THE My Hero Academia The anime series introduced a remarkable array of professional heroes, from the peace symbol All Might to the rabbit-themed Mirko to the fiery Endeavor to the denim-loving Best Jeanist. For a time, My Hero Academia Fans thought they had seen all the best pro heroes the world had to offer, but then Season 7 introduced Star and Stripe, America's #1 pro hero. For two glorious episodes, Star and Stripe shone as the world's best hope against Tomura Shigaraki and All For One.

Star and Stripe, born as Cathleen Bate, rose through the ranks to become Uncle Sam's top hero during Izuku Midoriya's lifetime, and while Deku was kidnapped at UA, Star and Stripe was risking everything to rid the world of its greatest villain. Even though she didn't last long, Star still established herself as My Hero Academiathe best professional hero in the war against the Paranormal Liberation Front. There are ten specific factors that make Star an exemplary hero and human being.

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10 Star and Stripe is the strongest woman in My Hero Academia

As it is a shonen action anime aimed at young males, it is understandable that My Hero Academia has the protagonist, his shonen-style rival, and his mentors as heroic men of all ages. Fans love Deku as a kind-hearted boy and look up to All Might as a father figure to Deku. Still, the story should have powerful women to balance things out, and heroes like Mirko and Ryukyu come close, but not quite. And then Midnight was killed off in season 6.

Even though Star was killed in her only fight, it was still satisfying to see such a powerful woman take center stage and challenge the world's most powerful villain in style. In many ways, she was the gender-bending All Might, and that was no coincidence given the influence All Might had on Star in her youth. With Star gone, it's up to heroes like Mt. Lady, Mirko, and Ryukyu to represent the female side of the pro hero industry as the final battle rages on.

9 Star and Stripe has one of the best quirks in My Hero Academia

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My Hero Academia: Star and Stripe's New Order Quirk Explained

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My Hero Academia introduced a dazzling array of Quirks to flesh out its combat system, and several Quirks are definitely the strongest in the anime, such as Decay, One For All, and Explosion. Now Star and Stripe has introduced a strong contender for the strongest Quirk in the series, which is the New Order Quirk.

New Order has the unprecedented ability to reshape reality based on what the user says. There are limits, such as only being able to rewrite the rules for two different things and needing to know a person’s true name to affect them in this way. Still, as a skilled pro hero, Star and Stripe has mastered New Order and can use it in devastating and creative ways, showing its true potential in battle.

8 Star and Stripe has a stylish Air Force theme

It is common to see professional heroes in My Hero Academia cooperate with the Japanese police, as both groups share the goal of capturing villains/criminals and bringing them to justice. In the era of peace under All Might, the police were sufficient as hero allies, but in the war against the Paranormal Liberation Front, the remaining heroes need heroes stronger than the normal police officers.

So Star and Stripe upped their game by bringing in not the American police, but the Air Force. This helped reinforce the war theme that My Hero AcademiaStar Wars Season 6 has begun, and those stealth bombers gave Star a quick way to physically cross the Pacific Ocean and face off against Tomura Shigaraki in faraway Japan. Having those Air Force pilots around also gave Star's battle a strong action movie vibe, like something straight out of Hollywood.

7 Star and Stripe is an excellent team player

Star and Stripe is the most powerful pro hero the United States has to offer, but unlike heroes like Mirko, she doesn't see the need to fight alone. Star isn't foolish or arrogant enough to try to save the world on her own, especially with the global hero society at stake. She's brought her Air Force friends with her not only for transportation, but also as backup.

Stars and stripes showed My Hero Academia Star Wars: The Force Awakens brings fans a new level of teamwork as they battle Tomura Shigaraki, with a pro hero coordinating their efforts with stealth bombers in a climactic battle. Star used the bombers for transportation, coordination, and most of all, firepower. These bombers had the perfect missiles and lasers to fuel Star's New Order Quirk and virtually destroy Tomura Shigaraki in ways that not even All Might or Endeavor could.

6 Star and Stripe has unwavering courage in the face of extreme danger

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It’s a prerequisite for pro heroes to have courage in the face of villainy and danger. Nerves of steel are essential for anyone to willingly don the cape and risk their lives fighting the forces of evil, and many pro heroes serve in this capacity. And of course, Star and Stripe has incredible courage in choosing to fight someone like Tomura Shigaraki.

Star and Stripe didn’t hesitate to cross halfway across the world to fight a seemingly unbeatable villain, and once the fight began, Star was no longer afraid. She recognized Tomura’s immense power and took the fight seriously, but she never wavered or let fear and doubt stop her. In doing so, she set a great example for the remaining pro heroes in Japan and put to shame all those who had recently given up.

5 Star and Stripe is a total independent

Star and Stripe impressed and entertained My Hero Academia fans with more than just pure courage and willpower in the face of extreme danger when fighting Tomura Shigaraki. What really makes her character entertaining is her independent attitude. Star didn't even wait for permission from the Pentagon before heading off to Japan on her own, which gave her a rebellious streak.

Whether it was intentional or not, Star's reckless ways and his Air Force theme may remind fans of the superior weapon films, starring the beloved pilot known as Maverick. All of this makes Star and Stripe wonderfully unpredictable and proactive, and with hero society falling apart, perhaps some dissent is not only tolerable, but necessary.

4 Star and Stripe has a friendly and warm personality.

Pro heroes use more than just quirks and punches to save the day and keep hero society running. Pro heroes are also expected to be inspiring and friendly, acting as everyone's protective best friend to set them apart from the selfish criminals. The same goes for Star and Stripe, who has clearly established himself as a friendly, cheerful person that anyone could get along with.

Star and Stripe is all smiles and friendship, and there was even a moment where she blew a kiss to her fellow Air Force pilots as a kind gesture. It's possible that Star is partially basing this warm personality on All Might, but it's also likely her authentic self as a naturally good person. Personalities like this would make almost anyone apt to train and become a pro hero, as Cathleen Bate did to become Star and Stripe.

3 Star and Stripe can destroy other quirks with their own

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Against most villains, Star and Stripe has no opportunity to directly counter their enemy's Quirk with their own, and having Quirks clash directly with each other is not a normal part of the game. My Hero Academiacombat system. However, Tomura Shigaraki was no ordinary opponent, as he relied on the supervillain All For One's All For One Quirk to become a one-man army.

So when Star realized that she had no hope of physically killing Tomura, she used New Order to take on Tomura's many Quirks and begin destroying them one by one. It was a desperate move that didn't completely eliminate Tomura's Quirks, but it still did a lot of good, and it's a great relief that Star was capable of such a thing.

2 Star and Stripe was seen in the film Two Heroes

Most of the characters that appear in the My Hero Academia movies don't feature much in the main story, like Quirkless Melissa Shield and her father David, not to mention Rody Soul. The main exception so far is Star and Stripe, who appeared in the Two heroes movie. This fact is introduced subtly in the film, and the connection wasn't obvious until Star's brief flashback in season 7.

When young All Might saved the day on a California city street, a family of four watched in horror and relief, including two sisters in the backseat of the car. The oldest was Cathleen Bate, whose life was changed forever when she saw a certain Japanese hero saving the day with a dazzling smile. It's a subtle but funny and touching way to connect the My Hero Academia movies and anime.

1 Star and Stripe emulates All Might in a healthy way

It's common for pro heroes to look up to each other, like Eijiro Kirishima modeling his hero identity after Crimson Riot, and every fan knows that Deku and his shonen rival Katsuki Bakugo strive to be just like their idol, All Might. Many people look up to All Might, but Star and Stripe arguably does it best.

Unlike Bakugo, who is very self-centered and competitive, and unlike Deku, who struggles to overcome his insecurities, Star and Stripe is a natural at following All Might's example. As far as My Hero Academia As fans can see, she never tried hard or made any serious sacrifices to follow her idol's example, and thus launched a comfortable and successful heroic career. She perfectly balanced the idea of imitating All Might while also being heroic herself.

My Hero Academia (2016)

Izuku has dreamed of being a hero his entire life—a lofty goal for anyone, but an especially challenging one for a child without superpowers. That’s right, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some sort of superpowered “quirk,” Izuku had the misfortune of being born completely normal. But that’s not enough to stop him from enrolling in one of the most prestigious hero academies in the world.

Release date

May 5, 2018

Cast

Daiki Yamashita, Justin Briner, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Ayane Sakura

Seasons

6

Production company

Bones

Number of episodes

145