Keigo Takami

Keigo Takami, also known as Wing Hero: Hawks (ウィングヒーロー ホークス), is the former No. 3 Pro Hero and the current No. 2 Pro Hero.

Appearance
Keigo is a man of average height with a slim and narrow build. He himself has pointed out that his back muscles are not broad enough. He has feathery ash blonde hair swept messily backward with some of the front tufts sticking up in arcs above his head, notably thick eyelashes, and some faint stubble on his chin.

His eyes are gold-brown and rather triangular in shape, with two little black triangles just below his tear ducts, making his eyes somewhat resemble those of a bird. The marks around his eyes are natural, since he already had them as a child. His Quirk grants him a set of large bright red wings with feathers that gradually lengthen the further down they go.

He wears a black shirt with a wavy golden pattern like a ripple in a pond, over which he has a tan jacket with a high collar, the insides and cuffs of the sleeves lined with white fur, and black gloves. He has a red square-shaped lobe piercing in each ear, although these are rarely visible as he usually wears a pair of yellow headphones over them. His headphones most likely have protection purposes, since the velocities in which he moves are capable of damaging eardrums beyond repair.

A rounded, yellow-tinted visor protects his eyes (blue-tinted in the manga), presumably from UV radiation above the clouds and dirt particles at high speed. His jacket is specially modified, with two large slits over his shoulder blades to accommodate his wings. His costume resembles an aviator's uniform.

After the Paranormal Liberation War and following the several injuries given by Dabi, Keigo momentarily wore a respirator mask device as well as communicated with a voice simulator through his phone as his vocal cords were apparently injured and his wings were burned off.

As of the Tartarus Escapees Arc, he's recovered from his wounds, with some minor scars on the left part of his jaw and neck and his wings are yet to be restored. He's now able to speak as his vocal cords recovered, and his hair is cut much shorter.

Personality
Keigo is shown to be highly intelligent, both emotionally and logistically. He promotes a carefree and jovial attitude, while his constant vigilance often hides under layers of serenity and equanimity. Keigo acts laid-back while being on constant alert, seeming to look quite rude at times.

Keigo follows the orders of the HPSC without hesitation but with subliminal cynicism. Nevertheless, Keigo dislikes formalities, often acting in an unpredictable way while being cocky and taunting. He acts nonchalant and jokingly submissive since he does not care about social status or recognition. Keigo uses a lot of sarcasm such as when he agrees serenely when Katsuki Bakugo claims to have been faster, and he reacts with ironic adaptation when someone claims him to be lesser.

Keigo believes that popular approval is the most important metric a Pro Hero should be judged for since it is the task of a hero to put the citizens at ease - something that he claims he's unable to do. Keigo shows a preference for the lower hero ranks as it would allow him more freedom and avoid the burdens of being a top hero. He states his wish is to patrol in a free, leisurely fashion and "take it easy."

Still, Keigo is said to be ferocious in regards to his Pro Hero duties, understanding the importance of a leader figure among all heroes after All Might's retirement. When around others he likes, Keigo is very talkative and can have a prolonged one-sided conversation casually while helping dozens of civilians simultaneously in his area of influence. He also claims that he will always strive for what he longs for. Ironically, despite his bird-like Quirk, he seems to have a special liking for bird-based meals; making him a raptor.

Keigo's cunning has been shown multiple times as he outsmarts his surveillance monitors, as well as planning his actions ahead in order to have explanations for the Hood-incident. He is rational and more far-sighted than other Pro Heroes, allowing him the best chances to go undercover. He's also demonstrated his intelligence through his investigative work, being quickly able to deduce the truth behind One For All, and its connection to All Might and Izuku Midoriya. He is then able to use his analytical skills to try and better understand One For All and All For One, being the one to theorize All For One could never steal the Quirk because he lacks any semblance of hatred required to take it.

He appears relaxed in situations of great pressure, such was the case during the Japanese Hero Billboard Chart. Keigo's gestures are lively, expressive, and highly personalized, as he always wants to get his voice across. He claims to be "bad at keeping it in," even though he possesses complete control over his facial expressions and body language, which makes him an extremely skilled liar. But apparently, he adores the truth, finding lying to be too much work. These traits allowed him to easily work his way into the Liberation Army, and the slight change of motivation expertly conveyed to Endeavor the information about the Liberation Army's aims and change of leadership.

While Keigo seems uninterested in most things, he has a good heart as he saves every single witness from Hood's attack and is silently disgusted at the strain of maintaining his duty-act as a double agent amidst a cabal of villains and terrorists. He also feels guilty about Endeavor's scar, having coaxed the High-End attack into a contained area to reduce casualties.

While he seems relaxed and under-challenged as typical of most prodigies, he is in fact hard-working and under constant pressure with his hero career. It is proclaimed that he trained endlessly to maximize the techniques in which he uses his wings, refining his rescue, support, and combat abilities.

In his childhood, his father would force him to stay locked up in the house to ensure no one could discover and capture him, and he was unable to interact with the outside world or anyone his age. Because of this, he initially believed that the heroes he saw on television were just fictional characters. Furthermore, he was subjected to constant physical and emotional abuse by his father. Keigo would be kicked simply for turning his back to his father, who would constantly say how it would've been better if Keigo was never born. Seeing how broken both of his parents were, Keigo held in his emotions and became determined not to endure the same fate. Even in his youth, Keigo showed remarkable inner strength and intelligence, as despite the emotional torment caused by both parents, he was still firm in his resolve to be a good hero like Endeavor. Keigo displayed his ingenuity and strength when he and his mother were forced out onto the streets, and after being tormented by his mother when asking why she even had Keigo or what good his wings were, he became determined to be useful, saving the lives of many people in a high-speed incident, garnering the attention of the Hero Public Safety Commission and saving both him and his mother from their life of poverty.

Despite his troubled past and him being taken in by a corrupted government, who saw him as a replacement for Lady Nagant, Hawks was determined to strive and become a hero like his idol, Endeavor, through the years as he was trained by the HPSC to become an undercover double agent for the safety of society. By the time his training was complete he still retained his optimism, unlike his superior, and still looked up to his idol even after Dabi's public recording, exposing the abuse he caused to his family, still supporting him, even going so far as to expose his own past for Endeavor's sake, as he believed that unlike his own father, Endeavor has truly changed for the better.

Keigo's optimistic side is what leads him to most often want to find the good in others, potentially due to his own personal guilt over never truly forgiving his mother, something he commends Shoto over after learning of his reconciliation with his mother. Alongside both his trust in Endeavor and seeing his growth, and Lady Nagant, who even after her turn to the dark side he still believes there remains the heart of a hero in her, the biggest example of this is Twice, who even undercover manages to develop a genuine bond of friendship with, possessing a desire to want to help the villain rehabilitate, even if the plan ultimately fails.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: Keigo was ranked 3rd of Japan's Pro Heroes, before taking the spot of No. 2 after All Might's retirement. When he was eighteen years old, Keigo became one of the top 10 Pro Heroes before taking No. 3 spot in the four years that followed, making him the youngest top Pro Hero as well as the fastest to reach such a high ranking in Japan. Fast and cunning, Keigo possesses incredible skill and finesse over his Quirk, Fierce Wings, which he primarily uses for flight, high-speed combat, and supporting his allies' mobility using detached feathers. Even as a child, Keigo demonstrated remarkable skill and prowess, being able to singlehandedly save multiple people in a huge car accident with the automobiles going at 130 km/h. In spite of his prowess, Keigo is aware of his Quirk’s weakness and will not exhaust his quills unless absolutely necessary. To compensate for his Quirk being unable to enhance his overall brute strength, Keigo employs his plumes as bladed weapons. Combined with his celerity, Keigo can rapidly slice through enemies or fire off smaller plumages from his wings like daggers. His overall Quirk proficiency allowed Keigo to become both a top Pro Hero and one of the swiftest fighters in the world. In fact, Keigo subdues common criminals so quickly his subordinates only serve as clean-up, while Keigo moves on to his next target.

Without looking, Keigo utilized his feathers to save citizens and animals, as well as apprehend villains, all while holding a walking conversation with Endeavor. When Hood appeared and engaged Endeavor, Hawks was able to effectively evacuate 76 citizens from the collapsing skyscraper before proceeding to aid the Flame Hero against the High-End Nomu. All this shows Hawks to be effective at multi-tasking and incredibly aware of his surroundings. Hawks' main strength however happens to be his phenomenal speed. Said speed allows Hawks to keep up with the High Ends Nomu Hood who was shown to completely outpace Endeavor a combatant with high reflexes. At a later date, Hawks was shown to travel from the top of a skyscraper and apprehend two villains at such high speed Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo couldn't follow his movements. Hawks has also shown skill in the use of his feathers as swords.
 * Enhanced Sight: Keigo has a very acute sense of sight. From the top of a skyscraper, Keigo was able to spot Endeavor between hundreds of citizens, which implies he has incredibly sharp vision.

Keen Intellect: Keigo has repeatedly shown to be a highly ingenious individual. Even if he can not compete with Endeavor and/or All Might in terms of raw power, Keigo's intellect is extremely formidable, enhancing his value as a hero to the level of the two high-grade crime fighters. Keigo is observant, collected, and quick-thinking in his verbal confrontations with Dabi and Endeavor. Keigo controlled a large number of feathers simultaneously without looking, while performing a seemingly relaxed conversation, making it appear that Keigo is oblivious to the conflicts around him. During a sit-down with Endeavor, Keigo postulated that All For One was hiding more Nomus outside of Kamino than the ones that were found at the Nomu factory by the Hideout Raid Team, concluding that the League of Villains were searching for the hidden set of Nomus. Later on, during the attack by the High-End Nomu, Hood, Keigo took proper safety precautions whilst vacating the citizens housed inside of the crumbling building. Knowing he wouldn't be able to secure everyone with the minimal plumes he had left, the Wing Hero shifted his focus to those trapped within the damaged portion of the structure, which proved a success. When Endeavor had Keigo use his remaining quills to impel him further into the sky, Keigo realized that it was part of Endeavor's plan to avoid collateral damage.

After Endeavor defeated Twice's League of Villains clones, Keigo examined the demolished convoy, identified the container being a life support device, and assumed it was housing another Nomu creature, only to immediately redact his assumption, believing the containment unit was meant to hold something else. His presumption was correct as the life support pod was created for the villain Nine. Over the course of the next week, Keigo was informed that four Pro Heroes had lost their Quirks during that time, and accurately conjectured that victims' powers were stolen by someone with the same Quirk-stealing ability as All For One, and the victims were targeted due to their Quirks being useful. The feathered warrior was also capable of gathering various sensitive information about the politics within the HPSC, without their knowledge. Keigo even tricked the surveillance of the Paranormal Liberation Front, while still maintaining his façade.

Quirk
Fierce Wings: Keigo's Quirk grants him a pair of large, bright red, feathery wings on his back. These wings allow him to fly, and he can telekinetically control the movement and nature of each individual feather with ease, enabling him to harden them into a blade-like state and/or shoot them as projectiles, as well as control their speed and trajectory.

The feathers are considerably strong; with just a single feather he is capable of carrying a medium-sized object, such as a rock or a human being, as well as use multiple feathers to carry larger objects. With his many feathers, he is easily able to carry multiple loads at once. He can also feel the vibrations in the air through them in a manner similar to echolocation, allowing him to sense people's locations.

As Keigo sheds more feathers, his wings gradually shrink, impairing his ability to fly. When he loses all his feathers, it takes at least two days for them to grow halfway back, which can be a considerable drawback. His feathers are not of infinite quantity and prove to be lacking in abundance during certain occasions. Keigo has mentioned that he does not have enough feathers to hold up a collapsing building, but does have enough to evacuate the victims from said building. Aside from the limited feather quantity, the biggest weakness of Fierce Wings is fire, as it can burn Keigo's feathers, severely impairing his mobility.
 * Feather Blades: Keigo plucks out two long feathers from each of his wings, manipulates their nature, and uses them as swords to cut through his target. They are sharp enough to slice through two white Nomu summoned by High-End. It is also shown that he threatens Dabi with a single feather blade after the attack.
 * Enhanced Speed: By his own admission, Keigo's strong side isn't muscle strength but his phenomenal speed. He was able to reach Endeavor's attackers from the top of a skyscraper, in the blink of an eye and he did not even seem like he was trying, which implies that he can go much faster. Keigo solves most fights so rapidly that his sidekicks can't keep up with him so he usually just leaves the aftermaths of his battles to them, while he rushes to the next case.
 * Vocal Espionage: Keigo is able to use one of his feathers to distinguish sounds from the minute it changes in the air, allowing him to decode conversations and vocal information from sensing the vibrations. Especially after leaving the room or increasing the distance, this technique makes him a dangerous spy.

Chapter Appearances

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Anime Appearances

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Trivia

 * Hawks' given name is composed of the kanji for "disclose, open, say" (啓) and "enlightenment, understanding" (悟), and his surname contains "hawk" (鷹) and "see, visible, idea" (見).
 * Keigo's design is inspired by, a character from , one of Horikoshi's previous works.
 * Keigo himself was originally supposed to be Takahiro, as a transplanted character from Omagadoki Zoo akin to Uwabami and Kugo Sakamata, but that plan was discarded in favor of a new design.
 * Takahiro in his original design would later make a cameo appearance in My Hero Academia: Two Heroes.
 * Keigo's wings and overall appearance is similar to.
 * Keigo didn't attend a Heroics course in high school; instead, he was scouted for private Hero education when he was a child.
 * Keigo is the first Pro Hero explicitly stated to have not attended U.A. High School, currently making him the highest-ranking hero to not attend U.A. High.
 * During an interview with Honyasan App, My Hero Academia&#39;s current editor, Yoritomi, confessed that Hawks' backstory is based off Lionel Messi's childhood. He told the interviewer, "You might be familiar with the overseas soccer player Lionel Messi, but his backstory is that at a young age he was scouted by Barcelona and joined. His father had lost his job and couldn’t afford the hormone medical treatment Messi needed for his illness, but thanks to his talent for soccer FC Barcelona agreed to cover the medical expenses for them. In exchange for receiving that money, Messi had to agree to live in Spain and only play soccer from a very young age. During the World Cup I told that story to Mr. Horikoshi. The next week, or maybe the week after that, Hawks' story was born."
 * Keigo holds the record for the youngest Pro Hero, as well as the fastest for a Pro Hero to become one of the top 10 Pro Heroes on the Hero Billboard Chart JP.
 * Although Keigo is bird-like, his favorite food is chicken.
 * Keigo's ratings in the Popularity Polls are as follow:
 * In the fourth Popularity Poll, he placed 4th.
 * In the fifth Popularity Poll, he placed 11th.
 * In the sixth Popularity Poll, he placed 7th
 * In the fifth U.S. Popularity Poll, he placed 7th.
 * Keigo's English voice actor, Zeno Robinson, also voiced Deidoro Sakaki.

Quotes

 * (To Endeavor) "I just wanna enjoy myself. Seriously. Do some leisurely patrolling, put in a few appearances, say "Aw shucks, no trouble today," and get a good night's sleep! That's my ideal life! I wanna make this world one where heroes have time to kill."
 * (To the HPSC) "If dirtying my hands can somehow bring everyone peace of mind, I'll gladly take on this task."
 * (To Fumikage Tokoyami) "I'm not especially interested in nurturing the next generation or anything, but... It’s great that you’re putting in effort to cover your weak points, like short-distance combat, but you shouldn’t neglect improving on your strong points either. You're capable of moving much more freely. Look... take it from a fellow bird. If you’ve got wings, you should stretch them out and fly. There’s no need for you to be confined to the ground."
 * (To Twice) "I'll help you get back on your feet... You were dealt a bad hand, but you can atone for your deeds and start over. Because you're a good person."
 * (To Best Jeanist)" When a person’s backed into a corner or when they’re truly free... that’s when they show their true nature. That’s why I think Bubaigawara was a decent guy... who was just desperate to be help and I feel... the same way."

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