Tragedy is often tied to heroism. Especially tragedy tied to family members. Shoto Todoroki knows family tragedy all too well. He does his best to make sure not to fall into despair and do what he can to be a hero. So, who is Shoto Todoroki and what’s all this tragedy? Let’s find out!
Shoto Todoroki is the youngest child of Enji and Rei Todoroki. Shoto lives in a world where eighty percent of humanity have super powers, known as quirks. Powers can be passed down generationally, meaning two people with different powers can have a child that has powers that come from one parent or the other, but it’s also possible for the child to get some combination of the two parents’ powers.
Quirks cost a massive change in society and the chaos that ensued lead to the invention and commodification of heroes as a formalize job. The costumed heroes of comic books became a real job one could train and go to school for. Heroes would be ranked by skill, work completed, popularity, and power. This, combined with how quirks are passed onto children, meant there were some people quietly practicing eugenics on a personal level, though it was illegal on a societal level.
All this to explain the circumstances of Shoto and his siblings’ births. Shoto’s father, Enji was the second place in rankings as the hero, Endeavor. His father is a powerful pyrokinetic, able to generate and control fire to an immense degree. Enji would marry Rei because she was a powerful crykinetic, able to use ice and cold the way Enji could with fire and heat. Realizing that the two could produce a child with both their powers, meaning that the Todoroki line would be able to become the number one hero.
Each of Shoto’s older siblings only ever inherited the powers of one of their parents. This frustrated Enji and he was relieved when Shoto was born and by the age of three displaying his control over both fire and ice. This meant that Shoto would be raised separately from his siblings and made to train every day in his powers. His father’s training was abusive, rarely holding back on their combat training, meaning a toddler was taking full brunt strikes from a world-class fighter.
While Shoto got all his father’s attention, Enji neglected the rest of the family or abused them physically or psychologically when they tried to interact with him. Shoto spent his days yearning to spend time with his siblings but forced to train in his powers. He would get to interact with his mother but she was experiencing this abuse from Enji the longest out of all of them. At one point, Shoto would have boiling water thrown at his face by his mother when she suffered a breakdown.
This gave Shoto a large scar over the side of left side of his face, the side that had his red hair, like his father. His mother would be put into a hospital to be watched over since she was now a danger to herself and others. Shoto vowed to never use his fire powers, only his ice powers to rebel against his father. By the time he was of high school age, he was able to get into UA High, Japan’s premiere school for hero training.
It was here that Shoto would make many friends, who often became like family for the distant Shoto. He would realize he needed to embrace his fire side along with his ice side to become the best hero he could be, not for his father, but for himself. He is often in the top five students in his class when it comes to school or hero work. He has even begun to reconnect with both his mother and father, the road to recovery is long but there is hope.
There you have it! Shoto Todoroki is one of many heroes in training at UA High in My Hero Academia but he certainly has made a name for himself among students, faculty, and fans alike. He often gets ranked high in popularity contests when they’re held for the show. Where will he, his family, and his friends end up next? Only My Hero Academia creator, Kohei Horikoshi knows! See you next time!
Suggested Reading
My Hero Academia
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
