#FEATURE: How Spider-Man Helped Kohei Horikoshi Create His Ultimate Superhero World

With the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on the horizon, it seems like a great time to talk about 

well-known Spider-Man fan Kohei Horikoshi and his work, My Hero Academia. My Hero Academia is, as one might imagine given the title and genre, rife with superhero comic influences and nods, but its biggest superhero comic influence is Marvel’s Spider-Man. 

Horikoshi has often cited Spider-Man as his favorite superhero, mentioning that seeing the 2002 Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie was what first got him interested in the character, American superheroes and superhero comics in general. He even stated that Dan Slott’s run on Spider-Man was one of his favorites. Additionally, Horikoshi wore a Spider-Man costume to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in theaters — and apparently, he based Monoma Neito on Harry Osborn actor Dane Dehaan. Horikoshi has also stated that Spider-Man: No Way Home is his favorite movie of all time. 

Clearly, the guy loves Spider-Man, and this love shows up everywhere in the series. 

Within the first pages of the manga, Spider-Man’s silhouette and signature mask eyes make a cameo, and the cover of Volume 9 is a direct homage to Ultimate Spider-Man: Venom. We can also see the Spider-Man influence in some of Class 1-A’s powers, like the tape-based quirk of Hanta Sero, which allows him to swing like Spider-Man, and Tsuyu Asui’s animal-based powers — including proportionate strength, swinging (with her tongue), sticking to walls and even her camouflage abilities (something Miles Morales has as Spider-Man) — also ring similar to Spider-Man.

More importantly, and most prominently, Spider-Man’s power and character traits feel most present in Deku. From his personality and heroic instincts to his One For All power set, Spider-Man’s influence seems to be written all over him. 

RELATED: All My Hero Academia Arcs in Order

After looking the other way in a selfish moment, Peter Parker caused the death of his Uncle Ben; from then on, Spider-Man can never look the other way, never ignore a cry for help or a situation where he can step in. You don’t have to look hard to see how this influenced Deku.

Even before he inherited All Might’s Quirk, Deku had brave instincts — in the second episode, he immediately jumped in to help Bakugo against the sludge villain when not even the heroes present would do anything. Though futile, Deku did all he could to try and claw Bakugo out of the villain’s clutches. These heroic instincts continued as Midoriya gained and slowly started to master One For All. Even when he knew using his strength would break his body, he still used it to save others because he simply can’t stand by, he cannot not help, much like Spider-man.

Also similar to Spider-Man, Deku tends to burn himself out, martyr himself and push himself to the brink of death as a direct result of this core principle.

Spider-Man will let his obligations, social life and career as Peter Parker fall apart because he can’t stop being Spider-Man, only taking breaks in small doses when he is too exhausted to keep going (or when Mary-Jane or Aunt May forces him to take a damn nap). Deku similarly lets his body (and in the latest season, his personal life) break because he has to be a hero, to the point where his friends and family have to tell him to take it easy. 

RELATED: My Hero Academia and the Truth About Chasing Ideals

Both characters are known to throw themselves into dangerous situations, situations that outmatch their power, because they don’t know how to not do all they can. However, both characters also tend to make their way out of the situations with their wits and strategy — both Deku and Peter are particularly smart individuals who think outside the box and know how to use their limited powers (or in Deku’s case, limited or risky use of their power) to their maximum potential. For example, Deku learns to spread the strain of One for All to his whole body instead of focusing too much into one body part. He's also good at using his surroundings, like when he won the Sports Festival Race without using One For All too early before the tournament. Similarly, Peter uses his web shooters (which he invented) to augment his strong-but-not-the-strongest spider strength — i.e. launching himself with great momentum using webs, trapping and tricking stronger enemies. 

I think this aspect is perhaps the most important influence that Horikoshi may have pulled from Spider-Man. Deku doesn’t have a Quirk, but he earns one through his heroic instincts, and what makes One For All so useful (even in its early limited uses) is Deku’s intelligence. Like how Spider-Man takes down The Rhino with the measly strength of a spider (at least compared to a rhino), Deku is able to fight naturally gifted classmates like Bakugo or villains like Muscular using strategy, wits and that signature never-give-up determination. For both Peter and Deku, the fight doesn't stop until the danger to civilians is cleared.

Along with similar personality traits, Deku has steadily been getting a moveset similar to Spider-Man’s. After slowly gaining control of One For All, Deku found himself able to use the Quirks of past users. These Quirks include Blackwhip, a Quirk that generates black tendrils that can be used to grab or swing, and Danger Sense, a sixth sense that alerts the user to oncoming danger and threats. Though Deku unlocks other quirks within One For All, these two combined are worth noting because, alongside his strength, these powers together make Deku feel like a pseudo-Spider-Man. Danger sense is a stand-in for Peter’s Spider-sense, Blackwhip works like Spider-Man’s web shooters and One For All’s strength functions like Spider-strength. Though it's not one-to-one, and Deku ends up becoming far more powerful with other Quirks he unlocks, it's worth noting that Deku’s “final form” in Season 6, so to speak, made him feel much more like Spider-Man.

All these things combined show that Horikoshi not only loves the cool, surface-level aspects of Spider-Man, but he also understands the traits that make Spider-Man a great character. It really does feel like he's emulating those traits within Deku. From his Spider-Man-like One For All powers to his heroic instincts, it's clear that Horikoshi admires the best parts of Spider-Man and aimed to make Deku, and by extension, all of My Hero Academia, into a series that would someday be as revered as Spider-Man, something I think he certainly accomplished. 

Watch My Hero Academia on Crunchyroll!

Sean Aitchison is a writer and researcher from LA who watches too much anime and knows too much about Sonic the Hedgehog. Follow him on twitter @Sean8UrSon for his work and listen to his podcast, Sonic Podcast Adventure (@SonicPod)

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