#that the corrupt system has made this hero indistinguishable from a villain

[lgbtlunaverse]

Hero vs villain: Jin and Hawks

So, the anime is here, and with it will most likely come the second phase of Hawks Discourse TM, but right now, I am much less interested in anyone's personal opinions on if what Hawks did is right, if twice deserved it, if this would be morally permissable if these characters were somehow real people, etc, and focus on what the NARRATIVE thinks of this fight. And in particular, the visual framing during it.

So, if you hadn't noticed, whatever you yourself think of this situation, the STORY thinks what Hawks did is wrong. Not the characters in the story (Though I must point out, Hawks himself calls Jin a good person even after he killed him and does not think he deserved to die) I mean the story as its own entity with themes and messages. 

And the story is not on Hawks' side.

It undercuts Hawks' victory on several accounts. The most important one is giving Toga Jin's blood, effectively undoing Hawks' primary justification for killing him. He wanted to make sure the villains didn't have double, an immensely powerful and dangerous quirk, on their side? Well, too bad, they still do! Congratulations, you played yourself.

But that's the plot, the story's in-universe events making Hawks' actions have more negative effects than positive, thereby painting it as the wrong choice. What I actually want to talk about is framing, specifically the way the fight itself is drawn.

Because this?

This is not how you draw a hero.

And interestingly, once you look at the Hawks vs twice fight in isolation- especially its first stretch before Dabi bursts in- without the larger context of the story behind it, it is drawn and written like a very classic hero vs villain fight where Hawks is the villain and Twice is the hero.

Let me tell you a story, it's probably one you've heard before.

Our Hero has recently made a new ally.

Some of their other allies are still wary of this new friend, because of their past loyalties, but our hero is trusting, perhaps too trusting for their own good. And the side this new ally used to belong to treated them badly! Our hero wants them to find happiness here.

But then one day, there's an ambush. Their home is attacked, their allies and friends are pulled into a battle they're not prepared for, and this happens:

Their new ally has betrayed them. They never truly changed sides, and were feeding information to the opponent the entire time. They isolated the hero with a false promise, and when they got them alone they immediately put a weapon centimeters from their skin. Our hero hasn't even moved yet, doesn't understand what's going on, but they're already fractions of a second away from death.

The ally, turned villain, is framed in shadows, only their narrowed, almost glowing eyes are visible, as they stare unmoved and unflinching at the hero.

Our hero tries to plead, still hoping there's another explanation, but the villain doesn't let them speak. They monologue, monotonely, about what a threat the hero is to their side, how they had to be eliminated. They mock them for not figuring out the ruse, for being so trusting. They tell the hero to surrender.

And our Hero?

Thinks about their friends. About how their caring nature had gotten one of them killed before, and now it has brought them in danger again. They break down in tears. The villain's eyes watch from the darkness, silent and unaffected.

The villain looms over them, still shrouded in darkness, as the hero thinks back on another friend, a mentor figure. Someone that saved them when they needed it most, someone they went through hell to save in return not so long ago. They think back on what they said about trust, and they lament that they failed.

"Well, thanks" the villain says dismissively.

But then.

Some of the shadows that envelop the villain's face fade away, they think back on their real moments with camraderie with the hero.

Not even villains are immune to emotions. They don't dislike our hero, they don't necessarily want to hurt them specifically. In fact, why can't the hero join them? They could do so much together. (And this is classic villain monologue stuff, isn't it? Straight from the golden age of american superhero comics mha loves to pay homage to. Join the other side! And it’s always based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the hero that the villain just can’t grasp, which is.. exactly what happens between jin and keigo.)

The next panel pulls away, and the rumbling outside reminds us, the readers, exactly why the hero can't. 

Their friends. Who are still out there, possibly being slaughtered by the villain's side. Friends are everything to our hero, they can't just abandon them. (And this is that misunderstanding. Hawks thinks twic eis the only oen in the league who is capable fo being saved. But you can’t save Jin if you can’t save the league. I won’t get into it here but this is why izuku, shouto, ochako and their respective villains are so important) 

So the hero refuses.

It’s of note here what exactly our two sides look like going into this battle. One is crying, in pain and betrayal, ready to sacrifice their life if it give their friends a chance at safety. 

The other? 

Resigned. Eyes narrowed. Weapons ready to strike. Not showing any emotion on purpose because showing emotion is showing weakness. 

And that unevenness, that contrast, persists throughout the fight. Our villains does not move a single inch as they slaughter a dozen clones of their former friend apart. Everything on the page moving, desperate, violent, except for them. They comment on our hero’s skill dryly, not even out of breath. 

Generally as readers we sympathise with effort and like conviction, and repression of emotion is seen as a negative trait. Such an obvious difference in visible effort (No doubt thawks is ACTULLY putting in a lot of work to get his feathers to be so fast and precise, this can’t be easy for him. But it LOOKS easy) also creates an underdog narrative, and we tend to naturally root for the underdog.

And then comes the line that sums up this entire fight:

“I could never allow mere sentiment to trip me up,” 

Because ultimately, this is not just a fight between two people. It is a fight between human connection and duty. It is a fight between someone who refuses to hurt the ones they love and someone who will. Who is, in fact, doing so right now. Our hero fights because they refuse to give up on people, our villain fights because they already have. 

And if you wanted it to be any more obvious, here are the physical manifestations of all our hero’s friends, being mercilessly sliced apart! How’s that for heavyhanded symbolism? Though, really, if you come to a superhero comic for subtlety, you might as well go to the beach to wash out the sand in your clothes.

So we’ve been looking at this fight ignoring the context, that the hero in this scenario is not twice. He is the villain of this story, even if he is not the villain of this story within that story. 

For this next page, that context will come crashing back in. So I want to ask you to read these lines while mentally erasing the word “villain” and “hero” from your mind.  What do they sound like now? 

“Why do you think I prioritize speed when taking my enemies down? Because it’s the ones who don’t give up that I fear the most.” 

In not just superhero comics at large, but the shounen action genre specifically, tenacity, hardheadedness, and never giving up on one’s friends are the classic traits of a protagonist. They’re basically staples of the genre. (Hell, deku, the actual protagonist of this very manga, fits into that mold perfectly) Speaking outright of fearing and hating those who never give up, who have genuine conviction they are willing to die for, is something so classically villainous i’d call it cheesy if it was played straight. That’s cartoon villain shit. 

Our hero has no time for this speech either, they start to say “Shut-”

-”Up.”

They don’t even get to finish their sentence. 

The shadows are back. Notably, our hero is all dressed in black, but their face is illuminated. While the villain’s clothes are all drawn in light colours, but their face is hidden in darkness. Some very nice traditional color symbolism here. 

And what are our heroes last words as they face their imminent death? 

Their friends, especially the little girl they’ve grown closest too these past months. They know the villain doesn’t care, but it’s more like a need when they tell them that this girl they dismissed is kind, that she took care of them. This girl, that the world can see only a monster in, they have to affirm, even to a person who won’t listen, that she’s good. That she deserves to have someone be willing to die to protect her. 

“I’ll be sure to tell the league that.” 

Is it mockery? genuine? Do they even care enough about anyone else in the league to bother to follow through, or is this just a casual dismissal? 

It doesn’t matter. 

They don’t have to.

And if this were one of those classic superhero stories, or an early more traditional shounen, then the arrival of this friend would have spelled the end for the villain. This whole fight has been about he power of human connection in the face of cold and uncaring order. And what better way to end it than by having the hero’s friend prove him right? Especially the one who’s been rude and distant this entire time, who was the other one to bring this ally-turned-enemy into their ranks, who’s been constantly denying that their friends are even their friends to begin with? But they came, in this moment, and that’s what matters. 

But this is not a classic story. Twice is not our hero. And this friendship does not save the day. 

It ends with a high five

And a stab in the back. 

And a girl’s smile fading. 

And, no matter what you think of this fight in context,  EVERYTHING on the actual pages of the manga depicting the fight itself is trying to tell you that Hawks is doing the wrong thing. That Twice- regardless of his overall morality- is RIGHT to stand by his friends and not give up on them. Even if those friends are villains. Even if he is also a villain. According to the story, Hawks is wrong, and Twice is right.