My Hero Academia Finally Introduces Its Own Batman

My Hero Academia has kicked off a new spinoff anime this month as part of the new wave of anime hitting for the Spring 2025 anime schedule, and with the premiere episode has introduced the franchise’s own take on the DC Comics icon, Batman. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has sparked its new anime run this Spring and has thus introduced fans of the franchise to a whole new side of the hero world seen in the main series. Taking place years before the events of My Hero Academia, this new anime has regular citizens needing to stand up and take hero matters into their own hands.

Because My Hero Academia: Vigilantes takes place so many years into the hero world’s past, it means there are less active heroes in Japan overall. With so many criminals falling through the cracks, it’s up to the regular people in the area to fight against them as unlicensed heroes. This kicks off the debut of the franchise’s own dark take on Batman, Knuckleduster, who is punching criminals in the middle of the street as he hunts for the source of a mysterious drug in the neighborhood.

Who Is Knuckleduster?

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes‘ premiere episode introduces fans to Koichi Haimawari, a young college student who’s pretty much the opposite of someone like Izuku Midoriya. But soon enough, he’s dragged into trouble when the underground idol Pop Step is under attack from some local criminals. While he hesitates for a bit before jumping in, it’s soon enough that the both of them are saved by someone who emerges from the shadows. Brandishing a pair of brass knuckles, this mysterious man dubs himself as Knuckleduster and soon punches the three criminals to save both Koichi and Pop Step. But that’s not all he does.

After punching the three of them, he pulls out their tongues in the search of some kind of discoloration that would signal that they were using a secret drug that pumps up their quirks. He explains to Koichi later that it’s this drug he has been searching for as it turns criminals berserk and pumps up their Quirks to the level of villains. But because this can happen to pretty much anyone at any time, he needed to move into action because the heroes themselves would be too late to really help in the case of any of these new attacks. So Knuckleduster embraces his role as a vigilante as a result.

RELATED: My Hero Academia: Vigilantes To Release New Manga Chapter Following Series Finale

How Is He Like Batman?

Much like Batman in DC Comics, Knuckleduster is someone who operates outside of the licensed hero system. At this point in the My Hero Academia timeline, heroes and villains have yet to be as firmly established as fans see later in the main series. While there is a process to become a fully licensed hero like we see with some of the returning pro heroes like Shota Aizawa, it doesn’t seem to be as fully capable of a system to help every small neighborhood. It’s why Knuckleduster is taking matters into his own hands.

Heroes like All Might are seen taking out the big threats across Japan, but there’s still an underground criminal world that’s clearly only going to get more dangerous thanks to this experimental drug. It’s also why Knuckleduster has quickly recruited Koichi to his cause (despite the fact that Koichi himself wants no full part of it), and why the two of them will soon be wrapped up in some perilous fights and scenes as this new anime continues through the Spring.