My Hero Academia Finally Reveals The True Origin Of A Massive Series Villain, And It’s Seriously Dark

May 7, 2025

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Warning: Spoilers for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, episode 5My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has just introduced a new vigilante on the streets of Naruhata, the mysterious blade-wielding Stendhal. Unlike Koichi and his friends, however, Stendhal has no problem with killing, hinting at his true identity.

Vigilantes follows unlicensed heroes the Crawler, Pop Step, and Knuckleduster, as they deal with petty crime and villain attacks in the neighborhood of Naruhata. The arrival of a young new villain on the scene has caused an outbreak of Instant Villains, as she continues to distribute the Quirk-enhancing drug, Trigger, to people around the area, leading to them rampaging out of control. When the pro heroes can’t make it in time, the vigilantes step in, but this time a new vigilante takes charge. The masked figure saves Koichi, and eventually hunts down and kills the villain.

Stendhal Proves Why Vigilantism Can’t Be Tolerated

Stendhal Demonstrates The Risks of Vigilantes Running Free

While Crawler, Pop Step, and Knuckleduster have a rule against killing, it would seem Stendhal has no such moral complications, as he relishes the opportunity to kill the villain, and apparently has several more targets planned. Stendhal sees the world in black and white, and has positioned himself as judge, jury, and executioner, robbing these villains of their right to a fair trial. This is especially problematic as many of these Trigger users were coerced into trying the drug, or even injected with it against their will, meaning that these people aren’t hardened villains.

Stendhal’s efforts as a vigilante make a strong case for why vigilantism can’t be allowed, and why heroes need to be licensed and held accountable for their actions. While Koichi and his friends may ultimately be a beneficial force, not everyone who attempts to be a vigilante will have a strong moral code. Even Knuckleduster is close to the line of what’s acceptable, threatening seemingly random people and using extreme violence in lieu of a Quirk. The pro heroes have rules they must follow, but vigilantes obey only themselves, and that can be a slippery slope.

My Hero Academia Hints at Stendhal’s True Identity

Attentive Viewers May Have Already Realized Who Stendhal Is

Stendhal appears dramatically to save Koichi, wielding a katana with expert skill and superior strength. Fans paying close attention may have immediately associated Stendhal with the only other katana-wielding character in My Hero Academia: Stain, the Hero Killer. Stendhal’s physical feats are certainly as impressive as Stain’s, and given Stain’s ideology about what makes a good hero, it makes some degree of sense that he’d start out as a vigilante rather than a villain, trying to live up to his own ideals.

Stain’s ruthlessness and warped views are already showing through his Stendhal disguise, however. The Trigger user fled from Stendhal and the police, and Trigger only lasts a limited period of time, so he would’ve turned back before long. The problem was effectively solved. However, Stendhal tracks this Instant Villain and kills him in an alleyway; so far as was shown, the villain didn’t actually hurt anyone (although he came close with his attacks on Koichi), so this kind of extreme reaction was completely unwarranted.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes finally gave one hero the spotlight after getting the short end of the stick in the original, and his skills are stellar.

While Koichi doesn’t yet know this about Stendhal, the time will soon come when Stendhal’s actions pose a threat to all the vigilantes active in Naruhata, which includes Koichi and friends, be it in the form of more pro hero activity or increased violence on the part of villains. Sooner or later, Koichi’s group is going to have some friction with Stendhal as a result, and then all bets are off. It should be fascinating to see how Stendhal completes his transformation into the deadly villain Stain, and My Hero Academia: Vigilantes will reveal his secrets soon.