Essential Insights on New Order
- New Order is limited in functionality—Star and Stripe can maintain only two active rules at once.
- A clear understanding of the target’s identity is crucial for activating New Order.
- Immediate physical contact is necessary, highlighting a tactical disadvantage.
My Hero Academia continues to captivate audiences by introducing formidable new quirks as the series progresses into its later chapters. The most recent of these is New Order, an incredibly powerful quirk wielded by Star and Stripe, the top hero of America. This quirk grants her the extraordinary ability to impose rules on any object, living or inanimate, allowing her to manipulate reality to her specifications.
While New Order may seem overwhelmingly powerful with few countermeasures, it is not without its significant limitations. The confrontation between Star and Stripe and the villain Shigaraki showcases these vulnerabilities. Even her ultimate defeat serves to underline the constraints that accompany such a seemingly godlike quirk. These restrictions exemplify the thoughtful power balancing that My Hero Academia is known for, reinforcing the notion that even the mightiest quirks have their downsides.
The Limitations of New Order
Only Two Rules Can Be Active Simultaneously
| First Appearance | My Hero Academia Season 7, Episode 1: “In the Nick of Time! A Big-Time Maverick from the West!” |
| Air Date | May 4, 2024 |
The primary limitation of New Order lies in its restriction to just two active rules at any given time. As a result, Star and Stripe must relinquish a previously established rule to activate a new one. This constraint significantly curtails her tactical versatility. For instance, one rule must always apply to herself, enhancing her strength, while the other can target an external object or situation.
During her intense battle with Shigaraki, this limitation was evident. Faced with the necessity to switch rules, she released her hold on the beams restraining Shigaraki to redirect her quirk towards targeting missiles aimed at him. This momentary vulnerability allowed Shigaraki to exploit this gap and activate his Decay ability, enabling him to evade the impending missile strike, reminiscent of a weapon of mass destruction.
Understanding the Target’s Identity
Awareness of the Target’s Sense of Self is Crucial
To effectively utilize New Order, Star and Stripe must call out the name of her target, whether it be a living being or an inanimate object. This process becomes particularly challenging with humans, requiring her to have a profound understanding of their identity. If a target is experiencing an identity crisis, like Tomura Shigaraki—who struggles to distinguish his own consciousness from that of All For One—New Order’s effectiveness is nullified.
For Star and Stripe to invoke her power, the target must recognize themselves as the individual she names. This nuance illustrates why New Order’s potency is significantly stronger on inanimate objects, where the user’s comprehension alone suffices, contrasting sharply with the complexities associated with human identity.
The Constraints of New Order’s Power
Power Cap of New Order’s Effects
Theoretically, New Order resembles divine power due to its capacity to dictate reality. However, events within My Hero Academia have revealed that even this god-like quirk comes with certain limitations. Each rule that Star and Stripe enacts is bound by effectiveness caps. For example, while she can boost her strength to levels that rival All Might, it cannot transcend the limits of human potential, as genetic makeup and inherent physical capabilities cannot be altered.
This principle applies universally across the rules established by New Order, with varying effects depending on the target. Inanimate objects can be more profoundly influenced, whereas restrictions for living beings, particularly humans, significantly diminish the quirk’s effects.
The Necessity for Direct Contact
Star and Stripe Must Be in Proximity to Activate
Despite the vast possibilities New Order presents, activating this immense power requires immediate physical contact with the target. This condition poses significant challenges, especially in combat scenarios against human opponents. Essentially, this aspect categorizes New Order as a short-range quirk, necessitating that Star and Stripe place herself in harm’s way to instigate her power on a human target.
This inherent risk was highlighted during her conflict with Shigaraki. Though her eventual fall was not directly attributable to this limitation, the requirement for close contact presented numerous opportunities for Shigaraki to seize and exploit advantageous positions, risking Star and Stripe’s safety throughout their confrontation.
My Hero Academia is available for streaming on Prime Video.
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