My Hero Academia's power-copying Neito Monoma was inspired by Dane DeHaan's performance in Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Series creator Kohei Horikoshi revealed this new detail about the hero-in-training during the latest roundup of Weekly Shonen Jump author comments, which can be viewed in English on the website of publisher VIZ Media. "Monoma’s character design is based on Dane DeHaan from Amazing Spider-Man 2," Horikoshi stated plainly. DeHaan played the role of Peter Parker's childhood friend, Harry Osborn, in the critically panned 2014 film. The movie featured a radical redesign of the Green Goblin that wasn't particularly well received by fans, but it appears to have left an impression on Horikoshi.
Like Harry, Neito Monoma is a complex character - while not a villain, the UA High student openly antagonizes many of the series' central heroes and seeks to undermine them whenever he can. Monoma is shown to be extremely caring and supportive of his Class 1-B friends, but throughout much of the series he demonstrates an obsessive inferiority complex revolving around the supposedly more gifted students of Class 1-A, including series protagonist Izuku "Deku" Midoriya and the fiery tempered Katsuki Bakugo, whom he especially hates.
Horikoshi has been outspoken about his love for numerous American superhero franchises, especially Marvel's Spider-Man. The manga artist previously stated that Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman's Superior Spider-Man was one of his favorite superhero stories, and earlier this month, he revealed that Spider-Man: No Way Home is his new favorite movie of all time. "I never thought my favorite movie of all time would change at my age," Horikoshi said after watching the film.
DeHaan was originally planned to reprise the role of Osborn/the Green Goblin in a planned Sinister Six spinoff movie, but the project was cancelled after Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released to a harsh response from critics and performed below distributor Sony Pictures' expectations at the box-office. In a 2021 interview, the actor stated he would still like to star in another superhero film, but isn't interested in becoming the Green Goblin ever again. "At this point in my life, I’d much rather do something new. I love making those kinds of movies. They’re super fun to make and an incredible thing to be a part of. But I don’t think I’d want to go back and do something I did seven years ago," DeHaan said.
My Hero Academia's anime adaptation is available for streaming through Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll and Funimation. A sixth season is scheduled to premiere in late 2022. The first 30 volumes of the manga are currently available in English from publisher VIZ Media. The manga is planned to conclude its story sometime before the end of 2022.
Source: VIZ Media
