The following contains major spoilers for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, as well as the main series. Proceed with caution.
Summary
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My Hero Academia: Vigilanteshas just teased the arrival of a character fans of the franchise know very well, and after catching a glimpse of his blood-stained katana, many have already recognized who he is. Going by the name Stendahl in this spin-off set six years prior to the events of the main storyline, the character once captured the attention of fans for his alternative view of justice and righteousness.
Seeing the current state of heroism in theMy Hero Academiauniverse’s superpowered society, this individual took it upon himself to"purge" Pro Heroes that he deemed astainon society. So, just who is Stendahl, and why is his appearance inMy Hero Academia: Vigilantessuch a major cameo?
The Not-So-Big Reveal
Before “Hero Killer Stain”
As you’ve probably figured out, Stendahl, the wielder of the bloodied katana seen in the preview images ofMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode 5, is, of course, none other than Chizome Akaguro(Alias: Stendahl/Stain | Quirk: Bloodcurdle), first introduced in the second season ofMy Hero Academiaas the Hero Killer, Stain. In theVigilantesstory, Stendahl is a vigilante who believes that the current structure of professional heroes is a sham. With his intense values, Stendahl came to the conclusion that he is the righteous arbiter of justice who must “cleanse” those he has deemed to be “false heroes”. His presence in theMy Hero Academiastory is to provide one of the first major foils to the hero admiration displayed by characters like Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo,and even Koichi Haimawari.
To wield power without conviction is tantamount to sin. In giving your sinfulness form, you become what is called a villain.
– Stendahl, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Episode 5
As Stendahl, his convictions are more about condemning those who “wield power without conviction”, but after coming across Knuckleduster, he “awakens” to his values as Stain, realizing that it isn’t the aimless wielders of power who are to blame for the state of society, but rather, pro heroes who maintain the status quo and do not acknowledge the deep issues faced by society. Despite being a murderer, and cognizant of the immorality of his actions, Stendahl believed himself to be a necessary existence; a martyr of sorts. He also avoided killing those whom he believed to be exemplary heroes, like Ingenium (the Tenya version, he very nearly killed Tensei) and Deku; people he saw asnear-ideal paragons of justice. Prior to becoming “Stain”, Stendahl donned a mask reminiscent of that of Vega fromStreet Fighter, with a black and red colour palette likely inspired by his real-life namesake, Marie-Henri Beyle, who wroteLe Rouge et le Noir (The Red & Black)and went by the mononym, “Stendahl”.
His Role in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
The Origins of Stain
The brilliance of including a character like Stain; one who greatly reflects the kind of actions commonly seen in famous heroes and anti-heroes. He is definitely no hero himself, resembling characters like The Punisher or maybe even Spawn with his dark outlook, edgy demeanour and of course, the most anti-hero thing ever: killing for a cause. As Stendahl, he doesn’t automatically appear to be a threat and is presented as more of a “good guy” because of how he steps in to fend off a small-time villain with a hardening Quirk when he saw him overwhelm Koichi. However, as we learn bythe end ofMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode 5, Stendahl isn’t averse to literally murdering those he has deemed menaces to society, which contradicts his parting statement to Koichi, when he described himself as someone in a similar field as Koichi, who automatically assumed he meant the whole donning costumes and fighting crime illegally thing, but Stendahl was pointing at something deeper.
The reason why Stendahl temporarily does the dirty work of Kuin Hachisuka is because for him, the end justifies the means, and if the means is using villains to weed out and subsequently eliminate villains, so be it. That being said, he’s no hypocrite: he’s down to work alongside heroes if he believes them to be on the right side of justice, which we’re going to see in the main story as the war against Shigaraki continues. Inthe final arcs ofMy Hero Academia, when All For One frees all kinds of evil from the depths of the aptly named high-security prison known as Tartarus, Stendahl (then known as Stain), is among the escapees, but he recognizes who the true villain is, and even promises a dying guard that he will ensure the vital information that would have simply died with him would get to the right people. This leads to his involvement in and death during the battle against Shigaraki, in which he happily passes the baton back tothe individual who showed him what a true hero is: All Might.
