Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, also known as Real Steel (リアルスティール), is a student in Class 1-B at U.A. High School, training to become a Pro Hero.

Appearance
Tetsutetsu is a young man with quite long, messy gray hair which is rather peculiar in that it never seems to change shape, and black eyes which are tilted dramatically inwards, each lined with a very thick, jagged, tan-colored substance, which are presumably his eyelashes. He doesn’t appear to have any notable eyebrows, and, like Eijiro Kirishima, he has rows of sharp, pointed fangs as teeth.

His hero costume consists of a dark green jumpsuit, cut off just below his chest, with some small, silver-rimmed holes in the lower section of his baggy pants and black boots with metal soles, heels and front plating. He has steel straps over his shoulders and under his arms, made up of multiple pieces, which connect at a red oval in the centre of his chest, with two thinner bands around his biceps and a small plate on either side of his waist. He wears a metal jaw-guard around his face, similar to the one Eijiro wears, just thicker and not connected over his nose or around his chin, with the letters “Fe” (which means iron in the periodic table) stamped on a plate on each side of his face.

Personality
Tetsutetsu is defined by his very hot-headed and outspoken personality. He is confident, stubborn and very straightforward in his motivations and his actions. He tends to be very vocal about his intentions and has a one-track mind. Tetsutetsu often looks for the simplest solution to problems in order to go about them in the most direct manner. Even when fighting, Tetsutetsu's direct personality shows through his tenacious and upfront fighting style.

Determined to prove himself, Tetsutetsu desires to be put on the same skill level as the students in Class 1-A. When Tetsutetsu first met Class 1-A, he was very loud and abrupt in his introduction because he felt they considered themselves superior to Class 1-B. He especially detested Katsuki Bakugo for his arrogance and resolved to win the Sports Festival as a result.

Despite his stubbornness, Tetsutetsu eventually befriended Eijiro of Class 1-A and even cheered for him during the festival. Even so, Tetsutetsu continued to try and prove himself as a student on par with Class 1-A.

Following the end of the first term, the Class 1-B students were considered second-rate by everyone including their homeroom teacher. Tetsutetsu was brought to tears while apologizing for disappointing his teacher. When villains attacked both classes, Tetsutetsu fought back as an opportunity to expose himself to danger and grow from it. Much like Class 1-A did during the attack on the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.

Tetsutetsu appears to care deeply about his peers. He didn't attack the villains before ensuring Ibara Shiozaki's safety and didn't hesitate to throw himself in front of a bullet for Itsuka Kendo.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: Tetsutetsu has proven himself to be a very formidable individual on numerous occasions. His abilities earned him 8th place in the U.A. Entrance Exam, having the fourth highest amount of villain points. Thanks to his Quirk, Tetsutetsu's fighting style is straightforward and reckless, letting his hardened body take opposing hits while delivering counterattacks.

Tetsutetsu has shown to be as formidable as Eijiro Kirishima, and due to their similar Quirks and fighting styles, the two were evenly matched during their battle at the U.A. Sports Festival, which resulted in a draw. The two hard-headed students were still on par with each other during their arm wrestling tie-breaker, until Tetsutetsu's Quirk began to weaken due to insufficient iron intake. Another testament of Tetsutetsu's prowess is when he, alongside Itsuka, took on the villain Mustard, a B-Rank villain. Despite his weakening Quirk, stamina loss, and clouded vision, Tetsutetsu, with Itsuka's help, was able to defeat the gas villain with a single punch.

During the Joint Training Battle, Tetsutetsu displayed drastic improvement, as he was able to force Shoto Todoroki, a recommended student who is also one of the most powerful students in Class 1-A, on the defensive before Shoto amplified the intensity of his flames that put Tetsutetsu's metal skin at risk for melting, had Juzo Honenuki not intervened.

Quirk
Steel (スティール): Tetsutetsu's Quirk allows him to turn his body into steel, which grants him both, augmented defensive abilities to withstand attacks, as well as the augmented strength of his unarmed physical attacks. Upon losing an arm wrestling match he mentions that he should have had more iron that morning, implying that his Quirk's strength is fueled and affected by his diet containing iron. If his uses his Quirk for too long, Tetsutetsu will suffer from iron fatigue, resulting in his metal skin losing it's durability.
 * Enhanced Strength: When using his Quirk, Tetsutetsu's physical strength is increased, enabling him to break through most obstacles. In his arm-wrestling match against Eijiro, his fingers dug through the concrete podium on which the match took place. Tetsutetsu's augmented strength also allowed him to tear through multiple metal pipes (which are commonly made up of steel or iron) in Ground Gamma with ease.
 * Enhanced Durability: Tetsutetsu has enhanced durability thanks to his Quirk. Remnants of the huge Villain Bots fell on top of him, and Tetsutetsu's Quirk allowed him emerge completely unscathed. His hardened skin also renders him bulletproof, as Tetsutetsu took a bullet to the face and other parts of his body, and wasn’t damaged at all, albeit he was still flung back by the force of the bullets themselves.
 * Temperature Resistance: Tetsutetsu's steel-hard skin also grants him immunity to freezing, and resistance to high temperatures of heat. When it comes to heat however, his metal skin will melt if the heat he's experiencing heat that is at a high enough temperature.

Super Moves

 * Tetsutetsu Fist (俺拳): Tetsutetsu rushes towards an opponent and delivers a simple jab while in his Steel form. It's strong enough to shatter ice. This move is similar in nature to Red Gauntlet.


 * Horn Dash Hammer (角ダッシュハンマー): Combined attack between Tetsutetsu and Pony Tsunotori. First Tetsutetsu turns his body into steel and then, thanks to her Horn Cannon Quirk, Pony holds him through her controllable horns and launches him towards an enemy. First used against Shoto during the Joint Training Battle.

Trivia

 * His name is composed of the kanji for "iron" (鉄), "clear" (哲), "pierce" (徹), and an archaic kanji for "iron" (鐵). Aside from being a clear reference to his Quirk, his name may be a joke on how similar he is to Eijiro Kirishima; his name sounds redundant, with each kanji being pronounced like the word for "iron".
 * Tetsutetsu ranked 8th during the Entrance Exam with 49 Villain Points and 10 Rescue Points.
 * According to Tetsutetsu's profile in Volume 4:
 * He likes fighting games.
 * His favorite food is spinach.
 * Horikoshi likes his design and wants to draw more of him.
 * Eijiro and Tetsutetsu share many similarities with each other.
 * They share the same birthday (October 16).
 * They both chose Fourth Kind's office for workplace experience.
 * They share the same stats.
 * Their Quirks, Steel and Hardening, are functionally similar and described likewise, including the weakness of losing power in a drawn out battle.
 * Both have prominently pointed teeth.
 * Both have similar hero costumes.
 * Both have a Super Move that involves further hardening their fists to break through the opponent's defenses, while having the same pose when performing their Super Move.
 * In the anime, their U.A. Sports Festival entry poses were the exact same.
 * The beginning of their Hero names start with the letter "R".
 * Both use their Quirks to turn themselves into human shields to protect their allies.
 * Their fighting styles are the same: straightforward and reckless, letting their hardened bodies take opposing hits while delivering counterattacks.
 * Both wanted to stand out during the U.A. Sports Festival, but were disappointed that they couldn’t, upon realizing their similarities to each other.
 * Them and their Quirks were formally introduced in quick succession, while in identical situations: emerging from the wreckage of Villain Bots.
 * Tetsutetsu ranked in the Top 16 of the U.A. Sports Festival First-Year Stage.
 * Tetsutetsu and his Quirk might be references to the Japanese cyberpunk horror film .
 * His Quirk, Steel, could be a reference to the DC Comics hero, whose skin and muscle tissue are transmuted into organic steel. That or a possible reference to the Marvel Comics hero , who can transform his skin to organic metal at will.
 * Tetsutetsu's English voice actor, David Wald, also voices Snipe.

Quotes

 * (To Itsuka Kendo) "I'm in Class 1-B of the Hero Course! If I don't stand up here, what's the point?! I'm gonna find these jerks and beat the snot out of them!"