Who is Hero Killer: Stain?

I’m worried about this guy.

I feel like anyone who runs around calling themselves “Stain” has a serious self-worth issue. I mean listen, you don’t have to be as confident as New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, who has no plans to resign from office despite bribery charges against him. That’s a little TOO confident if you ask me. And you DEFINITELY don’t need to go auctioning off your used chapstick like Kevin McCarthy. Who does he think he is? Belle Delphine? We can’t ALL sell our bathwater, Senator. But I digress …

Who is Hero Killer: Stain? Why does he want to kill heroes? And why did he pick a gross word like “Stain” to be the name of his alter ego?

Hero Killer: Stain Squeaky Clean Beginnings

Hero Killer: Stain was once an average kid with dreams. And superpowers. This is also pretty average considering that in the world of My Hero Academia, 80% of the population has a superpowered “quirk”. Stain, then known as Chizome Akaguro, was not unlike the series protagonist Izuku Midoriya. Akaguro practically worshiped the hero All Might, and enrolled in superhero school to be just like his idol.

And then things got dirty.

As the young Akaguro got to know his peers, he came to the realization that most of his classmates were only interested in becoming heroes for selfish reasons. They didn’t want to help others, they were simply motivated by their own narcissistic desires for riches and fame. That didn’t fly well with the young Akaguro, who believed that heroes should be motivated by a well-polished moral compass whose true north is “do unto others” and “don’t be a dick.” So what did Stain do? Did he turn the other cheek? Did he judge not lest he be judged? Nope! He dropped out of school and became a masked vigilante known as Stendhal, shunning the more legitimate hero business altogether.

And then he started killing people.

Hero Killer: Stain-ed with blood

Akaguro, now Stendhal, decided that the only way to clean up the streets was to dispose of villains. Permanently. And so he did. He went total V for Vendetta and started knifing up villains left and right. This led him to get into a conflict with another vigilante named Knuckleduster, whose Batman-esque “never kill” principles caused him to be at philosophical odds with Stendhal. The two battled it out, and despite not having a quirk, Knuckleduster defeated Stendhal, smashing his nose in the process. Disgusted with himself for losing, Stendhal believed that he was not “pure” enough to clean up the city’s streets. He hated himself so much that he actually cut off the remains of his nose to spite his face. He saw the grisly gesture as symbolic, a renewed commitment to purity. He then shed his Stendhal identity and took on the moniker Hero Killer: Stain.

Ah ah ah ah Stain alive! Stain alive!

Emboldened by his new persona, Stain took it upon himself to kill not only villains, but ANYONE who he deemed was not worthy of possessing a quirk. He particularly targeted heroes, as he believed that their reasons for becoming heroes were selfish and insincere. His persecution of “fake” heroes emboldened a slew of other villains, who followed Stain’s example and decided to commit violent acts against heroes as well. But how does Stain stay alive in his confrontations with the world’s mightiest heroes? Let’s talk about his creepy powers, shall we?

Stain possesses a freaky-deaky quirk known as “Bloodcurdle”, which allows him to completely paralyze anyone whose blood he ingests. Gross! The time that a person remains paralyzed varies depending on their blood type. Type B people are paralyzed the longest, for reasons unknown. Luckily, Stain’s paralysis powers only stay in effect for a maximum of eight minutes. Unlucky, he only needs about 10 seconds to kill you.

Stain is exceptionally good at making people bleed. It’s kind of his whole thing. While he was serving as the vigilante Stendhal, he adopted a katana into his arsenal. It goes without saying that he has had YEARS of practice with sharp objects. He is also partial to throwing knives, as one would expect.

Stain is also extremely agile, and is able to access ninja-like levels of speed in combat. Despite his small size, the man is SWOLE. When he puts a little mustard behind his sword swings, he’s able to chop entire walls of ice in half! He can also take punishment as well as he gives it, and was able to take a full-on Izuku Midoriya Detroit Smash to the face and then just GET RIGHT BACK UP. I guess that’s what happens when you try to punch a guy with no nose in the face.

The worst part about fighting Stain having to deal with who he IS. Stain is terrifying. His bloodlust is so strong that it sends shockwaves out, paralyzing his targets with dread. Stain is also incredibly cunning on the battlefield, and uses Batman-level misdirection and mind games in order to demoralize his prey. He’s so scary that even high-ranking pro heroes aren’t immune to his fear-inducing aura. During a battle, he was able to mortify veteran heroes Endeavor and Gran Torino just by looking at them.

Stain’s bite is just as bad as his bark. In his villain career, Stain has managed to kill 17 pro-heroes. He has also mentally and physically scarred 23 heroes so profoundly that they will never fight again. This monster was able to nearly kill the pro hero Ingenium without so much as breaking a sweat. No sweat stains on this Stain. Just blood. Stain’s combat prowess was acknowledged by both Shoto Todoroki and Izuku Midoriya, with both heroes saying that he was one of the strongest villains they ever faced. And the scariest part? Stain was holding back.

Where is Stain now?

Locked up, thank superhero God. After his battle with Todoroki and Midoriya, Stain was left with broken ribs and a punctured lung. He was imprisoned in the maximum security villain prison Tartarus. As of now, he has recovered from his injury and is simply biding his time until he can break out again. I have a bad feeling that day is soon to come.

(featured image: Bones)