lingtosite

[lingtosite]

Theory: Dabi is literally Frankenstein’s Monster, both in his appearance and origin story

/www . reddit . com/r/BokuNoHeroAcademia/comments/coy27z/theory_dabi_is_literally_frankensteins_monster/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x

I previously discussed my thoughts on Dabi’s character, IF he indeed is Touya Todoroki (this has NOT been confirmed!), being based on Frankenstein’s Monster a few months back on a post by _Hireath_. I’d thought that I’d post it again here and further expand the discussion and see what other people think of the comparisons.

I believe that not only does Horikoshi draw inspiration for Dabi’s appearance from pop cultural depictions of The Monster but his origin story also parallels the themes of the novel.

Endeavor/Enji Todoroki = Victor Frankenstein

Dabi/Touya Todoroki = The creature (Frankenstein’s monster)

APPEARANCE

The Monster’s appearance varies in popular culture, but he is often portrayed as having a body that appears to be stitched together and seen wearing dark, tattered clothes with heavy boots. When we’re first introduced to Dabi, his clothes are tattered. His clothes later change with the addition of boots and metal-like arm bracers, which could be homage to the bolts in the Monster’s neck

And as u/_Hireath_ pointed out, in Chapter 191 we see Dabi do a pose that is pretty much the exact same as Boris Karloff’s portrayal of the Monster, who played him in the 1930s Universal Picture films.

Dabi’s pose versus Boris Karloff’s pose

NOVEL THEMES

First let’s look at the name of the novel in question, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

For those who don’t know, Prometheus is the Titan/Culture Hero who created humans from clay and gave them fire. Right off the bat, we see the parallels between the Flame Hero Endeavor and Victor Frankenstein/Prometheus.

The BritLit blog has good analyses on some of the themes in Frankenstein, some examples are:

Sins of the father

Loss of innocence

Dichotomy of fire

Responsibility and culpability

Society and isolation

Revenge

1. SINS OF THE FATHER

Vitanza, D. (2018 September 5). Sins of the Father [blog post]. BritLit: Frankenstein. . Retrieved from blogs . baylor . edu/britlit/2018/09/05/sins-of-the-father/

Victor’s lifelong pursuit to create his creature filled him with purpose and drove a series of feverish attempts to fulfill his dream. There is never mention of why he has chosen to do this other than for self-serving reasons.

We see Endeavor’s ambition and fallibility in “creating” his children.

Endeavor (speaking to All Might): “I’ll mold him (Shoto) into a Hero who surpasses you. That’s the only reason I created that kid.” (Ch 31)

Shoto (speaking to Midoriya): “My dad… he’s a powerful bastard who only thinks of becoming stronger. Yeah, he’s gone all out to make a name for himself as a Hero but he’s always seen that living legend, All Might, as a roadblock and an eyesore. My father could never beat All Might on his own. So he came up with another plan… Raising me as a Hero who could exceed All Might, just to fulfill his own ambitions.” (Ch 31)

Once the fruits of his labor are realized, he immediately becomes the prototypical absent father. The ultimate sin of the father is irresponsibility and selfishness.

Endeavor was an absent father to Touya, Fuyumi, and Natsuo because they were seen as “failures”. The three older children were raised separately from Shoto.

Endeavor (talking about Touya & Natsuo): “Don’t look at them, Shoto. Your brothers… they belong to a different world than you.” (Ch 39)

Natsuo (talking about Endeavor): “I don’t remember him well. At this point, he basically feels like a complete stranger.” (Ch 187)

Natsuo (talking to Endeavor):“‘Say it’…? That’s rich, coming from the guy who wouldn’t even look me in the eye for all these years. You’ve got some nerve, you know that? It’s funny, I had no idea soba was Shoto’s favourite food until today. You took special care to never let us, your "failures” into his life after all. You completely neglected us, and left us to listen to mom screaming and Shoto crying.” (Ch 192)

Possible Predictions?

The creature’s construction is not the genesis of his evil, it is Victor’s failure to fulfill his duty as a father.

Victor only dabbles in acknowledgement of his fatal flaw. It isn’t until he is near-death that he finally acknowledges that he is ultimately responsible for all the death that resulted in his creation.

Will Endeavor end up the same way as Victor Frankenstein? Acknowledging when he’s on his deathbed that Dabi/Touya is the way that he is because he failed as a father and that he is ultimately responsible for his actions?

2. LOSS OF INNOCENCE

Castillo, B. (2018 September 5). “I Ought to be Thy Adam”: The Theme of Lost Innocence in Frankenstein’s “Monster” [blog post]. BritLit: Frankenstein. Retrieved from blogs . baylor . edu/britlit/2018/09/05/i-ought-to-be-thy-adam-the-theme-of-lost-innocence-in-frankensteins-monster/

When I think of innocence, the first group of people that come to mind are children. Children come into this world knowing nothing, and the way they view the world is heavily influenced by their early experiences, their education, and the culture they live in.

We see this loss of innocence in the Todoroki children due to Endeavor’s intense training and abuse of their mother.

In a flashback in Chapter 39, we see Endeavor training a young Shoto to the point that he’s in tears and vomiting on the floor with Rei trying to intervene:

Endeavor (to Shoto): “Get up. You won’t even be able to defeat third-rate villains, let alone All Might, if you get knocked down by a hit like that…

Rei (to Endeavor): "Stop it, please! He’s only five years old…”

Endeavor (to Rei): “Yes, he’s already five! So get out of my way!” (slaps Rei)

The creature’s moral decline parallels that of Adam and Eve’s eating from the fruit of the tree. As he gained knowledge about humanity, there was no turning back. While I find the creature’s decisions to be questionable, I feel they bring a few questions to mind: If the creature had been given the same opportunity to develop the way a healthy child would, how might the story be different? Although we would deem the creature’s actions as monstrous in nature, can we hold this “monster” completely accountable for his actions?

When Giran introduces Dabi to the League of Villains, he “has no outstanding criminal record to speak of”. He wanted to join the League because he wanted to make the Hero Killer Stain’s will a reality. After he joins he begins committing murder - there’s no turning back. But if he was given the same opportunity, say as Shoto, would his story be different?

3. DICHOTOMY OF FIRE

Strong, T. (2016 September 26). Lightning and Fire [blog post]. BritLit: Frankenstein. blogs . baylor . edu/britlit/2016/09/26/lightning-and-fire/

The monster and Victor both have first memories in the natural world that shape them quite profoundly – Victor has his lightning storm, with the complete destruction of a tree, and the monster has his fire, which warms him while it destroys and burns.

The monster’s fire is a different matter, though it affects him similarly. He came upon his first fire during his wandering days, when he was discovering his senses and vulnerabilities. He came upon a fire “which had been left” by humans (Vol. II, Ch. III), so a human tool left in nature. He was “overcome with delight” and joy, but touching it brought him pain. “How strange, [he thinks], that the same cause could produce such opposite effects!” He has learned the dichotomy of flame – to save and to hurt.

Endeavor’s flames save (he is a Pro Hero, after all) whereas Dabi’s flames hurt, both himself and others.

Dabi (talking to a group of unnamed villains): “Don’t need… types like you… begone. I guess trash like you is… good fuel for my fire.” (Ch 115)

Higawara (to Dabi): “All those burnt corpses that’ve turning up here and there lately…” (Ch 160)

Dabi (referring to Higawara): “Looks like only his top half can turn to sand. He’s probably dead.” (Ch 160)

Geten (to Dabi): “You’re the one who’ll be dying here, wielder of blue flames. Your body has been reeking of burnt flesh for a while now.” (Ch 230)

Geten (to Dabi): “Judging by that peeling, burnt skin or yours… you can’t fight for very long, can you? Your body can’t stand your own flames.” (Ch 230)

4. RESPONSIBILITY AND CULPABILITY

Rima, L. (2018 September 5). On the topic of responsibility and culpability [blog post]. BritLit: Frankenstein. blogs . baylor . edu/britlit/2018/09/05/on-the-topic-of-responsibility-and-culpability/

The topic of responsibility can be a difficult one to explore, because “responsibility” may heavily affect the view of one’s culpability for his or her actions – despite responsibility, one may be condemned or condoned. How deeply, therefore, must we take into account context and history when determining a sense of “blame” for these characters? Does an abusive childhood at all excuse, or at least contextualize, a serial killer’s actions? Does it lessen the blow of the gavel, and by extension, the punishment? If so – just how harshly should a reader judge the monster and his violent actions, and Victor Frankenstein for creating him?

Looking at their relationship in a family perspective, Victor holds as much responsibility for his creation as a parent does his child. This creature is a blank slate, confused and ignorant just as a newborn, and Victor plays the stereotypical role of absent father immediately by running away, “unable to endure the aspect of the being [he] created, [rushing] out of the room” (84). This instantaneous rejection is certainly not lost on the creature, who will be experiencing this rejection for the rest of his life. It is, after all, what spurns the creature into exacting revenge upon Victor. In this way, Victor is directly responsible for the creation of the monster – of course – as well as the monster’s desire for violence towards the Frankenstein family and friends. Responsibility for this creature, however, is not culpability for this creature’s actions. Frankenstein’s monster has the gift of free will, which means that ultimately, his actions are his own and therefore he himself is responsible for them. This son’s sins cannot be solely blamed on the father! Those in connection to Victor, after all, are not the only ones who receive the monster’s wrath.

Endeavor is responsible for creating Dabi/Touya but is he culpable for his crimes? How harshly should the audience judge Dabi for his actions? How harshly should we judge Endeavor?

5. HOW MIGHT DABI’S STORY END?

So, if Dabi/Touya is based on Frankenstein’s Monster, how might his story end?

Well, in the novel, after Frankenstein dies, the Creature jumps off the boat in the arctic to go kill himself and is never seen again. Hopefully that doesn’t happen. A more interesting take is a potential, what could have been, redemption.

(Captain Robert) Walton’s Responsibility to Frankenstein’s Monster

Adams, D. (2016 September 26). Walton’s Responsibility to Frankenstein’s Monster [blog post]. BritLit: Frankenstein. blogs . baylor . edu/britlit/2016/09/26/waltons-responsibility-to-the-monster/

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s critique of the criminal justice system’s consistency, her critique of retributive justice, and the death of Victor leave Walton with the responsibility to deliver justice to the monster. He is responsible for counseling the monster and restoring him to human society.

However, Walton is not responsible for killing or exiling the monster. The retributive system of punishment (matching punishment to crime) only results in more death and pointless suffering. Shelley emphasizes this through the monster’s murder of William, Elizabeth and Henry as he tries to retributively serve justice to Victor. Yet the monster reveals at Victor’s death that retribution is not satisfactory. The monster ends up wanting forgiveness*; “what does it avail that I know ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst” (217).* Retributive justice only destroys everyone involved; there is neither healing nor consolation. It only leads to more destruction and is therefore not just.

Walton instead has the responsibility to help the monster process his existence so he can best live for himself and for human society. The monster believes that his creator Victor is responsible for preparing him for a virtuous and happy life: “‘Remember, I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam…I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy and I shall again be virtuous” (118-119, 119). Victor did not befriend him nor guide him so the monster never learned how to live virtuously. It is fair to the monster that he be helped in this way and Walton is the last one who can help him.

So, if Dabi/Touya does eventually get a redemption, who will take up the role of Captain Walton? Shouto? All Might? Hawks? Another Pro Hero? Another family member perhaps, such as Fuyumi or Natsuo?

It’s interesting to note that Natsuo’s major in college is medical welfare,

 which deals with sociology and mental health, among other things. Those who major in it can become counselors, social workers, and psychiatric social workers.

From Suzuka University of Medical Science, Department of Medical Welfare, Clinical Welfare Course page: “In this course students… acquire the skills of counselling for clients and their families and combine them with other medical services and health and welfare specialists.”

However, this redemption would require detention. First, it would provide the opportunity for Walton to peacefully restore his feelings, for the monster lost some ability to empathize after killing Elizabeth: “then I was not miserable. I had cast off all feeling, subdued all anguish to riot in the excess of my despair” (218). Regardless if he lost all feeling or not, he would need guidance to learn how to feel sympathy, respect, and love. Second, it would help appease his fellow humans as they could see him “pay his debt to society,” helping them process his existence as well, though preferably in a monastery or small town where people could interact with him but stay away from large groups of people.

It would be a bittersweet ending if Dabi/Touya ended up being institutionalized, just like his mother. 

or dabi could commit suicide after endeavors death like the frankensteins monster for I think shigaraki who touya is paralleled with  is going to die of course I think a big difference between Dabi (if he is Touya) and Shigaraki is that he still has a family to help him heal. 

(a comment from reddit post  )

this theory adds to the dabi is a zombie theory given that frankensteins monster was created from corpses fuzzypastaangelfreak . tumblr . com/post/186925080336/bnha-theory-for-all-intensive-purposes-dabi-is-a/embed

part 2: megashadowdragon . tumblr . com/post/188008382847/embed

@hamliet

[lingtosite]

“The Only Ones the Heroes Protect Are Themselves.”

is a quote given to us by Dabi. That’s starting to sound more and more true after this press conference chapter. This post will be mainly talking about Hawks, because I think this chapter sheds a lot of light on Hawks’ flaws as a character.

Keep reading

[lingtosite]

DABI JUST WON’T DIE 

In case you haven’t read this week’s chapter, spoiler warning for that headline. In a sudden turn of events Chapter 363 shows Shoto having the rug pulled out of what essentially looked to be his big victory and character development moment in using his new move to defeat Toya, by having Toya turn around to copy the move meant to cool him down and come back burning hotter than ever. 

The question is why did the battle not end then and there with Shoto’s new move? I’ll discuss more about this under the cut. 

Keep reading

#pls don't mess this up mr.horikoshi sir #good meta

[lingtosite]

Caught up to MHA and I think Dabi will get redemption, I don't make the rules

Exhibit A: Crying little boy has not been saved yet

Toya the little boy has not been saved yet, he just got punched in the gut and he's still crying lol. I believe this is why Dabi is still on a rampage, he needs to be saved, not killed or put down by force.

Exhibit B: He still needs to sit down for a bowl of udon

Shouto told Inasa "Stop trying to force it", yet when it comes to Toya, "I will make him sit down for a bowl with me". Why? Because he's still family. Shouto never calls him "Dabi" during their fight. He hasn't disowned his brother.

Exhibit C: "Doing wrong doesn't make you a villain for the rest of your life"

Dabi was not manipulated by AFO but his spirit was crushed. Toya was sending SOS and no one saw it. The responsibility lies with his family for not being able to perceive what lay in his heart. His family needs to reach out to him, not kill him. That's bad writing.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha #dabi #touya todoroki #todoroki touya #todoroki shouto #mha meta

[lingtosite]

How are you feeling about all the todo fam and dabi development up to chapter 303?

uhh sorry idk when I got this msg as you may have noticed I haven't come to this website in months.. but I appreciate the question & kinda feel like ranting so let me answer it hehe

-- spoilers below --

Well first I'm relieved that they finally revealed it, although it felt rushed. I expected one of the good guys to find out via some backdoor instead of Dabi going on national TV. Because of that it felt like all the buildup with the black speech bubble and who the hell are you kinda fell flat.

As expected though, once he revealed his secret Dabi behaved in a coldblooded manner towards Endeavor & Shouto. It felt very cathartic that he was able to get back at his abusive father who's apparently still in denial that he didn't do everything he could've and had the nerve to blame the victim. It didn't surprise me that Dabi hated Shouto and tried to kill him in front of Endeavor. I actually thought it was an ingenious way to get revenge especially on Endeavor (I promise I'm not a psychopath). However, it shocked me that Dabi had put Natsu in danger for his revenge and as a result I stopped being a Dabi apologist. Like what did Natsu ever do to him lol (Or did he do something?) That made no sense to me. But at the same time I think there is more to it that we don't know yet; a part of me believes that he didn't really do it on purpose, but instead he screwed up and now tried to cover it up in front of Shouto & Endeavor by saying he planned it all along. To make himself look like a heartless mf. Sounds like something that could’ve happened based on Dabi’s track record. God knows if this will ever be explained though because this is a shonen manga and it's probably bad news to make readers sympathize with a murderer. Tbh I haven't been reading the manga properly after that - I get the feeling Deku is out to kill Shigaraki now and if Shiggy can't be saved then how can Dabi be saved. Unless they mean saving by ending their miserable life.

Which brings me to the part where Shouto said that he is gonna kill Dabi. I think he might actually do it because first of all they didn't really know each other. It's pretty clear to him that Dabi is off his rocker and when he said that it gave me the impression that he believes killing Dabi would be the kind thing to do for both Dabi and the family. Second of all it'd make sense if Dabi is representing the part of Shouto that hated his dad but in order to move past it he has to forgive so he kills off Dabi who represents the hatred. I used to believe 100% that Dabi can get redemption because of that whole Apollo theory or whatever but at this rate I think he is being portrayed as being beyond salvation so now I believe maybe 30% and hope 70% lol.

Other than that I'm kinda disappointed that Touya wasn't in some special training program. I hope they reveal at some point how the heck he managed to survive the fire. It feels like so far all the flashbacks were from Endeavor's POV, we have yet to see what exactly happened from Touya's POV like we did with Tenko's flashbacks. It'd be nice if the manga doesn't race towards the end like so many shonen manga do in their final arc and then we never get a chance to see it. Although I won't mind too much if we don't, cuz then the fandom can make up whatever they want lol.

[lingtosite]

Enji: Did you dye your hair?

Touya: Who me? No way!

Dabi: lol

#bnha #dabi #todoroki touya #new headcanon he used to like his hair but after ~that day~ he hated it

[lingtosite]

IS THAT WHAT WAS IN THE POUCH THIS WHOLE TIME? HAIR DYE REMOVER?? HE’S JUST BEEN WAITING FOR HIS OPPORTUNITY TO BE A DRAMATIC BITCH???

#LMAO SO HE DID HAVE IT IN THE FANNY PACK THE WHOLE TIME

[lingtosite]

[lingtosite]

MHA SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 290!!!

YO DID DABIS HAIR TURN WHITE FROM STRESS???

#but damn he thought about killing shouto rip #it sucks not knowing why you're alive

[lingtosite]

horikoshi said I'll make both red hair touya and white hair touya canon in the worst way possible

#fucki m fucking crying

[lingtosite]

UPDATE ON THE TOUYA-REVEAL:

So, according to the internet? (And we all know how reliable it is)

- The “Kyushu-Fight” Dabi mentions is probably referring to the Pro-Hero Arc in Hawks’ hometown. Dabi wanted Endeavor to win this fight.

- Dabi is the puppeteer behind “Ending” and “Star Servant”. He was the one sending them to attack Endeavor. (It finally explains how Ending knew where the Todorokis lived. And Star Servants’ talking about how Endeavor needed to be taken down as soon as possible. Dabi wanted Endeavor to win those fights.)

[- Dabi doesn’t mention Shoto, implying he doesn’t plan on targeting his little brother. (The most important part is though:)]

- Dabi puposefully murdered innocent, weak people and he purposefully sent small frys to attack Endeavor.

- Dabi knows about “THE IMPORTANTS OF PROTECTING LIFE”, just like Hawks, and he used it in the opposit way.

Dabi wanted to built himself up as a irredeemable villain, and he wanted to build Endeavor up as the “shining light”, the number One Hero everyone depends on. - So he could tear hero-society’s strongest pillar down with the reveal.

Dabi knows exaclty that innocent lives have value. He knows that weak people should be protected and he killed them for exactly that reason! Because doing so as the “SON OF ENDEAVOR” would stain Endeavor’s name even further. Everything Dabi was ever focused on, is  justice for himself. Every beat of Dabi’s heart only happens because little Touya wants to hurt, destroy, humilliate and break Endeavor in all ways a human can possibly be broken.

Dabi plans on taking Endeavor “to hell” with him.

Also I really need to get back to work now, holy shit. (Tell me if I made any mistakes up there, so I can fix them. Have a great day!)

#wow

[lingtosite]

CONFIRMED AT LAST

Theory: Dabi is Todoroki Shouto’s older brother

Some people in the bnha fandom seem to believe this, but I haven’t seen any masterposts on it. So here I’ve put together all of the evidence that other fans have pointed out, along with some of my own observations. [UPDATED 6/15/18]

Keep reading

#it's been a long 4 years... so much nostalgia

[lingtosite]

Actual Spoilers dropped tonight for 290:

#tbh he has talent as a youtuber #tbh i laughed when deku made that comment #like of all people he was the one to point it out lmao #no shit sherlock

[lingtosite]

HIS HAIR HIS HAIR AHHHHHHH

i’M YELLIN TOO MATE THAT PIC IS AS AWESOME AS WE EXPECTED

my puny brain tho: where did he even get dye remover while riding on a giant boulderman. does he always carry it around in his fanny pack ‘just in case’ he needs to reveal himself. or is that water. or did he never really dye his hair, it was soot from his flames or ??? HE PLANNED EVERYTHING

[lingtosite]

BNHA NATION HOW WE FEELINGGG

#YEYEYEYEYYEYEYEYE #bnha spoilers #my puny brain: FULL BACKSTORY NEXT CHAPTER???

[lingtosite]

Dabi’s identity is in his birth date

January 18.

The 18th in Japanese is written 十八日 

Kanji for ten (十) can be read “tō” (とお) as in 10th day of the month (とおか)

Kanji for eight (八) can be read “ya” (や)

Tō… ya…. Touya.

#funny i cant even remember how i thought of it #but man it's really been 6 months since black speech bubble huh #the reveal is coming right? RIGHT??

[lingtosite]

Impressive how Shouto could catch his father with 1 hand... but what’s concerning is still the fact that Machia is coming and there’s nothing that can stop him.

What if Dabi arrives while Deku is stuck in his dream battle. Shouto’s one of the few who’s still in commission.

What if Dabi sees Endeavor in that half-dead state and tries to finish him off but Shouto protects his father. Then Dabi’s like “you’re gonna protect him? The trash that abused you??” Shouto asks “...how do you know that”. And then... Dabi REVEAL

“I was the same as you”

#overly optimistic here as always #bnha #dabi #dabi todoroki #todoroki touya #tbh i wanna see hawks being super conflicted over the speech bubble incident #but this would be fine too