My Hero Academia Fans Are Already Bowing Down to the Manga’s New Villain

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter 312, "Hired Gun,” by Kohei Horikoshi, Caleb Cook and John Hunt, available now in English from Viz Media.

The villainous debut of Lady Nagant in Chapter #312 of the My Hero Academia manga has captivated the series' fandom. The instant acceptance of her by the community demonstrates the need for more female antagonists, regardless of whether or not they've had a previous heroic affiliation, as she does.

Though there is still much to learn about Lady Nagant there are some clear reasons as to why she was locked up in Tartarus: Lady Nagant is not someone any hero would want to encounter. But for fans on Twitter, her villainous nature is far from offputting.

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Lady Nagant Used to be a Hero

Upon her release, All For One was delighted to meet Lady Nagant, and immediately assigned her the mission of hunting down Deku. She seemed reluctant to accept, leading All For One to point out the killing of a hero in the past, creating a connection between her and Deku. Her ultimate goal is the downfall of the Hero Society, but that can’t be achieved if there are individuals like Deku around trying to change the status quo. As a sign of their allegiance, One For All transferred the Quirk, Air Walk, to Lady Nagant, which gives her the ability to maneuver in the air as if she is walking or running.

Lady Nagant was Hawks’ Senpai

Lady Nagant also has ties to another character with an existing, enormous Twitter following: Hawks. This information has led some fans to already create fan art about their early days as hero colleagues, such as the one above created by @_oillipheist. Lady Nagant has a soft spot for helping out those that were victimized by society, especially within Hero Society, and seeing as Hawks was saved from an abusive household, Lady Nagant’s influence could have saved Hawks’ life.

Lady Nagant’s Rifle Quirk

Lady Nagant’s Quirk is called Rifle, which allows her to transform her arm into a rifle that can shoot ammunition created by her hair. More importantly though, is the color scheme of her hair -- blue and pink, as artist @indiegomov, highlights in their tribute to her. As other fans have pointed out, her hairstyle combined with her sleek, black leather assassin dress creates the perfect cosplay inspiration for those seeking new ideas from the villain realm; a perfect example of which is in @kadeart’s illustration, above.

Another Strong Female Villain is a Welcome Addition

My Hero Academia has a strong cast of female characters, but few of them are notable villains -- save for Toga. This new addition allows Toga lovers to broaden their horizons. Toga is very stern and doesn’t hesitate to make calculated attacks to kill her opponents. Lady Nagant similarly shows no mercy towards Deku, but that doesn’t seem to bother the fans one bit. Her swagger and smile have already endeared her to legions of readers, in the same vein that the imposing Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village has been doing. This admiration will only grow as the story of how she went from hero to villain unfolds. My Hero Academia needed some exquisite new characters, and Kohei Horikoshi hasn't disappointed here.