Iwao Oguro

Iwao Oguro, commonly known as Master (師匠), is the vigilante known as Knuckleduster (ナックルダスター). He was formerly the Pro Hero High-Speed Hero: O'Clock (超速ヒーロー・オクロック) in Japan, and Hyper Quadfist in China.

Appearance
Knuckleduster is a towering, heavily muscled man. He has short dark hair and visibly thick eyebrows, and also possesses heavy stubble and a prominent scar running diagonally down his left cheek.

His costume consists of a simple wrap-around black mask tied over the top of his head, a tight-fitting dark shirt, jeans, boots, and a long hunter green trench coat. On his hands, he wears a pair of dark gloves topped with a pair of brass knuckles, or knuckledusters, from which he derives his name.

After his initial encounter with Number 6, his right leg is busted to the point of requiring a cane to walk, and also appears to have his left eye completely scarred over.

As O'Clock he wore a full-body red suit and a mask that covered his eyes and half of his face. He also wore gloves and boots, and his suit had several lines around the arms, legs, and torso. On his shoulders, he had what appeared to be his symbol. He was noticeably slimmer at the time, though still quite muscular.

Personality
Knuckleduster is an individual with a strong sense of justice and drives to do the right thing. He has no government-issued hero license, but this does not stop him from putting on his costume and going out every night to fight street-level criminals and local gangs to keep his neighborhood safe from crimes most "heroes" will not bother with. Despite this reckless streak, he does genuinely admire Heroes for the work they do. This is probably because he also used to be a Pro Hero before his powers were stolen, which left him Quirkless.

Knuckleduster shows no resentment towards people who do and shows no fear towards villains who have powerful Quirks. In fact, he seems to love fighting against particularly strong people who have powerful Quirks, enjoying the challenge and becoming very upset or frustrated whenever there are no particularly strong Villains to fight. When a fight is too easy, he quickly becomes depressed. This seems to be one of the main joys of his life, as he becomes invigorated whenever he gets to fight a strong opponent. He is even willing to fight against Pro Heroes if the situation calls for it.

Knuckleduster seems to be a person with a tendency to use violence to solve any problem. He prefers to punch first and ask questions later, as he is willing to beat up people he deems to look suspicious on the slim chance that they may be villains or users of the Trigger drug, forcing his teammates to hold him back before he goes too far. His attitude extends to that he was willing to attack a young-appearing woman under the suspicion of being a villain, when it turns out she was a Hero merely using her Quirk to look for directions. Knuckleduster feels little to no guilt or worries about what he does, despite the fact that he could have been registered as a Villain if the misunderstanding continued, showing a more aloof and careless side to his personality.

However, despite this, he has proven to be more intelligent and perceptive than he seems to be at first. His conclusions are usually right, proving to have a great capacity for deduction. During fights he is able to devise strategies and stratagems very quickly to deal with villains with dangerous or problematic Quirks, knowing when is the best time to attack or what item is the most adequate to defeat them. And when he is not wearing his vigilante attire, he can behave like a well-mannered and polite person, presenting a perfect façade of a worker for a local non-profit organization, complete with business cards and a technically true spiel about the group.

The truth is, underneath his intimidating exterior and violent behavior, Knuckleduster is actually a very caring and compassionate individual who cares for the people close to him and encourages them to achieve their goals. He trains Koichi Haimawari to improve his combat style and his Quirk and is proud of his progress as well as his innate sense of good will. Although it initially appeared as though he recruited Koichi as his pupil on a whim, it turns out that the young man once helped him during a low point in his life and he believes that Koichi saved him that day, calling him his hero. He shows the same level of care towards Kazuho Haneyama as one of his allies and a member of their group, despite their habit of bickering. He is also a loving father and husband who holds a deep grudge against the people who hurt his family.

During his time as O'Clock, he was a stoic Hero known for quick "snatch and grab" approaches to solving crimes, thanks to his Overclock speed, along with his frequent partnerships with the Police Force, specifically Eizo Tanuma. However upon reflection after losing his Quirk, he has come to believe that "O'Clock" was a failure as a hero; one that merely represented another cog in the system that only fixed problems on the surface. This was also one of his many reasons for denying Number 6's request to become O'Clock's successor, believing that O'Clock was not a hero who should be idolized.

Despite his attempts to initially deny it during the Underground Masquerade, Kendo Rappa was able to recognize that, just like him, Iwao loved the thrill of a no holds barred fight and getting his hands dirty, which clashed with his supposed image as O'Clock. When he embraced his Knuckleduster persona, Kendo's belief turned out to be right as Knuckleduster allowed that more chaotic side of his personality to be unleashed.

After saving his daughter, Tamao, from the Queen Bee's possession and passing on his blessing to Koichi, Knuckleduster becomes determined in killing Number 6 to end the Villain Factory once and for all. During the fight, he states that he was born with a strong Quirk and some brains but claims that his abilities and knowledge didn't define him in the slightest, and believes that he's passed on his worthiness to those who followed him. Knuckleduster becomes willing to sacrifice himself to end Number 6 by setting improvised explosives on the building they were fighting on. Soga Kugisaki however, refuses to let him go through with this suicidal plan, saying that everyone has fought hard to ensure that no one will die, meaning that he's not allowed to die either.

Even after the conflict finally ends and the Naruhata Vigilantes disband with Koichi and Kazuho both moving on with their lives respectively, Knuckleduster returns to his post as a vigilante even in spite of his newly acquired injuries, still determined and eager to fight crime from the shadows.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: Knuckleduster is currently Quirkless, proven when Eraser Head tried to erase his Quirk to no avail. Despite this, however, Knuckleduster still possesses a large amount of physical strength and skill, which enabled him to fight on even terms even with a Pro Hero like Eraser Head. Knuckleduster appears to be skilled in hand-to-hand combat, utilizing brass knuckles as his weapon of choice. Knuckleduster's skill with his fists was great enough to overcome the swordsmanship of Stendhal, a powerful and notorious Vigilante, landing a heavy blow before the vigilante could scratch him, single-handedly defeating the swordsman. During his time as a Pro Hero, he went undercover and fought Kendo Rappa in a cage match, managing to stay conscious and unharmed after the villain used his Strongarm, an impressive feat considering the power of his Quirk and how easily he defeated most of his opponents with it.
 * Enhanced Durability: Despite being Quirkless, Knuckleduster is very sturdy, standing up even when he receives blows from physical enhancement Quirks. Perhaps more impressive is how he is able to withstand Kendo's Strongarm blows, which individually were powerful enough to break Eijiro Kirishima's Red Riot Unbreakable.
 * Enhanced Strength: Knuckleduster's strength is surprisingly high, and he is sometimes mistaken for having a strength-enhancing Quirk. He was capable of going fist to fist with a tremendously physically powerful and fast-moving Trigger-enhanced man and knock him out with relative ease.

Keen Intellect: Despite appearing to be a mere brawler, Knuckleduster has great intuition and tactical knowledge. When fighting Trigger-enhanced villains, he is able to work out how their Quirks work and the best way to counter them all while locked in a fight with them. He also quickly understood Stendhal's way of fighting as well as his state of mind, and also preemptively formulated a battle plan that would allow him to defeat Kuin Hachisuka whilst also saving the life of his daughter, Tamao.

Former Quirk
Overclock (オーバークロック): Iwao's Quirk allowed him to accelerate his brain's perception to extreme speeds, making it appear to him as if the world was moving in slow motion. While his Quirk was active, his accelerated perception granted him increased physical speed.

The Quirk requires a cool-down period after it's used, and can only be used for a few seconds at a time.

At some point in the past, Iwao's Quirk was stolen by All For One, leaving him Quirkless.


 * Heightened Focus: Thanks to his Quirk, O'Clock could see, hear, and think at hyper speed.

Equipment
Brass Knuckles: Knuckleduster's main weapons and the reason for his Vigilante name.

Grappling Hook: Knuckleduster has been seen swinging from buildings by means of a grappling hook.

Painkillers: Used to tone down pain. Bought regularly from Giran.

Taser Knuckle: A taser weapon with a built-in defibrillator. Bought off Giran.

Pheromone Cocktail: An explosive cocktail made to draw in bees and then explode. Made with items obtained from Giran.

Sniper Rifle: A high-precision firearm, which allows shooting at a very long distance.

Radio Box: A regular radio box used against Number 6 to counter his usage of Overclock.

Shotgun: A firearm used for close range encounters.

Chapter Appearances

 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

Trivia

 * Iwao's surname contains the kanji for "male" (雄) and "black" (黒), and his first name contains "rock, crag" (巌).
 * Knuckleduster's favorite things are cigarettes and beer.
 * His vigilante name is another name for the brass knuckles that form a part of his costume.
 * Hideyuki Furuhashi, the author of Vigilantes, said that if All Might was Superman, Knuckleduster would be comparable to Batman.
 * Furuhashi confirmed that O'Clock's Costume is based on DC Comics' The Flash.

Site Navigation
Knuckleduster