a point.
Tragic backstory
Dabi is the villainous identity of Toya Todoroki. A son of professional hero Endeavor and the older brother of Shoto Todoroki, his identity was a huge plot point in the series that was a subject of many theories and speculations. The theory that he was Shoto’s brother was actually quite popular — and turned out to be true.
Toya’s past is tragic (although it doesn’t excuse his villainous actions) — Endeavor is absolutely not a good person, and he wanted his son to surpass All Might. However, Toya’s fire Quirk, despite being stronger than his father’s, had a fatal flaw — it hurt Toya himself as well.
That made Endeavor abandon his training, eventually making the future villain hate his own father. That said, he still wanted to prove himself as a hero, before he eventually lost control of his Quirk — and was presumed dead.
Toya didn’t die, of course: however, he went into a coma and was collected by All For One, who then would convince him to join his cause. Toya, who named himself Dabi, was resentful towards his father and the hero society as well — and turned into one of the most memorable and resilient villains of the series.
A great villain
Dabi’s backstory is actually perfectly in line with the major themes of My Hero Academia. A lot of the time, the series focuses on how earlier generations affect the next ones.
With Dabi’s father being largely directly responsible for why he became a villain in the first place, this is a great example of it — especially considering he would go on to fight his younger brother, Shoto.
However, Dabi is more than just your average villain. His Quirk just looks extremely cool, of course, but Dabi himself is incredibly rational and able to cooperate when needed (as long as he’s not facing his family) — something many villains actually lack.
He’s definitely one of the most well-written characters of the series, and arguably the best one among villains.