‘My Hero Academia’ Fans Cannot Unsee This Hellboy Reference

My Hero Academia isn’t a stranger to superheroes by any measure, and the manga has gone out of its way to spotlight some true icons during its run so far. With creator Kohei Horikoshi an avid comic reader, there was no doubt some of the industry’s biggest heroes would bleed into his manga, and fans cannot unsee one connection with Hellboy these days.

Honestly, if this newcomer doesn’t have bright red skin when colored, readers aren’t going to know how to react.

Recently, My Hero Academia put out its latest chapter, and it was there fans met a rather confused Izuku. The boy thought all way normal with life until his Quirk began malfunctioning, and he was forced to quit using his power thanks to Shinso and his Brainwashing Quirk. Still, the ordeal prompted Izuku to visit her inner psyche were he once saw the former users of One For All, and he got a real good look at one predecessor who resembles Hellboy a whole, whole lot.

As you can see below, fans were quick to take their first look at the One For All inheritor and give it a little remix. The yet-named character makes a bombastic entrance when he meets Izuku face to face, and his brash personality nicely matches the one Hellboy has become loved for.

“Dude! You’ve got it all wrong! I told you, didn’t I,” this new hero scolds Izuku before he adds on a final motivational note: “Try harder, dude!”

Thanks to one fan, their quick color of this One For All proves how close he comes to Hellboy territory. If you paint the newbie red and give his outfit a dark palate, Horikoshi’s newest One For All user becomes a dead-ringer for Hellboy.

For fans, this connection has become impossible to ignore, and many refer to this unnamed vestige as Hellboy in good fun. There is no telling if Horikoshi meant for his design to be so close, but the artist has openly praised the work of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola before. In fact, Horikoshi has admitted his design for All Might was partially inspired by Mignola’s style, so there is some weight to this fan-favorite comic crossover.

So, are you a fan of this new character or…? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi and has been running in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump since July 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who lives in a world where everyone has super powers, even though he was born without them. Dreaming to become a superhero anyway, he’s eventually scouted by the world’s best hero All Might and enrolls in a school for professional heroes. The series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release since 2015.