In My Hero Academia Season 6, Episode 16, Hawks reveals his tragic backstory as well as why he supports Endeavor so much.
The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 6, Episode 16 “The Hellish Todoroki Family, Part 2”, now streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu.
Hawks, My Hero Academia’s Number 2 Pro Hero, has always preferred to keep his cards close to his chest, but one thing he’s never been coy about has been his admiration for his senior, Endeavor.
Since their first interaction at the Hero Billboard announcement, Hawks has paid more serious attention to Endeavor than any other hero, even trusting him to break an impossibly complicated code whole undercover at the Paranormal Liberation Front. Here’s why Hawks has always seemed to trust Endeavor so much.
Endeavor Was Hawks’ Childhood Inspiration and Hero
As a child, Hawks lived in a home with an abusive father and a mentally ill mother who was much too scared to defend him from his father’s aggression. Like many other children in My Hero Academia, he was obsessed with Pro-Heroes but regarded them as fictional beings that would always be on the other side of a television screen. His prized possession back then was a stuffed Endeavor plush, partly because that was the one toy his mother had bought him and her offhand comment about hoping Hawks became as strong as Endeavor.
Being a murderer on the run, Hawks’ father was extremely anxious about one day getting arrested, so his entire family, sans himself, was forced to remain indoors. Their tiny one-room apartment was Hawks’ entire reality until his mother one day used her unnamed clairvoyant Quirk to announce that he’d been arrested by none other than Endeavor. In an instant, Hawks’ life had been changed by the supposedly fictional hero and his abuser could no longer torment him. Endeavor had become his real life hero.
Fearing that they’d be arrested for harboring a fugitive, Hawks’ mother took him and fled from their run down shack, choosing to live on the streets instead. They continued to live in poverty until they were approached by agents from the Hero Safety Commission with a lucrative proposal. If Hawks was entrusted to them, their entire family would be supported, and he’d be trained to become a top class hero. Once again, he turned to his Endeavor plush to deal with the rigorous hero preparation program. His goal was to become a hero that beat up “bad guys” like Endeavor.
Hawks Idolizes Endeavor Even With His Faults
It was because of hero fanboys exactly like Hawks that Dabi was so hellbent on ruining his father’s reputation. Even though he’s partly succeeded in making hero society distrustful of Endeavor, the Number 1 Hero’s most passionate supporters ate continuing to rally around him in his most trying moment, Hawks included. He’s acknowledged how terrible Endeavor’s treatment of Toya was all those years ago, but is choosing to focus on the hero in his current state; Endeavor’s attempts at atonement are already becoming evident.
Since the Hero Safety Commission’s collapse, Hawks is essentially a free agent. With no external body directing his actions, he is free to decide his fate during the period of societal breakdown. Impressively, he is choosing to continue work as a hero despite his severe injuries. With Endeavor hospitalized and demoralized, the Number 1 Hero needs support from his fellow heroes now more than ever. Hawks realizes the tough spot his childhood hero is in, and is willing to help him realize his full potential as Japan’s greatest hero, just like he promised all those months ago.
