My Hero Academia Creator Shares How Spider-Man 2 Influenced the Series (Exclusive)

There is the saying that genius recognizes genius, and clearly, that is true for Kohei Horikoshi. The creator of My Hero Academia has been through a lot since bringing the series to life. Back in July 2014, My Hero Academia made its mark on the world, and now the manga has come to a close. The finale has given Horikoshi some time to think over the series, and in an exclusive interview with ComicBook, Horikoshi unpacked how the genius film Spider-Man 2 influenced his hit series.

The confession came after Horikoshi was asked how heroes in the real world influenced him as he inked My Hero Academia. The artist looked to Marvel for an answer, and Horikoshi said a scene from Spider-Man 2 helped him navigate the creation of his own superheroes.

“This may be slightly different from the purpose of your question, but there is a scene in Spider-Man 2 starring Tobey Maguire, in which Spider-Man stops a runaway train. There, ordinary passengers see Spider-Man’s true face. But then a child hands him the mask he found and says, “I won’t tell anyone,’” Horikoshi shared.

“I think that scene depicts the answer to the question, ‘What is a hero?’ A hero is a person who helps ordinary people, and ordinary people who help them in turn. I think this is the answer to the question, and there is nothing more to it than that.”

Of course, Marvel fans will be able to pick out the scene Horikoshi is speaking of. Spider-Man 2 is heralded as one of the best Marvel movies pre-Iron Man, and it still holds up to this day. As the film’s climax approaches, fans watched as Spider-Man threw his anonymity away in order to save a train filled with bystanders. Injured and afraid, Spider-Man is at the mercy of those he rescued, and they act in kind to save him. All of the passengers bring Spider-Man to his feet and cover up his face to protect Peter Parker from the public. In this scene, we get to see the public protect their superhero, and this message has been seen time and again in My Hero Academia.

If you have not gotten the chance to check out My Hero Academia, the manga is available to read from start to finish on the Shonen Jump app. For more info on Horikoshi’s hit series, you can read its official synopsis below for all the details:

“Izuku has dreamt of being a hero all his life-a lofty goal for anyone, but especially challenging for a kid with no superpowers. That’s right, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some kind of super-powered “quirk,” Izuku was unlucky enough to be born completely normal. But that’s not enough to stop him from enrolling in one of the world’s most prestigious hero academies.”

What do you think about this My Hero Academia confession? Let us know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!