WARNING: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 5, Episode 2, "Vestiges," now streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu.
Episode 2 of My Hero Academia's fifth season spends a good amount of time on Hawks, the number two hero in Japan. While he is immensely popular amongst the population and valued by the Hero Public Safety Commision, Season 5 shows that he is far from a knight in shining armor. While he was fighting alongside Endeavor last season against a Nomu, it turns out he partially planned this attack; however, Dabi, who was orchestrating this on behalf of the League of Villains, made some changes, which upset the hero.
This initially makes it seem like Hawks is a double agent, but it's soon revealed that Hawks is working for the Commission, who want him to infiltrate the League for information. Dabi, the Commission and Hawks all have their motives in this complicated and dangerous game, which is only just getting started, as Hawks hasn't even meet Shigaraki yet.
What Does Dabi Want From Hawks?
At this time, the League does not trust Hawks, which makes sense given his reputation as a hero. Until trust can be established, he will be working through Dabi, which makes building trust even harder since both parties changed things about the plan without telling one another. Instead of having the attack at the warehouse, Dabi sent in an abnormal Nomu to a populated area; meanwhile, Hawks didn't tell Dabi he was bringing in Endevor, the number one hero.
He further doesn't trust Hawks since no one died; however, Hawks' justification is that he needs to keep up his image as a hero so he can get the League information. While he appears to be an informant for the League, they were not actively looking for one, as Hawks requested to join their group, but his services must be of some value to Dabi and the League as they are entertaining Hawks for now and giving him limited information about attacks, like the one he and Endevor handled in Season 4.
What Does the Hero Public Safety Commision Want From Hawks?
The Commision is trying to improve how they handle the League after the Kamino incident, which proved they underestimated their enemies, and it cost them greatly, with All Might having no choice but to retire. At this point, the Commission needs to know as much as possible, especially in regards to the Nomu, and Hawk's sharp eyes and ears make him the perfect spy. They also want Hawks for the job because they believe he is someone who can ignore the harm the League causes thanks to his indifferent personality and his long-term goals. With a man on the inside, as well as Grand Torino's team on the outside, the Commission is certain they can cut off the League's retreat once they get the upper hand.
What Does Hawks Want?
Hawks knows he cannot tell the Commission no; however, he has a personal reason for agreeing to this dangerous job that most heroes would want to deny. Since Season 4, Episode 24, "Japanese Hero Billboard Chart," Hawks has been very public about how he believes heroes should change, especially in light of the Kamino incident. It's also in this episode that Endevor and viewers learn that Hawks wants a world where heroes have too much time on their hands.
Hawks was trained by the Commission at a young age because of the potential he had as a hero, being robbed of a normal childhood while also being indoctrinated into hero culture for a majority of his life. He also appears to have a genuine admiration for heroes like Endeavor. For these reasons, it makes sense that he would want a world where heroes like him and his idol can finally rest easy, even if it means infiltrating the League and getting his hands dirty. Afterall, even though Hawks thinks about long-term goals, he is known for wanting things as soon as possible, and infiltrating the League seems to be the fastest way to peace in his eyes.
