Summary
- Endeavor’s fire quirk comes with limitations, restricting his ability to maintain peak performance.
- Shoto Todoroki surpasses his father by harmonizing his ice and fire quirks and creating an impressive ultimate attack.
- To match Endeavor, Shoto learns the importance of fully harnessing both aspects of his powers.
Within the realm of My Hero Academia, Endeavor reigns as Japan’s top hero, known as the Flame Hero. Despite some debate over his ascension to this coveted rank—sparked by All Might’s retirement—one cannot dismiss Endeavor’s prowess and contributions to heroics, which solidify his position.
As the leading hero, Endeavor faces intense competition from various pro heroes aiming for his title. Among them, Shoto Todoroki, Endeavor’s youngest son, is particularly ambitious in his quest to surpass his father. Against all odds, Shoto impressively emerges as a formidable contender, showcasing his unique abilities that may even eclipse Endeavor’s legacy. Let’s explore how Shoto achieves this remarkable feat.
Endeavor’s Limitations
Endeavor is renowned for possessing staggering fire abilities as one of Japan’s most powerful heroes. His signature move, the Flashfire Fist, unleashes scorching blasts capable of obliterating anything in their path. However, even such an extraordinary hero faces formidable constraints.
Flame Constraints
Endeavor’s fire-based quirk enables him to endure extreme temperatures, allowing him to unleash powerful fire attacks without inflicting harm upon himself. However, there are limits to how intensely he can burn.
Once he reaches a critical temperature threshold, further escalation poses the risk of severe bodily harm. This limitation affects his abilities against increasingly powerful adversaries and was a significant factor in his decision to marry Rei Himura, who possesses an ice-based power.
The Burden of Ambition
With no way to surpass his physical limitations, Endeavor’s ambition to dethrone All Might diminished. In a bid to realize his dreams through his family, he pressured his children to inherit both fire and ice quirks through his union with Rei.
Fueled by this ambition, he imposed stringent training regimens on his children, particularly on Shoto Todoroki, who was born with both quirks but suffered greatly under the weight of his father’s expectations.
Shoto’s Self-Imposed Limits
Shoto’s unique gift of dual quirks is both a blessing and a curse. His intense feelings of resentment toward his father lead him to deliberately underutilize his fire quirk, opting instead to rely solely on his ice abilities in a misguided attempt to overtake Endeavor.
Self-Limiting Behavior
While Shoto’s choice to shun his fire quirk in favor of his ice abilities is understandable, it remains a significant misstep. Mastery in heroism requires full utilization of one’s capabilities, and by self-limiting, Shoto undermines his own potential.
As Izuku “Deku”Midoriya articulated, “Everyone’s giving it their all—to win, to achieve their goals, to make it to the top! And you’re gonna win with half your power? I still haven’t put a scratch on you! Gimme everything you got! Come at me!!”
Surpassing His Father
Shoto finds valuable insight during the Sports Festival when he faces Deku, who relates to the experience of feeling powerless. Deku’s encouragement resonates with Shoto, leading him to recognize the necessity of employing all of his abilities to truly contend with Endeavor.
How Shoto Surpassed Endeavor
Once Shoto resolves to embrace his dual heritage, his journey toward surpassing Endeavor truly begins. Having already excelled with his ice abilities, his next goal is mastering his fire abilities. Joining Endeavor’s hero work studies plays a crucial role in this development.
Conquering Fire
Shoto’s initial challenge is to master the Flashfire Fist, a technique that demands the user to manipulate their fire temperature to its utmost limit, releasing it in a precisely controlled blast. This technique exemplifies Endeavor’s prowess while also highlighting his personal limitations.
Unlike his father, whose body cannot adequately bear the heat required for an efficient execution of the Flashfire Fist, Shoto can cleverly lower his core temperature using his ice quirk while simultaneously pushing the fire quirk to its limits. After considerable effort, Shoto achieves a level of Flashfire Fist that rivals Endeavor’s.
Achieving Balance
With his capabilities nearing Endeavor’s, Shoto sets his sights on surpassing him by balancing both fire and ice to their fullest potential—an intricate skill that requires exceptional mastery. Ultimately, Shoto succeeds, employing a Flashfire Fist that burns with greater intensity than Endeavor’s.
Yet, knowing that an enhanced Flashfire Fist alone would falter against Dabi’s hotter blue flames, Shoto innovates a unique ultimate move he dubs Phosphor. This technique, while reminiscent of Flashfire Fist, requires Shoto to intertwine his fire and ice in a new way.
As expressed by Shoto, “My Old Man sought out ice that could stifle that inner heat while I’m going in the other direction.”
In contrast to the segregated use in Flashfire Fist, Phosphor demands a harmonious flow of both elements. As Shoto channels both heat and cold within his body, the resultant energy manifests like a flame—yet it freezes rather than burns everything it encounters. This revolutionary technique allows him to counter Dabi’s formidable Blue Flashfire Fist, ultimately enabling Shoto to surpass Endeavor and solidify his standing as the premier fire user in My Hero Academia.
You can stream My Hero Academia on Crunchyroll.
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