The Marvel and DC DNA Behind Every Major My Hero Academia Character, Ranked

My Hero Academia is basically an all-you-can-eat buffet of superhero ideas, and yeah, a lot of them look familiar if you grew up on Marvel and DC. That is not a dig — it is kind of the fun of it. You can feel the Western comics influence baked into the quirks, the costumes, and the whole save-people-first vibe. So, let’s line up the big MHA players with their closest Marvel/DC counterparts and talk about why the parallels actually make sense.

1. Mt. Lady — Cassie Lang

   One of the first pro heroes the show introduces, Mt. Lady can go kaiju-size on command. She uses those skyscraper proportions to block, grab, and generally steamroll villains — and when she goes big, she goes all the way. It is basically an on/off switch: normal or gigantic, no in-between.

   The match here is Cassie Lang from Marvel. Ant-Man’s daughter also grows into a giant, and her entrance can rattle even heavy-hitting villains. Both are solid proof that 'big' powers are more than just spectacle when you know how to use them.

2. Toga — Mystique

   League of Villains alum Himiko Toga can transform into anyone after sipping their blood. It is not just skin-deep either — she picks up mannerisms and vibes, which tracks with her messy fixation on the people she admires.

   The obvious comp is Mystique. She shapeshifts for infiltration and manipulation, often in service of what she sees as a greater cause for mutants. Toga does it for far more personal, chaotic reasons. Same toolkit, very different mission statement.

3. Aoyama — Cyclops

   Yuga Aoyama fires a concentrated energy beam from his belly button. It is strong, it is flashy, and it gives him brutal stomach aches if he pushes it. He has also quietly had one of the more surprising, meaningful arcs in the series.

   Think Cyclops: devastating beam, constant need for control, collateral damage always a risk. Personality-wise they could not be further apart, but the power problem is basically the same.

4. Present Mic — Black Canary

   U.A.’s loudest teacher runs on a Quirk called Voice, turning his shout into weaponized shockwaves. He is also the guy with the mic at school events — big energy, bigger decibels.

   That maps cleanly to DC’s Black Canary. Her Canary Cry can shatter and stun with precision, which is why she is perennially one of DC’s most dangerous non-godlike fighters.

5. Mirio Togata — Kitty Pryde

   Lemillion’s Permeation lets him phase through anything, but the control it demands is brutal. After years of obsessive training he turned it into a top-tier power — and then lost it for a bit, which did not make him any less heroic.

   Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) is the near one-to-one here: intangibility, walk-through-walls energy. She even takes it a step further with phasing tricks that play with gravity while she is intangible, which gives her a tiny edge in versatility.

6. Hagakure — Sue Storm

   Toru Hagakure is permanently invisible, which started as a gag and turned into a stealth specialist lane. She is way more useful than the early jokes suggest and gets legitimate development along the way.

   The parallel is Fantastic Four’s Invisible Woman. Sue can toggle invisibility and conjure force fields, but the core idea — how invisibility shapes your role on a team — is the same foundation Hagakure is built on.

7. Tenya Iida — Quicksilver

   Class 1-A’s rep runs on engines in his calves, which launch him into blistering bursts of speed and some truly punishing kicks. He is a straight-arrow leader who keeps tuning up his pace with hard work.

   Enter Quicksilver. Different demeanor, similar utility: high-speed rescues, split-second distractions, and mobility that can flip a fight.

8. Kirishima — The Thing

   Eijiro Kirishima’s Hardening Quirk turns his body rock-solid, boosting both defense and damage. He can dial up how tough he gets, and his whole philosophy of manliness and bravery fits the power like a glove.

   He lines up most closely with the Thing. Same rocky resilience and heavy-hitting style — with the big difference that Ben Grimm does not get to switch it off.

9. Tokoyami — Venom

   Fumikage Tokoyami fights alongside Dark Shadow, a living, growing creature made of darkness. The less light there is, the stronger it gets — and the harder it is to control. He has learned to ride the line so well he even uses it for flight now.

   That dynamic screams Venom. The symbiote supercharges its host but brings a ton of volatility. Power with a personality, and sometimes the personality wins.

10. Shoto — Iceman and Human Torch

    Shoto Todoroki is a prodigy with Half-Cold Half-Hot: ice on one side, fire on the other. He is absurdly versatile, and his journey has been about balancing both halves while untangling some heavy family baggage.

    He is basically Iceman and Human Torch smashed into one character. Cold control meets firepower, fused into a single, very dangerous toolkit.

11. Hawks — Angel

    Hawks’ crimson wings do more than fly. He can fire off individual feathers as blades or tools, which lets him cut through combat while still being a clutch first-responder.

    Angel is the clean Marvel comp. He has the iconic wings and aerial grace, and while he cannot micromanage each feather like Hawks, those wings make him a natural for rescues.

12. Deku — Spider-Man

    Izuku Midoriya starts without a Quirk and inherits One For All, the legacy power that eventually stacks multiple abilities. The story is largely him figuring out how to wield it without losing himself.

    Kohei Horikoshi never outright said 'I based him on Spider-Man,' but the DNA is there. Both are young, earnest, and constantly underestimated until they outthink and out-heart everyone else. The powers do not match — the vibe does.

13. Endeavor — Human Torch

    Enji Todoroki ascends to No. 1 after All Might retires. His Hellflame Quirk lets him throw off massive, surgical firepower and literally become a man aflame. He is one of the most purely destructive heroes in the series.

    That overlaps with the Human Torch: full-body flame, blistering offense, and fire-propelled flight. Flashy and lethal, in both cases.

14. Knuckleduster — Batman

    From the spin-off My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Knuckleduster operates with zero Quirk. He is a back-alley brawler who leans on technique and sheer relentlessness, taking justice into his own hands, far from the spotlight.

    That is as Batman as it gets. Both work outside official channels, rely on training and detective instincts, and fight superpowered problems the hard way. Batman is driven by tragedy; Knuckleduster comes from a world where ordinary people punch back at the superhuman tide.

15. All Might — Superman

    All Might is the series’ bright-line symbol of peace, the former No. 1 whose One For All made him a walking rescue operation: strength, speed, durability, the whole package. He is the platonic ideal of a superhero in Horikoshi’s world.

    The inspiration is direct: Superman. Both are towering, optimistic protectors who keep smiling even when they are hiding their own cracks.

What other match-ups did I miss? Hit me with your deep cuts. And if you want to revisit the show with all this in mind, My Hero Academia is streaming on Crunchyroll.