Ken Takagi

Ken Takagi, also known as Lock Hero: Rock Lock (錠前ヒーロー ロックロック) is a Pro Hero.

Appearance
Ken is a man who is below average height, and has dark, curly hair. He has pierced ears with padlocks in them. Notably, his fingertips have protrusions that resemble key teeth.

Part of his hero costume is a small white mask that covers his eyes. He wears a necklace around his neck with five keys dangling from it. Rock Lock wears a two-colored, short-sleeved shirt with a black section and a white print on it, resembling a keyhole. He wears two light-colored shoulder pads with a dark keyhole shape on both of them.

Personality
Ken is a very pragmatic and blunt man who is quick to judge whether or not someone is an asset. He is especially critical of newbies and young students, aware of the fact that they are possibly children risking their lives in dangerous situations. His infant son makes him more cognizant of the students' young age than the other pros. He is often annoyed by inexperience, though this may be due to the stakes of their mission against Overhaul.

However, his critical attitude does not border to malice, as he is glad that Tamaki Amajiki did not get permanently injured. Ken is also prone to strong confidence in himself and his allies, as he is certain that the Yakuza would cower in fear and surrender or run away. His confidence sometimes borders on arrogance, as he tells Sir Nighteye to use his foresight on him to prove it is fallible, believing himself entirely capable of escaping whatever fate Sir Nighteye sees.

He does not like being patronized or underestimated himself, as unlike students he feels he has proven himself a competent and experienced hero.

Though he makes snap judgements of others and strongly doubts the capabilities of the students, his first impressions are not set in stone, as he is very impressed and proud when the students exceed his expectations, and goes so far as to say they are better heroes than the pros.

History
Ken married a woman four years younger than him. They have a son who Ken is very protective of.

Shie Hassaikai Arc
Ken attends a meeting regarding the Shie Hassaikai, held by Sir Nighteye. He is confused about the presence of the U.A. High School students, as he deems them unfit to be a part of the discussion and incapable of contributing. When Tamaki Amajiki demonstrates that he can still use his Quirk despite being shot with the anti-Quirk drug, Ken states his relief.

When Sir Nighteye reveals that the anti-Quirk drugs have human blood cells in them and Eijiro Kirishima does not understand it right away, Ken points out that he knew the children would hold the discussion back. As Sir Nighteye further reveals that Overhaul's daughter is the one whose blood is used and that Izuku Midoriya and Mirio Togata already encountered them, Ken merely points out that the whole thing would be over with, if they had saved her right there.

With the main mission being the rescue of Eri, Ken asks if they know for certain where she is and points out that they might have removed her from the hide-out. After Sir Nighteye explains how his quirk works and that he can't prevent what he sees, using death as an example, Rock Lock challenges him and tells him he'll avoid his prediction a hundred times, only for Sir Nighteye to tell him that he cannot.

Ken later scouts out the urban environment to finds the Eight Precepts of Death's hideouts. Later, when it is confirmed that Eri is in their hideout, Ken criticizes Sir Nighteye for wasting his daily turn of his Foresight, on checking out a villain who was buying a toy for Eri.

At the day of the mission, at 8:30am, Ken and several other heroes and police units gathered in front of the villain hideout. As the police officer asks them to do everything as smooth as possible, Ken is getting impatient and feels like the officer does not trust them. He then explains how the Yakuza are cowards and will probably not put up a big fight. When the heroes and the police are being attacked, he is surprised that they are not scared at all and put up a fight.

Ken along with the heroes and police make their way to the underground labyrinth to arrest Kai, they find a dead-end. Mirio phases through the wall and reports that the hallway is on the other side. After Izuku and Eijiro break through, Joi Irinaka begins twisting the hallway and closes off the basement's entrance. The heroes than fall down into a separate section of the building where they meet three members of the Eight Bullets. Tamaki decides to deal with the three enemies and tells the rest of the heroes to go on.

As the heroes went on they are apprehended by more of the Eight Bullets, Fat Gum and Eijiro are then separated from the group and face off against Kendo Rappa and Tengai. As Izuku, Shota and Rock Lock proceed to go after Kai, they are attacked by Mimic with his ability to manipulate the corridors, forcing Ken to use his super Move Deadbolt to prevent Mimic from continuing to manipulate the walls. Faced with this setback, Mimic changes his strategy and brings up walls from the floor that split Nighteye's team in three, leaving Lock Rock alone.

While Twice ambushes Sir Nighteye, Rock Lock is attacked by surprise by Himiko Toga, who knocks him out of combat after stabbing him. Himiko drinks his blood to transform him and set a trap for Shota and Izuku, but Shota manages to discover the trap, forcing Himiko to escape. Twice is also forced to run away after being defeated by Nighteye, and later Joi is defeated by the heroes.

The Police Force stood on guard preparing for Himiko and Twice in case they returned, while the detective declared that they could not ignore them.

As Shota tried deciding on the best course of action, Ken told them to leave the League of Villains to the Police Force and rescue Eri. The Police Force agreed on Ken's plan; Ken volunteered to stay and keep Joi in check since he was in no condition to move around. Ken reminded them of everyone else who was buying time for them and told them not to waste it. Sir Nighteye, Izuku, and Shota immediately headed out while Izuku promised Ken to rescue Eri. Ken thought back to the meeting and noted that he had not been putting down the U.A. High School students. In actual fact, similar to how he cares for his newborn child, Ken was concerned for the safety of the U.A. students because at the end of the day, a child is still just a child. But after seeing them in action, Ken was relieved to know that the U.A. students were fine enough Heroes that put them to shame. Ken decided to hold Izuku to his promise and that Sir Nighteye take responsibility.

After the mission was a success, Ken was sent to the hospital. He was fortunate that Himiko's blade missed his internal organs and has recovered.

Pro Hero Arc
Ken and Fat Gum are seen commenting on Hawks' arrogance during the JP Hero Billboard Chart.

Quirk
Lock Down: Ken's Quirk allows him to immobilize any nonliving thing he's touched, stopping it in a fixed location in space.

It can be overwhelmed by enough force and it cannot be applied to large areas.

Super Moves

 * Deadbolt: By touching a nearby surface and performing an 180° spin with his hand, Ken secures his immediate area down in a point of space. It is first used against Joi Irinaka.

Equipment
Tile: Rock Lock uses a tile that he throws and freezes it in mid-air, giving himself a foothold.

Chapter Appearances

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Trivia

 * Ken's name contains the kanji for "tall, high" (高), "tree" (木) and "lock or key" (鍵).
 * He likes bicycles.
 * Ken shares his first name with Ken Ishiyama, another Pro Hero.